Dynamics 365 & Outlook integration – the gift and a curse 

Like much of the Microsoft stack Dynamics plays nice with Outlook and a handy app allows you to view records, track emails etc without even leaving outlook. Don’t get me wrong this is a great thing, but the app does come with a health warning…especially for those who are implementing Dynamics 365 for the first time. 

What is it? 

Use Dynamics 365 App for Outlook and tap the power of Dynamics 365 apps while using Outlook on the desktop, web, or mobile. You can view information about an email or appointment or link it to an opportunity, account, or case in your app. 

How can I use it 

With Dynamics 365 App for Outlook, you can: 

• Link email messages, meetings, and appointments to a row in your app. For example, link an email message to a specific account, opportunity, or case. 
• View information in the context of an email message, meeting, or appointment. 
• Synchronize contacts and related information so that Exchange and your app are always up to date. 
   

How do you set it up 

Here’s a link to show you how, but the process is very easy.  

How to deploy Dynamics 365 App for Outlook | Microsoft Learn 

How does it work 

Basic navigation in App for Outlook (Dynamics 365 apps) | Microsoft Learn 

The health warning 

A few things to consider if you’re looking to use the app.  

• From a user adoption perspective its probably worth implementing this when you have a mature Dynamics 365 audience. Otherwise, colleagues could end up tracking emails without looking at the record in Dynamics. This means they could be giving duplicate or contradictory information to customers.  
• You have a setting that enables all emails (without a recognised contact in D365) to automatically generate a lead/contact record in Dynamics. Something that I suggest you switch off to prevent vast numbers of duplicate records being created in the system.  
• Finally, if you use the app version there can be a bit of a lag in tracking emails. This issue is made worse on a citrix environment, something that many housing associations still use. 

How much does it cost? 

The app comes as part of your Microsoft 365/Dynamics 365 licence 

Resources

Original Post https://deliveringcrm.net/2022/12/07/dynamics-365-outlook-integration-the-gift-and-a-curse/