{"id":9705,"date":"2023-01-16T10:13:17","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T15:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sherweb.com\/blog\/?p=9705"},"modified":"2023-05-11T15:59:32","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T19:59:32","slug":"dynamics-crm-vs-dynamics-365","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/r-swca2-app15-sherwebbl-change-font-czgcf8cmcjh3asb3.canadacentral-01.azurewebsites.net\/blog\/microsoft-ecosystem\/dynamics-365\/dynamics-crm-vs-dynamics-365\/","title":{"rendered":"Dynamics CRM vs. Dynamics 365: Understanding the differences"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re a business owners who wants organization and structure around their company, CRM software<\/a> is likely a must. Short for customer relationship management, such software enables you to track client interactions and maintain healthy relationships without putting in a lot of extra effort. Tools like Microsoft Dynamics 365<\/a>\u2014which includes applications for both CRM and ERP solutions<\/a>\u2014help you keep important information, like data, metrics, notes, opportunities. etc., in one centralized place.<\/p>\n

Having been around for almost two decades, Microsoft’s collection of Dynamics solutions<\/a> is expansive. However, when you have so many good options, it\u2019s easy to confuse all the different names and capabilities!<\/p>\n

To make sense of it all, a brief review of the history of Dynamics and the differences and similarities across SKUs over time can help. Nevertheless, the point to remember is that despite the nomenclature, Dynamics 365 undoubtedly has the CRM capabilities your business (or your client\u2019s business) is looking for.<\/p>\n

But first, what\u2019s CRM again?<\/h2>\n

Customer relationship management (CRM) software helps businesses target different audiences, maintain benchmarks individual projects and issue alerts based on customers\u2019 activities, among many other functions. It helps businesses proactively communicate and deal with both existing customers and leads to ensure lasting relationships.<\/p>\n

A part from relationship management and tracking, CRM tools are also useful for data collection and reporting. All businesses rely on information and metrics sourced from tools like Google Analytics, Marketo or Facebook (among countless others), and most of these platforms help enterprises monitor, control and improve traffic they get on their websites.<\/p>\n

While tracking data from individual sources is undoubtedly helpful for any business, CRM is crucial when you want to bring those sources together to dig deeper for more valuable insights that can then be used to plan your growth strategies accordingly. But it\u2019s not necessarily as simple as just lumping swaths of data together in one location. A lot of this information comes in data packets, and it\u2019s not very useful for a business until it\u2019s analyzed, filtered and sorted. CRM software helps with this as well, so businesses can make sense of and generate reports on the insights collected.<\/p>\n

History of Microsoft Dynamics, Dynamics CRM and Dynamics 365<\/h2>\n

Rather than thinking of Dynamics CRM and Dynamics 365 as disparate entities, consider them as evolutions of one group of solutions over time. Here\u2019s a brief history:<\/p>\n