Dynamics 365 is a combination of ERP and CRM
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a cloud-based business applications platform that combines customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) along with tight integration to Office applications such as Excel, Outlook, and SharePoint, plus other, newer Microsoft tools and technologies such as PowerApps for building mobile and web apps, Power BI for business intelligence reporting and artificial intelligence tools. In addition. Microsoft has jam-packed the capabilities that are included under Dynamics 365, extending the reach from ERP and CRM to FSA, PSA, HR, and POS.
| Acronym | Stands For | Represents |
| ERP | Enterprise Resource Planning | Accounting software |
| CRM | Customer Relationship Management | Sales and customer service |
| FSA | Field Service Automation | Field technicians management |
| PSA | Professional Service Automation | Timing and billing/Project accounting |
| HR | Human Resources | Employee onboarding |
| POS | Point of Sale | Retail store software |
Dynamics 365 is designed so that users can start with what they need, and grow at their own pace, adding new apps and functionalities as and when they need them.The solution is based on Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing technology service hosted on data centres around the world. It is provided as a “Software as a Service” platform, meaning it’s accessed through a web browser rather than installed on individual computers. This not only means that any updates or fixes will be managed by Microsoft and applied automatically, but also that Dynamics 365 will be accessible from anywhere with an internet connection.
Dynamics 365 apps and features
The Dynamics 365 suite is available in two editions, Business or Enterprise, each with different levels of features and applications. Companies can choose from the following Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications and features:
Customer Insights — Combines customer data from Dynamics 365, Office 365 and third-party data sources, and helps users find actionable insights from that data. Includes Power BIfor analytics and visualization, and artificial intelligence tools to identify customer behaviors and provide predictive scoring.
Customer Service — Omnichannel customer engagement tools, customer self-service and communities, and tools for support agents.
Field Service —Scheduling resources,contract management, inventory management, insight into internet of things-connected products and customer communications tools.
Finance and Operations — Financial management with reporting and analytics; manufacturing tools for project management, production planning, scheduling, and cost management; and warehouse and inventory control tools for supply chain management.
Marketing — Connects Dynamics CRM to Adobe Marketing Cloud to provide campaign management and targeted, personalized marketing tools.
Project Service Automation — Project planning, resource scheduling, time and expense management, and service analytics.
Retail — Unified commerce tools, store and employee management, merchandise management and operational insights.
Sales — Provides intelligence on prospective customers, personalization and customer engagement, sales productivity and performance metrics.
Talent — Human resources cloud services is connected to LinkedIn to manage all areas of HR, from attracting, hiring and onboarding new employees to managing HR programs.
Benefits of Dynamics 365
To achieve operational excellence, processes, departments and people have to work ever closer together. Operating in siloes and chasing short-sighted KPIs just won’t cut it. What’s needed is a solution that transcends traditional departmental boundaries to offer a real-time, precise overview of processes and performance.
And that’s one of the key advantages of Dynamics 365. Very simply, it allows business to truly transform across the board to meet the changing needs of customers in today’s digital first marketplace. Because Dynamics’ intelligent applications work seamlessly together in the cloud, it helps you to quickly and easily connect people, data and processes in new and exciting ways.
Here’s why else we think Dynamics 365 is the bee’s knees:
- By combining Dynamics 365 CRM and ERP with Microsoft’s productivity applications, users get a real-time connected view of data intelligence on customer records, transactions, behaviors and preferences, along with information about orders, inventory and shipping, and in addition to predictive insight tools for decision-makers.
- Dynamics 365 offers tight integration with other Microsoft business applications. For companies that rely heavily on Office 365 and Outlook, or that run operations on Azure, Dynamics 365 provides more beneficial integration with sister products than most CRM systems, which rely on third-party plug-ins. Microsoft is also growing its stable of third-party applications to pair with Dynamics 365 through the AppSource store.
- Additional Dynamics 365 benefits include a common UI throughout the Microsoft suite of business applications, enabling easier training and improved efficiency.
- Safeguard your data and meet EU privacy criteria including GDPR. No matter where you do business, your customer data is safe in the Microsoft Cloud with UK data-centres.
- Dynamics 365 offers simple, transparent cloud licensing so you only pay for what each user needs with predictable monthly billing and mix and match flexibility.
- And last but not least, no organisation invests more in R&D than Microsoft. The result is two major releases each year and weekly updates that continually improve and extend the capabilities of Dynamics 365. This means that you embed continuous improvement into your DNA.
Smart sensors, big data, cloud storage, smart analytics, service bots, AI, machine learning, blockchain … this is the world we live in now! Where are you on the road to digital transformation? As a Microsoft partner with over 30 years of experience, and over 500 successful project implementations, we can help your company to embrace a new and better way of working. Call our team of experts on 01628 660600 today.
