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- Herausgeber: Packt Publishing
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition, is a modern, cloud-first, mobile-first, ERP solution suitable for medium and large enterprise customers.
This book will guide you through the entire life cycle of a implementation, helping you avoid common pitfalls while increasing your efficiency and effectiveness at every stage of the project.
Starting with the foundations, the book introduces the Microsoft Dynamics 365 offerings, plans, and products. You will be taken through the various methodologies, architectures, and deployments so you can select, implement, and maintain Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. You will delve in-depth into the various phases of implementation: project management, analysis, configuration, data migration, design, development, using Power BI, machine learning, Cortana analytics for intelligence, testing, training, and finally deployment, support cycles, and upgrading. This book focuses on providing you with information about the product and the various concepts and tools, along with real-life examples from the field and guidance that will empower you to execute and implement Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017
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This book is based on Enterprise Edition
BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI
Implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations
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Credits
Authors
Rahul Mohta
Yogesh Kasat
JJ Yadav
Copy Editor
Muktikant Garimella
Reviewers
Nicolae Tarla
Madhu Babu Rapolu
Pankaj Sonawane
Sukrut Parab
Project Coordinator
Ulhas Kambali
Commissioning Editor
Aaron Lazar
Proofreader
Safis Editing
Acquisition Editor
Denim Pinto
Indexer
Francy Puthiry
ContentDevelopmentEditor
Vikas Tiwari
Graphics
Abhinash Sahu
Technical Editor
Subhalaxmi Nadar
Production Coordinator
Melwyn D'sa
Disclaimer
This book was prepared by each of author's personal capacity. The opinions and recommendations expressed are the author's own and do not reflect the view of any of the organizations they are associated with.
About the Authors
Rahul Mohta is a cofounder of Real Dynamics and also works as an independent trainer for Microsoft. He has 16 years of experience in ERP, focusing on Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX) and has worked for customers and partners worldwide. His experience spans multiple geographies (America, Europe, and Asia) across various domains, such as financials, supply chain and distribution, projects, manufacturing, warehousing, retail, and professional services, where he works as a trusted advisor while undertaking diverse roles across various implementations and initiatives.
He is an enthusiast of ensuring value creation while embracing Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX), and he regularly shares his knowledge through blogs and training sessions delivered for Microsoft and other companies.
Yogesh Kasat is a founding partner of Real Dynamics, which is one of the first IV&Vs (Independent Verification and Validation services provider) for Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. He has led several large Dynamics AX implementations and turned them into success stories with his unique blend of knowledge of financial and supply chain modules, technical architecture, and business process optimization.
Yogesh brings over 15 years of experience in ERP Consulting and Audits to the team. He has worked as a solution architect and project lead on many enterprise engagements, and as an advisor with the Microsoft Product team. His global customer experience covers the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Japan, India, and Singapore.
Yogesh is a returning author, and having previously written the book Microsoft Dynamics AX Implementation Guide.
JJ Yadav has been working on Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition for more than 13 years as a solutions architect, project manager, technical lead, and developer. He started working on Axapta 3.0 as a developer with Euro Info Systems in India (now Tectura India). He has experience in leading and managing several Dynamics AX Global implementations and upgrade projects. His core technical expertise includes infrastructure planning, integration services, data migration, and workflow. He has extensive functional experience in financials, procurement, accounts payable, accounts receivable, inventory and warehouse management, and the service modules of Dynamics AX.
Currently, he works as a senior project manager with Hitachi Solutions, America in the central region of the U.S.
JJ Yadav has also coauthored the book Microsoft Dynamics AX Implementation Guide, published by Packt.
About the Reviewers
Nicolae Tarla is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 specialist with a focus on solution architecture and technical presales. He has worked on various mid-sized to enterprise-level Dynamics 365, Office 365, and SharePoint implementations for both private and public sectors. He has been awarded the Business Solutions MVP designation for community contributions across several times.
Nicolae has participated as a technical reviewer and author on several books, presented at several events and conferences. He blogs at https://thecrmwiz.com/.
Nicolae has also worked as a technical reviewer on the books: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Extensions Cookbook and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011: Dashboards Cookbook. Moreover, he has authored Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 Customizations, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Customization Essentials, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Scripting Cookbook by Packt.
Sukrut Parab is senior solutions architect in Dynamics 365 for Operations (AX). He brings 11+ years of technology experience in industry and consulting, exclusively focused on Microsoft Dynamics AX development and related technologies (.NET ,SQL). He has been part of the successful upgrade from Ax 2012 RU 7 to Dynamics 365 for Operations. He has been working on Dynamics AX since Axapta 3.0 and has extensive experience in solution architecture, design, development, integration, data migration, and version upgrade for Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP. He has successfully worked with global teams to implement ERP systems in a variety of industries (finance, trade and logistics, entertainment, retail, and so on). He has also worked extensively on various Microsoft Dynamics AX modules, such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, inventory, product information management, general ledger, expense management, and HR. Sukrut has a bachelor's degree in electronics and telecommunication engineering and is a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), Dynamics AX.
