Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Building relationships in today's sales environment

The relationship between buyers and sellers grows more complex daily. Buyers have more information available to them than ever before and they use it to their advantage. TOPO research finds that most buyers are already 57 percent through the buying process before even talking to a supplier. Yet when the time is right, buyers do still want personal attention from sellers. They are typically motivated to engage with sales reps only when it adds value to them. As a result, the sellers' job is complicated as they must provide useful interactions and seamless transactions. So how can they accomplish this? In this powerful eBook, customers learn how the Microsoft Relationship Sales solution is a combination of three tools that provide sales teams with access to critical data points from disparate platforms in one central location. The sales solution uses AI to analyze data from sales, Office 365, LinkedIn, and information gleaned from a CRM to provide a single relationship health score. What's uniquely powerful about the solution is the unification of data available at seller's fingertips. Use this eBook as an educational tool for customers to gain a strong understanding of why the Microsoft Relationship Sales solution is a superior choice over other applications.

View: Building relationships in today's sales environment

How Entrepreneurs Are Connecting the World With IoT

As we enter a new decade, the number of IoT-connected devices is predicted to grow 3x from 2019 to 2020, totaling 21 billion devices. As competition increases, so does innovation, and companies across the world are coming up with new uses and applications for the ever-increasing number of devices that are turned on each day. In this Entrepreneur.com article, you'll learn how companies and startups are finding new market niches to exploit the near unlimited potential of IoT technology, and how they're causing disruptive waves that ripple across different trades to nurture a near trillion-dollar industry.

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For team members to work in concert together, they need a set of tools designed to work in concert together. Office 365, with Microsoft Teams at the center, enables real-time communication and collaboration among team members, whether they're located across the hall or across the world. And with business intelligence solutions like Microsoft Power BI hosted in Azure, data can be shared and analyzed across the entire enterprise to uncover insights that can help improve the business as a whole. Subscribe now to stay informed on how Teams, Office 365, and other leading Microsoft solutions can help elevate and transform communication, collaboration, and teamwork throughout your organization.

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Tuesday, July 28, 2020

The Importance of Teamwork and Collaboration

We live in a world of constant disruption where business models are undergoing constant change. This article explores the impact of these trends on collaboration and teamwork and the most important skills for the 2020 workplace.

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The Importance of Teamwork and Collaboration

We live in a world of constant disruption where business models are undergoing constant change. This article explores the impact of these trends on collaboration and teamwork and the most important skills for the 2020 workplace.

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Why aren't your customers listening to you?

"Why are my customers not listening to me?" is a question frequently asked by frustrated marketers and decision-makers. To address this question, author Carly Driscoll asks two crucial follow-ups: do you truly know who your customers are, and are you really delivering them an impactful message? At first glance it may seem intuitive or even simple, but successfully answering these questions requires a marketer to truly empathize with their audience—a task much easier said than done. Fortunately, there's a time-proven way to not only interest your customers, but also convert leads into revenue-generating relationships that will drive growth and brand prestige: great content. In this eye-opening article, you'll learn about the successful R.I.D.E. methodology for content creation, and how to effectively inform your customers with solid content marketing at each stage of the buying process.

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A Day in the Life - Compliance

Meet Diego, a Compliance Officer who works closely with his company's IT team to ensure employees abide by internal policies and regulations set by regulatory bodies. Check out this infographic to see how Diego uses productivity and collaboration tools in Teams across his devices throughout the day to review, define, enforce and report on compliance policies to prevent unethical, illegal, improper and under-use of resources.

View: A Day in the Life - Compliance

Making choices with data and AI

How do we, as human beings, make decisions? While most people would like to believe that they take a rational, calculated approach by considering all the variables, research shows that we go with our "gut feeling" instead about 95 percent of the time. In his Forbes article entitled "Making Choices With Data And AI," author Mark Robinson discusses the proper role of AI in human decision making. AI shouldn't be making decisions for us, he contends, but rather, guide us by interpreting the data at hand and presenting the facts and variables surrounding a given choice—effectively balancing out our "gut feeling" with rational objectivity. Read the full article to learn how AI-assisted decision making can help guide your business toward greater growth and success by mitigating human bias in choice.

