The Dynamic Changes in Dynamics 365 in the Spring 2018 Release

James Phillips, the Corporate Vice President of the Microsoft Business Applications Group, announced the spring 2018 release for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Business Applications on March 21, 2018. He said – “We’re unleashing a wave of innovation across the entire product line with hundreds of new capabilities and features in three core areas: new business applications; new intelligent capabilities infused throughout; and transformational new application platform capabilities.”

Being a giant in the technology solutions industry, Microsoft continuously seeks feedback, suggestions and honest opinions from users to explore and enhance untouched possibilities in its solutions. The evolution of its capabilities and features started from the feedback, product reviews and requests for services from extremely committed Microsoft Dynamics service providers and many changes were suggested for the existing Dynamics 365 solution. We know that Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a comprehensive and intelligence-infused suite of business applications that covers a number of business verticals and processes, including marketing, sales, service, operations, finance, recruitment, logistics and commerce. It is now integrated with capabilities spanning the Microsoft Cloud that supercharge Dynamics 365, creating an unmatched platform for digital transformation.

Change is the Only Thing That is Permanent

In the spring release of Microsoft Dynamics 365, the expansion of Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations Business Edition added the full capabilities of Dynamics NAV, and in all likelihood, the new solution debuted as Dynamics NAV 2018 R2. The changes that empowered the modules of Dynamics 365 can be summed up in the following points.

The Availability

Based on NAV, Microsoft launched Dynamics 365 in the cloud and it has been made available in a number of countries, including the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, and Finland. With the cloud version of this spring release, it has become an ideal solution with its state-of-the-art extensibility model to target the small and medium business market, enabling customers to bring all their knowledge and expertise to the next level.

Setting the Price

In this 2018 release, simplifying the pricing structure and product offering for Microsoft Dynamics 365 is termed as the biggest change. Microsoft now offer a single collection of Dynamics 365 applications to transform organizations digitally across all lines of business – Marketing, Sales, Service, Finance, Operations, and Talent – at their own pace.

Pricing and Package

Having separate editions of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for different needs is a thing of past. Instead of a Business Edition and an Enterprise Edition, the 2018 release allows organizations of any size to choose different price points for each line of business application based on the level of competencies and capacity required for smooth functioning. For example, Dynamics 365 for Marketing is now offered in multiple pricing and package with a diverse range of functionality.

The Portfolio

Smaller organizations often prefer to integrate an end-to-end business management solution to look after all the aspects and needs of their business. The spring release of Microsoft Dynamics 365 wiped out the need of having separate applications for individual lines of business and it provides a comprehensive end-to-end solution that can be delivered as two distinct offerings:

• A Microsoft Dynamics 365 cloud application
• A business application platform for ISVs

Streamlining Partner Network

For Microsoft’s Cloud Service Provider (CSP) program, the 2018 edition of Dynamics 365 is helping Value Added Resellers (VARs) in finding efficient possibilities for their customers and helping them to choose the right solution or the best deployment option for the needs. After the spring release, all the VARs are now able to:

• Meet their dedicated account manager
• Create their marketplace
• Understand how to sell Dynamics 365 quickly and effectively
• Get into the partner portal
• Start selling Dynamics 365

On one hand, customers benefit from the best business process expertise, Microsoft platform knowledge, and years of deployment experience. On the other hand, partners can grow their existing skills, display their capabilities, and react to changing customer needs with swiftness.

In the 2018 spring release of Microsoft Dynamics 365, the technology hulk – Microsoft – also introduced Microsoft Power BI Insights apps, delivering out-of-the-box insights tailored to specific business scenarios across marketing, sales, service, operations, finance and talent. Now the solution is capable of generating insights by applying advanced intelligence to a subset of unique Microsoft data. In addition, Power BI Insights apps can be tailored and further personalized by applying the full power of Azure data services.

Unanimously, businesses of all sizes and complexity who utilizes the capabilities of such a solution praise Microsoft Dynamics 365 for living up to their expectations and evolving as per their business demands. To continuously serve the needs of small and big organizations and widen user-base, Microsoft is all set to improvise on the current Dynamics 365 solution and bring about changes that are centered towards end-user needs. The good news is that these changes will roll out throughout 2018 and it will be offered through partner-vendor channels.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a beast in itself with unmatched power, capabilities and customization potential that has crushed heads of complex business process devils. It doesn’t matter if you are a small, medium, or large organization, the beast is evolving and all you need to do is sit back, relax and have a bit of patience to be impressed by the iteration of innovative changes from Microsoft.