Madhu Babu Rapolu has 17 years of industry experience, with over 11 years of experience working on the various versions of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. He has extensive functional experience in the trade and logistics, financials, project management and accounting, and production modules of Microsoft Dynamics AX. He has played versatile roles during his tenure as a business analyst, functional lead, and project manager. He is currently working as a solution architect in the central region of the USA.
Pankaj Sonawane is an accomplished, dedicated, and result-oriented Microsoft Certified Dynamics 365 Consultant. He is a highly motivated Dynamics AX professional with solid track records in AX consulting, solution designs, and the development and delivery of AX projects. He has been working for more than 13 years in the AX space, with strong analytical and problem-solving skills, from Axapta 3.0 to the latest Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. During his career, he has played various roles in some of the world’s largest Dynamics AX implementations and upgrade projects, ranging from senior developer and technical consultant to technical architect, team lead, and AX manager. He has been continuously working in the Microsoft technology stack using MorphX, X++, SQL, C#, ASP.Net, BizTalk, AIF, SSRS, SSAS, data warehousing, Power BI, Visual Studio, and so on. He is also proficient in different AX-functional areas such as trade and logistics, AR, AP, inventory, general ledger, and human resource. He is also skilled in developing user documentation, requirements specifications, technical documentation, and architectural designs. He is the most sought-after ERP expert with an in-depth knowledge of AX as a product.
Recently, Pankaj has successfully completed an upgrade from Dynamics AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition and has continued working on the same to integrate Dynamics 365 with various SaaS systems.
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Table of Contents
Preface
What this book covers
What you need for this book
Who this book is for
Conventions
Reader feedback
Customer support
Downloading the example code
Downloading the color images of this book
Errata
Piracy
Questions
Introduction to Microsoft Dynamics 365
What is Microsoft Dynamics 365?
The benefits of Microsoft Dynamics 365
Microsoft Dynamics 365 salient features
Microsoft Dynamics 365 apps
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Service
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX)
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Business edition (NAV)
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Talent
Human resources
Attract
Onboard
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer insights
Complimenting/supporting tools with Microsoft Dynamics 365
Power BI
PowerApps
Microsoft Flow
Common Data Service (CDS)
Microsoft AppSource
Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX)
What is Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition?
History of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations
Highlights of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations
Trial of Microsoft Dynamics 365
Buying Microsoft Dynamics 365
Summary
Implementation Methodology and Tools
Why select a methodology?
Methodologies relevant for embracing Dynamics 365
The Conference Room Pilot (CRP) methodology
Planning
Execution
Best practices in using CRP
An example of a CRP methodology
The agile methodology
The waterfall methodology
Comparative summary
Lifecycle Services (LCS) -- implementation tools
Foundation
Methodologies
Projects
Project users
Organization users
SharePoint online library
Preview feature management
Shared asset library
Subscription estimator
Asset library
Ongoing
Business process modeler
Cloud-hosted environments
Code upgrade
Configuration and data manager
Localization and translation
Support
Issue search
Support
Work items
System diagnostics
Updates
Resources
Summary
Architecture and Deployment
Architecture
Conceptual architecture
Deployment architecture
The cloud deployment architecture
The on-premise deployment architecture
Application components and architecture
Identity
Data layer
Platform
Application
Client
Browser client
Mobile app
Office 365
Lifecycle Services
Development architecture
Integration architecture
Security architecture
Deployment options
Cloud
Cloud and Edge or hybrid deployment
Local business data or on-premises
Comparing deployment options
Summary
Project Initiation and Kickoff
The need for a strong project start
Project team composition
The backbone of a project
Project charter
Project plan
FastTrack for Dynamics 365
Ground rules for day-to-day operations
Kickoff meeting
Project initiation and LCS
SharePoint online
Project deliverables in the CRP methodology
The planning phase
The business requirement definition phase
The solution analysis phase
The solution design phase
The configure/preview/prototype phase
The development phase
The testing and acceptance phase
The training phase
The Go Live phase
The support phase
Best practices in project initiation
Summary
Requirements, Business Process Analysis, and Traceability
Requirements scoping
Hierarchy of business processes and subprocesses
Business goals
Business process
Sub-processes
Requirements
LCS Business process modeler and VSTS
Business process modeler
Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS)
BPM and VSTS sync
Continuous reporting and VSTS
Requirement gathering techniques
Listen
Lead
Negotiate
Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM)
Requirement segmentation and ownership
Analysis of requirements
Solution blueprint
Key decision log
Best practices in managing requirements
Summary
Configuration and Data Management
Strategies for managing configuration and data migration
Configuration management
Configuration planning
The golden configuration environment
Data migration management
Scoping
Common data migration areas
Planning
Execution
Data management tools
The data management framework
Data management concepts
The data management workspace
Data entities
Configuration data templates
Default data templates
Configuration data project
Data packages
LCS Project | Asset library | Data packages
Configuration data packages
LCS -- configuration and data manager
Process data packages
How these concepts come together
Database operations
Cross-company data sharing
Data management scenarios
Initial configuration in a blank environment
Data migration from legacy systems
Copy the company configuration within an existing environment
Copy data between environments
Ad hoc data loading
Best practices in managing configurations and data migration
Summary
Functional and Technical Design
Finding the right app for your business needs
Before choosing ISV solutions
After selecting the partner
Common pitfalls
Common features
Personalization
Office integration
Document management
Workspaces
Electronic reporting
Tax engine
Batch framework
Workflows
Database logging
Mobile application
Common Data Services, Microsoft Flow, and PowerApps
The functional design document
The fit-gap review session
Why write FDD?
