What You’re Missing in Microsoft Dynamics CRM On-Premises

You have two options for deploying Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications. You can deploy them on-prem or in the cloud, but many businesses are finding that the cloud deployment has many benefits over on-prem deployment.

 
Customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities are critical to every business. Dynamics 365 application modules (including Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Field Service and Project Service Automation) help businesses improve customer relationships, establish sales pipelines, nurture prospects into becoming customers, automates sales reports, and much more. It’s a critical part of ensuring that your business grows. Optimizing these capabilities is a mission-critical task.

Microsoft Strategy: A Cloud for Global Good

Satya Nadella was named Microsoft’s new CEO in February 2014. In 2016, the company launched “A Cloud for Global Good,” which included recommendations for government and industry to help technological opportunities get shared consistently to achieve digital transformation.

It’s quite clear that Microsoft is placing its focus on the cloud, and it’s obvious that they see the cloud as the technology that they will emphasize in the future, as opposed to supporting on-prem installations of their latest technology.

What are You Missing if You’re Not Deploying in the Cloud?

You can optimize the benefits you receive by deploying in the cloud. Here are the things you’ll miss if you’re not in the cloud.
 

1. Cost Savings

   In the cloud, you’ll pay monthly licensing fees that will simplify planning budgets. You’ll see cost savings because you won’t need capital outlays for new data center equipment or the cost of increasing your data center staff.

2. Easier Deployment

   Microsoft Dynamics 365 can run on premises using the Dynamics 365 Server and also the Power BI Report Server. Therefore, the on-premises deployment process is complex. In contrast, deploying to the cloud is fast and simple.

3. Data Security

   All of Microsoft’s cloud products, including cloud-based deployments of Dynamics 365, are hosted on the company’s own cloud platform, Azure. Azure is operated from Microsoft data centers located all over the world, which data center an organization’s data is physically housed in will depend on where the organization is based, and the product it is using.

   The company also operates the Microsoft Cyber Defense Operations Center: a cybersecurity and defense facility manned by security experts and data scientists that work to protect Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure, detecting and responding to threats around the clock. Microsoft invests over $1B a year in ensuring the security of their users and their digital property. When it comes to Azure, there are many critical layers to its security model.

4. Improved Reliability

   Microsoft Dynamics 365 has a financially backed 99.9% uptime guarantee. That is generally better than most IT teams can achieve. And, their worldwide uptime data indicates that they consistently meet that guarantee.

5. Improved Scalability

   You can respond to market changes quickly by increasing or decreasing the size and scope of your Dynamics 365 installation at any time.

6. Automatic Data Backups

   While every IT team knows that backups are important, those backups are often pushed down the priority list. In the cloud, the automatic backups provide peace of mind and free up internal resources.

7. Timely Updates

   Software updates are performed on a regular basis, meaning that you’ll always have the latest software versions and early access to new features. This also avoids one of the big problems seen in cyber security when cybercriminals use unpatched software vulnerabilities to carry out attacks.

8. Anywhere Access

   As more businesses are planning to support a hybrid workforce, the need for anywhere access is critical. Deploying in the cloud gives your employees the ability to access critical systems from wherever they are using desktops, laptops, tablets, or mobile phones.

9. No Missing Features

   There are features of Dynamics 365 that are either limited or not available in the on-premises version. Examples include default Power BI reports, in-product search, and sandbox environments

   In addition, updates are released to the cloud version first. For example, the latest features and fixes for Power BI are released for the cloud before the on-premises version. Any releases that affect Power BI Desktop are then released to the on-premises version, but all other features are only available for the cloud version.

10. Access to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing

    Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing isn’t available on-premises, which is a huge loss for those who want an integrated Sales and Marketing environment. Dynamics 365 Marketing includes native business intelligence capabilities that make it a powerful automated marketing tool.

How Datavail Can Help

Datavail is one of the largest remote data services companies in North America. We employ over 1,000 data professionals who can help get the highest return on your technology investment.

If you’re ready to migrate your Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications to the cloud, our skilled oversight will help you avoid problems that often arise. We can also help you to enhance or customize your applications, whether you’re migrating to the cloud or staying on-prem.

For more information, download our white paper, “Advantages of Moving Microsoft Dynamics CRM to the Cloud.”  You can also contact Datavail’s Microsoft Dynamics 365 experts today to explore the benefits of working together to make your customer relationship management process as effective as possible.