As we approach closer to the transition from Dynamics CRM to Dynamics 365, I want to provide more information as to what you can expect as a Dynamics CRM customer.
If you are a client of ours, we will be hosting an informational webinar the 2nd week of November and you will receive an invitation. This webinar will provide general information, transition pricing, and options. After the webinar, we will have scheduled one-on-one discussions with the appropriate folks in your company to discuss your specific company options and our recommendations. Nothing needs to be done soon, although you can take advantage of these after Nov 1st if it makes sense for your business. Everything else will wait until your current subscription date renewal.
If you are not currently a customer of ours, please contact our Sales department and let’s get that fixed!
Here are the basics of what you can expect during your transition to Dynamics 365.
First, the new landscape. Dynamics CRM will no longer be the product name moving forward. As of November 1st, it becomes Dynamics 365 and includes several new apps, including financials, and processes. There will be 2 flavors of Dynamics 365. One is called Dynamics 365 Business Edition and is focused on the SMB (Small and Medium Business) customer market. The other is Dynamics 365 Enterprise Edition and is focused on larger, more complex businesses. Each edition has its own financials App appropriate to the business.
Second, the old Dynamics CRM will be broken up into several Apps (applications). In Dynamics 365, both Business and Enterprise editions, you only subscribe to what you need and can expand later. Meaning that if your company just uses the Sales functions of CRM, you just subscribe to that. If you need Sales and Customer Service, you can just subscribe to that. If you want to add financials to your subscription, there is an easy option for that. You will have the ability to mix and match different license types based on your user’s needs. Again, as a reminder, these Apps are the same CRM functions and same screens you use today.
Third, you can subscribe by the App or, if you need more than one App, you can subscribe to a plan. We see most of our customers going the plan route and Microsoft makes it much more affordable to do so. Existing customers of Dynamics CRM Online will be automatically transitioned to Dynamics 365 Enterprise Edition Plan 1 when you chose to transition. We will then have options for you to add or subtract options as needed.
Of the 5000 slides Microsoft has provided and reviewed with us around this new transition (just a slight exaggeration), I only want to show these two today as they represent the new licensing construct for each version. First the Enterprise Edition.
Now the Business Edition – one recent change not on this graphic, there will be a Customer Service App added to the Sales and Marketing Apps shown.
As you can see, the Business Edition is scaled down to what the market shows smaller companies need. There is no requirement that a smaller company use only the Business Edition. These are packaged as recommendations – and priced accordingly. The “Coming Soon” designation on the slides represent the Spring 2017 release time frame.
The Plans represented on the slides include all the Apps listed below them.
Last item for today, there is a new license called Dynamics 365 for Team Members in each edition, you can see it in each slide at the bottom. This replaces the Basic license in play today and carries most of the rights it holds. This is a lower cost than the Basic license (by at least 2/3rds) and we will help you take advantage of that as much as possible.
Okay, I hope that sheds a little more light on what is coming. Later this week, in Dynamics 365 Transition – Part 2, I will post pricing but do it in the context of a typical customer in transition. If you just look at the new market prices for Dynamics 365 licenses, it is confusing and only part of the story. It can be very daunting without context. Sorry, I don’t mean to be annoyingly vague, there are just too many variables for existing customers as they – you – won’t pay the stated market rates during transition.
As always, this information is controlled by Microsoft and could change, although it is no longer under NDA.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have. We are here for you and will guide you through this every step of the way.
By Ken Farmer, President, xRM³, Microsoft Dynamics 365 partner, San Diego, Southern California. Click here to contact a Dynamics 365 expert.
