What Is Microsoft Dynamics 365?

Dynamics 365 is a robust, modular ERP and CRM solution from Microsoft. Its applications and features form a unified ecosystem of tools for automating and integrating a company’s key activities — from order intake, through operations planning, to inventory management, financial data and human resources.

Microsoft has launched an entirely new system, Microsoft Dynamics 365. Its biggest advantage is combining ERP and CRM. Do you currently handle these two large areas separately? Now you don’t have to. In one place, on the same data, you’ll be able to run all of your business processes and sales activities.

Dynamics 365 also comes with built-in integration with the Microsoft 365 office suite and the Microsoft Azure platform, which among other things allows third-party applications to connect in. So whatever industry you operate in, Dynamics 365 is ready to cover your business requirements completely.

MAKE BETTER DECISIONS

Improve your company’s results with data-driven insights and recommendations

BUILD CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

A complete view of your customers helps you build more meaningful relationships

WORK MORE EFFICIENTLY

Automate and optimize everyday tasks with AI-powered workflows

More about Dynamics 365 and its modules

So What Exactly Is Microsoft Dynamics 365?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiaL1f4SQCQ

1. Start with only what you’ll actually use – The whole application is designed so that individual areas can be deployed independently, very easily, at any point down the road. Just getting your business off the ground? Pick only the roles and areas (sales, marketing, service, products…) you actually need, without paying for features you’ll never use.
2. Productivity where you need it – The integration between Dynamics 365 and Office 365 links structured work processes into the flood of unstructured daily tasks. Can you attach a quote from your ERP straight from Outlook, without ever leaving the app, or without hunting down who you’re actually writing to? In Microsoft Dynamics 365, that’s not a problem.
3. Artificial intelligence – With Dynamics 365, Microsoft is the only vendor that brings together company data, analytics tools, and IoT devices to actively support employees’ work and decisions. A typical example is a cross-selling recommendation that helps a sales rep put together a quote.
4. Ready to grow – The system lets customers quickly create, change, and adjust their business processes as current needs demand — all without any involvement from the IT department! Customers can easily change their business model thanks to the underlying data model and the flexible platform the individual applications are built on.

Dynamics 365 Editions

Dynamics 365 is available in two editions – Dynamics 365 Business and Dynamics 365 Enterprise.

1. The Dynamics 365 Business edition is suited to small and mid-sized companies of 10–250 employees, used mainly by trading companies, and comes with full accounting built in. It links Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Dynamics NAV. By combining Dynamics CRM, Dynamics 365, and Office 365, customers get a comprehensive tool suited to any line of business
2. The Dynamics 365 Enterprise edition is aimed at larger companies with 250+ employees. On top of everything in the Business edition, it includes modules for service organizations — customer service, field service, or project management. Enterprise resource management runs on the latest version of the cloud ERP, Dynamics 365.

Integration with Microsoft Products

Both editions take advantage of Microsoft’s rich product portfolio. It integrates with Microsoft 365, so users can now speed through their work without switching between apps or copy-pasting back and forth.

Key benefits

• A shared data model with Office 365, simplifying data management and integration between applications and business processes.
• User-configurable analytics through Power Apps, Power BI, and Microsoft Flow.
• A connector for linking Microsoft products and other add-ons from ISV partners. Individual add-ons can be integrated easily via AppSource.

Licensing – User Types

The biggest advantage of Dynamics 365 is combining Microsoft CRM with the Dynamics 365 enterprise ERP on a single, shared data foundation.

The system is designed to let customers pick exactly the user type their business needs, avoiding the unnecessary cost of a full-rights license nobody uses in full.

Users Are Split into Team Member, Apps, and Plans.

• Team member – this user type suits basic tasks or read-only access to data. A typical example is a warehouse worker, or a purchasing or sales employee who issues documents.
• Apps – Full functionality in the areas the user has purchased – Sales, Marketing, Service, Projects, ERP (365).
• Plans – Suited to users who wear several hats in the company and need to work across multiple areas.

Licensing – Dynamics 365 Enterprise Edition

Since Blue Dynamic focuses on implementing Dynamics 365, let’s cover the plan types Microsoft offers within the Enterprise edition.

• Plan 1 – Covers the individual CRM areas: Sales, Marketing, Service, and Projects. Can be purchased as a full package.
• Plan 2 – Includes Plan 1 plus ERP (365)

For every user in the Apps mode, you can choose a specific area or a whole Plan. Pricing has so far only been published for the US market; European pricing will follow later.

In Conclusion

Microsoft Dynamics 365 arrives on the market as a comprehensive product with no real equal among ERP systems. By linking CRM and ERP together, it becomes a unique tool for running a business with a strong competitive edge. If you’d like to learn more about what Dynamics 365 can do, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

More about Dynamics 365 ERP and its modules

Free E-book: 6 Roles of the CIO in a Successful Dynamics 365 Implementation

An implementation project is a complex, demanding process that requires the whole team’s involvement. There’s no template plan that lets you pull it off “quick and easy.” The CIO’s role is obviously key, and fairly complicated too — if only because it means wearing several hats at once. Download our free e-book to find out what roles a CIO plays during a Dynamics 365 implementation.