The Microsoft Dynamics 365 Release Notes for the April 2019 release have arrived - CRM nerds rejoice! The Business Applications April 2019 release bring some enhancements and updates to the Dynamics 365 platform which promise to deliver significant capabilities to transform your business.

CRM for Distribution allows you to combine ERP sales data inside of your CRM system, available for your sales team to access on demand making that data actionable from a Sales, Marketing and Customer Service perspective. Imagine how much more powerful your Account Management experience can be with this data at your fingertips.

Business Rules in Dynamics 365, CRM 2013, CRM 2015 and CRM 2016 provide an interface for you to simply configure the ability to set or hide field visibility. Let's walk through a brief example scenario so you can see just how easy it is for a System Administrator to use the drag and drop Business Rule canvas.

In this blog, I'm going to show you how simple it is to configure a custom business app in Microsoft Dynamics 365 using PowerApps. That's right, custom app and configuration! There are a few pre-requisites and assumptions before we proceed:

You must have System Administrator or System Customizer security roles in Dynamics 365.
While PowerApps is available in earlier versions of Microsoft CRM, this blog will focus on using the Dynamics 365 Online platform.

If you take a look at your System Administrator CRM Utility Belt of super powers, make sure that Business Rules are included. Initially introduced in CRM 2013 and available in 2013, 2015, 2016 and Dynamics 365, Business rules allow you to apply form logic without needing JavaScript code or building plug-ins.

One of the great features of Dynamics 365 is that it can be accessible anywhere: through an internet browser, Outlook or on a mobile device. To encourage user adoption, it's best to ensure that you offer Dynamics 365 through the method your users prefer.

Hurray, the Dynamics 365 October 2018 Release Overview has arrived! CRM nerds rejoice! The Business Applications October 2018 release bring some pretty significant updates with it that can allow for your business to further maximize efficiencies and enhance business processes leveraging the Dynamics 365 technologies.

Business Process Flows allow you to translate your organization's Service & Sales Processes into simple steps for end users to follow. If you don’t have a process, work with managers to define one! (If you find yourself starting here, remember to include your End Users throughout this entire process - not just management!) Use drag & drop functionality to customize your organization’s process in a simple, easy-to-follow way.

There is most likely a pain point that your users have in their daily job (which is often times NOT in CRM). Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to find that pain and use technology (CRM!) to automate it! There are a number of ways to accomplish this and increase user adoption at your organization:

Job shadow (great for Customer Service Reps & Inside Sales Reps)
Ride along (Salespeople)
Look for manual Excel reporting they are providing to their manager

Spending the time with your end users to really understand why they are not using CRM can pay huge dividends in user adoption.

Who wants to be a Super User in CRM? One surefire way to increase user adoption in your Dynamics 365 system is to build a team of CRM super users. Play with the terminology here to find what works in your organization. These can be super CRMers, Super Users, Early Adopters, CRM Advocates or any clever term you can think of.