The world of CRM is overflowed with different options for different company types, sizes, and verticals, but there are two main players that dominate the industry: Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce. Salesforce holds a staggering 19%+ market share and Dynamics 365 has a smaller – but not to be overlooked, 4% market share – the value organizations derive from each CRM platform may tell a different story.
In this article, we will go over the main differentiating points that set Dynamics 365 apart from all other competitors, including Salesforce.
Analytics
This is an area where Dynamics 365 has a significantly better offering for its users – its analytics capabilities are native to the platform and it offers a more immersive experience.
Salesforce does allow exporting static reports to Excel, but with Dynamics 365 you will have interactive report exports and embedded list views, as well as interactive visual reporting through Power BI with pre-built templates.
Another drawback for Salesforce analytics and reporting capabilities is that you have to acquire Analytics Cloud at an additional cost, which is not the case with Dynamics 365.
Seamless Integration drives productivity
What truly sets Dynamics 365 apart from Salesforce is that it is more than a CRM – it is an integrated platform that not only brings Customer Service, Marketing, and Retail apps together, but it also offers additional apps including Field Service, Microsoft Relationship Sales, and Project Service Automation.
The Common Data Platform is another important factor in the whole equation, allowing you to seamlessly integrate your CRM system with other software you’re already using, such as Office 365, Outlook, LinkedIn, while Salesforce requires add-on connectors that come at an additional cost.
Not only is the integration seamless, but most business users are already familiar with productivity apps like Office 365, Teams, LinkedIn, or Outlook, which allows for easier user adoption across the organization – and we all know user adoption is key to maintaining a successful CRM!
Dynamics 365 integrates with other powerful Microsoft products that enhance the value of the platform like an insightful business intelligence tool like Power BI, an automation tool like Microsoft Flow, and Power Apps – which allows for custom app development.
With Microsoft Dynamics 365, you don’t only get premium features and tools to integrate with, but a platform that is designed to accommodate different business models. Organizations have the freedom to design the system to perfectly fit their unique business processes and needs.
Deployment
Salesforce is designed for the cloud and is a true SaaS CRM that allows users to access important data from anywhere – but doesn’t offer the flexibility of other types of deployment.
With Dynamics 365, your organization can choose from three deployment options – cloud, on-premise and hybrid deployment. If you are a type of organization that requires on-premise deployment or is considering a hybrid approach, Dynamics 365 is the right choice for you.
Dynamics 365 runs natively on Azure and benefits from the availability of Microsoft’s cloud data centers globally that run on a 99.9% level of availability. Salesforce on the other hand doesn’t allow for this level of availability.
Security
With Dynamics 365 you can easily set permissions for role-based, record-based, and field-level security, which allows for seamless control of data access across your organization. With standard data encryption, administrators can manage database encryption keys with Azure Key Vault.
User Experience
While Salesforce does have a simpler interface, Dynamics 365 unified interface resembles the UI of other Microsoft products, so if you are familiar with other Microsoft products like Office 365 – it will be easier to adjust to the D365 interface. Dynamics 365 can also be accessed on mobile, on all Android, iOS, and Windows devices
Cost Flexibility & Pricing
Another contributing factor to Dynamics 365 superiority as a CRM platform is its competitive pricing and flexible licensing model – which makes it easily accessible for SMBs. Not only is the Enterprise Edition of Salesforce higher in price, but there are additional costs to acquiring add-ons for analytics, field service, data storage, and support. Dynamics 365 offers a lower cost per user and includes sales gamification, field service, Power BI and more!
What’s next?
To grasp the full benefits of Dynamics 365 and its many capabilities and features, partnering with a team of experienced consultants and developers at Solutionade, can provide you with continuous and cost-effective consulting and support to help you optimize your Dynamics 365 and Teams for success.
If you are interested in learning more about how we can help you enrich your experience with Dynamics 365, feel free to drop us a message!
