What Is Microsoft Dynamics 365?

Due to the complexity of problems in need of a solution, the search for the perfect CRM and ERP solutions can seem to be a never-ending process. There are tons of companies offering the only ERP solution you’ll ever need, or the best CRM solution on the market, but, in reality, it is hard to tell which one fits that bill.

If you’re looking for a new family of applications that include CRM and ERP solutions – you’ll want to learn about Microsoft Dynamics 365.

So, what is this platform about? Let’s take a more in-depth look and see why this product line is one of the best Microsoft Enterprise Solutions around.

This platform consists of a family of cloud-based business applications designed by Microsoft to help you manage your business better.

Dynamics 365 is meant as a business solution, offering a selection of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tools to help you boost customer engagement and handle your business operations. With Dynamics 365, you’ll have more flexibility and extensibility, all in a straightforward package.

Some of the specific answers addressed by Dynamics 365 include accounting, distribution, warehousing, and manufacturing solutions. Dynamics 365 can help you automate and scale these areas, as well as generally monitor and control them, for maximum efficiency.

Why Should I Use Microsoft Dynamics 365?

With Microsoft Dynamics 365, you have in one spot everything you need to manage and grow a business.

The Dynamics 365 modules allow you to connect your workers and processes across a multitude of applications thanks to the cloud-based storage solution. There is an AI included that does analytics and gives you a precise outlook of your data, allowing you to make better decisions for your next step.

With this platform, you don’t need to change the way you usually run things. The system adapts around your existing methods. Modules integrate new and present operations while scaling freely, welcoming future changes or expansion.

Finally, Microsoft Dynamics 365 lets you step into the modern tech world with its impressive social and AI-driven solutions. It does integrate your data so you can get a visual representation of its structure and interconnectivity. As part of Microsoft Enterprise Solutions, MS Dynamics 365 is designed to be all-inclusive, so you can better follow up on all internal and external tasks that derive from either long-term business strategies or any short-term plans.

Is Dynamics 365 for Small or Large Businesses?

When it comes to the size of operations, you’ve got two main packages to consider. These are the Dynamics 365 Business Central, and Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations options.

The former is best for small to medium-sized businesses, while the latter is better for large-scale operations. Business Central starts relatively basic but allows the company to scale up if needed. Finance & Operations comes with everything you need to manage finances, large-scale accounting, international company management, warehousing, and help you with data-driven strategies.

So, Dynamics 365 is a great and flexible solution that covers businesses of any size. It’s a highly customizable platform that works for and with you.

Modules Included

Microsoft Dynamics 365 comes packed with a ton of helpful modules for managing your business. Here’s a quick rundown of what we think is most notable.

Customer Service
With this Dynamics 365 module, you can engage with your customers through self-service portals and support agent solutions. You can track complaints, warranty claims, returns, and more with this simple module.

Customer Insights
One of the coolest parts of Dynamics 365 is the insight tools. These applications keep track of what your customers are doing. A built-in AI can trace the patterns of your customers’ journey, arranged into a beautiful, visually rich interface. This type of record is beneficial when you need to predict the best way to use your business data. It also gives insights about what you’re doing correctly and reveals possible areas for improvement. Customer insights are a great example of AI doing the hard work, alleviating the decision-making part.
Commerce
With robust user-centric supporting modules like the Customer Insights and Customer Service, the Commerce module comes as a natural continuation to 365’s package. It has the power to enhance the way providers engage with customers, making their shopping journey a memorable experience – across all channels.

Finance & Operations
This module offers a broad scope of financial analytics and reports. With it, you can handle scheduling, cost, production planning, and use your project management tools. It also covers your inventory and warehouse management.

Field Service
This module handles contracts, inventory, and IOT related insights. Skille marketers use it to communicate with customers and enhance their experience.

Talent
Talent is a cloud-based service. The module connects to LinkedIn, and HR managers use it to scout, profile, and recruit. It can be used for hiring and onboarding new employees. With it, you can find the people you are looking for faster, and use it to allocate workload better considering team members’ specific skill sets and expertise.

Sales
The Sales module gives you insights regarding productivity, performance, and customer engagement on the sales-end. With this module, you empower your sales force to recognize potential targets better. It goes way beyond simple transactions – it helps your team build solid relationships with your clients.

Marketing
Working with the Adobe Marketing Cloud, this module drives revenue by connecting marketing and sales services. It offers campaign management solutions, including targeted campaigns.

Project Service Automation
You can use this module for resource scheduling, cost and time management, even automating project planning. It’s also great for keeping track of engineering and consulting services, as well as expense submissions and time entry.

How Does Microsoft Dynamics 365 Work?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 isn’t just cloud-based; it’s also browser-based. That means there are no lengthy or technical installs, and you access it through your web browser.

Browser support takes the stress of updates, maintenance, and management out of the picture entirely as long as you have an internet connection and a device with a browser. Even better, Dynamics 365 integrates with other Microsoft apps like Outlook and Office, making for a smooth experience.

Is Power BI Included in Dynamics 365?

Microsoft’s Power BI tool—used for data insight by many organizations—has become a staple instrument. With it, you can connect data sets, and create meaningful charts and graphs out of all collected data.

While Power BL is not included in Dynamics 365, it can be purchased additionally. This option gives you a new way to visualize your business data. Dynamics 365 also integrates smoothly with Office 365 and Microsoft Azure environments.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Pricing

Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers role-based licensing and bundle options for flexibility. Considering this, Dynamics 365 can be very affordable compared to its competitors.

On the most affordable end, you have the Customer Engagement Plan. This plan is meant to support and build customer relations for your business. It costs roughly $115 per user monthly.

If you want to have all the apps that help manage your business at your disposal, there’s the Unified Operations Plan. That comes in at $190 per user, monthly.

Finally, the Dynamics 365 Plan, at $210 a month (per user), gives you the full arsenal – all the applications in the Dynamics 365 system period. You can get the combined power of these two packages, and for an excellent price.

Trust Microsoft Dynamics With Your Business

If you’re looking for an all-inclusive, one-stop solution for your CRM and ERP applications, look no further than Microsoft Dynamics 365. It’s one of the best options for managing your business today, and many growing businesses of all scopes and sizes serve as a live testament behind its legitimate potential.

If you’re looking for a custom software development company, check out Code Coda’s Enterprise Solutions Page and see how we can help you.

Author

Andreas Maier | CEO

Andreas is a result-oriented CEO who brings nearly 30 years of experience gained in the high-tech industry. His experience ranges up to leading positions in Fortune 100 companies such as rentalcars.com (PCLN) or Intrasoft International, a leading EU based R&D software vendor. He holds a Ph.D. in Neural Networks from the University of Cologne, Germany.
In the past Andreas has successfully founded and co-founded several startups among others XXL Cloud Inc., eShopLeasing Ltd, and WDS Consulting SA. His expertise is strongly focused on modern headless Commerce and the optimization of processes in IT ecosystems.