D365 Pre-sales shift from “show and tell” to “solve and deliver.”

In today’s evolving digital economy, pre-sales isn’t just a phase—it's a competitive differentiator.

Traditionally, D365 pre-sales focused on:

• Demonstrating modules and features
• Building proof-of-concepts quickly
• Responding to RFPs with templated responses

While these still have a place, they’re no longer enough.

Modern D365 pre-sales focus needs to change from “show and tell” to “solve and deliver.”

Key transformation areas include:

      ·       Customer-Centric Storytelling
Pre-sales is now about connecting business pain points to tangible outcomes. It’s not just about showing what D365 can do, but how it aligns with the customer’s vision, and challenges.

 ·       Integrated Discovery Workshops

      Instead of one-off demos, lead discovery-led engagements that involve business users, IT, and executives. This helps in shaping a solution that is fit-for-purpose.

·       Industry Accelerators & IP

      Leverage Microsoft’s industry accelerators, partner IP, and reusable templates to speed up time-to-value and speak the language of the customer (e.g., Grants Management for public sector).

·       Co-selling with Microsoft

      Build tighter alignment with Microsoft’s co-sell program to drive joint go-to-market strategies, especially in competitive, high-value pursuits.

      ·       Copilot & AI Integration

With the rise of Copilot in D365, showing how AI can enhance productivity, automate workflows, and enable faster insights can turn a standard demo into a visionary conversation. 

Dynamics 365 trends

As we move deeper into 2025, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is no longer just an ERP or CRM solution — it's a platform for transformation, bridging AI, low-code, and data to solve real business problems.

Having worked across both pre-sales and delivery in the Dynamics space, I’ve seen first hand how the role of business applications is evolving. Here are some key trends every enterprise leader and consultant should be watching:

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1. Industry-Focused Accelerators Are Going Mainstream

Clients are looking for faster time-to-value, and vertical accelerators are delivering just that. Whether it's the Nonprofit Accelerator, Healthcare, or Grants Management, these tailored solutions are reducing delivery time by up to 40% to 50%.

2. AI-First Business Applications with Copilot

AI is no longer an add-on — it's at the core of how Dynamics works. Microsoft's Copilot capabilities are now deeply integrated into:

• Sales: Generating opportunity summaries, email drafts, and pipeline insights
• Customer Service: Drafting responses, summarizing cases, predicting outcomes
• Finance & Operations: Assisting in forecasting, anomaly detection, and process automation

What this means for us: Success isn’t about knowing how to configure CRM forms anymore — it's about understanding how AI can reshape the entire user experience and decision-making process.

3. Power Platform + Dynamics: Unified Low-Code Ecosystem

The real power of Dynamics today lies in its tight integration with Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI:

• Automate repetitive back-office tasks with low-code workflows
• Extend core apps with canvas or model-driven apps
• Build real-time dashboards directly on Dataverse

Why it matters: Clients no longer need custom code for every requirement. If you can think like a low-code architect, you’ll deliver faster, cheaper, and with higher user adoption.

4. Sustainability, Compliance & Trust Built-In

Governments and enterprises are demanding transparency. Microsoft has invested heavily in:

• Regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, ISO, IRAP for Australia)
• Sustainability tracking (Cloud for Sustainability + ESG reporting)
• Data residency and sovereignty (Multi-geo capabilities)

As a leader: Understand the governance requirements — Dynamics isn’t just a system of record anymore; it’s a system of accountability.

Final Thoughts

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is not standing still — and neither should we. Whether you’re a solution architect, pre-sales consultant, or delivery lead, the future belongs to those who can combine domain expertise with AI, data, and low-code.

If you’re leading Dynamics engagements today, ask yourself:

• Are you helping your clients modernize — or just migrate?
• Are you selling software — or solving problems?

Let’s build solutions that are not only functional but future-ready.

What trends are you seeing in the Dynamics ecosystem? How are you preparing your clients (and your team) for the next wave?

Let’s connect and continue the conversation. 

Enhancing Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement with Co-pilot: A Game-Changer in Productivity

In today’s dynamic business landscape, customer engagement is at the forefront of every successful business. The ability to efficiently manage customer relationships while streamlining business processes is paramount for growth and sustainability.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CE) has long been a cornerstone in this endeavor, offering a comprehensive suite of tools to manage sales, marketing, and customer service.

However, as businesses evolve, so do their needs. Enter Co-pilot, the innovative solution designed to revolutionize how organizations leverage Dynamics 365 CE. Co-pilot isn't just another feature; it's a game-changer, enhancing productivity, improving decision-making, and ultimately driving better outcomes for businesses and their customers.

Understanding Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement

Before diving into Co-pilot, let’s take a brief look at Dynamics 365 CE. It's an integrated CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platform that enables businesses to manage customer data, track sales opportunities, automate marketing campaigns, and provide top-notch customer service. With modules like Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Field Service, and Project Service Automation, Dynamics 365 CE offers a holistic approach to managing customer relationships.