Project management aspects of design
Things to know before writing an FDD
Feasibility analysis
Dos and don'ts
The solution design document
Overview and objectives
Guidelines for solution design documents
The technical design document
Overview and objectives
Guidelines for the technical design document
Preparation
Execution
Outcome
Summary
Integration Planning and Design
Integration architecture
Basic integration concepts
RESTful APIs
SOAP
SOAP versus REST
JSON
OData
OAuth
Integration concepts in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition
Data entities
What is a data entity?
OData services
Querying or browsing an OData endpoint
Consuming OData services
Client application registration and setup
Creating a project, adding libraries, and generating an OData service proxy
Authentication and OData service call
Custom services
Recurring integrations
Integration tools, midleware, and scenarios
Dynamics 365 data integrator
Integration architecture
Setting up data integration
Connections
Connection sets
Integration keys
Projects
Schedules
Integrating and monitoring
Benefits of CDS data integration
Scenarios focus
Integration planning
Integration scenarios
Integration requirements
Synchronous or asynchronous
Integration design and development
Developing a high-level conceptual design
Selecting the right integration technology
Defining field mapping
Developing, configuring, and testing
Best practices and recommendations
Summary
Building Customizations
Architecture and concepts
Programming language
Compile exclusively in .NET CIL
Language enhancements
Unit of compilation
Compiler and tooling
Integrated development environment (IDE)
Development IDE in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition
Development IDE in Dynamics AX 2012
Development environment architecture
Programming concepts
Layer system
Models
Packages
Packages and models on the disk
Models and packages in Visual Studio
Overlayering
Extensions
Model sealing and roadmap
Development environment
The version control
Branching strategies
The development machines
Cloud development environment
Local development environment
Application explorer
Application explorer views
Filtering application explorer
Working with elements
Tools addins for Visual Studio
Creating a new model to start customization
Extension capabilities
Project
Create a new project
Adding new or existing element in the project
Import/export project
Development planning
Be agile
Establishing the code review process
Development process
Conceptualization
Create or extends data model
Create or extends business logic
Create or extend user interface
Navigation concepts
Form patterns
User interface extensibility
Control extensibility
Reporting and analytics
SQL server reporting services
Power BI
Security
Security for custom objects
Auther unit tests
Learn and improve
Build and continuous updates
Automated build
Continuous updates
Guidelines and best practices
Summary
Analytics, Business Intelligence, and Reporting
Information insights in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition
Platform enablement for analytics
Excel
Power BI
Power BI choices
Pricing
Data refresh
Collaboration
Cortana Intelligence Suite
Data insights leveraging Azure
Modern reports and SSRS
Electronic reporting
Mobile platform
Offline and mobile apps
Financial reporting / management reporter
Best practices in analytics and information insights
Summary
Testing and Training
Importance of testing
Types of testing
Feature testing
Testing of custom developed features
Testing of standard and ISV solution features
System integration testing
Process/system testing
Data migration testing
Integration testing
Performance/load testing
User acceptance testing
End-to-end testing
Automated testing strategies
Test automation features in Finance and Operations
SysTest framework
Task recorder-based (coded UI) testing
PerfSDK
Integrating test with build process
Test planning guidelines and recommendations
Test planning and scenarios
The UAT planning and execution
Planning
UAT kickoff
Execution
Sign-off
End-to-end test planning and execution
Execution and real-life examples
Training
The training and help system in Finance and Operations
Modern clients and navigation concepts
In-product help
The business process modeler
The task recorder and task guides
Documentation website
Planning and executing training
Training plan
Training preparation
The training environment
Change management
Summary
Go Live
Production environment and responsibilities
Cloud deployment
Local business data
Cloud and Edge deployment
Go Live activities
The organization's readiness to Go Live
Sign offs
The decision to Go Live
Business contingency planning
Go Live planning and execution
Planning
Executing a release
The importance of communication
Summary
Post Go Live Support
Resources for support
Support tools and LCS
Issue/support lifecycle
Issue discovered/encountered
Issue tracking
Root cause analysis
Escalation to Microsoft
Production environment support with Microsoft
Support analytics using monitoring and diagnostics
Monitoring
Diagnostics
Analytics
Best practices in post Go Live/support
Summary
Update, Upgrade, and Migration
Understanding update, upgrade, and migration
Updating to the latest Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operation version
Updates to the latest platform
Updates to the latest application
Upgrading your code
Upgrading your data
Updates to a specific application hotfix
Upgrading/migrating from Dynamics AX 2012 or AX 2009
When to upgrade or migrate
Upgrading/migration planning
Operations
Business benefit
Business engagement
System
Upgrade versus reimplementation
Managing the scope
Managing customization (fit-gap)
ISV Solutions
Managing the data
Impact on integrations
Impact on Power BI and reporting
Cloud and digital
Deployment options
Upgrading from Dynamics AX 2012
Code upgrade
Data upgrade
Developing data upgrade script for custom schema changes
Running the data upgrade process
Validation and final cutover
Migrating from Dynamics AX 2009
Planning and code migration
Data migration
Best practices in upgrade and migration
Summary
Preface
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a growth pillar in any organization, and this makes it a critical aspect to be used effectively. However, every business is unique, with a distinct business model, organizational culture, and value proposition, which also brings in tons of challenges in embracing and implementing an ERP system. Thus, it is crucial for a businesses to adopt an ERP and for an ERP to adapt to the business model. Such a hybrid approach requires tailor fitting the ERP to various business needs, and to achieve that, you need a solid foundation for all your digital and business transformation initiatives.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a business platform providing unified ERP and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to deliver intelligent business applications. The Dynamics 365 ERP solution, Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition, is a modern, cloud-first and mobile-first platform, suitable for medium and large enterprise customers.
