Join Cherry Bekaert at the North American Dealer Information Technology Association (NADITA) in Orlando, Florida, from April 28 to May 1, 2025, as we highlight Microsoft solutions, including data lakehouses and offline Power Apps, for Caterpillar dealers.
The annual conference focuses on industry trends and solutions for Caterpillar dealers and their information technology (IT) leadership. This year, our Digital Advisory professionals will host an interactive demonstration of the Microsoft solutions covered in this article. Read on for a sneak peek of conference topics and how these technologies can empower your organization to reach its full potential in the heavy equipment space.
Revolutionized Data Management for Caterpillar Dealers
Integrating modern data architectures in dealer ecosystems presents its own set of challenges, particularly while transitioning from traditional systems and data to robust platforms like Microsoft Dynamics. Cherry Bekaert Digital Advisory addresses these challenges through the innovative model of Microsoft Azure Databricks, a cloud-based platform that enables open data lakehouse architecture in Azure.
Committed as a leader in cutting-edge business solutions, Cherry Bekaert showcases the lakehouse model, providing a comprehensive platform tailored for dynamic data management across Caterpillar dealers transitioning to Microsoft Dynamics.
This groundbreaking model effortlessly bridges the divide between structured and unstructured data, providing a unified platform for data storage, processing and analytics. The lakehouse model is engineered to support diverse workloads, ranging from extract, transform, load (ETL) processes, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to advanced business intelligence, ensuring flexible and expansive data handling options.
With robust data governance powered by Unity Catalog for data integrity and security, businesses can confidently leverage this solution to extract valuable insights and foster strategic growth opportunities. This model significantly streamlines the migration process and allows Caterpillar dealers to:
- Migrate essential information to Microsoft Dynamics.
- Create a cloud instance for remaining data.
- Utilize Azure Databricks for data loading and transformation.
- Push processed data to preferred reporting platforms.
This pivotal shift transforms data into a powerful asset for dealers, unlocking new levels of utilization that can drive business performance forward while eliminating data silos. Users also gain an open, scalable platform to maximize the value of data assets across all analytics and AI use cases.
Case Study: The Lakehouse Model for Improved Data Analytics
In one real-world example of how effective the lakehouse model can be, Cherry Bekaert helped a client achieve improved revenue and collections analysis through a data lakehouse. The client had significant data quality and completeness issues with financial and operational data resulting from an acquisition and a general lack of data stewardship.
Our Digital Advisory professionals built a reporting framework in Power BI that allowed the client to analyze revenue and collections through a variety of dimensions. The team also delivered a data lakehouse in Azure to provide a centralized repository for reporting data.
By integrating data from multiple sources into the lakehouse platform, we helped the client efficiently manage and analyze their data, address issues with accounts receivable forecasting and enhance decision making.
The Challenge of Limited Connectivity
In the demanding world of Caterpillar dealers, field operations frequently face the challenges of limited connectivity, which can disrupt critical workflows, delay essential tasks and impact productivity in the field. Recognizing these issues, the Cherry Bekaert Digital Advisory team created offline Power Apps, a transformative solution designed specifically to empower frontline workers operating in remote and connectivity-challenged locations.
Continue Vital Workflows With Power Apps
Offline Power Apps enables field operation teams to continue their vital workflows seamlessly by syncing data from their enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and other data sources, such as a lakehouse. Even in the absence of a network connection, field teams can perform all necessary tasks without interruption, ensuring operational efficiency and continuity regardless of the environment. Once network availability returns, all collected data is effortlessly synchronized back to the cloud, securing the consistency and accuracy of all operations.
This functionality plays a crucial role in making sure that important business decisions are made swiftly and effectively, with no reduction in the user experience amidst varying or non-existent connectivity. Additionally, offline Power Apps offers a significant boost to productivity and streamline processes.
By bridging the gap between offline and online environments, field operation teams can maintain momentum without the frustration and inefficiencies typically associated with connectivity issues. This technological advancement can revolutionize how work is conducted in the field, ensuring that operations are optimized for excellence.
Offline Power Apps in Action
Utilizing the offline Power Apps solution, an organization can now quickly and seamlessly log data during equipment inspections. In the past, inspectors would fill out paper forms that were either dropped off or emailed to an administrator. The administrator would then manually enter the information into a database which eventually syncs to the ERP. With the offline Power Apps solution activated, inspectors can now enter data on a mobile device while at the inspection site, and this data automatically syncs to the ERP.
Explore a Proof of Concept for Your Company
Contact us to learn more about offline Power Apps and our lakehouse model. Cherry Bekaert Digital Advisory will provide a specialized proof of concept process tailored to your company’s unique workflows and operational challenges.
Our process begins with a detailed discovery session aimed at understanding your specific needs, leading to the development of a custom-designed prototype that ensures seamless integration with your existing systems and alignment with your strategic business goals.
We look forward to seeing you at the NADITA conference. Visit our booth, number 49, to engage with our experienced Digital Advisory professionals. Additionally, will be speaking during the “Bridging the Data Gap: Integrating Your Legacy and Cloud Data” session on April 30 at 8 a.m. in Florida Ballroom C. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn more about how Databricks and Power Apps can optimize your business.
