How will Microsoft Dynamics 365 benefit the enterprise marketplace?

There are definite benefits for Microsoft Dynamics 365 within the enterprise marketplace. It streamlines many processes that customers need to have in order to be successful.

For example, the combination of ERP and CRM in this situation makes a lot of sense. It allows you to see the 360-degree overview of what is going on with the customer, from transaction to engagement. The easier it is to have that view and analyze the transactional data, the easier it is to have a competitive advantage in today's market. This kind of process and platform allows the user to manage and analyze data from the front office to the back office.

This ability becomes extremely important at the enterprise level. It's also a big plus in competition with the SAP to have this capability and provides an advantage over Salesforce. Salesforce has yet to develop ERP capabilities. So, Microsoft Dynamics 365 provides a competitive edge and allows Microsoft to lock in a big customer by making it easier for its customers to continue to buy and use these services.

Salesforce and Microsoft are definitely currently playing to their own individual strengths. Salesforce, in comparison with Microsoft, goes much deeper into CRM engagement. It continues to go deeper into customer success with all of its acquisitions. Microsoft is not at that level in terms of CRM, but the integration of CRM and ERP gives Microsoft a leg up on Salesforce. Microsoft is smartly playing into the strengths it already has and this allows it to find customers from this approach.

While there are no big downsides to releasing products that integrates ERP and CRM, it does demonstrate that Microsoft is not yet focused on digging deeper into marketing automation or focusing on the complexities of the marketing space. Microsoft has not answered the demands of the marketing realm in the way that Salesforce, Adobe or Oracle have. Microsoft is currently still committed to putting out products, such as Office 365, focused on productivity and integration by relying on Power BI. Microsoft will eventually need to find a spot in the marketing space by working on marketing automation and marketing clouds, but Microsoft Dynamics 365 definitely allows them to shine at what they do best.