Microsoft Dynamics 365 is more than just a marketing name change

Microsoft has recently announced a fundamental change in the portfolio of its Dynamics business applications – CRM, AX, NAV – and introduced a new solution Dynamics 365. In practice, this change brings much more than just a marketing change of the product name.

Why Dynamics 365?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 confirms the significance and strategic importance of Microsoft providing Dynamics business applications. Dynamics 365 is a natural reasults of the effort to form a unified platform of interconnected business applications, covering complex business processes and needs. The attribute “365” in the title is, of course, not accidental and Microsoft clearly indicates the complementarity and the link with the Office 365 product range, which Dynamics 365 closely cooperates with. Customers therefore get a comprehensive solution for the management and operation of their companies, from the smallest companies to large enterprises.

The new solution Dynamics 365 will cover end-to-end business processes in companies

Available editions

Dynamics 365 is primarily a cloud-based solution, functionally covering areas of the original CRM and ERP applications.
It is available in two editions:

• Business – for small and medium-sized businesses
• Enterprise – designed primarily for large enterprises, with a recommended number of 250 and more employees

The editions differ in their license terms, the price and the range of available modules and functions.

Dynamics 365 Business Edition is a complex cloud business solution for small and medium-sized businesses, covering the following modules:

• Financials
  The module based on the original Dynamics NAV provides a simplified functionality for the needs of SMEs.
• Sales
  The module based on the original Dynamics CRM provides the basic functionality of sales management and customer management, specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises.
• Marketing
  The module will be available in the first half of the 2017.

Dynamics 365 Business Edition is the ideal solution for all companies that want to address optimization and consolidation of their key business processes quickly and easily and manage the entire agenda in a single application. With its cloud-based nature, the solution can be put into operation very quickly and easily, without a need for additional IT infrastructure costs and operating solutions. In the next few months, SMEs can also profit from an extremely advantageous offer to purchase licenses Dynamics 365 for Sales in the Enterprise edition.

Enterprise edition Dynamics 365 is – in addition to a preferred cloud option – also available as an on-premise solution. It provides the Customers from within large companies with the following modules:

• Operations
  The module based on the original Dynamics AX provides a full ERP functionality.
• Sales
  The module based on the original Dynamics CRM provides a means for business process management and customer management.
• Marketing
  The module designed for management and execution of marketing campaigns and their activities.
• Customer Service
  The module provides comprehensive management of customer services: from controlled processing of customer requirements to a knowledge base and customer self-service portals.
• Project Service
  The module designed to support management and project planning, including budgeting, resource management, etc.
• Field Service
  The module supporting customer attendance or delivery of services in the field, expanding mobility opportunities within Dynamics 365.

Dynamics 365 Enterprise Edition provides customers with a comprehensive business platform functionality, fully adaptable to their needs and connectible with other systems.

New options of customization and development of custom business applications

Dynamics 365 also brings major changes in extensibility and adaptability of the solution functions. The flexibility of the solution has been shifted further into the hands of business “power” users, who, thanks to the new concept of PowerApps and Microsoft Flow may themselves create business applications with no programming that use data from Dynamics 365 and link them or define the new business processes. The cornerstone is yet a common data model of Dynamics 365 and Office 365 platforms, the Common Data Model, which unifies access and viewing of data in these solutions and is available not only for creating of custom applications, but also for integration with external systems.

A unified user interface of interconnected applications

Which solution to choose?

Dynamics 365 brings new licensing conditions, which are much more flexible. The customer can thus build the solution to suit their needs and optimize licensing and operational costs.

When choosing a suitable solution and the necessary combination of modules/licenses, we recommend that you answer several key questions:

• How many users will work with the solution?Koľko používateľov bude s riešením pracovať?
• It the on-premise solution required or can you use the benefits of cloud solutions?
• Do business requirements include Customer Service, Project Service and Field Service functionality?
• What other solution extensions or modifications are envisaged?

Our company, as a long-time and experienced Microsoft partner will be delighted to advise you on the correct selection, preparation and implementation of your 365 Dynamics solution.

Richard Sládek