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Finding the right IoT solution for your business

It's no secret that IoT is revolutionizing business around the world. However, investing in IoT is not as simple as investing money in new platforms or applications. The real challenge lies in finding a model that works for your business and adjusts to your organization's focus and competitive advantage. In other words, it's the opposite of a one-size-fits-all approach, and making the wrong choice can have profound consequences that can take years to overcome. In this infographic, we'll cover the distinctions between Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service models, as well as explain the main variables that can determine where your business stands when choosing one of these models.

View: Finding the right IoT solution for your business

Follow these 8 CRM implementation best practices

When it comes to choosing a customer relationship management (CRM) system for your business, your options have never been more abundant. Established vendors are releasing new features and functionality at an impressive pace, while new vendors are entering the market just as quickly. Solutions range from systems designed for large enterprises and SMBs to decentralized mobile workforces, and everything in between. All of this choice is giving rise to two very important questions: how to you determine which CRM solution is right for your business, and more important, how do you get business users to make the most out of the system—and out of your investment? In her article for CIO magazine entitled "8 CRM implementation best practices," author Jennifer Lonoff Schiff addresses those questions and CRM in general, distilling feedback from CRM vendors, users, and experts into eight suggestions for maximizing the effectiveness of a customer relationship management system. Read the full article to learn what these experts and industry insiders had to say.

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Improve Sales Productivity and Remote Selling with Sales Accelerator

As if managing the sales cycle wasn't already complex, the limitations of a world restricted by COVID-19 makes it all that more challenging! The truth is, the fundamentals and responsibilities of selling largely remain the same, and sales teams are expected to reach their goals to keep the business intact. Therefore, your customers are likely wondering, just how can I continue to meet my sales goals? The answer to this is that virtual engagement and digital sales must become a priority. The companies that quickly learn to leverage their digital arsenal will come out on top. In this insightful blog, customers learn how Microsoft too, faced this challenge head-on and the steps they've taken to adapt. Thanks to a full-fledged deployment of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Insights, Microsoft Digital Sales were able to scale to demand and continue supporting customers without disruptions. Learn more about these tools and how equipping teams with the power to leverage data and digital tools will drive improved customer experiences—now and into the future.

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7 ways AI can help improve decision making for marketers

No longer just science fiction, AI has the potential to radically change just about every aspect of modern life, especially business. From automating simple tasks to more complex feats like uncovering insights from massive volumes of unstructured data, AI is fast emerging as one of the centerpieces of digital transformation, not least of all for its ability to assist with critical business decisions. View the infographic to discover seven ways how AI can help drive better decisions for marketers, and for businesses in general.

View: 7 ways AI can help improve decision making for marketers

8 best practices for a successful CRM implementation

If customers are the lifeblood of business, then customer relationship management (CRM) is the daily checkup to ensure that the heart is still pumping steadily and that the entire body is in good health. Metaphors aside, CRM describes the processes, tools, and activities that companies employ to understand their customers and respond rapidly to their ever-changing needs and preferences. Given the importance and widespread use of CRM across today's businesses, it would be natural to assume that CRM implementation is a fairly straightforward and routinely successful process—but rarely is this the case. This raises the question as to why—and more important, as to what your company can do to ensure that your CRM efforts pay off. In this infographic, we address those questions by distilling input from vendors, users, and experts into eight best practices that your company can follow to help deliver a successful (and ultimately, fruitful) CRM implementation.

View: 8 best practices for a successful CRM implementation

AEG delivers unforgettable entertainment experiences to fans using Microsoft technologies

Why would a sports fan or music fan choose to attend a live event rather than watch the game from home or listen to their favorite band on headphones? For AEG, a global entertainment company that owns and operates 100+ facilities across four continents as well as produces concerts, festival, and special events, the answer is simple: it's the experience. More to the point, it's the whole experience—not just the event itself, but also everything else surrounding it, from ticket purchases and event access to the pomp and circumstance during the event, all for the express purpose of delivering a more visceral and unforgettable experience for fans. To achieve all of these things—as well as simplify the business side of producing and hosting a larger-than-life event—AEG relies on Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Power BI, and Azure cloud to analyze and share massive amounts of data across its diverse business units, and utilizes Surface devices and the new Surface Hub to enable employees to meaningfully interact with this data. Watch this lively video to see how Microsoft technology is helping AEG not only deliver singular experiences to fans, but also redefine the business of entertainment in the digital age.

