Microsoft Tools that Increase Performance in Asset Management by Extending CRM

Part 3 of a 3-Part Series: How Asset Management Firms are Redefining Sales and Services Using CRM and More

Most technology solutions can't meet what asset management firms need to be more profitable, productive, and successful. If you're using a “horizontal” CRM solution like Salesforce or a point solution like SalesPage, you are probably missing opportunities. Microsoft Dynamics 365 the capabilities to meet these needs and more.

In this 3-part series, we show you how CRM as an operational platform goes far beyond traditional CRM. “Does Your System Measure Up? What Asset Management Firms Need in CRM Software”, outlined the must-have components of a CRM software solution for Asset Management. “5 Reasons Why Asset Managers Should Make Machine Learning Part of Their Daily Routine…and Why Their CRM Software Should Help,” dived into machine learning and predictive analytics. Part 3 discusses tools beyond CRM provided by Microsoft--tools which you likely already have--that will help further improve performance.

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The right tools can mean the difference between a productive day and a frustrating one for an asset manager.

No doubt, your organization is already using some Microsoft applications such as Outlook Exchange, Word, and Excel. Is your CRM connected to these tools? It should be. Tracking email activities, appointments, phone calls, and tasks with your Office tools integrated directly with your CRM software will help you make the most of all your systems, saving time and resources.

If your CRM software doesn’t directly sync with your other Office systems, you can’t do things like inline editing with Excel online, use Excel templates to import data directly from CRM, or distribute an updatable Excel spreadsheet.

LinkedIn and Microsoft Dynamics 365/CRM

Since Microsoft owns LinkedIn, the integration between Microsoft Dynamics 365 and LinkedIn is very powerful. Records in your CRM, for both companies and individuals, can automatically be linked back to LinkedIn Sales Navigator. If a contact’s email address in CRM matches an email address in LinkedIn, you will automatically see that person’s information. Likewise, within LinkedIn Sales Navigator, if you want to track a new lead, it can be synchronized between LinkedIn and CRM. This benefit is available only with Dynamics 365/CRM

Other asset management tools and Microsoft Dynamics 365

Of course, you use Outlook, Excel, and Word. But Microsoft Office 365 has so much more to offer asset managers.  Because OneNote integrates with Dynamics 365, you can take notes at meetings and then easily distribute them or store them for later referral within your CRM. SharePoint and OneDrive will also integrate with your CRM at the individual record level to facilitate sharing and collaboration.

Working on a proposal response to an RFP and being able to collaborate directly within OneDrive and have that linked back to the RFP (which is posted inside CRM) is just one of many examples of how SharePoint integration within Dynamics can make an asset manager’s day much more productive.

Microsoft Teams allows you to pull data from your CRM, OneNote, OneDrive, SharePoint and other applications for sharing and collaboration. If you are using market data feeds about a particular opportunity or account, that data can appear in Microsoft Teams and become the viewpoint from which you can reference all the collaboration about a specific item within CRM.

Power BI, with its reporting and analytics, is critically important for asset managers. Consolidate your CRM data with data from other sources for a single, complete view.

Microsoft Flow is the way to integrate your CRM with other business-critical tools. Flow is an integration point to Dynamics, but also to the entire suite of Microsoft products and it extends connectivity to dozens of third-party applications that you may already have.

Power tools help you customize your systems without having to touch code

Azure Machine Learning has a visual tool that allows you to apply of algorithms and learning mechanisms for data to produce Web services that can be used within CRM to evaluate the likelihood of winning a specific RFP.

PowerApps lets you extend your data beyond CRM into more of an XRM model that creates custom user interfaces by drag and drop, no coding required, for a smartphone, PC, or tablet.  External data and CRM information can coexist using Microsoft’s Common Data Service. Gathering transactional data across the industry allows asset managers to see which firms are trading on your buying agreements, and where to focus your sales efforts.

If you’d like to explore more ways that Microsoft Dynamics 365 can help you leverage the best asset management tools, contact our financial services experts at AKA Enterprise Solutions.