Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement Releases Version 9.0

Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement has released a major version (called 9.0) for new online instances only. Customer Engagement is Microsoft’s customer relationship management (CRM) product, previously called Dynamics CRM. Version 9.0 includes a new user interface (UI) that works across devices and OSs, and a rearchitected platform that supports more sophisticated customizations and should allow online customers to remain on a version for longer than the current 12-month lifespan. However, customers online and on-premises will have to rewrite customizations and replace add-ons prior to migrating to version 9.0, which could be a major effort for many customers.

Version 9.0 Released Online

Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement is Microsoft’s CRM product for management of sales and customer service. It currently contains components for sales, customer service, field service, and project service. (See the sidebar “Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Overview“.)

The newest version of the product, referred to as 9.0, was released in Oct. 2017 to Microsoft-hosted customers. It includes significant changes to the underlying architecture of the product and the UI framework that will eventually affect all customers. Version 9.0 retires a long list of features that were deprecated in July 2017. The retirements mean that many customers will be faced with a significant upgrade effort (involving rewriting integrations and customizations and replacing add-on products) that is equivalent to a new installation.