Dynamics 365: what’s all the fuss about?

What do you get when you cross Sam Stead with Dynamics 365?

Sam is our Dynamics and SureStep Business Development Manager here at Westcoast Cloud. It’s his job to help our partners solve the problems that their customers are facing – be it through Microsoft solutions, SureStep training, or a mix of the two.

But Sam’s more than just a tech whiz – he’s also a published writer and avid rugby fan. When he’s not helping our partners, you’ll find him waving his Scottish flag at the Six Nations Rugby Championship. And writing poems about Scotland’s history of lifting the wooden spoon!

Sam’s certainly a multi-talented man. But his specialty is Dynamics 365. He’s great at explaining what it can do for partners and their customers.

Which is why he was so keen to chat to us over coffee.

Dynamics 365: what’s all the fuss about?

“Dynamics is a massively untapped opportunity for partners to strengthen their customer base and grow their revenue,” Sam says enthusiastically.

He tells us it’s a top-notch tool for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). And that’s because it unites every business function under one solution – so teams can manage everything from sales leads to supply chains, all under one umbrella.

There are many reasons why we love Dynamics. But one of our favourite benefits is that Dynamics can be integrated really easily with other Microsoft solutions and third-party software. That makes Dynamics the ideal tool for tackling a customer’s individual pain points.

As Sam himself put it, “Your customer relationship will only improve, as you’re giving these businesses everything they need.”

“Your customers may already be using additional Modern Workplace licensing,” Sam explains. “Plus, lots of Dynamics applications run with Azure in the background. So by putting Dynamics in place, you’re not only increasing your revenue there, but also on the Azure side of things too.”

But for Sam, the real magic happens when you integrate Dynamics with solutions like Power Platform. We ask him why, and he’s quick to explain.

“Through Power Platform, you can connect Dynamics to hundreds of other apps. And that’s how you build tailored, end-to-end business solutions – whether it’s software to help a tech company track customer relations, or an app to transfer food orders to a restaurant kitchen.”

Getting that right boils down to understanding customer pain points. “It’s all about identifying an issue that might not be obvious and applying more efficient ways to actually get that process done,” Sam confides. “You need to build the customer relationship and truly understand what they do, rather than just a focus on revenue.”

And Sam has it all figured out – he and his team can help partners to understand the many ways that Dynamics can be useful for their clients.

Licensing: how to get over the hump

Our coffee is about finished, and the same could be said for our box of biscuits. But looking at Sam, we can tell there’s one last thing on his mind.

“Partners don’t always understand Dynamics licensing,” he says, deep in thought. “It can be quite complicated.”

He and his team provide in-depth training to help partners get to grips with Dynamics licensing and deployment.

“We’ve just got a new training partner called ‘Training 4 Dynamics’,” he says excitedly. “They’re offering loads of new learning opportunities for our partners, so that’s going to be great!”

And for partners who don’t want to get too caught up with licensing, Sam and his team are always happy to jump on calls with end users.

“We act as a digital addition to their team,” Sam says with a smile. “If our partners ever have any customer queries coming in around Dynamics that they don’t have the knowledge or expertise to answer, we’re here to help them win that deal and learn along the way.”

So, what do you get when you cross Sam Stead with Dynamics 365?

Certainly not a wooden spoon. Sam’s got what it takes to help you master Dynamics. He’ll support you like he supports Scotland rugby. And who knows – he might even write you a poem or two along the way.

To find out more, get in touch with Sam – it’s no secret that he’d be delighted to hear from you.