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Open up a new line of communication. Subscribe now.

Teamwork is more important than ever for today's businesses--and Microsoft Teams makes it easier than ever for your business to begin realizing the promise of a digital workspace. Subscribe now to stay informed on how Teams, as the hub in Office 365, can elevate and transform communication, collaboration, and teamwork throughout your entire organization.

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Stay connected with Microsoft Azure IoT. Subscribe now.

IoT is easy to understand: it's about connecting devices over the Internet so they can communicate with us, with other applications, and with each other. But while IoT may be simple to explain, putting an effective IoT strategy into practice is vastly more complex. Subscribe now to stay up to date on how Microsoft technologies deliver the flexibility and scalability you need to control, monitor, and manage your things, allowing you to capture real-time data that can be applied to uncover new business insights and revenue streams.

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Subscribe today. Be future-ready tomorrow.

If you're like most organizations, you've probably already invested in data technologies for the express purpose of uncovering actionable insights from your business data. But have you given any thought as to how these technologies can complement one another over time to create a truly agile and responsive data solution--one that not only provides insights today, but can accommodate changing business needs and conditions tomorrow? Subscribe now to learn how Microsoft Power Platform--comprising Power BI, Power Apps, and Microsoft Flow--can help you build the foundation for an end-to-end data analytics solution that's got you covered in the present and the future.

View: Subscribe today. Be future-ready tomorrow.

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Drive better relationships with Microsoft Dynamics 365. Subscribe to learn more.

Having data can either be a good thing or a disadvantage—it all depends on the accuracy of the data sources and your organization's ability to unify them to empower sales and customer service teams. Subscribe now to stay up to date on how your business can use Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure to enable innovation and sustain consistent growth with insight-rich data.

View: Drive better relationships with Microsoft Dynamics 365. Subscribe to learn more.

Modernize sales productivity

Are you exhausted at the end of your workday, trying to sort through of all of the information being thrown at you? In our modern age of distraction, there's no question that focusing on what's most important can be a challenge! There are so many systems to sort through and often expectations are unclear. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. According to TOPO, 60 percent of companies lack a well-defined sales process. In this week's video, you'll learn how Dynamics 365 Sales Professional is a single, integrated platform that cuts through the complexity and gives you the power to focus on what's most important. Contextual, real-time dashboards show you which metrics to focus on, which puts you firmly in the driver's seat. Now you can take informed and specific action toward your business's goals and eliminate the guesswork once and for all!

A new generation of communication tools for a new generation of Alcoa workers

At the Alcoa plant in the distant coastal town of Fjardaal, Iceland, employees relied on a magnetic board to assign and trade shifts, while standard email was used to communicate critical information from one shift to the next--both of which required people to be physically present to retrieve messages or confirm changes in shift assignments. The adoption of Microsoft Teams transformed these otherwise manual tasks into a workflow better suited to a new generation of digitally savvy Alcoa employees who all carry smartphones. With Teams, company-wide announcements are now made with the confidence that everyone will see them via their devices, regardless of location, while operational information is quickly disseminated and passed along from one shift to the next to improve processes, safety, and efficiency. Watch the video to see how Teams is delivering the future of communication to a new generation of Alcoa plant personnel.

Expand your experiences. Subscribe now.

Are your customers on a true path to purchase--or are they just ambling along without direction? Subscribe today, and stay informed on how Microsoft Dynamics 365 can help elevate and transform your customers' journey by creating consistent, personalized experiences along the entire purchase path.

View: Expand your experiences. Subscribe now.

FINNING | Customer Value of Self-Service IoT Apps on the Azure Cloud

Finning, the second largest supplier of Caterpillar machinery in the world, was intent on delivering next-generation, experience-enhancing services to its clients. However, there was something standing in the way: siloed databases that were forcing users to use multiple logins for multiple platforms, resulting in a disjointed and ultimately convoluted practice. Watch this video to learn how Finning used Microsoft Azure Cloud to unify fragmented data sets and streamline its customer journey roadmap.

