Technology is transforming our lives every day, with apps and services that are simple to buy and to use.
On the other hand, business apps and services are often difficult to deploy and use. Many of them are siloed and badly integrated, wasting workers’ time when it comes to switching tasks, and killing their productivity. And with finite resources, productivity is critical for businesses to scale.
Two years ago, Microsoft set out to increase business agility by reinventing productivity and business processes.
As technological innovation increases the speed of business, companies are transforming – and require systems that can support them, giving them agility. These new systems must be able to simplify businesses’ daily routine, automate tasks, drive sales and improve operations.
A new way to be productive
In July 2016, Microsoft announced the release of Microsoft Dynamics 365, a new approach to end-to-end intelligent business applications in the cloud. Dynamics 365 combines ERP, CRM, Office, and additional apps into one, cloud-based experience on a common data model.
The system will be released in fall 2016 in the US and Canada, with other geographies to follow in 2017.Experts believe this is the start of a revolution, which will set a new direction in how business software will be sold and consumed.
While waiting for the D(365)-day, here are some of the key points you need to know about the new platform:
- It will have a people-centric, platform-centric approach. Organizations will be able to buy and deploy the capabilities they need, based on roles.
- As they grow, organizations will be able to extend their systems’ capabilities by downloading and deploying apps.
- Microsoft AppSource, the company’s new store for business applications, will be the key destination for businesses to find apps to manage each of their key business processes, including sales, marketing, operations, and customer service. Businesses will be able to choose only the apps they need, scale up as they prefer, only paying for the capabilities they require.
- It will reinvent productivity by connecting previously siloed business applications and processes in a familiar environment, in the words of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella “breaking down barriers between productivity, collaboration and business processes.”
- It will seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Office 365, while Power BI and Cortana Intelligence will be natively embedded in the system.
- It will be easier for third parties to develop applications, extensions and custom-built apps.
- It will provide actionable insights with a built-in intelligence using big data, advanced analytics and IoT.
Dynamics 365 Financials for Business
Microsoft will be segmenting Dynamics 365 into two versions: an Enterprise Edition and a Business Edition.
The Business Edition will initially include Dynamics 365 Financials for Business (formerly known as Project Madeira), a comprehensive accounting and business management solution for small and medium businesses. Dynamics 365 for Sales and for Marketing will be released at a later point in time.
LS Retail in the new era
We have asked Gudrun Olafsdottir (Gua) a few insights about the new platform. Gua is Product Director for LS Express, LS Retail’s SaaS offering.
Gua, is Microsoft Dynamics 365 a new offering, or is it just a repackaging of old Microsoft products – putting together, say, NAV + CRM + Office?
Although some of the elements are familiar to users, Dynamics 365 is a totally new proposition: it offers new capabilities, has a different pricing model and structure. When talking about Dynamics 365 for Financials, Dynamics NAV Most Valuable Professional Erik Hougaard said it best: “This is not quite NAV, but a version of NAV tailored to a ‘cloud first, mobile first’ world.” I believe that we will have to wait to see just how novel this proposition is, and how much change it will bring to businesses.
Does this mean that this is the end for on-premises Dynamics products?
Dynamics 365 is a new offering which will add to, and not substitute, the on-premises or hosted Microsoft Dynamics ERPs. Microsoft has declared they plan to continue to innovate in, improve and support these on-premises solutions. Just like we at LS Retail have long-term plans for development and enhancement of all our on-premises products.
What role will LS Retail play in this new era of productivity?
These are very exciting times. We want to be part of this revolution, and we will. In specific, we will be playing a role in what used to be known as Project Madeira, and has now been baptized Dynamics 365 Financials for Business.
We will catch up with Gua soon and find out more about LS Retail’s latest projects in the cloud – stay tuned!