With the release of Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft has not only changed the technology stack but also how customers can select, evaluate, and implement these apps in their enterprise. Recent releases, rapid innovation from Microsoft, and the evolution of the cloud have created a need to understand and master several tools and techniques in order to be effective and successful.
The book starts with an introduction to Microsoft Dynamics 365 as a whole platform, describing different apps and tools available under Microsoft Dynamics 365. It then goes through the various phases of implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. In a phased manner,the book introduces you to the basic concepts, new technology and architecture, tools and techniques, best practices, and recommendations.
Using the book, you will find guidance and practical approaches to manage your entire implementation lifecycle and extended knowledge to avoid common pitfalls with straightforward techniques and step-by-step instructions, thereby increasing your efficiency and effectiveness.
What this book covers
Chapter 1, Introduction to Microsoft Dynamics 365, introduces you to Microsoft Dynamics 365 and shares the details of various apps, solution elements, buying choices, and complimentary tools. You will get an insight into the various tools, offerings, and options provided by Microsoft in Dynamics 365.
Chapter 2, Implementation Methodology and Tools, explores various implementation methodologies, such as CRP, agile, and waterfall, with a comparative summary of the key attributes to evaluate the best fitting methodology for your project. This chapter also introduces Lifecycle services, various tools for implementation, and the sustenance of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition.
Chapter 3, Architecture and Deployment, starts with introducing the conceptual architecture and deployment architecture. It then goes on to explain various application components and architectures, such as identity, data layer, platform, application, client, and so on. This chapter also explains different deployment choices: cloud, local business data (on-premise), and Cloud and Edge (Hybrid), with a detailed comparison to help you decide the best-suited deployment choice for your implementation.
Chapter 4, Project Initiation and Kickoff, covers the details and importance of solid project initiation through various topics, such as project team composition, project plan, project charter, the kickoff meeting, project initiation and LCS tools, project deliverables, and best practices in project initiation.
Chapter 5, Requirements, Business Process Analysis, and Traceability, explains requirements, processes, and solution blueprints, emphasizing their needs and various other moving parts in managing the scope for your project. It also covers how to use the LCS business process modeler and VSTS to manage your requirement lifecycle throughout the project.
Chapter 6, Configuration and Data Management, explores configuration management and data migration through topics, such as strategies for managing configuration, data migration, configuration management, data migration management, data management framework, data management scenarios, and best practices for managing configurations and data migration.
Chapter 7, Functional and Technical Design, covers the solution design phase of the implementation project, including finding the right app for your business needs. It discusses common features that can be leveraged as part of your custom solution and also discusses the planning and execution of a functional and technical design.
Chapter 8, Integration Planning and Design, covers integration planning, integration technologies, and integration design/development. It explores topics such as integration architecture, basic integration concepts, integration tools and scenarios, Dynamics 365 data integrator, integration design and development, best practices and recommendations, and so on.
Chapter 9, Building Customization, explains the development process and tools in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. It starts with introducing the development architecture, concepts, and development environment. Then it goes on to cover development planning and process. The chapter also covers the automated build and testing process of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition.
Chapter 10, Analytics, Business Intelligence, and Reporting, discusses the powerful reporting and analytics features in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. The chapter covers various reporting and analytics topics, for example, Power BI, Cortana intelligence, Office integration, modern reports and SSRS, electronic reporting, and financial reporting.
Chapter 11, Testing and Training, discusses what goes on during the testing and training phase of an implementation project. On testing, it covers various topics such as the importance of testing, types of testing, automated testing strategies, and test planning guidelines and recommendations. On training, it covers topics such as the importance of training, training and the help system, planning and executing training, and change management.
Chapter 12, Go Live, explains the Go Live phase of a project through topics such as production environment and responsibilities, Go Live activities, organization readiness to Go Live, and Go Live planning and execution.
Chapter 13, Post Go Live Support, covers post Go Live activities, spanning support, issue identification, tracking, resolutions, and managing the support Lifecycle.
