Modern day businesses have diverse networks made up of man-machine collaboration. Machine churn out data in massive volumes which human workers feed on to take decisions that will drive their business forward.
But, there is a problem with data. Unlike human beings, it is not very social. Most databases, especially the ones created by traditional Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, like to reside in disparate containers or databases where they are one with their own type. That slows down organizational productivity and makes it difficult to make a real-time decision. Also, it can lead to roadblocks in the Digital Transformation journey of an enterprise.
What if there is an enterprise-grade solution that can give a holistic view of data and also help make intelligent decisions out of it?
Enter, Microsoft Dynamics 365 – a cloud-based intelligent business solution that can bring CRM, ERP and other disparate systems together for meaningful work. Also, it comes with the working familiarity of essential Microsoft Office tools like Excel and Outlook and even the power of Azure, thus bringing to the table the full potential of Microsoft.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 has several industry-based applications like, sales, customer service, retail, finance and operations, marketing, field service, Artificial Intelligence, and Mixed Reality, among many others. Presently, it is available in two editions – Business and Enterprise Edition. The Enterprise edition of Microsoft Dynamics 365 can be deployed both on the Cloud or on-premises.
In what is to follow, let’s take a closer look at how Dynamics 365 Enterprise Edition can serve the Finance and Operations industry.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations
Traditional accounting software can do only the basic double entry bookkeeping function. They cannot ramp up to the needs of large scale enterprises who have sophisticated financial working models. Using the alternative of ERP systems brings the challenge of disparate systems and data. Also, most ERP systems come bloated with too many functions and lengthy workflows that make them less agile for day-to-day financial management.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations (previously known as Microsoft Dynamics AX) cuts through all those challenges and enables users to seamlessly conduct their financial business transactions on the go. The system can be tightly integrated with the accounting systems of the enterprise, taking away the difficulty in bookkeeping and financial reporting.
Here are some of its highlight features:
Intelligent Financial Management
Stay on top of your everyday financial status, forecast finances with better accuracy, bring receivables, payables, reconciliations and much more under control easily.
Automated supply chain management
Automate the entire length of supply chain management. Optimize inventory levels to reduce stockout or overstocking situations. Establish workflows to weed away frauds or errors in procurement.
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Enhanced customer service
Identify avenues for revenue maximization through upselling, cross-selling, renewals throughout the sales cycle. Manage sales orders, make amends before they are finalized and plug in the finalized orders straight into the system for bookkeeping.
Read more: Leveraging the capabilities of Dynamics 365 for customer service
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Project Management Monitoring
Keep a tab on project performance, milestones achieved, budget utilization, invoicing for completed tasks and so on. Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations also gives insights into source-usage and their corresponding billing.
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Commerce operations
Fine tune your order fulfillment, optimize inventory and warehouse management, manage production schedules and bring the entire commerce operations in alignment to meet customer demands seamlessly.
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Universal accessibility
Deploy Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations on the cloud, on-premises or on hybrid platforms. Also, the system can be accessed from all devices including web, mobile, desktop as well as operating systems like Android, Windows and iOS.
Cloud & On-premises – The two deployment models and their benefits
Microsoft Dynamics 365 can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises. Cloud deployment will offer all the benefits of cloud scalability and data center security that is directly managed by Microsoft. Other offerings that come with the cloud package include high availability, disaster recovery, sandbox requirements, application lifecycle management and the critical Azure Machine Learning and Advanced Analytics services. Deploying on the cloud is relatively faster compared to on-premises since the infrastructure is already pre-built and can be customized easily.
On the contrary, enterprise deployment is recommended for those enterprise users who have already invested in data center infrastructure and want to leverage the same for their future operations. While on-prem deployment gives the benefit of using existing investments, it also takes away Microsoft’s cloud deployment features of high availability, disaster management, sandbox requirements, scaling the infrastructure and so on. Also, the total cost of deployment for on premises model could end up being on the higher side than cloud deployment.
Final Thoughts
Microsoft Dynamics is a game changer for enterprises who are bogged down by heavy ERP and CRM systems. Compared to the rigid architecture of traditional systems, Microsoft Dynamics offers a fluid and highly integrated ecosystem of finance and operational modules that will heighten productivity and also bring finances under control.
Thanks to its multiple deployment options – cloud, on-premises and hybrid, it can be adopted by any enterprise that is just growing or has been in the business for decades. Cloud deployment model brings to the table all the benefits of scalability, security and architecture prowess of Microsoft. On premises deployment is an ideal choice for enterprises who want to retain their existing on premises systems and want to streamline them with Microsoft Dynamics.
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