While companies can implement Dynamics 365 (D365) as an independent suite of apps supporting various business processes, integrating it with other Microsoft and non-Microsoft solutions is rather beneficial for most businesses. By enabling seamless communication between D365 apps and other systems, companies can eliminate data silos and unlock multiple business advantages, including improved business performance and cost efficiency.
In this article, experts from Itransition, an official Microsoft partner since 2008, cover common options for Dynamics 365 integration, highlighting key benefits and sharing practical tips for successful project implementation.
Dynamics 365 integration types
Generally, integrations between Dynamics 365 apps and other systems fall into two main categories: integrations with the Microsoft ecosystem and third-party solutions.
Integrations with Microsoft tools
Businesses rely on plenty of methods to integrate D365 apps and Microsoft tools. While some cases require basic configuration of out-of-the-box Microsoft connectors, in other cases, businesses have to rely on middleware or custom connectors. Here are some possible integrations for D365 apps:
- Power Platform
Companies can integrate D365 apps with Microsoft’s low-code development platform, named Power Platform, to enable users to create their own custom apps, chatbots, and dashboards, thereby tailoring and expanding the capabilities of Dynamics 365 to meet their specific needs.
- SharePoint
Dynamics 365 apps can also be integrated with SharePoint, Microsoft’s document management system, to enable users to access and manage documents stored in SharePoint directly via the D365 interface, and provide D365 users with SharePoint’s advanced document versioning capabilities.
- Communication and collaboration software
By integrating D365 with Teams, Microsoft’s business communication tool, companies can enable users to easily share business data from D365 via Teams, facilitating and enhancing collaboration between different departments and team members.
- Excel
Another possible integration scenario involves connecting D365 apps with Excel, a data management and spreadsheet tool, to enable users to perform data analysis, charting, budgeting, and other tasks based on data from Dynamics 365 environments using a familiar tool.
- Outlook
Common D365 app integration options also include linking apps to Outlook, a personal information manager tool. This type of integration enables Dynamics 365 users to generate system records (such as contacts, opportunities, and leads) directly from customer emails received via Outlook, as well as easily track emails and appointments associated with specific records, including contacts, cases, or leads.
Integrations with non-Microsoft tools
Integrations between D365 apps and non-Microsoft tools typically require using third-party middleware or building custom connectors. Here are some of the most common third-party integrations for D365 apps:
- ERP systems
A company can connect its non-Microsoft ERP system, which is used to manage accounting, procurement, and other processes, with various D365 apps supporting other business workflows. For instance, by integrating the ERP platform with Sales and Customer Service apps used by customer-facing teams, a company can provide the latter with essential operational data, such as current inventory levels, to help them respond promptly to order requests and ensure a seamless customer experience.
- CRM systems
Also, a company can integrate D365 apps, such as Finance and Operations, Project Operations, or Supply Chain Management, with third-party CRM software to eliminate data silos and reduce manual data transfer between sales, field service, procurement, finance, and other teams.
- eсommerce platforms
A company can also connect a non-Microsoft platform powering its online store with CRM apps from the Dynamics 365 suite to automatically transfer captured store visitor data directly into the CRM database and D365 ERP apps to provide store visitors with more accurate information about product availability, thereby increasing their satisfaction.
- Marketing automation software
Through the integration between D365 apps and marketing automation tools, companies can consolidate customer-related data owned by sales, customer service, and marketing teams, enabling marketing representatives to run more personalized and targeted marketing campaigns.
- Accounting software
A company can also connect D365 solutions with third-party accounting tools to seamlessly process transactions among multiple customer interaction channels, ensure consistency of financial data across different systems, and generate comprehensive and accurate financial reports.
Advantages of Dynamics 365 integration
Let’s examine these three real-world case studies to see what tangible benefits D365 integration can bring to businesses:
- Increased operational visibility
Typically, business data is stored in disparate business systems, making it difficult for employees to gain visibility into a company’s operations and performance. This lack of visibility prevents them from identifying operational issues promptly, which can potentially cause workflow inefficiencies and disruptions. Integrating D365 apps with other tools is crucial for ensuring high operational visibility.
Van Wijnen, a Dutch company specializing in the design and construction of customized houses, built an automated factory to address a labor shortage, hindering its business growth. To support its digital design-to-production process, Van Wijnen implemented multiple Microsoft solutions, including Dynamics 365, but as they were not integrated, the company lacked visibility into its core workflows.