Chapter 14, Update, Upgrade, and Migration, covers activities involving evaluation and processes to get on the latest version from prior versions of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. This includes updating to the latest platform releases, applying hotfixes, and upgrading or migrating from previous major versions, such as Dynamics AX 2012 and AX 2009.
What you need for this book
To get the most out of this book, you need to have a basic understanding of the ERP implementation process, IT project management, and software development lifecycle. In addition, you should have access to the Lifecycle Services (LCS) portal and the development environment of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition.
Who this book is for
This book is written from multiple perspectives, encompassing all the areas that any customer, partner, learner, or industry can use to be more successful in the implementation and adoption of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. Solution architects, functional consultants, technical consultants, subject matter experts (SMEs), super users, IT managers, project stakeholders, and technology leaders who are in the process of buying, planning, or undergoing a Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition implementation are expected to directly benefit with the insights in the book.
For readers completely new to Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, or who have worked on prior versions, such as Dynamics AX 2012, this book is a perfect start to learning Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. The book helps you understand the basic concepts, tools, technologies, best practices, and recommendations. The book will help you during every phase of implementation with what to expect, deliverables across phases, roles/skill set involvement, common pitfalls to avoid, and some tips and tricks learned from our experiences.
Every business has its unique business model and organizational culture, and this brings unique challenges for ERP implementation. While going through this book, you will encounter many recommendations, guidelines, and experiences; however, you may need to fine-tune the recommendations as per your specific needs, based on the particular project size, timeline, business organization structure, and industry.
Conventions
In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning. Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "The OData protocol supports many advance filtering and querying options on entities such as $filter, $count, $orderby, $skip, $top, $expand, and $select."
A block of code is set as follows:
"phoneNumbers"
:
[
{
"type"
:
"home"
,
"number"
:
"212 555-1234"
},]
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Introduction to Microsoft Dynamics 365
Organizations need a system of records to manage data, control it, and use it for their growth. This often leads to embracing business applications for managing their resources well and keep improving. Traditionally, this used to happen via software installed at the customer's location; it later evolved to hosting either internally or at the partner's premises. Now, in this modern world, it has transformed into leveraging the power and elasticity of the cloud.
Dynamics 365 is a cloud service from Microsoft, combining several business needs into a single, scalable, and agile platform, allowing organizations to bring in the much-needed digital disruption.
This chapter will introduce you to Microsoft Dynamics 365 and share the details of various apps, solution elements, buying choices, and complimentary tools. We hope you will get an insight into the various tools, offerings, and options provided by Microsoft in Dynamics 365. This may help you in your business transformation initiatives, and solution and platform evaluation, spanning Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Business Intelligence (BI).
Let's explore the topics we are going to cover in this chapter:
What is Microsoft Dynamics 365?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 apps
Complimenting/supporting tools with Microsoft Dynamics 365
Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX)
Trail and Buying Microsoft Dynamics 365
What is Microsoft Dynamics 365?
To understand Dynamics 365, let's first understand Microsoft Cloud competencies and the overall cloud vision. Microsoft Cloud has numerous offerings and services; Microsoft categorizes these offerings into four broad categories, namely Modern Workplace, Business Applications, Application and Infrastructure, and Data & AI. Each of these categories comprises of multiple applications and services.
The following are the visual highlights of these four categories:
As shown in the preceding visual, Modern Workplace combines Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility and Security, and it is offered as Microsoft 365. The Business Applications category is a combination of ERP and CRM business applications and is offered as Dynamics 365. The third category is Cloud Application and Infrastructure, which is powered by Azure. The last category, Data & AI, deals with data, AI, and analytics.
Turning our focus back to the Business Applications category, in the business application word, business leaders are looking for greater business process automation to achieve digital transformation. What gets in the way today is monolithic application suites, which try to solve business process automation as a single application; you need modular applications built for a specific purpose, but at the same time, you need these applications to talk to each other and produce a connected graph of data that can be further used for AI and analytics. Microsoft, from the past several years, has been focused on building modern world purpose-built modular, integrated applications infused with AI and analytics capabilities.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the next generation of intelligent business applications in the Cloud. Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a unification of the current CRM and ERP Cloud solutions into one Cloud service, delivered by purpose-built applications. It enables end-to-end business processes driven by unified navigation, has a core user experience in how they look and feel, and also allows seamless integration with each other. Microsoft Dynamics 365 further extends Microsoft's commitment of being a cloud-committed company bringing in world-class business apps together in their overall cloud offering. The Dynamics 365 applications can be independently deployed. A customer can start with what they need, and as the business demands, the customer can adopt additional applications.
Many of you may be new to Microsoft Dynamics 365, and it would be a good idea to register the logo/brand image of this solution from Microsoft. The following is a common symbol that you should expect to gain a lot of traction among organizations embracing business applications in Microsoft Cloud:
Let's now explore the key deciding factors for adopting Microsoft Dynamics 365 in your organization's day-to-day life, with the help of its usage benefits and salient features.
