If you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, at some point in the next 12 months you’ll be confronted a question. How do you want to manage the transition to Microsoft Dynamics 365? We recently hosted a and the most questions by far came from existing Dynamics CRM users nervous about the future.
First some good news:
- The look and feel of Dynamics 365’s CRM experience is almost identical to Dynamics CRM. Your users may notice some cosmetic changes but nothing that should slow them down.
- There are new licensing options that may actually save you money. Seriously, Microsoft has special transition pricing that offers current customers a great deal.
- If you’ve always dreamed of integrating your CRM, email, BI and finance solutions, Dynamics 365 breaks down the barriers and lowers the complexity significantly.
Now some really not all that bad news:
- Yes, you have to take a little time to figure which of the Dynamics licensing schemes work best for each of your user roles. But truthfully, this isn’t much more difficult than looking at a map and figuring out the best way to get from Chicago to L.A.
- In some cases, your total licensing fees may increase. Hopefully, the extra goodies Microsoft has included in Dynamics 365 (i.e., free portal, additional storage, better Outlook App) will more than make up for it.
- As with any update, you’ll want to keep an eye on your customizations to make sure they come out the other side intact.
I’m won’t get into all the different Plans and pricing permutations here. However, your CRM admin has probably received an email notification with links to helpful information. Something that looks like this:
They will also receive alerts in their CRM message center. Naturally, a friendly Microsoft partner is probably willing to help guide you through the transition. If you don’t have a friendly Microsoft partner, .
By Mark Abes, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at , Microsoft Cloud CRM Partner, San Diego, Southern California
