From Mechanical Engineer to D365 Technical Architect with Phil Mackison

What has to be true before AI is any use inside an ERP system?

In this episode of The Catch Up Podcast, host Philip Blackmore speaks with Phil Mackison, D365 F&O Technical Capability Director at HCLTech, about a technical career that started by accident on the Isle of Man and ended up in enterprise Dynamics architecture.

Phil explains how he moved from mechanical engineering into report writing, why he backed Damgaard Axapta over SAP against his father's advice, and how the technical architect role changed when Dynamics moved from on-premise to the cloud. He is direct about what AI can and cannot do: applying best practice and checking documents, yes; automating processes on top of poor data, no. Gartner expects AI-enabled tools to account for 62% of cloud ERP spending by 2027, up from 14% in 2024, with data quality still one of the main blockers.

There is practical advice too: know why you are replacing the system, get your data catalogue in order first, and take your most respected internal person out of their day job to own it.

• (00:00) - Welcome to The Catch Up Podcast
• (03:01) - Falling into IT as a Mechanical Engineer
• (05:26) - Crystal Reports and the First Real Skill
• (08:46) - Choosing Axapta over SAP
• (11:57) - Joining a Partner as a Junior Consultant
• (14:53) - Why Knowledge Sharing Shaped a Career
• (19:03) - Bridging the Functional and Technical Gap
• (22:19) - The Workshop That Went Wrong
• (29:06) - Navision, Microsoft and Better Documentation
• (33:12) - Cloud, Data Security and the Architect's Role
• (42:35) - AI, Data Quality and Best Practice
• (47:42) - Advice before Starting an ERP Programme

Phil Mackison: Phil Mackison is D365 F&O Technical Capability Director at HCLTech, where he owns the technical methodologies used on enterprise Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations implementations and handles recruitment and resourcing across the D365 Finance practice. He has more than 20 years in ERP, starting as a junior engineer on the Isle of Man before moving into report writing, then functional consulting in trade and logistics, then technical architecture. His delivery record spans Damgaard Axapta 2.1 through to Dynamics 365, including enterprise programmes at Capgemini and Hitachi Solutions, and his own specialism has been security and infrastructure. Phil is based in Worcestershire.

Episode Insights:

• Phil never did the engineering job he was hired for. Three weeks of typing in bills of materials turned into a report-writing role, and he never went back.
• The best consultants come from industry first, because they have stood on a factory floor doing stock takes and know how the business actually runs.
• Clients pay a lot of money for consultants on site, so the least those consultants can do is drop the acronyms and take the client with them.
• A workshop that collapses is not always about you. Phil was cleared out of a room over an invoice dispute, and now speaks to senior stakeholders before he presents anything.
• The move to cloud removed skills from the architect role, such as SQL clustering and disaster recovery, and replaced them with questions about data security and performance.

Action Points:

1. Start with why you are moving: Write down the actual reason for replacing the system, whether that is a burning platform, expansion or better use of data. Test every requirement against it. Reacting to pressure without a stated reason is how programmes drift into replacing what you already had.
2. Get your data catalogue in order first: Map what data you hold, what condition it is in, and what you want to keep. Decide early what happens to historic records and who owns the clean-up. Gartner expects only about 30% of organisations to have data good enough for advanced AI by 2027, so this is the work that decides whether AI helps you later.
3. Protect reporting in phase one: Reporting is routinely promised in pre-sales and then cut from delivery. Name the reports the business cannot run without, price them, and hold them in scope. If they slip to phase two, agree in writing what people will use in the meantime.
4. Appoint an independent advisor: Bring in someone who understands the implementation cycle and sits between you and the partner. Their job is to tell you when the recommended answer suits the partner more than the business. Every programme Phil has seen go really well had one.
5. Backfill your best internal person: Take the most respected person in the operation out of their day job, cover their role, and make them the subject matter expert. Keep them owning the system after go-live. People trust a colleague they have worked alongside for years more than an external consultant.

The Catch Up Podcast brings you candid conversations with industry leaders, consultants, and change-makers from the Microsoft Dynamics and tech ecosystem. Hosted by Phillip Blackmore, Sales Director at Catch Resource Management, each episode dives into the real stories behind business transformation, career pivots, and scaling success. Expect thoughtful interviews, practical insights, and honest reflections.

Brought to you by Catch Resource Management, a leading UK recruitment specialist for Microsoft Dynamics and ERP talent, this podcast is your inside track to the people shaping the future of enterprise technology. Tune in for new episodes and stay ahead of the curve.

The Catch Up Podcast is produced by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford, UK.