The benefits of Microsoft Dynamics 365
Any business application and its platform decision is often based on benefits, return on investment, and the commitment of product principal with an assured road map. We would like to share the top three among several benefits of leveraging Dynamics 365 as your business solution platform:
Productivity like never before with purpose-built applications
A powerful and highly adaptable platform to enable business transformation effectively
Integrated applications to eliminate data silos
Insightful intelligence to drive informed decision making
Microsoft Dynamics 365 salient features
What makes Microsoft Dynamics 365 stand apart from its competition and an enabler for organizations lies in its features, capabilities, and offerings.
Here's a quick glance at the salient features of Dynamics 365:
Cloud-driven, browser-based application
Generally made available on November 01, 2016 to a number of markets
Seamlessly integrated with Office 365, all out of the box, to increase productivity and stand apart from others
Intelligence built in for predictive analysis and decision making support
Releveled and revolutionized the traditional approach towards business solutions
Dynamics 365 is the next generation of intelligent business applications in the Cloud (public and private) as well as on premises, expected to transform how businesses use technological solutions to achieve their goals.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 apps
The Microsoft Dynamics 365 approach to business applications unifies Microsoft's current CRM and ERP cloud solutions into one cloud service with new purpose-built business applications that work together seamlessly to help you manage specific business functions.
Let's now get an insight at a high level into the various apps available in Dynamics 365. The following visual shows the apps and their association to ERP/CRM:
Now let's get personal with these apps starting with their names, their former solution base, and their brand logos. The following are the matrix of business solution enablers in Microsoft Dynamics 365 with their quick URL:
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales (popularly known as Dynamics CRM)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/sales
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Service (popularly known as Dynamics CRM)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-service
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service (popularly known as Dynamics CRM)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/field-service
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation (popularly known as Dynamics CRM)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/project-service-automation
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (popularly known as Dynamics AX)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/operations
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Business edition (also known as Project Madeira and based on popularly known Dynamics NAV)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/financials
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Talent
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/talent
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/retail
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/marketing
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer insights
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-insights
In the subsequent sections, we are elaborating these apps, giving a brief introduction to them and a summary of their key features.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales
Dynamics 365 for Sales empowers the sales teams in new and exciting ways by helping them sell more and faster.
The following is a visual from one of the screens showing a configurable dashboard from Dynamics 365 for Sales:
Dynamics 365 for Sales has a built-in digital intelligence and automated business processes to increase revenue while controlling acquisition costs. It allows you to win new and repeat business using a personalized sales process, allowing your sales team to quickly and easily use it day in and day out. By measuring the past and identifying leading indicators for future sales, it helps in maximizing your sales team's performance by reducing distractions and helping them focus on the priorities.
We would like to give a full suite coverage of modules/capabilities in Dynamics 365 for Sales with the help of the following visual:
As shown above, there are several modules/capability areas spanning Customers, Sales, Collateral, Marketing and other tools.
Also, identification of customers with the most potential and basing strategic decisions on digital intelligence is a great asset here. Personalizing every engagement is needed to gain insights into buyer's decision and using that insight for efficient sales management is possible with Dynamics 365 for Sales. Your sales team will be empowered to close deals faster by collaboration, application of contextual insights, and the ability to work anytime, anywhere with the tools they need.
We would like to share the top features in Dynamics 365 for Sales, which are as follows:
Full suite opportunity management
Generation of new leads
Content collaboration
Social selling capabilities
People enabler to share knowledge and participate in social conversations
High visibility to information contest results
Onsite services
Motivates users to perform their best for themselves and their teams
Increases performance, productivity, and adoption
Efficiently manage customers
Actionable insights into your organization sales performance
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Service
Dynamics 365 for Customer Service is an omni-channel solution to unify the way customers and prospects experience your business. Similar to Dynamics 365 for Sales, there are a number of dashboards in Dynamics 365 for Customer Service as well. The following image depicts one of the dashboards:
One can create consistency and loyalty at all touch points across various experience channels such as self-service, peer-to-peer service, and assisted service. It also proactively addresses the issues by detecting the customers’ intent and social sentiment. Expect an increase in CSAT (customer satisfaction) and retention by providing personalized and consistent engagements and proactive addressing of service issues.We would like to give a full suite coverage of the modules/capabilities in Dynamics 365 for Customer Service with the help of the following visual:
As shown in the preceding image, there are several modules/capability areas spanning Customers, Service, Collateral, and other tools.
Empower your customer service agents to gain actionable insights into customers' case histories, preferences, and feedback and provide guidance on entitlements and service-level agreements. When agents respond quickly to customer and market changes, you get the power of an agile, Cloud-based environment that has digital intelligence built in.
We would like to share the top features of Dynamics 365 for Customer Service as follows:
Full suite omni-channel experience
Agent enablement platform
Leverage relevance search to quickly find information for better service experience
Enable teams to perform customer oriented activities efficiently and timely
Enabling customer for self service capabilities
Knowledge and community management
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service
Dynamics 365 for Field Service is the new Microsoft Field Service application which drastically reduces your service costs and improves customer satisfaction.Similar to Dynamics 365 for Sales and Dynamics 365 for Customer Service, there are a number of useful dashboards in Dynamics 365 for Field Service. Here is one such dashboard, utilized for scheduling the field staff:
The new solution is an intelligent, world-class Field Service, which includes scheduling, mobile, and resource optimization. This helps in maximizing efficiency, minimizing costs, and improving customer satisfaction.
