Summit 2017: Microsoft introduces Dynamics 365/CRM v9 enhanced usability, LinkedIn integration, Azure analytics

With the launch of Dynamics 365/CRM v9, Microsoft has introduced usability improvements new tools to connect CRM data with Office and LinkedIn, and updated tools for data analysis, integration, and application-building.

At D365UG/CRMUG Summit 2017 yesterday in Nashville, the Dynamics 365 product team walked customers through a range of the updates that Dynamics 365 cloud customers will begin experiencing.

Connecting CRM data with Office, LinkedIn graphs

Sales Navigator will continue to be a major point of integration with Dynamics 365 Sales, with an emphasis on "social selling with context," meaning more bi-directional flow of data that will round out visibility of a lead or opportunity.

For sales peoplewith both tools, sales entities in Dynamics 365 will expose Sales Navigator data  \through an interface widget, both for the contact and the account. Microsoft says they are using fuzzy logic technology to match people between systems on the fly to surface LinkedIn data from Dynamics, and vice versa. Actions taken in Sales Navigator will also filter back to the field and activities of the Dynamics entity.

Dynamics 365 leads can also be sent to LinkedIn if the sales rep believes he or she will be better engaged via communications on that platform. Those interactions will be fed back to Dynamics, too, as part of the integration.

Customer insights: Pushing from data to intelligence to action

Microsoft also noted advances in the use of Azure-based analytical tools for the benefit of CRM customers. The team is updating Customer Insights with segmentation, lead scoring, conflation analysis (duplicate matching), and other machine learning capabilities.

In Customer Insights, segmentation capabilities of the ...