Mobility with Dynamics 365: Are you Taking Advantage of It?
In most companies a part of staff will be working quite a bit outside of the office and now more than ever there’s a need for mobility. So what areas can you take advantage of with Dynamics 365/CRM?
In a world where smartphones and tablets are the norm, employees and clients expect a higher degree of access to CRM data on the move. Here are some of the key areas where you could be realising value, start taking advantage of Dynamics 365 mobility today.
Consumer Apps
A big part of the data stored in CRM can be used by external users too. Let’s think about all the product and customer information, pricing and inventory availability that businesses can take and create customer-oriented apps that are directly linked with Dynamics 365/CRM. If created, a customer could order goods/services via a mobile app which the company will receive directly to their CRM. This means that ultimately, the customer could receive their order much faster.
Security
Nowadays smartphones and tablets contain more sensitive data than regular computers if you take into account all of the smart home control features and apps that collect data for say health & fitness. It’s also safe to say that there’s a much higher risk of losing mobile devices than there is with desktops or laptops, therefore securing these devices is absolutely essential.
It’s still very common for companies to only leverage standard mobile device management tools like Intune and AirWatch, but the most advanced mobile clients rely on the implementation of native security modules for safety. These are a mixture of mobile device management tools and app features and they don’t need any 3rd party tools. The capabilities presented by the latter include biometric login, multi-factor authentication, and remote wipe/lock.
Field Service
Whether an emergency or a planned service, jobs can be assigned through Dynamics365/CRM. If the dedicated technician has a mobile app linked to it, then they will be alerted instantly. The app can then further help at their destination through step-by-step assistance to make sure that no important actions are forgotten or skipped.
It’s also important to focus on easy data collection as mobile capabilities offer a great many options to document tasks quickly and with ease. Whether it’s selecting drop down options, ticking checkboxes, prefilled options or typing in details, field service technicians will be able capture that data without unnecessary paperwork.
Inspections
A lot of scenarios need mobile services for a number of reasons and this includes inspections (meter data, store check, etc.). Just like with field service technicians, inspectors can be guided step-by-step through the job. Inspection apps tend to only include the functionality that is essential to complete the task, therefore companies are now looking for an app development platform that is more robust, that will allow them to create mobile apps that cater to non-standard scenarios, but that are still integrated with Dynamics 365/CRM.
Mobile Sales
Sales reps, in the past, would draw up an order that would go back and forth for changes. Once all changes would be agreed on, only then would they put it through their CRM. This process could last up to a few days, but now with the advent of mobile CRM on phones/tablets, sales reps have access to all needed information instantly (inventory, customer, product, etc.). Sales reps can now create orders via the app and the customer can verify, approve and sign it digitally making Dynamics 365 mobility a massive positive.
Mobile Analytics
Mobile analytics is all about bettering your field operations and aiming for better productivity. By taking advantage of GPS capabilities of devices, companies can create mobile CRM apps that allow the back office to see that reps are working with CRM data in the field and that they are in fact visiting customers. Thanks to mobile analytics you can view how many accounts employees checked out, how many activities they’ve created, how many times they’ve synched with the server and even if they used the app at all on a certain day. You can also see when the app was used the most. By seeing which of your employees use the app or take advantage of the full capability, you can improve your team’s performance by making educated and useful changes.
If you’re taking advantage of Dynamics 365 mobility let us know how in the comments!
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