Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 Available Worldwide – MSDynamicsWorld.com
Microsoft has announced that Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 is now available both online and on-premise in 130 markets and in 44 languages. The release, which Redmond is touting as its “most comprehensive ever,” is aimed at helping companies deliver “intelligent customer engagement.”
“Over the past few years, we have been focused on transforming our CRM offerings to leverage the full power of Microsoft – harnessing the strength of the intelligent cloud to help companies deliver amazing customer experiences across the breadth of sales, service, marketing and social engagements,” said Jujhar Singh, the new general manager of Dynamics CRM.
Last month, Singh was tapped to head up Dynamics CRM following the departure of Bob Stutz, who moved to rival Salesforce to fill the role of chief analytics officer.
Microsoft’s strategy for the new version of Dynamics CRM has been to allow organizations to be more proactive, deliver more personalized experiences to customers, as well as better predict trends and identify patterns; that is, to know what customers need and want before they do, Singh said in a new blog post.
“We’re bringing all Microsoft has to offer in productivity and intelligence into a single experience,” he said. “We’re bringing the advanced analytics and machine learning capabilities of the Cortana Analytics Suite to preview our first intelligent, adaptive processes for sales, customer service and social.”
The integration with Cortana will enable “intelligent selling” with cross-sell recommendations so sales reps can predict which products and services customers will need at various stages of the sales cycle, according to Singh.
Additionally, the software can analyze data from social networks to predict new sales leads or detect customer service issues. And the collaboration with Delve, Microsoft’s enterprise search tool, will help uncover trending content that is most relevant to what a person is working on, Singh said.
Microsoft is also delivering enhancements in productivity, mobility and customer service, he added.
Dynamics CRM 2016 better integrates with Microsoft’s productivity tools, including Office 365. Microsoft has also enhanced the CRM app for Outlook; simplified the creation of personalized sales documents in Word; and enabled CRM documents to be shared across SharePoint, Office 365 Groups and OneDrive for Business.
In terms of mobility, CRM 2016 offers full offline capabilities on phones and tablets that synchronizes once the device is back online. Users can also create task-based mobile apps, and the integration with Cortana uncovers data for key sales activities, accounts and deals, according to Singh.
Beyond this release, Singh and the CRM team already have plans for what he calls “the next phase of our journey.”
“As we look to the future, we will continue to combine the strength of the intelligent cloud platform to our business application service where organizations will be empowered and proactive – saving costs, increasing customer loyalty and even saving patient lives. For example, combining the field service capabilities from FieldOne with the power of the Azure IoT suite, will be able to deliver predictive maintenance right to the user, so companies can move away from a break-fix model to actually provide service before a breakdown. This will save time while creating efficiencies and predictability and increasing customer loyalty.”
Microsoft’s FieldOne acquisition was finalized only last week, but, figured significantly in Dynamics CRM 2016. The Dynamics industry team had been thinking about systems of intelligence and “servitization” for quite some time. Beyond improving service delivery, companies are thinking about usage-based billing, or structuring the costs of equipment not on the equipment itself, but its use. Such arrangements can be driven by IoT-related sensors and computing technology and they also fit nicely into big data and analytics-related market opportunities for manufacturer and their field services organization – all capabilities enabled by FieldOne.
The new release also introduces new pricing geared toward customer service. The Service Productivity for Office 365 package includes all the new service capabilities of CRM 2016 – delivered via CRM Online – for $65 per month. Dynamics CRM Online Professional will also be offered as an add-on to for Office 365 Plan E3, E5 and Business Premium licensees at a rate of $50 per user per month.