In today’s blog post, I want to review the transition pricing for a small to mid-size customer using a typical customer example. This transition from Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Microsoft Dynamics 365 can be as complex, or as easy, as you want to make it. This post will be longer than normal but the information is important.
Before I get into it, first, a few disclaimers…
Disclaimer 1 – Microsoft has provided Dynamics partners with 10’s of hours of video webinars as well as 1000’s of PowerPoint slides and FAQ pages to try and explain this to us and allow us to explain to customers. In addition, as part of Microsoft’s preview program, we have more webinars and slides to add to the pile. I have seen several people post a couple pricing slides or examples on the web with very little context. Not delivering the whole story can be misleading.
Disclaimer 2 – As partners, we don’t set the software price nor guarantee that price for any length of time. We relate what Microsoft provides and give you guidance – not only on the pricing but the vision and added functionality. Plenty of folks can sell you a license but…
Disclaimer 3 – Each Dynamics CRM customer needs to have a conversation with their partner regarding their specific options and growth plans to get the best idea of what they should do. If you are a customer of ours, we will schedule a one-on-one call or meeting to review it with you. If you are not yet a customer of ours, ?
I plan to use a simple example today to review the pricing levels for a small/medium customer (40 users) transition. Please understand, this really just covers a small part of the pricing picture. You and your partner need to discuss the functionality you need today and how to license it the most efficiently and then discuss how to leverage all the new features and analytics moving forward.
Also, understand that pricing is not even the biggest story with Microsoft Dynamics 365, just the one customers ask about first. Microsoft Dynamics 365 is really about better customer engagement and providing an intelligent, data driven experience for Dynamics 365 users. This transition is about using smarter systems to better engage customers and make it easier for people to get their work done. License only what you need and scale it as your business needs change. More on this in another post.
Ok, back to transition pricing. If you recall from my last post (The Transition to Microsoft Dynamics 365 – Part 1), Microsoft has made the decision that all Dynamics CRM Online customers will first transition to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Enterprise Plan 1. To refresh, there will be a Business level set of apps and an Enterprise level. The Business Apps won’t be available until Spring of 2017. Enterprise is the CRM functionality you have today.
Dynamics 365 Enterprise Plan 1 provides a customer with all of the Apps available minus the ERP app, which in Enterprise is called Operations and is based on AX7 (more in a future post). So right off the bat, after transition, a customer has access to several apps they have to pay extra for now. Included are Project Service, Field Service Automation, Power Apps, and each Enterprise Plan 1 org gets 1 portal included. Those apps are currently $35 each per user per month plus the portal is $500 per month per org. Yep, included in Enterprise Plan 1.
Microsoft has also changed the data storage policies by doubling the base storage included and providing even more based on user count. We haven’t found any of our customers who will be paying for additional storage under the new allocations.
Here is an example of a 40 user customer with a mix of CRM Pro and Basic licenses as well as the additional storage. I have their current pricing at the top and different examples listed below.
With this first Transition Pricing example, this customer will go from $2,300 a month to $2,680 a month with no changes. This is just straight one-to-one licensing transition. By working with your partner, there are several questions to answer about the roles your users have and if it would be best to license several users for just one app – Microsoft allows you to mix and match your license types. Maybe only 10 users need the Plan 1 license (access to all the apps) while the other 20 only need the Sales app. Just that simple change drops the cost $200 per month and closer to what you are paying now.
As you can see, just in this simple example, there are multiple options for customers. The best source for information on those options is your who has put in the time to understand the options available.
In our next post, we will discuss the different apps that are available and how this all ties into your regular Dynamics CRM Fall release. The Microsoft Dynamics 365 transition and Fall release are happening together. Great new functionality coming in the Fall release that you won’t want to miss out on. Here is just one teaser – real, inline, baked in, editable grids!
As always, this information is controlled by Microsoft and could change, although it is no longer under NDA.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have. We are here for you and will guide you through this every step of the way.
By Ken Farmer, President, , Microsoft Dynamics 365 partner, San Diego, Southern California. Click to contact a Dynamics 365 expert.
