Many of you may have received or been forwarded an email from Microsoft with the words in the blog title, and on the surface, it seems to announce a simple deprecation. However, it is actually the notice of a removal. On April 30, 2023, Microsoft is removing the deprecated OData v2.0 endpoint. Removal means that if you are still using this endpoint in your environment after the end of April, that functionality will no longer work.     While you don't need to panic, you should begin now reviewing and mitigating anything using /xrmservices/2011/organizationdata.svc. Places to look are ..read more

Sales representatives possess a unique combination of people skills, product knowledge, and persuasive abilities that allow them to connect with prospects, understand their needs, and close deals. However, while these skills are essential for success in sales, getting sales representatives to follow a consistent process can be a challenging task. Many sales professionals prefer to rely on their instincts and experience, which can lead to inconsistencies in the sales pipeline and make it difficult for sales leaders to measure performance and identify areas for improvement. Why a Sales Process ..read more

When it comes to Office 365 tenant security, most organizations find that the advanced security and safeguards an Office 365 enterprise offers are sufficient.  However, in some cases, a commercial tenant won't account for specific privacy and security requirements. These cases typically apply to US government entities and agencies or organizations handling information for and with the US government. Microsoft 365 offers Office 365 Government GCC, GCC High, and DoD environments to fulfill these needs while complying with required certifications and accreditations. Each environment requires ..read more

Want to improve productivity and the focus of yourself and your colleagues? Follow this 1 second digital etiquette tip (this applies to Microsoft Teams, Viva Engage, Outlook and most any social sharing platform). How to Get Back on Track When Distractions Derail Your Productivity Here it is: Never type a reply message, or use a suggested reply, when a reaction will do—it's that simple! Why? Many users have their notifications set up to alert them whenever a reply comes in. This breaks their focus and interrupts their work to check the message. Let's discuss why distractions are such a big iss ..read more

In today's competitive business landscape, most employers now require sales reps to have experience with customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. In fact, employers not offering and requiring use of a CRM solution limit their sales employees’ career options. Why Is CRM Important? A CRM solution is an essential tool for any sales representative. It helps to organize and track leads, customer interactions, and sales data, making it easier for reps to close deals and hit their targets. CRM solution experience on your resume shows potential employers you’re up to date on the latest sales ..read more

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) are two critical software systems that businesses use to streamline their processes and improve their bottom line. While both of these systems mostly serve different functions, but have some important areas of overlap, and they must be integrated to provide a comprehensive business management solution. However, many businesses make the mistake of waiting until their ERP system is complete before planning for CRM. In this article, we will explore the 7 reasons and benefits of planning ERP and CRM projects in parallel ..read more

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) are two critical software systems that businesses use to streamline their processes and improve their bottom line. While both of these systems mostly serve different functions, but have some important areas of overlap, and they must be integrated to provide a comprehensive business management solution. However, many businesses make the mistake of waiting until their ERP system is complete before planning for CRM. In this article, we will explore the 5 reasons and benefits of planning ERP and CRM projects in parallel ..read more

Lately, we've been getting a lot of questions when it comes to digital marketing solutions. They tend to boil down to, "Should should we invest in a best of breed solution, or one that integrates with our Dynamics 365 CRM platform?" Let's answer this question and validate it with a case study. "Integrated" Beats "Best of" Marketing Automation Platforms C5 Insight has extensive experience migrating a number of best of breed marketing platforms into one of the several platforms that are fully integrated with Dynamics 365 Sales. It's become clear to us that the cost of keeping up with systems tha ..read more

Ready to up your CRM game? With a jump from Dynamics 365 CE on-premise to online, you're in the perfect spot to make meaningful changes. Here’s where it gets exciting—do you migrate everything (lift-and-shift) or aim higher by conducting an audit and then rebuilding configurations? We've done plenty of projects using both approaches, but some benefits make the higher cost of a rebuild worth considering. Let's take a look at those together. 1. Cleaner Data Lift-and-shift means everything comes over as-is, no matter the data's shape. Clean data is essential to a successful implementation, a ..read more

The sales pipeline: for most Dynamics 365 for Sales users, it consists of a list of accounts, opportunity forms, and maybe a list of standard activities for each phase of the pipeline.   But there are literally dozens of technologies to aid sales managers, reps and marketers with generating better leads, improving win rates, accelerating deals and expanding margins. If you're not using them, then you're like a carpenter that isn't using power tools.   In this article we'll take a quick look at a few of the more important solutions (you can see some categories on the nearby image) to ..read more