Microsoft Dynamics 365 apps

The Microsoft Dynamics 365 approach to business applications unifies Microsoft's current CRM and ERP cloud solutions into one cloud service with new purpose-built business applications that work together seamlessly to help you manage specific business functions.

Let's now get an insight at a high level into the various apps available in Dynamics 365. The following visual shows the apps and their association to ERP/CRM:

Now let's get personal with these apps starting with their names, their former solution base, and their brand logos. The following are the matrix of business solution enablers in Microsoft Dynamics 365 with their quick URL:

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales (popularly known as Dynamics CRM) https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/sales
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Service (popularly known as Dynamics CRM) https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-service
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service (popularly known as Dynamics CRM) https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/field-service
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation (popularly known as Dynamics CRM) https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/project-service-automation
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (popularly known as Dynamics AX) https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/operations
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Business edition (also known as Project Madeira and based on popularly known Dynamics NAV) https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/financials
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Talent https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/talent
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/retail
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/marketing
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer insights https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-insights

 

In the subsequent sections, we are elaborating these apps, giving a brief introduction to them and a summary of their key features.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales

Dynamics 365 for Sales empowers the sales teams in new and exciting ways by helping them sell more and faster.

The following is a visual from one of the screens showing a configurable dashboard from Dynamics 365 for Sales:

Dynamics 365 for Sales has a built-in digital intelligence and automated business processes to increase revenue while controlling acquisition costs. It allows you to win new and repeat business using a personalized sales process, allowing your sales team to quickly and easily use it day in and day out. By measuring the past and identifying leading indicators for future sales, it helps in maximizing your sales team's performance by reducing distractions and helping them focus on the priorities.

We would like to give a full suite coverage of modules/capabilities in Dynamics 365 for Sales with the help of the following visual:

As shown above, there are several modules/capability areas spanning Customers, Sales, Collateral, Marketing and other tools.

Also, identification of customers with the most potential and basing strategic decisions on digital intelligence is a great asset here. Personalizing every engagement is needed to gain insights into buyer's decision and using that insight for efficient sales management is possible with Dynamics 365 for Sales. Your sales team will be empowered to close deals faster by collaboration, application of contextual insights, and the ability to work anytime, anywhere with the tools they need.

We would like to share the top features in Dynamics 365 for Sales, which are as follows:

• Full suite opportunity management
  • Generation of new leads
  • Content collaboration
• Social selling capabilities
  • People enabler to share knowledge and participate in social conversations
• High visibility to information contest results
• Onsite services
• Motivates users to perform their best for themselves and their teams
• Increases performance, productivity, and adoption
• Efficiently manage customers
• Actionable insights into your organization sales performance

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Service

Dynamics 365 for Customer Service is an omni-channel solution to unify the way customers and prospects experience your business.
Similar to Dynamics 365 for Sales, there are a number of dashboards in Dynamics 365 for Customer Service as well. The following image depicts one of the dashboards:

One can create consistency and loyalty at all touch points across various experience channels such as self-service, peer-to-peer service, and assisted service. It also proactively addresses the issues by detecting the customers’ intent and social sentiment. Expect an increase in CSAT (customer satisfaction) and retention by providing personalized and consistent engagements and proactive addressing of service issues.
We would like to give a full suite coverage of the modules/capabilities in Dynamics 365 for Customer Service with the help of the following visual:

As shown in the preceding image, there are several modules/capability areas spanning Customers, Service, Collateral, and other tools.

Empower your customer service agents to gain actionable insights into customers' case histories, preferences, and feedback and provide guidance on entitlements and service-level agreements. When agents respond quickly to customer and market changes, you get the power of an agile, Cloud-based environment that has digital intelligence built in.

We would like to share the top features of Dynamics 365 for Customer Service as follows:

• Full suite omni-channel experience
• Agent enablement platform
• Leverage relevance search to quickly find information for better service experience
• Enable teams to perform customer oriented activities efficiently and timely
• Enabling customer for self service capabilities
• Knowledge and community management

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service

Dynamics 365 for Field Service is the new Microsoft Field Service application which drastically reduces your service costs and improves customer satisfaction.
Similar to Dynamics 365 for Sales and Dynamics 365 for Customer Service, there are a number of useful dashboards in Dynamics 365 for Field Service. Here is one such dashboard, utilized for scheduling the field staff:

The new solution is an intelligent, world-class Field Service, which includes scheduling, mobile, and resource optimization. This helps in maximizing efficiency, minimizing costs, and improving customer satisfaction.

We would like to give a full suite coverage of the modules/capabilities in Dynamics 365 for Field Service with the help of the following visual:

As shown above, there are several modules/capability areas spanning Sales, Service Delivery, Inventory & Purchase, and other tools.