Introducing Co-pilot: The AI Assistant for Dynamics 365 CE

Co-pilot represents the next frontier in CRM innovation. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies, Co-pilot acts as a virtual assistant within Dynamics 365 CE, providing users with intelligent insights, proactive suggestions, and automation capabilities.

Key Features of Co-pilot:

1. Intelligent Insights: Co-pilot analyses vast amounts of data within Dynamics 365 CE to deliver actionable insights. Whether it's identifying trends in customer behavior, predicting sales opportunities, or highlighting potential service issues, Co-pilot helps users make informed decisions.
2. Proactive Suggestions: Gone are the days of manual data entry and guesswork. Co-pilot proactively suggests actions based on user interactions and historical data. From recommending follow-up tasks after a customer interaction to proposing personalized marketing campaigns, Co-pilot streamlines workflows and boosts productivity.
3. Automation Capabilities: Leveraging AI, Co-pilot automates repetitive tasks, saving users time and effort. Whether it's updating records, sending email reminders, or routing service requests, Co-pilot handles routine operations, allowing users to focus on high-value activities.
4. Natural Language Interaction: Co-pilot understands natural language commands, making it easy for users to interact with Dynamics 365 CE. Whether it's querying data, scheduling appointments, or generating reports, users can simply converse with Co-pilot, enhancing user experience and adoption.

Benefits of Co-pilot for Businesses:

1. Increased Productivity: By automating tasks and providing intelligent insights, Co-pilot boosts productivity across sales, marketing, and customer service teams. Users can accomplish more in less time, driving efficiency and effectiveness.
2. Enhanced Decision-Making: With access to real-time insights and predictive analytics, decision-makers can make more informed choices. Whether it's prioritizing leads, allocating resources, or refining marketing strategies, Co-pilot empowers businesses to stay ahead of the curve.
3. Improved Customer Experience: By leveraging AI-driven personalization and automation, businesses can deliver exceptional customer experiences. From personalized recommendations to timely support responses, Co-pilot helps businesses build stronger relationships with their customers.
4. Scalability and Flexibility: Co-pilot is designed to scale alongside businesses of all sizes. Whether you're a small startup or a large enterprise, Co-pilot adapts to your needs, offering flexibility and scalability without compromising performance.

Conclusion

In an era defined by digital transformation and evolving customer expectations, businesses need more than just a CRM solution; they need a strategic partner that drives innovation and efficiency. Dynamics 365 CE with Co-pilot embodies this partnership, offering a powerful combination of CRM capabilities and AI-driven insights.

By harnessing the power of AI, Co-pilot enables businesses to work smarter, not harder, ultimately delivering superior experiences that drive growth and loyalty.

CRM 2011 Mail Merge in web client -- CRM Add-In missing

Hi All,

Recently I had to use mail merge for a client without having outlook client installed.

Whenever I create a mail merge from web client, I don't seem to see the CRM add-ins under Add-ins tab. Then after doing some reaearch, I found that you need to have an entry in the host file, which is located at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc location on win 7 machine.

Just add an entry to your CRM IP address and name in a new line in this file.

For example, if your server IP is 192.168.1.1 and name is crmappserver, then add a new line with 192.168.1.1 and press tab and then enter crmappserver.

Save the file and open the CRM in IE. Create a mail merge template and now you should be able to see the CRM add-in button.

Thanks.

How to generate ClientCredentials as devicecredentials

Hi,

To register the device using Device Registration Tool Provided in the SDK, Open the command prompt and go to the location of the deviceregistration.exe and then run with the following command. You can find this file in the CRM 2011 sdk i.e. sdk\tools\deviceregistration\bin\Debug

C:\>deviceregistration.exe /operation:Register

This will register you device and give Device Username and Device Password.

The CRM 2011 online supports only claim based authentication so the device username and the password is very important and a necessary component for generating the code{class} for using the Organization Service data and metadata.

Here is an excellent article on this.
http://deepakexploring.wordpress.com/2011/02/16/crud-operation-early-bound-classes-using-wcf-services-in-crm-2011/

CRM Online : How to Authenticate and create Organization service

Hi,

Here is the code to authenticate and create the Organization service for CRM online 2011.

References used to ClientCredentials using System.ServiceModel.Description

and the code is
Uri HomeRealmUri = null;
ClientCredentials devicecredentials = new ClientCredentials();
devicecredentials.UserName.UserName = "<>";
devicecredentials.UserName.Password = "<>";

ClientCredentials credentials = new ClientCredentials();
credentials.UserName.UserName = "<>";
credentials.UserName.Password = "<>";
Uri organizationUri = new Uri("<>");

OrganizationServiceProxy serviceProxy = new OrganizationServiceProxy(organizationUri, HomeRealmUri, credentials, devicecredentials)

Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.IOrganizationService service = (Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.IOrganizationService)serviceProxy;

Read my another blog on how to generate devicecredentials.


Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Ashwani

Error when registering Custom Workflow plugin in MS CRM 2011

There are some security restriction while registering plugins for MS CRM 2011 that enables only privileged users to register plug-ins.

For plug-ins that are not registered in isolation, the system user account under which the plug-in is being registered must exist in the Deployment Administrators group of Deployment Manager. Only the System Administrator user account or any user account included in the Deployment Administrators group can run Deployment Manager.

Important
For non-isolated plug-ins, failure to include the registering user account in the Deployment Administrators group results in an exception being thrown during plug-in registration. The exception description states "Not have enough privilege to complete Create operation for an SDK entity."

The system user account under which the plug-in is being registered must have the following organization wide security privileges:

•prvCreatePluginAssembly

•prvCreatePluginType

•prvCreateSdkMessageProcessingStep

•prvCreateSdkMessageProcessingStepImage

•prvCreateSdkMessageProcessingStepSecureConfig

The System Administrator role has these privileges. For more information, see Security Role and Privilege Reference and The Security Model of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

For plug-ins registered in the sandbox (isolation mode), the system user account under which the plug-in is being registered must have the System Administrator role. Membership in the Deployment Administrators group is not required.

Please read this Article for Registering and Deploying Plug-ins in MS CRM 2011 using plugin registration tool.

Thanks,
Ash

Customer Field in MS CRM 2011

Hi All,
It's been a long time since I posted anything. Now I found something interesting, which I thought should go here as I did not find anything related to customer field for MS CRM 2011 on the net.

You all must have seen the customer field in MS CRM 4.0. But it's a bit differnt to implement it in CRM 2011. I took some hint from http://www.stunnware.com/crm2/topic.aspx?id=js34 as to how it was done in CRM 4.0 and then modified the code to make it work for CRM 2011.

Here is the code.
//Code for Form Onload Event

function OnLoad() {
crmForm.all.tsf_supporterid_c.style.visibility = 'hidden';
crmForm.all.tsf_supporterid_d.style.visibility = 'hidden';

var accountLookup = Xrm.Page.getAttribute("tsf_accountsupporterid");
var contactLookup = Xrm.Page.getAttribute("tsf_supporterid");

// Set the available lookup types to account and contact.


document.getElementById("tsf_accountsupporterid").setAttribute('lookuptypes', "1,2");
document.getElementById("tsf_accountsupporterid").setAttribute('lookuptypenames', "account:1:company,contact:2:person");
document.getElementById("tsf_accountsupporterid").setAttribute('lookuptypeIcons', "/_imgs/ico_16_1.gif:/_imgs/ico_16_2.gif");

var lookupAcc = new Array();
var lookupCon = new Array();
lookupAcc = accountLookup.getValue();
lookupCon = contactLookup.getValue();

if (lookupCon != null) {
accountLookup.DefaultValue = contactLookup.getValue();
var custom = new Array();
custom[0] = new Object();
custom[0].name = lookupCon[0].name;
custom[0].id = lookupCon[0].id;
custom[0].typename = "contact";

document.getElementById("tsf_accountsupporterid").setAttribute('defaulttype', "2");
Xrm.Page.getAttribute("tsf_accountsupporterid").setValue(custom);
}

}
//Code for Form OnSave Event
function OnSave() {
var accountLookup = Xrm.Page.getAttribute("tsf_accountsupporterid");
var contactLookup = Xrm.Page.getAttribute("tsf_supporterid");

if (accountLookup.getValue() == null) {
Xrm.Page.data.entity.attributes.get("tsf_supporterid").setValue(null);
}
else {
var customer = new Array();
customer = accountLookup.getValue();
// A type code of 1 represents an account.
if (customer[0].type == "1") {
// If it is an account, then clear the contact lookup.
Xrm.Page.data.entity.attributes.get("tsf_supporterid").setValue(null);
}
else {
// A contact was selected, so copy the value to the contact lookup and clear the account lookup.
var cust = new Array();
cust[0] = new Object();
cust[0].name = customer[0].name;
cust[0].id = customer[0].id;
cust[0].typename = "contact";

document.getElementById("tsf_accountsupporterid").setAttribute('defaulttype', "2");

Xrm.Page.getAttribute("tsf_supporterid").setValue(cust);
Xrm.Page.data.entity.attributes.get("tsf_accountsupporterid").setValue(null);
}
}
}

Thanks,
Ashwani

Embed SQL Server Reporting Services reports into your CRM forms

Hi,

There is a great article on How you can embed SQL Server Reporting Services reports into your CRM forms.
Click here to see the article.

Thanks,
Ash

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Demonstration Tools

Hi,

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Demonstration Tools (for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0) has been released, which provide a simple user interface that allows you to easily enter and edit data to populate or modify your instance of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It also allows you to load and store your data in XML format, so that you can reuse your data in the future.

You can download the tool from here.

Please note that these tools are for partner demonstrations only, and are not supported through Microsoft Technical Support.


Thanks