We would like to give a full suite coverage of the modules/capabilities in Dynamics 365 for Field Service with the help of the following visual:
As shown above, there are several modules/capability areas spanning Sales, Service Delivery, Inventory & Purchase, and other tools.
The following are the top features of Dynamics 365 for field service:
Optimize scheduling and dispatch
Improve resource productivity
Management and execution of services
Asset and warranty management
Mobility suite
Service and Inventory management
360-degree customer centric experience enabler
Leverage
Internet of Things
(
IoT
) to enable preemptive action from field service agents by connecting asset monitoring and anomaly detection so that action can be taken before failures occur, avoiding customer service issues
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation
Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation (PSA) lets you run your project-based business more productively and profitably. You can create and execute more profitable projects and customer relationships and satisfy your clients.Similar to other Dynamics 365 apps, there are a number of useful dashboards in Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation as well. The following screenshot depicts one such dashboard:
It helps in deepening customer engagement and building a trusted customer relationship by developing credibility and increasing customer confidence through a responsive engagement model. It also empowers your professionals with a collaboration-rich experience, enabling transparency across the business and empowering them to use their expertise to increase project productivity with every customer. It also helps you in prioritizing, innovation, and investment in service offers based on actionable insight.
We would like to give a full suite coverage of the modules/capabilities in Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation with the help of the following visual:
As shown above, there are several modules/capability areas spanning Customers, Sales, Billing, Planning and Delivery and other tools.Here are the the top features in Dynamics 365 for project service automation:
Contract management
Resource management
Time and expense management
A number of capabilities in opportunity management
Planning and collaboration platform for resources
Team collaboration
Customer billing
Powerful unified resource scheduling
Enhanced service billing experience
Optimum talent utilization
Analytics in project performance
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX)
Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition is a complete re-architecture of Dynamics AX to be a Cloud-first Azure service. Microsoft offered users an interface that is so natural to use that they just use it with an accelerated adoption, thereby raising productivity.
Working seamlessly anywhere on any device and on any platform is among the key features that make Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition a game changer.
Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX) offers a wide variety of role-specific dashboards and work spaces to make work life easier for folks using day in and day out. The following screenshot shows a dashboard comprising of several work spaces in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX):
One can imagine a usage choice and Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition addresses it:
Enterprise
: End-to-end solution that manages the financials and core operations for a company
2-Tier Subsidiary
: Solution that manages the financials and operations for subsidiaries or business units and integrates with the headquarters ERP
Operational Workloads
: Manages specific business functions/workloads of a business and integrates with corporate systems
It would be so nice to get a glimpse of all workloads available in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX) suggesting their core functionality. The following diagram shows a full-suite visual for various workloads:
As shown in the preceding diagram, there are several modules/capability areas spanning different workloads viz. vertical, horizontal/operational and administrative. Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX) offers several deployment choices to its customers, suggesting the following options:
Public Cloud/Azure:
Fully Cloud
Edge mode (Cloud and local)
Private Cloud
On-premise
We will be getting into the details of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition (AX) throughout this book; however there are a few key features that are inline with other business apps as follows:
Full-suite business management solution including enterprise class ERP functionalities with powerful financials
Evolution of Dynamics AX on Azure
Multiple industry capabilities viz. retail, distribution, manufacturing, public sector, and service industries; all built in a single solution
Availability in 18 countries/markets with local compliance met and local language support
Choice of running solution on the cloud (public/private) or on the premises
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Business edition (NAV)
Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operation, Business edition is more than accounting software. It is a comprehensive business management solution for small and mid-sized organizations that automates and streamlines business processes. Its pay-as-you-go enterprise-grade software can scale from one to unlimited users making it amongst the most scalable cloud accounting solutions.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for financials also has dashboards similar to the role drive dashboards in other Dynamics 365 apps:
It helps in the easy migration of the existing business data from a legacy system. Dynamics NAV is the pedigree that the Dynamics 365 for Financials platform was built on.
As of July 2017, Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operation, Business edition is available in the United States and Canada and soon other countries are expected as well from Microsoft. It is licensed by named users and has the option to choose between full user and limited user access.
Among several features in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operation, Business edition, the following are some of the key features for your platform evaluation:
Comprehensive business management solution for
small and medium-sized businesses
(
SMBs
)
As of July 2016, available only in the USA and Canada
A business management solution for small and mid-sized organizations that automates and streamlines business processes
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail
Earlier, a part of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail is now separated as its own application as part of the Dynamics 365 product portfolio. Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail provides an intelligent platform to enable retailers to combine the best of digital and in-store to deliver personal, seamless, and differentiated customer experiences by empowering people and capturing insights to drive growth.