How Online Collaboration Tools Could Help Your Business

It's no secret that teamwork is one of the key ingredients to a successful business. But in today's interconnected, wireless world, teams don't necessarily need to be in the same location to make teamwork work—that is, as long as each team member is equipped with the right tools for collaborating and communicating on a project. So how do you determine which tools are right for your organization and teams, and what should you look for when evaluating prospective solutions? Read this Lifewire article, "The Benefits of Online Collaboration Tools," to see what author Gabriela Warren feels are the greatest benefits of adopting such tools and, by extension, what features you should look for when shopping around.

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Helsanas goes digital and improves customer experiences with Microsoft technologies

When analyzing what steps to take with digital transformation, Helsana—one of the largest health insurance companies in Switzerland—decided to focus on rethinking its interactions with customers. However, siloed information and disjointed customer touchpoints were preventing the insurer from seeing the complete picture of its customers' journeys. In this video, you'll learn how Helsana utilized Microsoft Dynamics 365 to empower its customer service and sales teams with on-point customer insights that enabled tailored offers and services. You'll also see how Microsoft Azure allowed for an increasingly secure and flexible environment that fostered innovation and improved Helsana's ability to dynamically react to new challenges.

Airport security officer-turned-developer helps Heathrow book a faster journey to digital transformation

At Heathrow Airport, an airplane takes off every 45 seconds and nearly 80 million passengers are served annually, making it the busiest airport in Europe. As you might imagine, daily activities involved in running the airport--such as baggage handling, security, maintenance, and the like--add up to a staggering volume of paperwork that requires an equally staggering number of hours to complete. Amidst the bustle, one security officer identified a way that Heathrow could save both time and resources by digitizing certain security processes. He researched several Microsoft Power Platform blogs, taught himself how to code, and used Power BI, Power Apps, and Microsoft Flow to create a suite of apps that has not only saved 288 hours in data entry and eliminated 11,000 sheets of paper for security operations, but has also helped Heathrow Airport leap forward on its digital transformation journey. Watch the video to see how airport security officer Samit Saini helped transform Heathrow--and his own career--using Microsoft Power Platform.

Travel Counsellors Upgrade from On-Premise CRM to Microsoft Dynamics 365

Travel Counsellors Ltd. is an independent travel company headquartered in Manchester, England with more than 1,800 travel counselors operating in seven countries around the world. One of the company's most important strategies for growth is to recruit more travel counselors globally--but to maximize this strategy, the company needed to move from on-premises Microsoft Dynamics to cloud-based Dynamics 365, an implementation spearheaded by Microsoft partner Alithya. But rather than sit on the sidelines while Alithya did all the work, Travel Counsellors tapped into Alithya's unique methodology to empower a team internally to run the project, and relied on Alithya's oversight, expertise, and experience to ensure that its internal team was doing things according to best practices to make the implementation as smooth as possible. Watch the video to see how this innovative approach to deploying Dynamics 365 helped Travel Counsellors achieve its strategic goals while learning CRM implementation from an inside, hands-on perspective.

Spend a day in the life with physician Dr. Thomas

Dr. Thomas is an oncologist whose day is divided among seeing patients, reviewing charts and x-rays, meeting with colleagues remotely and in-person, and improving patient services at his practice. With so many tasks to do and only a finite number of hours during the day, Dr. Thomas relies heavily on Microsoft Teams to prepare for upcoming appointments, review confidential patient information, and follow up with nurses and radiologists on test results. He also utilizes Power BI dashboards to visualize and address trends in his practice, like patient wait times and quality of care issues. View the infographic for a play-by-play account of Dr. Thomas' day, and how Teams and tools like Power BI enable him to more effectively focus on patient care.

View: Spend a day in the life with physician Dr. Thomas

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Investing in a CRM solution? Follow these 7 steps for a successful implementation.

