If you currently use Dynamics CRM on-premise, you may be thinking to yourself, “I’ve been using my CRM solution for this long, do I really need a new one?” And although the on-premise deployment of Dynamics CRM is a reliable system, it was last updated in 2016, so believe us when we say that there are better and more evolved options out there. Adopting a cloud-based CRM solution like Dynamics 365 Sales has more securities, capabilities, tools, and features than any of its predecessors, and making the jump to the cloud is easier than you might imagine.

We’ve broken down just a few of the benefits of adopting a cloud-based system, and some of the features that make Dynamics 365 Sales the premier cloud-based sales CRM solution.

Benefits of upgrading to a cloud solution

The cloud is where all of Microsoft’s time and efforts, innovation and upgrades lie – no investment is being put into on-prem version of any apps (especially legacy ERPs like Dynamics NAV and GP – but more on that in another blog series).

The first big difference between an on-premise and cloud-based system is that the cloud introduces the Software as a Service model. Software as a Service (SaaS) licensing is a flexible and scalable option, since it operates on a monthly expense model, as opposed to paying for perpetual, or “paid in full” up-front licensing costs for full terms with hardly any wiggle room. Paying per user, per month gives you control over your level of usage and lets you trim excess users or add new team members with ease. This way, you can cut back on unnecessary users and only pay for what you need, and you can also scale your CRM system in accordance with business growth, and quickly add users and have them up and running in no time. Not to mention, a monthly bill is much more manageable than one massive payment all at once.

Going cloud-based means that nobody in your organization is solely responsible for product upgrades, software updates, data refreshes, and manual fixes anymore either – all of that is covered on the server side. Cloud applications will regularly auto-update to bring you the latest features, fixes, and upgrades, so you can get started with the latest and greatest new features before you’ve even finished your morning cup of coffee – all without so much as lifting a finger to get it installed. Automatic data backups mean that you never have to worry about missing a manual backup either, and you’re guaranteed world-class data and cybersecurity measures at no extra hardware or cost to you.

Business applications work best when they are finely in tune with even the smallest unique process you’d need, and a cloud-based system means it’s malleable by nature. Your CRM should be tailored to your customers, business offerings, communications, and sales processes, so you shouldn’t settle for a cookie cutter solution straight out-of-the-box. A cloud-based application infrastructure keeps your software highly customizable, without any additional plug-ins or hardware needed to keep your customizations in operation. Microsoft’s cloud applications are built with customizations, integrations, and add-on’s in mind, so nobody in-house needs to be a SQL expert to build customized solutions from scratch.

Eliminating on-premise hosting services provides a noticeable ROI of its own – an easy way to lessen overhead costs and gain more space, cut down on costly on-site infrastructure, and free up your in-house IT expertise. Physical servers and data centers just don’t stack up to the benefits of freeing up space, time, and resources with minimal maintenance time for cloud-based business applications.

Using Dynamics 365 Sales as an all-in-one CRM

Countless integrations with other Dynamics 365 and Microsoft business suite products lets you use each and every application to its fullest potential, so you can implement end-to-end solutions that operate in sync. The entire stack of Microsoft business solutions can work in perfect harmony with one another – because that’s how they’re designed to work. Implementing Dynamics 365 Sales allows you to implement Dynamics 365 Marketing as well for a fully-functional, integrated CRM solution that maximizes the joint efforts of your sales and marketing teams with collaboration to make the most of time, energy, and resources to ensure the success of the entire business.

A dependable CRM system keeps valuable data and information centralized and provides a wide array of tools that lets you use this data as necessary, oftentimes in ways that make your day easier and more streamlined. Dynamics 365 Sales allows you to automate key sales tasks like lead assignment and routing, keep in constant communication across your entire organization with built-in Teams functionality, use AI-powered predictive reporting and forecasting, gain relationship insights, and more. A Power BI connector makes it easy to create compelling and easy-to-digest visualizations of your real-time sales data, plus, built-in intelligence tools track meaningful metrics so your sales team can make data-informed decisions without any additional heavy lifting to gather the information they need.

With features like pipeline visibility, task organization, sales activity automation, collaborative workflows, end-to-end data security, and more, all in one unified workspace, working smarter has never been easier with Dynamics 365 Sales on the cloud.

We’re here to simplify your move to the cloud

Even if you’re comfortable with your on-premise deployment, the benefits of the cloud are too great to ignore for much longer. No hurried decisions need to be made right this moment, but it’s advisable to at least create a strategy to move to the cloud on a more current solution – sooner rather than later. We have experience in helping businesses of all kinds move from on-premise solutions to cloud applications, and we’re ready to help you take the next step in growing your business.