The first blog in a series on integrating Dynamics 365 (CRM) with your ERP solution.

Many organizations today are figuring out how to add emerging technologies to integrate with their existing solution stack. It has become more important than ever to be able to access multiple applications throughout the workday, all while on the go or working remotely. We are no longer working only at our desks; we’re out in the field, at customer sites, and on our mobile devices needing to act quickly and effectively. Microsoft understands the way we are working today and has adapted the Dynamics 365 applications from ERP to CRM to be accessible on any device, anywhere you work.

Discussions with our clients have yielded clues into their various reasons for needing a CRM platform like Dynamics 365 alongside their ERP. Four of these reasons continually rose to the top more than any others, and we’re happy to go over them below.

1. Visibility

Information in silos is a very common issue that organizations today are dealing with. Since we work with so many applications throughout the day, it makes sense to use a platform like Dynamics 365 with interconnected systems, to allow us to gain a full view of our business. Whether you are sending an email, checking on an opportunity in the pipeline or viewing a Power BI report, you can do it all within the Dynamics 365 platform.

Dynamics 365 features that improve visibility:

• LinkedIn Sales Navigator integration
• OneDrive and SharePoint document storage
• Artificial intelligence; Relationship and Email Insights
• Customer Insights

2. Access Information Anywhere

The beauty of the Microsoft Cloud is that it enables you to access the platforms and systems you need anytime, anywhere. You no longer need to be at your desk in order to communicate with a client or make a quick update to the system. Dynamics 365 works with your actual life – having your morning coffee and reading the news on your phone or being on the go at your kid’s soccer game.

Access info anytime and anywhere with these features:

• Dynamics 365 embedded in Teams
• Co-author documents in Office 365
• Communicate with coworkers through the Teams mobile app

3. Maintain Integrity of Information

Have you ever saved important information about a client on a sticky note? Or recorded some important info about an account on a spreadsheet and saved it to your desktop? We all know that analog information is not likely going to get into the hands of the rest of your organization using that process. Eliminate duplication of information and encourage sharing knowledge across departments. New features like AI Builder and business card scanner functionality make it easy and painless to get that all-important information into the system so everyone in the organization can benefit.

Sustain the integrity of your valuable information by:

• Using SharePoint to access the same file from multiple locations
• Use Dynamics 365 Mobile Application to enter information in real time, in the right application
• Creating PowerApps for your users to capture data
• Leverage Objects Detection in AI Builder to identify and upload information

4. Ability to be Proactive

Microsoft Dynamics 365 has plenty of features and functions to enable you to be proactive in your business. Sales and Customer Service Insights within Dynamics 365 lets you view your interactions with customers in an easy to view manner. Take action fast when you have access to insights about your business.

Stay proactive in your workday by:

• Setting trigger points in the system as to when to contact clients
• Use Customer Insights to gain an overall view of your customer’s behaviour
• Metrics will ensure you convey the right information to the right audience by capturing interactions, preferences and purchase history
• Better predict what your customer will need next with Sales Insights

The modern workplace has moved from only the brick and mortar office to anywhere we need to go throughout the day. Dynamics 365 ERP, CRM and Office 365 applications are designed with that in mind, and new features and functionalities are added regularly to help you work more efficiently and collaboratively across systems.

These four top reasons listed are only scratching the surface of all the ways an integrated platform like Microsoft Dynamics 365 enables you to benefit from one experience across all your business applications. If you’d like to speak to us about how Dynamics 365 can improve your business, please connect with us.