What does good look like with Dynamics 365?
This question is often directed to CRM administrators and IT leaders by CEOs and executives who want to understand the return on investment (ROI).
The challenge is that ‘good’ means different things to different people. What matters to a sales manager differs from what keeps a CEO awake at night. A customer service director has different priorities than a finance director reviewing IT costs.
The answer isn’t found in a single metric or dashboard. Through our experience supporting clients across industries, we’ve seen it comes from understanding how Dynamics 365 supports business goals and how it meets user needs.
Clear Goals Drive Clear Answers
The most successful Dynamics 365 implementations start with clear, measurable objectives.
Teams that have established specific goals from the outset can most confidently answer, “What does good look like?”
For example, aligning Dynamics 365 performance with cost reduction targets, customer retention, acquisition, or business growth.
Research shows that organisations achieving strong returns from Dynamics 365 focus on measurable business outcomes.
As an example, a 2024 Forrester study found companies using Dynamics 365 Customer Service achieved a 315% return on investment over three years, with improvements including a 40% reduction in call handling time and a 20% improvement in first-call resolution. [1]
Often people are asked this question despite no involvement in the original implementation. They inherited a system without inheriting the original vision. This doesn’t mean the question can’t be answered – it just requires a different approach.
6 Areas to Define What Good Looks Like
Here are six key areas where Dynamics 365 performance becomes visible and measurable.
Start by establishing baseline metrics, then track improvements over time to demonstrate value.
1. User Adoption
Good looks like people using the system as part of their daily workflow.
Using analytics in the Power Platform Admin Centre, success could be 80% daily active users or a metric to track active users performing specific functions, such as creating leads.
The best indicator isn’t just usage statistics, it’s sentiment. People that embrace Dynamics 365 see it as a tool that makes their work easier.
Users have a stake in its development, so their views and ideas should be represented in planned changes. Check in with them through regular feedback surveys and track internal support ticket issues, which can reveal satisfaction trends and changes in user confidence.
2. Process Automation and Efficiency
Good means less effort is needed to complete routine tasks.
Dynamics 365 should reduce repetitive manual tasks and simplify workflows. Businesses seeing strong results will often quantify these improvements through time saved, errors reduced, or processes accelerated.
3. Data Quality and Decision-Making
Good means trusted data that informs decisions.
When leaders can rely on the information in Dynamics 365 to make important choices, the platform delivers real value.
Can you identify trends, spot opportunities, or predict challenges based on what you see in your database?
By contrast, a database with duplicates, missing information, or inconsistent records will always struggle to return value.
4. Integration and Unified Views
Good looks like a Dynamics 365 implementation that connects with other critical systems and services.
When Dynamics integrates with your other business tools, it creates a unified view of relationships and operations, reducing process complexity and minimising time spent jumping between systems.
5. Service Delivery and Customer Impact
Good ultimately shows up in how you serve your customers.
Whether that’s faster response times, reduced data entry, automated follow-ups, more personalised interactions, increased resolution rate or higher feedback scores, Dynamics 365 should enhance your customer experience in multiple measurable ways.
6. Alignment with Business Objectives
Good means Dynamics 365 makes a tangible contribution to your organisational goals. Revenue growth, cost reduction, market expansion and operational efficiency are frequent examples.
Organisations that can draw clear lines between Dynamics 365 capabilities and business results have the strongest answer to this question.
The Evolution of Good
What constitutes “good” changes over time.
Your business needs and priorities shift. Technology evolves.
An effective Dynamics 365 setup two years ago might feel overdue for review if it hasn’t been updated for new requirements.
This is why regular assessment matters. The most successful administrators continuously evaluate how well the platform serves their changing needs. They identify gaps, implement new capabilities, manage a backlog of proposed improvements and test the latest innovations.
Recent Dynamics updates have introduced AI-powered features that can save time, improve service experiences and increase sales efficiency, but only when properly implemented and adopted. Copilot capabilities help everyone work more efficiently and personalised customer interactions. Also, advanced automation through AI agents can replace some manual workflows entirely.
How effectively are you using these and other product enhancements to improve your outcomes?
Making Good Visible
The challenge many businesses face isn’t failure to generate Dynamics 365 ROI – it’s that the value isn’t sufficiently visible or demonstrated.
Good results should be measured, documented, and shared with stakeholders who care about business outcomes.
If you inherited a Dynamics 365 system without clear original objectives, identify the problems the platform currently solves and what outcomes matter most to your business.
This requires ongoing attention and dedicated resources. Administrators who achieve the best results actively monitor Dynamics 365 performance, gathering user feedback, and identifying opportunities for improvement.
Regular workshops with key users should provide valuable insights into what works well and where gaps exist. By involving your Microsoft Partner, these sessions can be used to discuss progress, address challenges, and prioritise enhancements that create additional value.
When these conversations include diverse perspectives, they often reveal issues and areas for improvement that could easily be missed.
The Path Forward to Dynamics 365 ROI
Answering “What does good look like?” requires honest assessment of where you are today and a clear vision of where you want to be.
It means looking beyond software features to focus on your people and target outcomes.
Organisations that get the most value from Dynamics 365 treat it as a scalable platform that never stands still to ensure it remains aligned with their business needs. They invest in training, maintain strong data governance, and regularly evaluate how supports their goals.
Most importantly, they recognise that good isn’t a destination – it’s a journey of continuous improvement and adaptation.
We are here to support you. ServerSys helps organisations maximise ROI with Dynamics 365 through consulting and technical assistance. Our managed services include regular workshops designed to assess performance, identify opportunities, and develop roadmaps to create measurable value.
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