For many organizations and their management teams, the mere mention of customer relationship management (CRM) inspires immediate fear and disillusionment. Far too numerous are the stories from companies across all industries about failed implementations, wasted money and time, and overly frustrated sales executives. But it doesn't have to be that way, according to a Forbes article entitled "Seven Steps For Successful CRM Implementation." In the article, author Marc Emmer asserts that past frustrations and failures with CRM implementation have little to do with technology, and more to do with the culture of the organization attempting to implement it. Read the full article to discover what Mr. Emmer feels are the seven keys to successfully deploying and utilizing CRM.

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From communicating and collaborating with others to simply getting day-to-day tasks completed on your own, there's no greater tool for productivity than Microsoft Teams. And with Teams as the hub for communication within Office 365, your organization can move closer to realizing the promise of the digital workplace. Subscribe now to stay informed on how Teams, Office 365, and other leading Microsoft solutions can help elevate and transform communication, collaboration, and teamwork throughout your organization.

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Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Taking internal communication to the next level with Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams has transformed internal communications for today's businesses, delivering features that allow companies to customize workspaces, connect team members together, provide single-point access to assets, integrate third-party solutions, and more. In this video, you'll see how advanced communications tools and the integration of disparate CRM tools into Microsoft Teams enabled Red Lion Hotels (RLH) to up its hospitality game.

Spend a day in the life with retail store manager Alex

Alex is a retail store manager whose day is divided among attending meetings, reviewing store performance metrics, coordinating product refreshes, preparing presentations, and interviewing prospective employees. With so many tasks to do and only a finite number of hours in the day, Alex relies heavily on Microsoft Teams to get everything done--from recruiting and training staff to collaborating with vendors and developing marketing campaigns. View the infographic for a play-by-play account of Alex's day and how Teams enables him to get things done quickly and efficiently.

View: Spend a day in the life with retail store manager Alex

FINNING digitally transforms its operations with IoT apps on Azure cloud

FINNING, the world's largest Caterpillar dealer, started its digital transformation journey with customers in mind, but soon realized that its own operations were seeing just as many benefits as its clients. Not willing to turn down an opportunity to improve, FINNING quickly learned that the data obtained from customer-facing solutions enabled it to gain insights into internal processes and become even more efficient. Watch this video to learn how Azure IoT can have game-changing solutions that push forward internal process optimization and enhance customer satisfaction.

Digital transformation isn't what you think it is--so what is it?

When the same phrase is used so frequently and over an extended period of time, two things typically happen: first, it officially achieves buzzword status; and second, it begins to lose its meaning. Among the tech industry's pool of du jour buzzwords, perhaps none is more prominent and overhyped--if not misunderstood--than "digital transformation." In his insightful Forbes article entitled "Digital Transformation Is Not What You Think It Is," author Jamie Notter argues that it is culture, and not digital, that today's organizations should focus on when it comes to digitally transforming themselves. In other words, identify what cultural changes will help make your business successful, then adopt technology to support and advance those goals. Check out the full article to get Mr. Notter's unique take on what "digital transformation" really means for your business--and more important, what it really entails.

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GEICO turbocharges insurance innovation with Microsoft Cloud

Insurance customers want the ability to buy and be serviced from anywhere, at any time. To meet this desire, GEICO decided to focus on two key aspects: abandoning its legacy infrastructure and focusing on digital transformation from a customer engagement perspective. Watch this video to learn how GEICO evolved from a traditional, silo-based infrastructure to an integrated, automated, and collaborative model. This transition allowed for increased flexibility and productivity thanks to a DevOps approach using Microsoft Azure.

Prioritize culture during digital transformation

For many organizations, digital transformation means integrating digital into every facet of the business, making digital the focus of every activity and process. But is that really the right approach? For a growing number of businesses, digital is increasingly being viewed as an enabler of broader business objectives rather than the end state or goal. In other words, many businesses are identifying what cultural changes need to take place to bring about success, and then adopting digital technologies to achieve that success. Like digital transformation itself, this shift in mindset is a journey--starting with recognizing the obstacles to digital transformation, the key attributes of a true digital culture, and how to overcome the former to become the latter. View the infographic to see what the journey's all about.

