What Dynamics ERP and CRM users should know as Microsoft prepares Dynamics 365 launch

With the official launch of Dynamics 365 just hours away, discussion has been building around not only the future of the brand, but how Microsoft will bring its current Dynamics ERP and CRM customers along. Partners have already gained some understanding from recent events like NAV Directions North America and the GP channel's reIMAGINE 2016, along with partner-only online training and airlift events.

While there is a fair amount of Dynamics 365 information publicly known now, it has also become clear that a lot of questions about the products and the roadmap for current Dynamics customers still lack definitive answers. And with a product set that has yet to go to market with a version 1.0, an ongoing period of change and uncertainty is to be expected. But as the hype and attention have increased, pressure on Microsoft has also risen as customers and partners think about all the permutations of new and existing product changes, upgrades, and licensing issues they could be looking at next.

Dynamics 365 is not singular; it is the brand name for a range of still-emerging solutions that Microsoft believes will meet the needs of everyone from the post-QuickBooks crowd up to the Fortune 500. And while there may appear to be some functional white space today, like where Dynamics NAV and GP operate as on-premise and partner-hosted solutions, there probably won't be within a year or two.

So what should a Dynamics CRM, AX, NAV, GP, or SL customer be learning about the new world of Dynamics 365? Based on input from Microsoft partners and other experts over ...