Microsoft Dynamics 365 set for November launch, with plans for new intelligence apps

Microsoft announced today that Dynamics 365, the company's new unified business apps service, will reach general availability on November 1.

The launch shifts Microsoft's competitive messaging against rival Salesforce into a new gear, both in terms of pricing and claims of better analytics capabilities. Dynamics 365 introduces a new pricing and licensing model, which offers customers the ability to purchase individual apps, multi-app plans, and low-priced "team member" licenses for broad read-only access. Microsoft is putting out the message that Dynamics 365 will be up to four to five times less expensive than a comparable Salesforce solution.

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Microsoft has stated that Dynamics 365 will be available to customers in more than 135 markets and over 40 languages, though the rollout of the various components will vary. The broadest availability will reach at least as far as Dynamics CRM Online and AX 7 already do. The Dynamics 365 Business Financials app, for example, will first launch in the US and Canada, to be followed in 2017 by several European ...