What Microsoft’s new release plans mean for your business

Earlier in the year, Microsoft announced a new wave of updates for their Dynamics 365 and Power Platform products. Set to be released between April and September this year, users can expect new features and enhancements that will enable businesses to be more streamlined and more efficient than they’ve been before!

With a whole range of updates across the board, users can expect to see an upgrade in the way they manage their departments with the help of Microsoft 365…

But what does it mean for each department? This is where an ERP Solution comes in!

Sales

Management of leads and account management are potentially two of the most time-consuming jobs your sales team does daily. So, imagine if there was a tool that could automate those tasks, without losing the human touch…

Microsoft 365 makes it easy to keep a handle on leads, whether they’re cold, warm, or boiling hot! The seller workflow can be updated and tailored to what your sales team needs to see most. The sales pipeline can be enhanced with updated email templates, content suggestions, and even text message capabilities, reducing the need for human intervention, whilst keeping those leads warm.

Customer Service

Customer service is at the forefront of so many businesses, so it’s pretty important that your staff have the tools to showcase your business in the best light and provide excellent customer service.

With Microsoft 365’s new capabilities, your whole customer service team can work more efficiently with the use of the tools they need right at their fingertips. Employees can utilise different agent workspaces and collaborative tools, which pulls together information from different departments. With the use of customisable dashboards, your team can see timelines, documents, previous correspondence, and conversation control all in one place – reducing the need for lengthy phone calls!

And if your business isn’t making the most of the artificial intelligence capabilities, including intelligent-suggested replies and automated responses, this might just be the time to give it a go, especially as Microsoft will be continuing to improve and invest in its AI services.

Marketing

Firstly, if you’re overlooking the marketing capabilities that come with Microsoft 365, you’re missing out. Microsoft Dynamics isn’t just a sales tool, or a finance tool, it can work however you want it to work. Whether that’s for its automation capabilities, or its ability to create an accurate customer profile based on buying habits – you can do some seriously tailored marketing with help of Microsoft 365.

As part of the new updates for users, the sales and marketing departments will now be able to act as a unified team, accelerate sales pipelines, and provide updates of where each department is without the need of email chains and multiple phone calls. New features include a B2B analytics dashboard, email timelines, frequency capping, and customisable preference centres.

Now more than ever it’s important to make sure your marketing output is as effective as possible; it’s becoming a tougher market and more and more businesses are using AI to tailor their campaigns – which is exactly where Microsoft 365 can help.

Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management involves many moving parts; there are plates spinning in all sorts of areas, and if one isn’t working as slick as it should be, that’s when the whole chain can become unstuck.

With the help of Microsoft 365, you can continue to deliver increased agility and resilience across the whole chain. Utilising their omnichannel sales strategies will improve the management of pricing structures, integrate soft reservations, and end-to-end process integration.

If you’re thinking about how Microsoft 365 could help you and your business, we’d love to chat!