Getting Microsoft Dynamics to Talk to Itself

Maybe you've met that perfect communicating couple. They finish each other's sentences. They always know the other's schedule. When they send out party invites there's no question who will contact whom. They don't tell each other to pick up dinner on the way home, because the other has already stopped at the shop. It's almost like they share a sixth sense. Don't you wish your software could be like this?

Microsoft Dynamics is a powerful and widely used suite of products, but just like a company that makes coats, pants, and shirts, their products don't always work together as a suit. The name Microsoft Dynamics is shared by the company's CRM solution (now branded as Dynamics 365 customer engagement apps), which has been on the market since 2003, as well as for their ERP products, such as NAV, used by finance and operations. But the shared name does not make integration automatic or even easy. This problem dates to the origin of the ERPs as separate, standalone products, purchased by Microsoft, rather than built in-house.

Sales teams, which rely on Dynamics CRM, shouldn't work in isolation from the financial heart of the company. Sales strives for quotes that turn into invoices that eventually generate cash for the company, the so-called quote-to-cash pipeline. After the first sale, sales teams benefit from knowing the invoice and payment history of customers, especially when a salesperson is dealing with an account that is new to them. They also need product lists and pricing guidelines from the ERP to generate accurate quotes.

Sales teams jealously guard their rolodex, the raw material for future sales, but names must be shared for invoicing, fulfillment, ...