Dynamics 365

Do you currently have Microsoft Dynamics on-premise? Making the change to the cloud with Dynamics 365 Online could make all the difference to your business.

Microsoft Dynamics is a great solution for all your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) needs – but managing your ERP/CRM environment on-premise often is not the most efficient approach to take, and you will be missing out on all the benefits that Dynamics 365 has to offer. Perhaps your IT team is spending a lot of their time troubleshooting problems that crop up, or maybe you are tired of continuously scheduling server upgrades (along with the associated costs that come with these).

As Dynamics 365 is a cloud-based solution, it means a streamlined, smoother experience where you receive the latest updates automatically – whereas on-premise versions will not receive many (if any) feature updates after a certain point, only security patches. So adopting Dynamics 365 allows you to always have the most up-to-date, comprehensive system in place and leverage all the benefits of the new releases Microsoft provides.

In the coming years, Microsoft will end support for Dynamics 2013 and 2015. While this doesn’t mean they will simply stop working, it does mean that Microsoft will no longer provide security updates for the products, nor will they ensure that current and future products are backwards compatible with out-of-support versions of Dynamics. With this in mind, now is the time to consider a new way of doing things.

But making the switch over to Dynamics 365 will not be a time-consuming headache. Microsoft has made sure to make it as painless as possible with tools available to help you migrate your data without incurring significant costs.

There are also plenty of other ways your business will benefit from transitioning across to Dynamics 365. Here are just a few of the many benefits you will see.

Microsoft Dynamics 365. [credit: Microsoft.com]
Microsoft Dynamics 365. [credit: Microsoft.com]

Infrastructure

Managing your IT infrastructure on-site may initially seem like a good idea – letting you feel fully in control of your systems. But it can end up being more hassle than it’s worth. When you move to the cloud with Dynamics 365 Online, Microsoft will look after all the infrastructure for you. That means your IT team is freed up to spend their time on other more important tasks, and Microsoft will handle all the updates, repairs, and troubleshooting instead.

Scalability

Like all of Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 Online is designed with scalability in mind. You determine how much server space you require, and your licence is based on your consumption rather than the product – meaning you see cost savings through only paying for what you use. Dynamics 365 provides greater agility and flexibility for your business too. If you need additional server space – or to decrease what you have – at any time, it is quick and easy to make the change through Microsoft, so you have the right amount of space you need, with no downtime.

Security

How confident are you in the security of your on-premise solutions? If you haven’t already read it, our recent Cyber Security blog outlines the importance of including cyber security as part of your digital strategy. With so many threats to security out there, it’s essential you proactively protect all your systems. A cloud solution – such as Dynamics 365 – is most likely the safest option for you, particularly as Microsoft’s security offerings are second-to-none. Microsoft’s security team are continually monitoring threats and improving security to keep your systems secure – and they also backup your system and data every day too.

Cost

One of the biggest benefits of moving across to Dynamics 365 Online is the cost savings you will see. When you manage your servers on-premise, the costs can quickly add up. From the teams needed to manage and maintain the servers, to replacing the servers when they become outdated, these are all costs you could avoid with the Dynamics 365 cloud solution. Instead you can simply pay based on what your business demands which will improve cashflow by only paying for what you need, when you need it – rather than requiring large infrastructure set-up and maintenance costs.

Mobility

Now more than ever, it is vital to empower your teams to work from anywhere, using any device. This flexible way of working is necessary whether people are working on-the-go, remotely, or in the office. You can ensure business continuity for employees to access data and information from wherever they are using the cloud-based Dynamics 365, rather than them needing to rely on accessing on-premise servers.

Data

Your data is not locked up on-site with Dynamics, as it is with an on-premise version. As your data is in the cloud, it can be accessed by different applications – such as the Power Platform apps to help improve your business processes. Power Automate can use the data to automate various processes for you, while Power Apps can let you access the data to create bespoke, low-code, applications, and Power BI lets your teams use self-service analytics to easily query data in Dynamics 365 without needing to open the application. The Insights add-on can also highlight trends and sentiment with your customer relationships, as well as make predictions about that relations using AI too.

Integration 

The cloud-based Microsoft 365 suite of applications all integrate seamlessly with each other to provide a strong user experience that connects different workflows and enables effective collaboration. Dynamics 365 Online effortlessly integrates with Office 365, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Power Platform, among many other tools. This means you can digitise your operating model to provide a seamless user experience where through a simple, unified interface everyone in your organisation has access to all the information they need. 

More functionality

In addition to all these benefits, there is also always new functionality on the horizon for Dynamics 365 to further help how your business operates. Microsoft are continually investing in their cloud platform to bring you regular releases with new and improved features, without any development effort needed on your side. The way we work in an increasingly digital world continues to evolve – and by embracing Microsoft cloud technology, you can stay ahead of the curve.

When it comes to taking the next step in your digital transformation journey, it can feel like a lot to take on. You may think, why change something that is currently working for you? But what it comes down to is – your business could be operating in a more intelligent and effective fashion, that ultimately increases workforce productivity and saves your organisation money.

While many of the features Dynamics 365 Online may be available in the on-premise version – there is so much more to it than initially meets the eye, and you’ll quickly see a significant improvement in the agility, flexibility, and convenience it brings.

Are you ready to make the switch over to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Online? If you would like to find out more about how it can help your organisation, speak to our team of Microsoft 365 specialists today, and we can help you take the next step in improving your business efficiency.

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