View: Prioritize culture during digital transformation

Transform the customer journey with Dynamics 365 for Sales + Adobe Marketing Cloud

How do you differentiate yourself and stand out from your competitors? Delivering a more consistent, seamless, and personalized experience for customers is a great way to start--and an even better way to gain a competitive advantage by transforming the customer journey. View this infographic to discover how integrating Dynamics 365 applications with Adobe Marketing Cloud lets you leverage integrated tools and unified data to gain a 360-degree view of customers, orchestrate personalized campaigns, and deliver the right content, at the right time, at every touchpoint.

View: Transform the customer journey with Dynamics 365 for Sales + Adobe Marketing Cloud

How NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports uses Microsoft Teams to win races

Unlike any other competition, NASCAR is a sport where just one second of time can mean the difference between first place and a distant tenth. As such, racing teams like Hendrick Motorsports are always searching for ways to squeeze out another fraction of a second in performance. When NASCAR changed its rules to open up access to different data streams from each car--such as speed, brake level, and throttle position, coupled with GPS location--Hendrick needed a solution for generating actionable insights from this real-time telemetry information, and for sharing this information in real time with various stakeholders. To achieve this high-speed collaboration, Hendrick turned to Microsoft Teams for its efficient communication capabilities accessible in a single, convenient location, and for the solution's enterprise-grade, end-to-end security. Watch the video to see how Hendrick Motorsports is using Microsoft Teams to translate real-time racing telemetry into lightning-fast decisions and faster race car performance.

How NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports uses Microsoft Teams to win races

Unlike any other competition, NASCAR is a sport where just one second of time can mean the difference between first place and a distant tenth. As such, racing teams like Hendrick Motorsports are always searching for ways to squeeze out another fraction of a second in performance. When NASCAR changed its rules to open up access to different data streams from each car--such as speed, brake level, and throttle position, coupled with GPS location--Hendrick needed a solution for generating actionable insights from this real-time telemetry information, and for sharing this information in real time with various stakeholders. To achieve this high-speed collaboration, Hendrick turned to Microsoft Teams for its efficient communication capabilities accessible in a single, convenient location, and for the solution's enterprise-grade, end-to-end security. Watch the video to see how Hendrick Motorsports is using Microsoft Teams to translate real-time racing telemetry into lightning-fast decisions and faster race car performance.

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Shift your business into overdrive. Subscribe today.

More than ever before, organizations are augmenting human skills, ingenuity, and business acumen with data analytics, productivity, and enterprise solutions to gain a competitive edge. Subscribe today to stay informed on how solutions like Dynamics 365, Power BI, and other Microsoft services and solutions are enabling modern businesses to take the lead over competitors and finish first in the marketplace.

View: Shift your business into overdrive. Subscribe today.

Bulk up your business. Subscribe now.

While there are multiple ways to distinguish yourself from your competitors, one sure way to set yourself apart is to create and deliver personalized experiences to both existing and prospective customers, tailored to their unique needs and preferences. One sure way to accomplish this is with Dynamics 365. Subscribe today, and stay informed on how Dynamics 365, along with other leading Microsoft solutions, can help elevate and transform your engagements with both current and future customers.

View: Bulk up your business. Subscribe now.

Bulk up your business. Subscribe now.

While there are multiple ways to distinguish yourself from your competitors, one sure way to set yourself apart is to create and deliver personalized experiences to both existing and prospective customers, tailored to their unique needs and preferences. One sure way to accomplish this is with Dynamics 365. Subscribe today, and stay informed on how Dynamics 365, along with other leading Microsoft solutions, can help elevate and transform your engagements with both current and future customers.

View: Bulk up your business. Subscribe now.

Don't just see your data--visualize it with Power BI. Subscribe now and never overlook a post.

Anyone can see their data--very few can make sense of it. But with Microsoft Power BI, you'll be able to not only visualize your data, but also extract insights from it to help modernize and streamline your business. Power BI, alongside Microsoft Azure and other Microsoft tools, offers an unbeatable solution for performing real-time analytics, visualizing the results, and leveraging insights to improve business processes, increase productivity, and ultimately gain a competitive edge. Subscribe now to learn how Power BI can help you see your business in a whole new way.

View: Don't just see your data--visualize it with Power BI. Subscribe now and never overlook a post.