The following are the top features of Dynamics 365 for field service:

• Optimize scheduling and dispatch
• Improve resource productivity
• Management and execution of services
• Asset and warranty management
• Mobility suite
• Service and Inventory management
• 360-degree customer centric experience enabler
• Leverage Internet of Things (IoT) to enable preemptive action from field service agents by connecting asset monitoring and anomaly detection so that action can be taken before failures occur, avoiding customer service issues

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation

Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation (PSA) lets you run your project-based business more productively and profitably.  You can create and execute more profitable projects and customer relationships and satisfy your clients.
Similar to other Dynamics 365 apps, there are a number of useful dashboards in Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation as well. The following screenshot depicts one such dashboard:

It helps in deepening customer engagement and building a trusted customer relationship by developing credibility and increasing customer confidence through a responsive engagement model. It also empowers your professionals with a collaboration-rich experience, enabling transparency across the business and empowering them to use their expertise to increase project productivity with every customer. It also helps you in prioritizing, innovation, and investment in service offers based on actionable insight.

We would like to give a full suite coverage of the modules/capabilities in Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation with the help of the following visual:

As shown above, there are several modules/capability areas spanning Customers, Sales, Billing, Planning and Delivery and other tools.
Here are the the top features in Dynamics 365 for project service automation:

• Contract management
• Resource management
• Time and expense management
• A number of capabilities in opportunity management
• Planning and collaboration platform for resources
• Team collaboration
• Customer billing
• Powerful unified resource scheduling
• Enhanced service billing experience
• Optimum talent utilization
• Analytics in project performance

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX)

Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition is a complete re-architecture of Dynamics AX to be a Cloud-first Azure service.  Microsoft offered users an interface that is so natural to use that they just use it with an accelerated adoption, thereby raising productivity.

Working seamlessly anywhere on any device and on any platform is among the key features that make Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition a game changer.

Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX) offers a wide variety of role-specific dashboards and work spaces to make work life easier for folks using day in and day out. The following screenshot shows a dashboard comprising of several work spaces in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX):

One can imagine a usage choice and Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition addresses it:

• Enterprise: End-to-end solution that manages the financials and core operations for a company
• 2-Tier Subsidiary: Solution that manages the financials and operations for subsidiaries or business units and integrates with the headquarters ERP
• Operational Workloads: Manages specific business functions/workloads of a business and integrates with corporate systems

It would be so nice to get a glimpse of all workloads available in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX) suggesting their core functionality. The following diagram shows a full-suite visual for various workloads:

As shown in the preceding diagram, there are several modules/capability areas spanning different workloads viz. vertical, horizontal/operational and administrative.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX) offers several deployment choices to its customers, suggesting the following options:

• Public Cloud/Azure:
  • Fully Cloud
  • Edge mode (Cloud and local)
• Private Cloud
• On-premise

We will be getting into the details of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX) throughout this book; however there are a few key features that are inline with other business apps as follows:

• Full-suite business management solution including enterprise class ERP functionalities with powerful financials
• Evolution of Dynamics AX on Azure
• Multiple industry capabilities viz. retail, distribution, manufacturing, public sector, and service industries; all built in a single solution
• Availability in 18 countries/markets with local compliance met and local language support
• Choice of running solution on the cloud (public/private) or on the premises

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Business edition (NAV)

Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operation, Business edition is more than accounting software. It is a comprehensive business management solution for small and mid-sized organizations that automates and streamlines business processes. Its pay-as-you-go enterprise-grade software can scale from one to unlimited users making it amongst the most scalable cloud accounting solutions.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for financials also has dashboards similar to the role drive dashboards in other Dynamics 365 apps:

It helps in the easy migration of the existing business data from a legacy system. Dynamics NAV is the pedigree that the Dynamics 365 for Financials platform was built on.

As of July 2017, Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operation, Business edition is available in the United States and Canada and soon other countries are expected as well from Microsoft. It is licensed by named users and has the option to choose between full user and limited user access.

Among several features in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operation, Business edition, the following are some of the key features for your platform evaluation: 

• Comprehensive business management solution for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs)
• As of July 2016, available only in the USA and Canada
• A business management solution for small and mid-sized organizations that automates and streamlines business processes

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail

Earlier, a part of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail is now separated as its own application as part of the Dynamics 365 product portfolio. Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail provides an intelligent platform to enable retailers to combine the best of digital and in-store to deliver personal, seamless, and differentiated customer experiences by empowering people and capturing insights to drive growth.