Richard Werners, the company’s Enterprise Architect, said, “We also needed a single point of truth across the whole platform, because we can’t afford to have issues anywhere along the chain. If one element can’t be produced, we can’t build the block of houses.” The company established an interconnected technology platform to integrate Dynamics 365 with Microsoft Azure, and Microsoft 356 E5 solutions, providing the operational visibility required to manage a factory with the capacity to produce 4,000 homes annually.
- Streamlined employee performance
With disparate business systems, employees often have to manually transfer data and reconcile inconsistencies in it, which reduces their productivity. Integrating D365 solutions with other systems helps reduce manual data management, leading to a more productive workforce and streamlined operations.
Sapphire, a US-based company that provides gas solutions, implemented Business Central to modernize its legacy accounting system and provided the accounting team with the ability to compare their budgeted projections with the actual financial results. The company also aimed to grant its sales teams the ability to generate insights in real time, which was impossible, as reps worked in several disparate systems and relied on spreadsheet-based processes.
To eliminate duplicate customer records and automate reporting across sales teams, the company decided to integrate its Dynamics 365 Sales app with the CRM tool, Power BI, and Power Automate systems, which helped reduce manual work by more than 50%.
- Improved customer service and satisfaction
When customer service reps work with multiple siloed systems (i.e, some processes are supported with Dynamics 365, while others are covered with additional apps), they can lack a holistic customer view required to personalize product and service offerings. Tracking all necessary data requires hopping between multiple apps, which can be exhausting, not to mention it can increase average ticket resolution time. By setting up robust Dynamics 365 integrations, companies can prevent customer satisfaction declines and other issues that can arise from such inefficiencies.
As a result of a rapid increase in its client base, Banco PAN, a Brazilian financial services company, struggled to provide high-quality service to each customer. Because customer service teams had to deal with multiple siloed systems, their workflows were inefficient and prone to errors. “Our operators had to switch between several screens to solve a single customer request, which was not ideal,” stated Priscila Lira Nicoli, the company’s Project Manager.
To eliminate inefficiencies, Banco PAN decided to implement Dynamics 365 Customer Service and integrate it with WhatsApp and voice platforms, which helped the company establish an integrated customer service workspace. The company also deployed the integration with Microsoft Dataverse, allowing operators to access customers’ histories in real-time and resolve issues faster. As a result, the company managed to enhance operators’ efficiency (they can now resolve more than 98% of issues on the first call) and ensure better experiences for customers.
Tips to ensure a smooth Dynamics 365 integration
Start with the requirements definition
To ensure the success of a Dynamics 365 integration project, it is critical to define your business and technical requirements before starting.
- Consider the business goals you aim to achieve, whether it is reducing app switching, minimizing manual data entry, or ensuring data accuracy.
- Communicate with business users, administrators, and other project stakeholders to define their needs and determine the new functionalities they want to leverage.
- Assess your systems to be integrated, determine which types and formats of data they need to exchange, and define the required data processing speed.
With well-defined business and technical requirements, it will be easier for you to identify potential project risks, specify a suitable integration approach, and plan the project accurately.
Prioritize integration testing
After your team sets up a Dynamics 365 integration, you should ensure it is efficient and secure, and that connected systems work as intended, which is why investing in integration testing is critical. Your team should ensure that there are no data inconsistencies, functional errors, or other integration issues. The team should also conduct acceptance testing to guarantee that the integration meets user’s needs and expectations.
Security should not be overlooked during this stage. Implementing strong network and security solutions helps protect sensitive business data as it moves across integrated systems, reducing risks of breaches or compliance failures.
Implement error monitoring and handling practices
Even thorough testing does not guarantee that integration issues and errors will never arise in the future, once your newly integrated apps are live and operational. To ensure seamless data flow between apps and maintain the accuracy of the exchanged data, an in-house IT team must adhere to continuous error monitoring and handling practices.
Teams, for instance, can utilize Microsoft’s tools, such as Azure Monitor and Trace Parser, or any suitable third-party tools to promptly inspect and diagnose data synchronization, data ingestion, and other integration errors. Along with handling them, teams should also carefully review available error logs to pinpoint root causes of errors and prevent their future occurrence.
Final thoughts
By integrating Dynamics 365 solutions with other business tools, companies can leverage numerous advantages, including enhanced operational visibility, employee productivity, and customer satisfaction. Your company can streamline the integration process by following the recommendations listed in this article.
But if you are looking for a sure way to succeed, consider engaging a Microsoft partner in the project. An experienced partner can help define a tailored integration approach based on your unique business requirements. If needed, it can also provide technical assistance to your team with establishing software connections, running integration tests, and other tasks.
