#Microsoft365 – Dynamics 365 was made available from 1 November 2016 and replaced Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. It brings together the best of the CRM and ERP cloud offerings with specific apps for key business processes.

For previous posts in my #Microsoft365Challenge go to the index page.

Next generation of intelligent business applications in the cloud, that breaks down the silos between CRM and ERP. Incorporates the familiar productivity tools you use every day, such as Outlook and Excel and harnesses the full power of Microsoft including advanced analytics, Power BI and IoT with the strength and security of Azure.

What is a CRM?

Customer relationship management (CRM) is an approach to managing a company’s interaction with current and potential customers. It uses data analysis about customers’ history with a company and to improve business relationships with customers, specifically focusing on customer retention and ultimately driving sales growth. Wikipedia

What is an ERP?

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the integrated management of core business processes, often in real-time and mediated by software and technology. These business activities can include: Wikipedia

  • product planning, purchase
  • production planning
  • manufacturing or service delivery
  • marketing and sales
  • materials management
  • inventory management
  • shipping and payment
  • finance

What is Dynamics 365?

As I don’t work with Dynamics 365, I tried my best to understand what it is, and bring you the resources I came across. Below extracts are from the Microsoft Dynamics 365 site.

Capture new opportunities across your business when you bring people, data, and processes together with Microsoft Dynamics 365—intelligent cloud applications that unify CRM and ERP capabilities to help you run your business end to end. – Work smarter together

Engage Customers

Build personalized experiences across all customer touchpoints—from consideration to purchase.

Empower Employees

Give your employees familiar tools and actionable insights so they can do their best work.

Optimize Operations

Anticipate and manage business needs with more intelligent processes and predictive guidance.

Transform Products

Innovate new business models, automate processes, and shift from being reactive to proactive.

These are the applications available in Dynamics 365:

Sales

Turn relationships into revenue by bringing digital intelligence into every deal.

Customer Service

Earn customers for life with a personalized experience and world-class service across every channel.

Field Service

Master the service call with smarter capabilities—from optimized scheduling to predictive maintenance.

Talent

Attract, onboard, and set employees up for success with a collection of intelligent HR cloud services.

Finance and Operations – Enterprise

Accelerate growth by optimizing operations and making real-time, data-driven decisions at global scale.

Finance and Operations – Business

Increase visibility and control by bringing your processes together with a configurable, easy-to-use solution.

Retail

Deliver an immersive shopping experience by optimizing retail operations with intelligent insights.

Project Service Automation

Profit from your projects by bringing people, processes, and automation technology together.

Marketing

Unify your sales and marketing to connect customer experiences at every interaction with Adobe Marketing Cloud.

Customer Insights

Deliver a personalized experience using relevant insights on how to best serve your customers.

Pricing:

As with Office 365, different options are available in Dynamics 365. Choose the plan that suits your business and your pocket:

Dynamics 365 Plan 1

Includes these apps:

  • Dynamics 365 for Sales
  • Dynamics 365 for Customer Service
  • Dynamics 365 for Field Service
  • Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation

+ Microsoft PowerApps and Microsoft Flow

Dynamics 365 Plan 2

Includes all the Plan 1 apps + Dynamics 365 for Operations

  • Manufacturing and supply chain
  • Retail and commerce
  • Finance

Team Members Enterprise edition

Includes light use of these apps:

Dynamics 365 for Operations

Dynamics 365 for Sales

Dynamics 365 for Customer Service

Dynamics 365 for Field Service

Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation

+ Microsoft PowerApps with Flow

Individual apps

Depending on which apps you choose

Resources:  

Purpose of this blog challenge:

I will write 365 blogs in 365 days around Microsoft 365. I did a similar challenge with Office 365, blogs can be found here. I won’t just be talking about the new Microsoft 365 subscription model. I will be sharing any news, tips and tricks around Office / Office 365 / Windows / Mobility and Security. And let’s not forget all the great new Apps & services available.  A lot of what I’ll share on Office and SharePoint will also be applicable to none “Office 365” versions.

Feel free to #AskBraam if you have questions or would like me to write about a specific topic. I’ve created a Flow to monitor Twitter for the #AskBraam hashtag and will try my best to incorporate any questions into the blogs, or answer them directly on Twitter. This is a “Learning through Sharing” approach to teach my pet sheep about Microsoft – read more on this here.