Service Overview

Embedded Talent: Senior Microsoft Platform Experts, Backed by a Full Bench

Q: Who manages the placed individual day to day?

Your management. The placed individual works under your direction, on your roadmap, and reports through your management for day-to-day work. TrellisPoint stays in the background as the practice the resource is part of, supporting them with bench access, technical depth, and continuity.

Q: What happens if the placement isn't the right fit?

If a placed individual isn't the right match, we swap to another resource. The transition is managed so context isn't lost. This is one of the structural advantages of working with a practice firm rather than a staffing agency.

Q: Can an Embedded Talent engagement convert to a project, or a project transition into Embedded Talent?

Both directions happen often. A project consultant frequently transitions into an embedded role after a project ends. The reverse also happens: an embedded resource identifies a defined initiative that's better delivered as a fixed-scope project, and we scope it accordingly.

Q: Can we hold an Embedded Talent engagement and a CGI Subscription at the same time?

Yes. CGI Subscriptions cover ongoing platform support, escalation, and strategic IT advisory without a dedicated person. Embedded Talent fills a sustained capacity gap with a named senior practitioner. A single client can hold both, and many do.

When your team needs hands-on expertise across Dynamics 365, Power Platform, or AI without the wait of a full-time hire or the disconnect of a generic staffing agency, TrellisPoint Embedded Talent puts a senior practitioner inside your team and the rest of our practice behind them.

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The Offering

One named expert. The expertise of a full Microsoft practice behind them.

Embedded Talent places an experienced Microsoft platform practitioner inside your team to work under your direction at an hourly rate. The placed individual reports through your management for day-to-day work. Behind the scenes, every placement is backed by TrellisPoint's full bench of architects, specialists, and practice leads, so when a hard question shows up, your embedded resource has somewhere to turn.

This is staff augmentation built by a practice firm, not a body-shop. The talent we place is selected, screened, and supported against the same Microsoft expertise we bring to our project work across Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and AI.

Hourly, under your direction

The placed individual works as an extension of your team, on your roadmap, in your management structure. You direct the work.

Senior by default

Senior consultants, architects, and niche specialists are the standard. We lead with depth, not headcount.

Backed by the bench

Your embedded resource has direct access to TrellisPoint's full team of Microsoft architects and specialists when scope stretches.

Why This Matters

The usual options don't always fit a Microsoft platform skill gap.

When a Dynamics 365, Power Platform, or AI need shows up, most teams weigh four options: hire a full-time employee, engage a generic staffing agency, scope a project, or wait. Each has trade-offs. A full-time hire takes 60 to 120 days and locks you into a single skill area. A staffing agency can deliver a body fast, but rarely deep platform expertise or a team behind the placement. A project works when scope is fully defined, but not when the work is ongoing or evolving.

Embedded Talent fits the gap in the middle: ongoing capacity from a senior Microsoft practitioner, available in days rather than months, with the option to flex up or down as needs change. It's the model that has organically grown out of our project work, formalized into a service.

The pattern we see most: a project finishes, the client wants the same caliber of expertise to continue inside their team, and a project consultant transitions into an embedded role. The relationship continues without a learning curve, and the client keeps access to TrellisPoint's broader practice.

Engagement Shapes

Two ways to engage, depending on how the need shows up.

Embedded Talent comes in two shapes. The right one depends on the size of your team, the steadiness of the need, and how you prefer to consume capacity.

Dedicated

A named individual extending your team at 20 to 40 hours per week, on a month-to-month or longer arrangement. Best when there is a sustained, predictable need for a specific skill set, and you want continuity with one practitioner. Billed hourly for hours worked.

Fractional

A block of hours per week or per month against TrellisPoint's bench, on a monthly recurring arrangement. Best when the need is real but doesn't fill a full role. Billed as a monthly retainer for an agreed hour band. Hours are use-it-or-lose-it within the period to keep capacity planning clean for both sides.

Most mid-to-large teams with steady demand land on Dedicated. Smaller teams or teams without dedicated platform staff often land on Fractional, where they get senior advisory and hands-on capacity without the cost of a full-time hire.

Skill Areas and Roles

Microsoft platform depth across the full delivery role spectrum.

We place across the practice areas where our team has earned its depth. Adjacent skill needs, such as M365 collaboration, Azure infrastructure, or Microsoft Fabric, can also be provided when an engagement calls for them.

Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (Sales, Customer Service, Field Service)
Dynamics 365 ERP (Finance & Operations, Business Central, Supply Chain)
Microsoft Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Power Pages)
Artificial Intelligence (Copilot for Sales, Service, and Finance; AI Builder; Azure AI/ML; agent development; LLM integrations; MLOps)

Roles we embed

System administrators, business analysts and functional consultants, technical consultants and developers, solution architects (functional and technical), project managers, quality assurance, change management, and business intelligence and Power BI consultants.

Differentiation

Where the bench-backup model wins.

A staffing agency can put a body in a seat. A practice firm puts a body in a seat and a team behind them. That distinction is the whole point of the offering, and it shows up in three ways.

Deep platform expertise

Our Microsoft practice has focused depth across D365, Power Platform, and AI. Our placed individuals are selected and developed against that expertise. They are not generalists trying to learn the platform on your time.

Talent fit identification

Because we deploy these platforms ourselves, we know the difference between a candidate who lists D365 on their resume and one who can actually configure a complex business process flow, design a clean Power Platform solution architecture, or evaluate an LLM pipeline. We screen against that knowledge before any candidate reaches you.