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Dynamics 365 & Office 365 Working as One

Imagine your business has a new sales opportunity. Different teams need to work together to build a presentation to capitalize on the opportunity. If your business applications work in silos, it's up to individual employees to compare and consolidate feedback. Additionally, it can be very difficult to ensure everyone is working in the most up-to-date version. Imagine how collaboration workspaces can totally change the game. Without leaving a workspace, your team members can access connected data and insights to create the presentation. They can easily bring together relevant customer or financial information. And, there are never any issues with version control. Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Office 365 work together to make collaboration and sales processes painless and seamless. In this eBook, customers learn how Microsoft Dynamics 365 works with Office 365 to unite people and processes. Learn from practical examples how to streamline sales processes, capitalize on digital selling and deliver an exceptional customer experience.

View: Dynamics 365 & Office 365 Working as One

Don't miss another post! Subscribe now.

Digital transformation is causing a tsunami of data; and adhering to the compliance standards being put in place to protect it is complicated. Subscribe today to stay informed about the Microsoft Cloud and Microsoft 365 solutions we offer to assess and manage compliance risk, protect sensitive data and respond efficiently to data discovery requests.

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Simplify your compliance journey with Microsoft 365

We live in a time where digital technology is profoundly impacting our lives, from the way we connect with each other to how we interpret our world. To thrive in this privacy-focused era, you need a trusted partner who can help you not only overcome the challenges but make the most of the opportunities that lie ahead. The Microsoft Cloud and Microsoft 365 are uniquely positioned to help you meet your compliance obligations. It offers a rich set of integrated solutions that leverage AI to help you assess and manage compliance risk, protect sensitive and business-critical data and respond efficiently to data discovery requests.

Your digital transformation journey starts here. Subscribe now.

Where is your organization in its digital transformation journey--or are you still uncertain where and how to begin? Subscribe now to stay informed on how Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Teams can help jump start digital transformation for your business by centralizing communications, enhancing collaboration, and streamlining processes and workflow--ultimately boosting your productivity and increasing your competitiveness.

View: Your digital transformation journey starts here. Subscribe now.

Finishing first with Renault Sports Formula One and Dynamics 365

To monitor every aspect of performance, a Renault Sports Formula One race car is outfitted with over 200 sensors that generate more than 35 billion data points over a typical race weekend. Since two or more sensors can be matched to form around 20,000 different virtual channels, cars relay an enormous volume of data back to the Renault Sports team during races and tests. By pairing Azure-based Dynamics 365 for Operations with Microsoft Power BI, the Renault Sports team can bring up and track this data in real time, enabling them to make exact modifications and adjustments at lightning speed to squeeze more performance out of the car. Watch this short video to see how the Renault Sports Formula One team capitalizes on the features of Dynamics 365 for Operations and Microsoft Azure to make its cars faster than ever and reach the finish line first.

6 ways you're getting teamwork wrong

All it takes to put together a winning team is finding the most talented people possible, assigning them to the same project, telling them the requirements and deadline, and then letting them run wild...right? Not so, says Sharon Florentine--in fact, far from it. In her article for CIO magazine entitled "6 ways you're getting teamwork wrong," Ms. Florentine draws a clear distinction between assumption and reality when it comes to teamwork, outlining what it really takes to assemble a truly superb group for getting the job done. Check out the full article before you put together your next mission-critical team.

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24 Hour Fitness personalizes member services using Dynamics 365

Just as every person's fitness goals are different, so too are the individual paths to achieving those goals. But when it comes to creating customized experiences for its 4+ million members across the U.S., 24 Hour Fitness realized there was only one sure path to success: Microsoft Dynamics 365. In the crowded wellness industry, 24 Hour Fitness distinguishes itself through both its innovative approach to fitness and its personalized approach to member service. Today, the company is applying data analytics to member marketing by connecting Dynamics 365 with Adobe Experience Cloud hosted on Microsoft Azure to personalize marketing messages to millions of members at its 400+ health clubs. Watch this video to see how 24 Hour Fitness is connecting marketing and sales data to reach people in exciting new ways, attract record numbers of members, and ultimately help more people attain their fitness goals.

