Microsoft Dynamics 365’s integration with Outlook stands out as one of its most powerful features by simplifing data capture and improving time management.
In this article, we dive into the essentials of using the Dynamics 365 App for Outlook.
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Benefits of the Dynamics App for Outlook
- Time Efficiency: Integrating Dynamics 365 with Outlook reduces the need to switch between applications. You can easily save emails to Dynamics and directly access CRM data within your email inbox, saving precious time.
- Faster Data Entry: Create new Dynamics 365 records from Outlook to keep customer information up-to-date, minimising errors and duplicated effort.
- Improved Customer Insights: Access Dynamics 365 data while you read or compose emails to tailor your communications and address customer needs more effectively.
- Easier Adoption: Use the familiar interface of Outlook to speed up CRM adoption, minimising resistance and the learning curve.
Navigating the Dynamics 365 App for Outlook
Email Tracking
Quickly attach Outlook emails to an existing Dynamics 365 contact or any related record.
- From an email in Outlook, click the Dynamics 365 icon within the command bar to open the app panel.
- Dynamics 365 will display a matching record using the email address.
- You can use the ‘set regarding’ control to track the email to a CRM contact or any related record in your Dynamics environment.
- You will see the tracked email on the Dynamics 365 record timeline.
Creating New Contacts
Upon receiving an email from a new contact, you can quickly add their record to Dynamics 365 directly from Outlook.
- If Dynamics 365 can’t match an email address, click the + button.
- Select options to create a contact, lead or account. The system will automatically save each entry in Dynamics 365.
- Click the circle with the sender’s or recipient’s initials to quickly repeat this process for adding multiple contacts.
Schedule a Dynamics activity from an Outlook email
Easily create follow-up tasks, phone calls or other activity types within Outlook that will automatically synchronise with your Dynamics 365 app.
- Click the more commands ellipsis from the related contact record to open the quick create activity form.
- After saving the completed form, you can view the activity on the related Dynamics 365 record.
Viewing related Dynamics 365 records
When an email contact is selected, you can also see the parent account and related records, such as activities, leads, cases or opportunities.
- In the app panel, scroll down to see parent or related records for the associated contact.
- Click to view and edit these records within Outlook or select to open them in the Dynamics 365 app.
Sync Outlook meeting invites with Dynamics 365
Link your Outlook invites for in-person events and Teams meetings to related contacts, accounts and other record types in Dynamics 365. Once set, these appointments will appear in the timeline for the related record.
Navigating the Dynamics 365 Site Map
You can access more CRM functionality using the Dynamics 365 App for Outlook navigation bar.
- Open the site map to access recent items, pinned records and dashboards within Outlook.
- Administrators can customise the site map to allow users to access tables such as contacts, accounts, opportunities and cases.
- Using the site map, you can easily browse records using your Dynamics 365 saved views for each record type.
Create Dynamics 365 records from the nav bar.
Another method to create Dynamics 365 records is using the navigation bar in the App for Outlook.
- Click the + icon and select one of the available options to open the quick create form in Outlook.
- Similar to the previous example, administrators can customise which tables are accessible in this quick create list. For instance, this could include creating leads, cases, knowledge articles, and other Dynamics 365 records.
Searching Dynamics data
Quickly find any Dynamics 365 record within Outlook by clicking the magnifying glass to run a search.
- Search for records across multiple tables sorted by relevance.
- Open each record form within Outlook to view or edit information, perform actions or open the record in Dynamics 365
Insert Dynamics 365 resources into Outlook emails
Add Dynamics email templates, knowledge articles or sales literature when you create an email.
- When sending similar emails frequently, you can use a Dynamics 365 email template to save time. The App for Outlook will automatically insert the relevant text into the message.
- When creating a new email, you can include sales literature or a knowledge base article and send it to your customer. To send sales literature, you need the appropriate permission and use D365 Sales, or use D365 Customer Service to send knowledge articles.
Deploying the Dynamics 365 App for Outlook
Administrators can obtain the App for Outlook for cloud Dynamics 365 environments in Dataverse from Microsoft AppSource.
To use the Dynamics 365 App for Outlook, server-side sync must be set up for your email processing. The app, an Outlook add-in, uses Exchange Web Services to interact with Microsoft Exchange. For detailed instructions to install the App for Outlook and enable this for eligible users, refer to this Microsoft article.
Setup and configuration
The App for Outlook tracks and synchronises mail and calendar data between Exchange and Dynamics 365 apps. As an asynchronous service, server-side sync runs in the background. In most scenarios, an Outlook item is immediately created in Dynamics 365 apps, though it may take up to 15 minutes in some cases. Learn more about the sync process and system requirements.
Licensing the Dynamics 365 App for Outlook
The App for Outlook can be deployed to all eligible Dynamics 365 users. Use rights are included with all licence types, including Team Member, Enterprise and Professional licences. However, use right restrictions for the corresponding apps persist. For example, a Team Member user would not have use rights to update lead or opportunity records within the App for Outlook.
Find out more
For a more in-depth understanding and to fully leverage the integration between Outlook and Dynamics 365, consider reaching out to experts. ServerSys can provide additional insights and support. Please get in touch with us by emailing hello@serversys.com or phone 0203 884 3804.