Bench backup

Every placement is backed by TrellisPoint's full team. When a placed senior consultant hits a question outside their depth, a complex F&O integration, a Power Platform governance pattern, an emerging AI capability, they have direct access to TrellisPoint architects and specialists. You get one named individual with the expertise of a full team.

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Who It Fits

Two segments, both well served.

Embedded Talent fits two different team profiles. The engagement shape that works best is usually the one that matches the way the need shows up.

Mid-to-large teams with internal IT capacity

500+ employees, an active D365 deployment, and a functional team with platform competency that is hitting capacity gaps in specific skill areas. Common triggers include mid-implementation expertise gaps, post-go-live operations, FTE backfill during recruiting, M&A integration, and project completion handoffs. Dedicated is the most common shape here.

SMB teams without in-house platform capacity

20 to 500 employees, a D365 Business Central or Sales / Customer Service deployment, and limited or no in-house platform capability. The need is ongoing administration and periodic improvement work without the cost of a full-time hire. Fractional is the right fit.

How It Pairs With Support

Embedded Talent and CGI Subscriptions, side by side.

TrellisPoint's CGI Subscriptions are our support and managed services product, available as Pay-As-You-Go support or ongoing support subscriptions backed by an assigned CGI consultant. Embedded Talent is a different shape of work. The two often run in parallel at the same client, and they cross-sell in both directions.

CGI Subscriptions are bought when you need ongoing access to TrellisPoint expertise across the platform. Each subscription includes a dedicated CGI consultant who works with a portfolio of clients, providing reactive support, escalation handling, and strategic IT advisory at higher tiers. Embedded Talent goes further by placing a senior practitioner solely inside your team.
Embedded Talent is bought when you have a specific scope of work or a sustained capacity gap that you want filled by a person rather than a support relationship.
Concurrent engagement is fine. A single client can hold both at once, a CGI subscription for ongoing support plus an Embedded Talent engagement for a specific roadmap initiative, and many do.

Reality Check

When this is the right call, and when it isn't.

Embedded Talent is the right answer when the work is ongoing, the scope evolves, and the value of having a named senior practitioner in your team outweighs the cost difference versus a generic staffing agency. It is the wrong answer when the work is fully defined, time-bound, and better served by an outcome-priced project. We will tell you when that's the case, because the goal is to fit the engagement to the need, not the other way around.

If you're not sure which shape fits, that's a conversation we have often. Start with a discovery call and we'll work through it with you.

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Common Questions

Embedded Talent FAQ

The questions teams ask before bringing in a senior Microsoft platform practitioner. If yours isn't here, ask your TrellisPoint advisor.

How is Embedded Talent different from a staffing agency? Practice firm, not a body shop. Senior platform expertise screened by working consultants, with a full bench behind every placement.

A staffing agency puts a body in a seat. A practice firm puts a body in a seat and a team behind them. Our placements are screened against the same Microsoft expertise we bring to project work, so the difference between "lists D365 on a resume" and "can configure a complex business process flow" is filtered before you see candidates. Once placed, your embedded resource has direct access to TrellisPoint architects and specialists when scope stretches beyond their depth.

How fast can you place someone, and how is it priced? Days to weeks, not months. Hourly billing for Dedicated, monthly retainer for Fractional.

Most placements move from intro call to placed resource in days to a few weeks, far faster than a typical FTE hire. Pricing depends on engagement shape: Dedicated engagements bill hourly for hours worked at agreed rates, with month-to-month or longer arrangements. Fractional engagements bill as a monthly retainer for an agreed hour band against our bench, with hours use-it-or-lose-it within the period to keep capacity planning clean.

Who manages the placed individual day to day? Your management. The placed resource works as an extension of your team on your roadmap.

The placed individual works under your direction, on your roadmap, and reports through your management for day-to-day work. TrellisPoint stays in the background as the practice the resource is part of, supporting them with bench access, technical depth, and continuity. We're not running their tasks, you are. We're making sure they have the support they need to keep delivering for you.

What happens if the placement isn't the right fit? We swap. Bench backup is part of why this works.

Fit issues happen and we plan for them. If a placed individual isn't the right match, on technical depth, communication style, or team dynamics, we swap to another resource. The transition is managed so context isn't lost. This is one of the structural advantages of working with a practice firm rather than a staffing agency, where replacement often means starting the search from scratch.

Can an Embedded Talent engagement convert to a project, or a project transition into Embedded Talent? Yes, both directions are common. The pattern is built into how we work.

Both directions happen often. The pattern we see most is a project finishing, the client wanting the same caliber of expertise to continue inside their team, and the project consultant transitioning into an embedded role. The reverse also happens: an embedded resource identifies a defined initiative that's better delivered as a fixed-scope project, and we scope it accordingly. Either move keeps the relationship and the platform knowledge intact.

Can we hold an Embedded Talent engagement and a CGI Subscription at the same time? Yes. They cover different needs and many clients run both in parallel.

The two are complementary. CGI Subscriptions cover ongoing platform support, escalation, and strategic IT advisory without a dedicated person. Embedded Talent fills a sustained capacity gap with a named senior practitioner inside your team. A single client can hold both, a CGI subscription for ongoing support plus an embedded engagement for a roadmap initiative, and many do.

Get in Touch

Need a senior Microsoft platform expert inside your team?

TrellisPoint places experienced practitioners across Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and AI, backed by the full bench of our practice. Reach out and we'll work through fit, shape, and timing.