Advancing technology has paved newer avenues for businesses to increase collaboration, communication, and, ultimately, efficiency.
Technologies like cloud-based application suites and platforms have allowed businesses to mitigate computing costs and elevate efficiency. An excellent example of such a solution is Microsoft Dynamics 365. This suite offers assistive technology that acts as a one-stop-shop for all CRM and ERP related needs, eventually eliminating the need for on-premises environments.
However, Dynamics 365 works better when paired with complementary technology to offer peak performance to businesses. That’s why leading organizations have started using this platform with Office 365 applications like Word, Excel, and SharePoint to promote efficiency and, consequently, improve productivity.
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How does collaboration help businesses?
Microsoft Office offers simple yet powerful tools for business operations, allowing users to standardize data, consolidate sheets, protect information, and do a lot more on a single platform.
However, using Office 365 in isolation means businesses lose valuable time and effort switching between apps as they perform the simplest of tasks like copying data or deleting it. This promotes inefficiency and increases the probability of human error when dealing with multiple apps at once.
This margin for error and inefficiency can be eliminated from the equation if MSPs combine Office 365 with Dynamics 365.
Together, Office 365 and Dynamics 365 create a powerful resource that helps businesses unify processes and data through applications – driving efficiency, ensuring security, and comprehensively serving customers.
This unification creates a flexible solution that makes businesses more competitive.
How Dynamics 365 and Office 365 work together to help your business
1. Improved customer interactions
Building customer relations is a core function of any business as it guarantees recurring sales, allowing the enterprise to grow.
The Dynamics 365 and Office 365 integration acts as a catalyst for these relations. It allows salespeople to access, work on, and take action on critical data within a single window as well as on the go.
In a conventional setting, if a salesperson receives an order request, they would have to connect with other departments to learn about past transactions, available inventory, and additional information about the customer.
But if they have access to the Dynamics 365 + Office 365 combo, they can use the CRM to identify the potential customer and find all the relevant details. Within a few moments, the salesperson will be able to place an order with the vendor to refill inventory while also sending a quote to the potential buyer, all from the same window.
You can do this and more on the go, and without a glitch – customer response times are reduced, which improves customer satisfaction, drives more sales, and leads the business on a growth trajectory.
2. Less time spent switching between stand-alone apps
Disconnected systems lead to unproductive operations for a business.
MSPs integrate Dynamics 365 and Office 365 to make sure that salespeople don’t have to spend valuable time switching back and forth between applications to collect relevant information.
Using standalone apps in different windows doesn’t just diminish productivity; it can also bring entire businesses to a halt because of rampant inefficiencies. However, by bundling Dynamics and Office 365, MSPs allow their clients to save time on redundant administrative tasks.
MSPs incorporate the two apps together for their clients, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of integration without worrying about the processes involved.
Managed Service Providers also configure data security to make sure that compliance requirements are met at all times.
3. Foster collaboration and communication
Organizational silos are a common problem in most organizations, regardless of size. Without a proper platform to encourage the exchange of information between individuals and departments, business productivity tends to suffer.
MSPs can help eliminate this issue by broadening organizational visibility using D365 as it provides a single-window where all relevant information from different departments can be accessed. When the sales team has clear visibility of internal actions within the company, they can communicate with potential customers with authority. The integration of the one-window solution in Office 365 helps salespeople offer information, send quotes, and provide updates to customers.
This integration also ensures a seamless collaboration and flow of communication between departments, allowing the CRM to automate information and make it available to the sales team so they can take relevant and timely actions.
4. Simplified reporting
Reporting is a core aspect of many business functions. From sales teams to production and accounting, everyone is required to analyze performance, gain insights, and report figures accordingly. Streamlining and automating these operations translates to reduced errors and improved productivity.
This is another area where the integration between the two platforms helps. While accountants update Excel sheets and publish them onto Dynamics 365, salespeople create insightful reports from D365 data within seconds, making reporting a hassle-free job for everyone.
Furthermore, MSPs can ensure that these reports are available to the entire organization, fostering the free flow of data within the enterprise for greater productivity and growth.
5. Enhanced ability to work on the go
While some individuals prefer to work remotely from home, others have to work on the go. For instance, sales representatives spend most of their day in the field and require remote access to data about clients, warehouses, and inventory.
Office 365 and Dynamics 365 combine to put all the relevant information like the inventory count or customer orders within a single interface to promote efficient performance.
6. Accelerated user adoption
The integration of D365 and MS Office allows sales teams to access relevant information with ease and convenience. Since everything is automated and put at the user’s disposal, it doesn’t require extensive training to get the best from this setup.
Teams can seamlessly switch to Microsoft BI and acquire detailed monthly reports to understand performance on the whole and take corresponding actions. Moreover, custom dashboards and vibrant visuals within the Microsoft BI-generated report simplify access to critical insights from D365 data.
Learn how easy it can be to resell Dynamics 365 under the CSP program with our guide
Applications of the Dynamics 365 and Office 365 integration
If you are wondering how you can leverage D365 and productivity tools from MS Office, you might like the integration between Office 365 and Dynamics 365 and what it can do for you.
MSPs can make the integration useful in the following ways.
Outlook
MS Outlook can be integrated with Dynamics 365 to allow the sales force to track emails, make phone calls, and do much more within one window. The relevant data can also be made available offline for remote access.
Excel
Comparing critical data in Excel is a core aspect of making insightful decisions. D365 integration with Excel allows users to avoid switching between different sheets. In turn, this leads to swifter business decisions that are crucial for creating a competitive edge.
Microsoft Power BI
This analytics tool can be combined with Dynamics 365 to analyze data for different scenarios. You can create custom dashboards and data visualizations through this integration, which can help gain valuable insights for your organization.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams provides valuable information sharing and management facilities for teams across projects – combining it with D365 means easier tracking of client meetings, conversation files, and even sales opportunities.
SharePoint
SharePoint helps with the management of storage spaces. Using it with Dynamics 365 can allow businesses to become more efficient with storage spaces as customer data automatically links to its records. The integration also allows you to collaborate and work on files with people outside your organization.
In a nutshell
Both Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Office 365 offer excellent business solutions.
However, integrating the two platforms elevates enterprise productivity by a significant margin. It’s why most leading MSPs today are proposing the blend of the two for better outputs.