Data analyst and "oldest nerd in Guatemala" with ALS types with his eyes to modernize his clients' businesses

Can you teach an old nerd new tricks? For Otto Knoke, the self-proclaimed "oldest nerd in Guatemala" who has suffered from ALS for 20 years, the answer is a resounding yes. An admitted (and proud) workaholic, the 60-year-old data analyst is a well known fixture of the Guatemalan business community, having helped modernize the banking industry by introducing ATMs into the country 20 years ago. Sadly, right around that same time, Knoke was diagnosed with ALS (better known as Lou Gehrig's disease), and was told he only had two years to live. But rather than give in to the disease, Knoke relentlessly researched ways in which technology could help him overcome his condition and thrive--a determination and drive which has paid off. Today, some two decades later, Knoke has become the first person in Guatemala to use Microsoft's new eye-tracking software for Windows 10, called Eye Control, enabling him to literally type with his eyes and use Microsoft Power BI to analyze his clients' business data. For Knoke, who has always been a tech early adopter, this revolutionary Microsoft technology has not only helped his business continue to boom, but more important, it's enabled him to communicate more meaningfully with his loved ones and strengthen those relationships. Watch this truly fascinating and inspiring video to learn Otto Knoke's full story.

Digital transformation helps REGINA MARIA deliver better customer care and healthier business processes

REGINA MARIA is the leading provider of private healthcare services in Romania, with three internationally accredited hospitals, 45 of its own clinics, 5,500 employees, and an extensive partner network comprising almost 300 other institutions. The organization is already far along the path toward digital transformation and prides itself on being the most digital healthcare company in Romania, but it's always looking for ways to further expand its digital capabilities and utilize technology to help its patients as well as its business. Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales and Microsoft Teams provided just such an opportunity--including a new virtual assistant in Teams named "Ana" that has helped reduce approval processes for managers from days and weeks down to hours and minutes. Watch this video to learn how key Microsoft technologies have enabled REGINA MARIA to not only greatly improve customer experiences, but also vastly improve business processes, resulting in 20 percent better database accuracy and 50 percent faster complaint resolution.

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Spend a day in the life with financial pro Adira

Adira is a senior project manager at a bank who works seamlessly between her laptop at the office and her tablet at home, relying on Microsoft Teams, OneNote within Teams, and Power BI dashboards to collaborate and share with team members. View this infographic to follow Adira through a typical day and to see how Teams enables her to get through her day productively and efficiently.

View: Spend a day in the life with financial pro Adira

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Compliance Is The New Normal -- It's Time To Lock Down The Data

The recent anniversary of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)'s implementation commemorated the first full year that businesses dealing with EU resident data have spent operating in this new regulatory environment. This article from Forbes highlights the broadening recognition and acceptance that privacy regulations aren't going away, and presents data showing that accelerating privacy regulation is a top concern of executives in 2019. It makes a case for using GDPR as a catalyst to establish broader data protection strategies and adopt technology that has a meaningful impact on data security.

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Making choices with data and AI

How do we, as human beings, make decisions? While most people would like to believe that they take a rational, calculated approach by considering all the variables, research shows that we go with our "gut feeling" instead about 95 percent of the time. In his Forbes article entitled "Making Choices With Data And AI," author Mark Robinson discusses the proper role of AI in human decision making. AI shouldn't be making decisions for us, he contends, but rather, guide us by interpreting the data at hand and presenting the facts and variables surrounding a given choice—effectively balancing out our "gut feeling" with rational objectivity. Read the full article to learn how AI-assisted decision making can help guide your business toward greater growth and success by mitigating human bias in choice.

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The 5 Habits Of Successful Sales Leaders

If you distilled the best practice for sales leaders, what would it look like? Kevin Kruse, CEO of LEADx has complied his 5 top habits for sales managers to foster a top sales team. Learn how he sees your role as coach, how to give feedback and more! Next, use Dynamics 365 to optimize your team's productivity by automating routine tasks and embedding familiar tools such as LinkedIn, Outlook, Excel etc. right into your sales process. Couldn't be easier! Great sales managers develop 5 habits to engage their team members.

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