What Is Microsoft Dynamics 365? A Helpful Guide

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a customer relationship management (CRM) software from the big tech firm used by millions of employees around the world. The platform can perform tasks for a variety of different businesses, including sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, and more, with the goal of streamlining and organizing operations for your team.

As for the specifics, Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers a notably broad set of functionalities, ranging from tracking customer interactions and analyzing sales data to communicating with clients and managing task assignments. In earnest, the value of Microsoft Dynamics 365 depends heavily on what you actually need it for, and that’s where we’re happy to help.

In this guide, we’ll explain exactly what Microsoft Dynamics 365 is, what kind of modules are available, how much it costs, and why so many businesses use it to manage their operations.

Microsoft Dynamics Review

In Short

• Microsoft doesn’t need an introduction: Since the 1970s, the Microsoft powerhouse has become the typical underlying system of legacy enterprises everywhere, and at over 4.25M users, their CRM is no exception. Any Microsoft-friendly business should look to Microsoft Dynamics when adding or expanding their customer support. The Dynamics suite streamlines business operations and customer relation, is functional and remains well-priced for the industry.

30 Second Facts

• check Established: 1975
• check HQ: Redmond, WA, U.S.
• check Limited third-party integrations
• check Suite of CRM and ERP apps
• check Lacks intuitive interface

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What Is Microsoft Dynamics 365?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. It consists of multiple modules to help you manage different aspects of your business, from maintaining customer relationships and managing a complex supply chain to keeping track of finances and running human resources.

The Contact Center module for Microsoft Dynamics 365 tracks a lot of data for your team. Source: Microsoft

Microsoft Dynamics 365 modules

Depending on your business needs, you can purchase just a few of Dynamic 365’s modules or all of them. Here are the primary modules and what they do:

• Sales: Build a sales pipeline and track leads from acquisition to contract signing. (Also includes a marketing module.)
• Finance: Manage your finances with accounting software and tools for payroll, cash flow analysis, and accounts payable.
• Project Operations: Forecast and track project budgets, optimize how capital equipment is used, and manage project expenses.
• Human Resources: Recruit and onboard new employees, plus manage your workforce’s time off, benefits, and employee records.
• Customer Service: Manage customer service requests across multiple channels and ensure your customer service team is working effectively.
• Commerce: Create an online storefront, manage sales across multiple channels, and create personalized experiences for customers.
• Supply Chain Management: Visualize your supply chain and track parts from suppliers to finished products.
• Guides: Use mixed reality to enhance remote assistance and employee training.
• Field Service: Streamline field operations with scheduling, messaging, and work order management tools.
• Customer Insights: Analyze your audience based on past customer interactions and purchases, plus segment customers into groups for marketing and service.

Microsoft offers Microsoft Copilot as an add-on for many modules, giving you AI-powered tools and capabilities in addition to the standard features.

You can also add the Microsoft Power platform to your Dynamics 365 suite. This includes Microsoft Power BI, a business intelligence platform that provides in-depth analysis tools to help you optimize your company’s processes and maximize revenue.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 comes in many different modules, depending on your business needs. Source: Microsoft

Benefits of Microsoft Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365 can help your business in a variety of ways:

• Accelerating digital transformation: Dynamics 365 helps you digitize all of your business’ analog processes, like accounting, HR, and customer management. Digitization, in turn, makes it easier to access and analyze your data so you can find opportunities to improve your business.
• Improved customer relationships: Dynamics 365’s Sales and Customer Service modules enable you to track every customer interaction and deliver more personalized experiences. This can increase customer satisfaction and drive repeat purchases.
• Enhanced productivity: Dynamics 365 offers a wide range of workflow automations and tools to help your workforce be more productive, saving your business time and money.
• Better decision-making: Microsoft Dynamics 365 puts all of your business’s data in one place and gives you analytics tools to make data-driven decisions. You can use your data to increase sales, cut supply chain costs, and reduce operational expenses (to give just a few examples of what’s possible).
• Scalability: As mentioned, Dynamics 365 is divided into modules, so it’s easy to add new modules and capabilities as your business grows. This makes the software suitable for startups and enterprise-scale companies alike.

Does Microsoft Dynamics 365 Have AI Features?

Microsoft has been one of the biggest financiers of generative AI, partnering with OpenAI on a wide range of initiatives to bring the technology to millions around the world. In fact, Microsoft has its own AI chatbot, dubbed Microsoft Copilot,

Subsequently, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is filled with a wide range of AI features in virtually all of its modules, from Sales and Service to Project Operations and Customer Insights.

For example, in the Customer Service module, Copilot can perform a lot of tedious tasks, like summarizing cases, composing emails, and guiding customers to the knowledge base when it can answer their questions. Likewise, in the Sales module, Copilot is equipped to provide meeting preparation, score potential leads, and offer insight-driven tips on how to make a sale.

Suffice to say, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is filled with AI features that can help streamline your business. Yes, some say that Copilot is a bit of a disaster, but it’s certainly better than no AI, right?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 has AI features built in that can help guide you to improve your business. Source: Microsoft

How Much Does Microsoft Dynamics 365 Cost?

Pricing for Microsoft Dynamics 365 varies based on which business applications and capabilities you need.

For example, the Sales module starts at $65 per user per month, the Commerce module starts at $180 per user per month, and the Human Resources module starts at $120 per user per month. You can get a discount if you purchase multiple modules.

Small businesses can take advantage of Microsoft’s Business Central plan, which includes basic features from the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales, Finance, Human Resources, Project Operations, and Supply Chain Management modules. Business Central plans start at $70 per user per month.

Check out our Microsoft Dynamics review to learn more

Alternatives to Microsoft Dynamics 365

If you’re thinking about alternatives to Microsoft Dynamics 365, there are several strong options to consider—each bringing its own strengths to the table:

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		Free plan	Free trial	Starting price	Most expensive plan	Verdict	AI features
Salesforce	HubSpot	Freshsales CRM	Microsoft Dynamics 365	Zoho CRM
check	check	check	close	check
30 days	14 days	21 days	30 days	15 days
$25/user/month	$9/user/month	$9/user/month	$65/user/month	$14/user/month
$550/user/month	$3,600/user/month	$59/user/month	$150/user/month	$52/user/month
An incredibly popular and customizable CRM for all businesses, with excellent communication tools	An easy-to-use and highly scalable platform ideal for growing businesses, with an excellent free plan	A highly intuitive CRM that is packed with plenty of features and even has a free plan option	A robust CRM platform that embeds brilliantly with Microsoft products	An attractive option, with lots of features for a low price
Agentforce Einstein Bots Data 360	Breeze Assistant Breeze Agents Conversation Intelligence	Freddy AI companion Smart sales campaigns Fireflies.ai integration	Copilot access AI-powered writing assistance Customer insights	Zia scores Zia presentation Zia writing assistant

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Written By

Michael Graw

Michael is a prolific business and B2B tech writer whose articles have been published on many well-known sites, including TechRadar Pro, Business Insider and Tom's Guide. Over the past six years, he has kept readers up-to-date with the latest business technology, corporate finance matters and emerging business trends. A successful small business owner and entrepreneur, Michael has his finger firmly on the pulse of B2B tech, finance and business.

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