Upgrading Dynamics CRM on Premise to Dynamics 365 – A Comprehensive Guide
Dynamics 365, Microsoft’s latest offering in the customer relationship management (CRM) space, is quickly gaining traction amongst businesses of all sizes. This cloud-based platform combines the power of several tools including Dynamics CRM, Office 365, and Power BI to offer a seamless and integrated experience for customer engagement and sales automation.
If your business is currently using Dynamics CRM On-Premises, it’s time to consider upgrading to Dynamics 365 to take advantage of the numerous benefits this platform offers. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at what upgrading entails and how to go about the process.
Why Upgrade to Dynamics 365?
There are several reasons why upgrading to Dynamics 365 makes sense for businesses of all sizes:
1. Cloud-Based: Dynamics 365 is a cloud-based platform, which means you can access it from anywhere, on any device. This eliminates the need for expensive infrastructure and hardware upgrades, as well as the associated maintenance costs.
2. Seamless Integration: As mentioned earlier, Dynamics 365 is an integrated platform that seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft tools such as Office 365 and Power BI. This means that you can manage your customer relationships, sales, data analytics, and more, all in one place!
3. Improved Customer Engagement: Dynamics 365 offers a range of powerful customer engagement features that can help you improve customer satisfaction and retention rates. Features such as social listening and sentiment analysis enable you to stay ahead of customer needs and deliver personalized experiences.
4. Scalability: As your business grows, Dynamics 365 can grow with you. With the ability to add and remove users as needed, and the flexibility to scale up or down seamlessly, Dynamics 365 helps you keep pace with changing customer demands.
How to Upgrade to Dynamics 365?
If you’re considering upgrading to Dynamics 365, here are the steps you’ll need to follow:
1. Evaluate Your Current Environment: Before you can begin the upgrade process, you need to assess your current environment, including your existing hardware and infrastructure requirements.
2. Plan the Upgrade: Once you’ve evaluated your environment, you’ll need to plan the upgrade process. This will involve determining which version of Dynamics 365 you want to upgrade to, and how you will migrate your data, customizations, and configurations.
3. Test the Upgrade: Before you commit to the upgrade, it’s important to test it in a non-production environment to ensure that everything is working as expected. This will help you identify any issues or potential roadblocks before you go live.
4. Migrate Your Data: Once you’ve tested the upgrade and are satisfied that it’s ready to go live, you can migrate your data from your current Dynamics CRM On-Premises environment to Dynamics 365.
5. Configure Customizations: After you’ve migrated your data, you’ll need to configure any customizations and integrations that you had in your previous environment. This will ensure that you can continue to work with the same tools and processes that you’re used to.
6. Train Your Users: Finally, it’s important to provide training to your users to ensure that they’re familiar with the new platform and understand how to use it effectively. This will help to minimize disruption and ensure a smooth transition to Dynamics 365.
Conclusion
Upgrading from Dynamics CRM on Premise to Dynamics 365 may seem like a daunting task, but with the right planning and execution, it can be a seamless and rewarding experience. By making the switch, you can take advantage of new features and capabilities that will help you improve customer engagement, streamline sales automation, and drive business growth.