The following screenshot depicts a point of sale (POS) solution:
The following are the key features of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail:
Personalize customer experiences throughout stores, web, mobile, and call centers
Provide convenient, flexible ways to shop, such as in-store pickup or home delivery
Offer cross-channel incentives, such as loyalty programs, gift cards, and promotions
Deliver better services by giving employees access to real-time product, customer, inventory, and order details
Offer more product selection and recommendations by blending the best of online and in-store shopping
Get more control over store operations through automation and advanced operational capabilities
Give customers the flexibility to buy in store, pick up in other locations, or have it delivered to their doorstep
Improve employee productivity thorough schedules, time clock, and manager dashboards
Simplify sales and promotional efforts by centrally managing your products and promotions
Attract more customers by managing your assortments by channel and personalized offers
Drive revenue by creating and targeting catalogs across channels, customers, and seasons
Optimize fulfillment and enable the right level of inventory at right locations
Get a centralized and cohesive view of your entire operations
Finish end-of-day activities faster using automated and streamlined workflows
Meet your changing business needs with a solution built for multi-company, multi-brand, and multi-channel global operations
Take advantage of the latest innovations and opportunities with continuous application updates
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Talent
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Talent was an earlier part of the Finance and Operations, Enterpise edition and is now a separate SaaS-based independent offering out of Dynamics 365 Enterprise edition. If you have Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition, you already have the Talent application. Dynamics 365 for Talent brings your human capital management to the cloud for a mobile, employee-focused, strategic HR approach that helps you find and hire the right people, nurture success, and deliver high-impact, sustainable results.
The following is a talent solution dashboard showing various modules and capabilities:
At the high level, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Talent has the following modules and high-level functions.
Human resources
The human resources module's focus is to streamline the human resource management process. Here are the functionalities at a high level:
Centralized HR programs such as benefits, leave and absent management, and compliance
Create a personalized career path. Build competencies to meet future career demand. Increase employee engagement and satisfaction.
Benefits and compensation management. Integration with payroll system
Powerful analytics
Attract
The Attract experience allows you to build accurate candidate profiles, manage the interview process and shorten the time to hire.
Integrates with LinkedIn to find and source top candidates
Create accurate profiles by integrating disparate data
Interview scheduling (coordinate calendars, automate the scheduling process, communicate with candidates on expectations)
Allow interviewers to easily provide feedback from a mobile device or desktop
Keep hiring managers in the loop at every stage
Onboard
The Onboard experience aims to enable a seamless on-boarding experience that accelerates the productivity and business impact of new hires.
Create personalized pre-boarding and on-boarding plans
Share critical resources and information to get your new hire productive
Create on-boarding milestones and task lists
Identify critical contacts and help make connections
Monitor the success of on-boarding progress
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing
Dynamics 365 for Marketing is a comprehensive marketing service that can be leveraged to delight customers and personalize their experiences of your company/brand.
This is a unique service/app in Dynamics 365 targeting a crucial aspect in any organization: growth viz. marketing. The following is the landing page in Dynamics 365 for marketing:
As shown in the preceding screenshot, there are several modules/capability areas spanning Customers, Collateral,Marketing, and other tools. It integrates with Adobe Marketing Cloud to deliver powerful customer experiences and give a holistic customer view. This unified customer profile is the foundation for building and running integrated, cross-channel marketing.
Your marketing teams can provide one-to-one personalized communications and send offers that automatically adapt to a customer's behavior. You can also orchestrate coordinated campaigns across different channels and measure return on investment (ROI) across the board.
This offering is expected to evolve in the same way as the other Dynamics 365 services/apps and we would like you to make a note of the following key featuresfor Dynamics 365 for Marketing:
Comprehensive service to address modern marketing needs
Collaboration with Adobe for Marketing Cloud
Easily and effectively model and manage customer journeys across marketing and sales, lead management across marketing and sales
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer insights
Dynamics 365 Customer insights is built on top of Azure and Cortana Intelligent. It leverages data services and connects your Dynamics 365 data with any other data source. This enables you to have a 360 view of your customer and to better understand and engage with them.
Managing customers is amongst the dearest goals in any enterprise, and leveraging the Dynamics 365 for Customer insights gives you the power to gain a 360-degree perspective of your customers with actionable information:
Once the relationship assistant is enabled, you can review action cards that will automatically become available in the social pane in several primary records such as opportunities, accounts, cases, and so on. It uses the information derived from interactions to help guide your customer facing team's daily work, find critical opportunities, manage email communications, identify actionable email messages, and propose follow up activities.
The following are the salient features of Dynamics 365 for customer insights:
Intelligent customer analytics
Transform customer data into intelligence
Completely new solution connecting and analyzing data from Dynamics 365 with business applications, web, social, and IoT sources
Predictive intelligence applied to create a 360-degree customer view with automatic suggestions to improve customer engagement.
Complimenting/supporting tools with Microsoft Dynamics 365
Dynamics 365 is complimented with tools to make it more personalized and easy for information consumption and informed decision making. Power BI, PowerApps, and Microsoft Flow are all backed by the best-in-class cloud services for enterprise developers and IT professionals to quickly extend capabilities for power users and scale to enterprise-wide manageability easily at any time.
Let's have a visual overview of additional apps/services/tools which could be utilized to measure information, act upon task, and automate stuff as much as possible. The following screenshot shows the apps, Power BI, PowerApps, and Microsoft Flow, addressing each of the aforementioned capabilities:
Let's now explore all of these tools one by one.