The following screenshot depicts a point of sale (POS) solution:

The following are the key features of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail:

• Personalize customer experiences throughout stores, web, mobile, and call centers
• Provide convenient, flexible ways to shop, such as in-store pickup or home delivery
• Offer cross-channel incentives, such as loyalty programs, gift cards, and promotions
• Deliver better services by giving employees access to real-time product, customer, inventory, and order details
• Offer more product selection and recommendations by blending the best of online and in-store shopping
• Get more control over store operations through automation and advanced operational capabilities
• Give customers the flexibility to buy in store, pick up in other locations, or have it delivered to their doorstep
• Improve employee productivity thorough schedules, time clock, and manager dashboards
• Simplify sales and promotional efforts by centrally managing your products and promotions
• Attract more customers by managing your assortments by channel and personalized offers
• Drive revenue by creating and targeting catalogs across channels, customers, and seasons
• Optimize fulfillment and enable the right level of inventory at right locations
• Get a centralized and cohesive view of your entire operations
• Finish end-of-day activities faster using automated and streamlined workflows
• Meet your changing business needs with a solution built for multi-company, multi-brand, and multi-channel global operations
• Take advantage of the latest innovations and opportunities with continuous application updates

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Talent

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Talent was an earlier part of the Finance and Operations, Enterpise edition and is now a separate SaaS-based independent offering out of Dynamics 365 Enterprise edition. If you have Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition, you already have the Talent application. Dynamics 365 for Talent brings your human capital management to the cloud for a mobile, employee-focused, strategic HR approach that helps you find and hire the right people, nurture success, and deliver high-impact, sustainable results.

The following is a talent solution dashboard showing various modules and capabilities:

At the high level, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Talent has the following modules and high-level functions.

Human resources

The human resources module's focus is to streamline the human resource management process. Here are the functionalities at a high level:

• Centralized HR programs such as benefits, leave and absent management, and compliance
• Create a personalized career path. Build competencies to meet future career demand. Increase employee engagement and satisfaction.
• Benefits and compensation management. Integration with payroll system 
• Powerful analytics

Attract 

The Attract experience allows you to build accurate candidate profiles, manage the interview process and shorten the time to hire.

• Integrates with LinkedIn to find and source top candidates
• Create accurate profiles by integrating disparate data
• Interview scheduling (coordinate calendars, automate the scheduling process, communicate with candidates on expectations)
• Allow interviewers to easily provide feedback from a mobile device or desktop
• Keep hiring managers in the loop at every stage

Onboard

The Onboard experience aims to enable a seamless on-boarding experience that accelerates the productivity and business impact of new hires.

• Create personalized pre-boarding and on-boarding plans
• Share critical resources and information to get your new hire productive
• Create on-boarding milestones and task lists
• Identify critical contacts and help make connections
• Monitor the success of on-boarding progress

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing

Dynamics 365 for Marketing is a comprehensive marketing service that can be leveraged to delight customers and personalize their experiences of your company/brand.

This is a unique service/app in Dynamics 365 targeting a crucial aspect in any organization: growth viz. marketing. The following is the landing page in Dynamics 365 for marketing:

As shown in the preceding screenshot, there are several modules/capability areas spanning Customers, Collateral, Marketing, and other tools.
It integrates with Adobe Marketing Cloud to deliver powerful customer experiences and give a holistic customer view. This unified customer profile is the foundation for building and running integrated, cross-channel marketing.

Your marketing teams can provide one-to-one personalized communications and send offers that automatically adapt to a customer's behavior. You can also orchestrate coordinated campaigns across different channels and measure return on investment (ROI) across the board.

This offering is expected to evolve in the same way as the other Dynamics 365 services/apps and we would like you to make a note of the following key features for Dynamics 365 for Marketing: 

• Comprehensive service to address modern marketing needs
• Collaboration with Adobe for Marketing Cloud
• Easily and effectively model and manage customer journeys across marketing and sales, lead management across marketing and sales

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer insights

Dynamics 365 Customer insights is built on top of Azure and Cortana Intelligent. It leverages data services and connects your Dynamics 365 data with any other data source. This enables you to have a 360 view of your customer and to better understand and engage with them.

Managing customers is amongst the dearest goals in any enterprise, and leveraging the Dynamics 365 for Customer insights gives you the power to gain a 360-degree perspective of your customers with actionable information:

Once the relationship assistant is enabled, you can review action cards that will automatically become available in the social pane in several primary records such as opportunities, accounts, cases, and so on. It uses the information derived from interactions to help guide your customer facing team's daily work, find critical opportunities, manage email communications, identify actionable email messages, and propose follow up activities.

The following are the salient features of Dynamics 365 for customer insights:

• Intelligent customer analytics
• Transform customer data into intelligence
• Completely new solution connecting and analyzing data from Dynamics 365 with business applications, web, social, and IoT sources
• Predictive intelligence applied to create a 360-degree customer view with automatic suggestions to improve customer engagement.