Microsoft CRM Integration: Getting the Most Out of Your Cloud Investments

Cloud integrations are a dime a dozen these days. With everything from hardware to middleware moving to the cloud, integrating new services and solutions has become par for the IT professional course. With that said, how do you know you're getting the most bang for your buck when choosing a new Microsoft CRM integration?

Identifying Opportunities

You've been on the Microsoft Dynamics train for a while now and are pleased as punch with the management tools it places at your disposal. Life is coming up roses as your department notices newfound efficiencies for handling customer data and using enterprise resources.

The thing is, there's still a tiny little voice in the back of your head telling you, "There must be more."

"More what?" you ask, quickly glancing around the room to make sure no one caught you talking to yourself. More opportunity for efficiency and innovation, of course!

In order to find this opportunity, the best place to start is to simply look at the core business function of the cloud service upon which you're looking to expand. In the case of Microsoft Dynamics, that would be communication. With CRM platforms hinging upon data that empowers communication, it only makes sense to look at integration opportunities in similar solutions.

For example, perhaps your Microsoft Dynamics deployment is primarily used in your call centers. In all likelihood, users are pulling information out of and adding data back into Dynamics with each call they take. This is an obvious opportunity for cloud integration.

Shopping Around for a Microsoft CRM Integration

Expanding on this idea a bit, the logical connection point is within the phone system itself. What if you could pipe calls directly through Microsoft Dynamics to automatically pull up useful customer information? In doing so, you've already eliminated a few steps from the typical call process and introduced a subtly powerful way to connect your cloud infrastructure.

Don't sell yourself short here, either. While integrating Microsoft Dynamics with your cloud-based phone system is a great way to collect that low-hanging fruit, be sure to do your homework. Which phone system integrates best with your existing infrastructure? Which one offers the most opportunities for improvement with Microsoft Dynamics?

While you'd be hard-pressed to find a cloud-based phone system that didn't offer some kind of opportunity to enhance customer relationships, not all are created equal. For example, by shopping around, you'll probably stumble upon solutions that offer automatic screen pop-ups with integrated Microsoft Dynamics customer information on inbound and outbound calls. That means no more pressure to come up with witty banter as you desperately search for customer information on the fly.

Other potential enhancements include call recording and note-taking integration. With this functionality, you can tag, record, and annotate calls in real-time with all resulting information stored directly in Microsoft Dynamics. Features such as single click-to-dial are also worth shopping around for, as they introduce even more ways to cut out wasted time.

While deploying a Microsoft CRM integration with your cloud-based phone system is a great example of the potential of cloud integrations, the principle applies just about everywhere. The next time you find yourself content with one aspect of your organization's cloud infrastructure, it's time to look for ways integration can drive innovation and success.

Contact Vonage Business to learn more about how cloud-based communications can aid your company.