Insights · Knowledge, not a service
"Microsoft CRM", "Dynamics CRM", "Dynamics 365 CRM" — three terms that historically meant the same thing, today shorthand for a family of six standalone apps. Here an editorial overview: what the apps do, what they cost, what to look for when choosing a partner and how training works.
Until 2016, Microsoft sold a product called Microsoft Dynamics CRM — an integrated on-premises and cloud application with modules for Sales, Service, and Marketing. With the rebranding to Dynamics 365 in late 2016, the product was broken up into standalone apps: Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, and Marketing each received their own licence, roadmap, and service plane.
Since then "Dynamics 365 CRM" has been an umbrella term, not a product name. Microsoft itself speaks of the Customer Engagement Apps (CE apps). Whoever today searches for "CRM" actually means one of six products — each with its own audience, licensing model and implementation effort.
This page is editorial — it explains terminology and describes the portfolio. If you want to roll out one of the apps in a concrete project, you'll find our service offerings on the Engineering pages.
Terminology
| Term | When used | Today's meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft CRM | 2003–2008, early versions (1.0–4.0) | Historical umbrella term. Today often used colloquially for the entire CRM family but no longer an official product name. |
| Microsoft Dynamics CRM | 2008–2016, versions 2011/2013/2015/2016 | Integrated product with Sales, Service and Marketing modules. On-Premises (Server) and Online available. Broken up into standalone D365 apps in 2016. |
| Dynamics 365 CRM | since 2016, unofficial | Today an umbrella term for the Customer Engagement app family. Microsoft itself no longer uses the term officially — the correct designation is "Customer Engagement Apps" or the specific app. |
| Customer Engagement Apps (CE) | since 2017, official | Microsoft's official umbrella term for the six apps: Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, Customer Insights Journeys, Project Operations, Contact Center. |
| Dataverse | since 2020 (formerly "Common Data Service") | The shared data platform of all CE apps. Anyone licensing a CRM app automatically gets Dataverse capacity — master data, tables, relationships. |
The six apps
Each card links to the editorial sub-page (terminology, licensing, predecessors) and to our engineering page (if you want to implement the product).
Opportunity management, lead scoring, pipeline forecasting, account plans, sequences. Successor to Dynamics CRM Sales. Four licence tiers starting at approx. EUR 65/user/month.
View overview · Service page Knowledge · not a serviceCase management, SLA management, knowledge base, omnichannel routing, Copilot agent assist. From approx. EUR 50/user/month (Professional), EUR 95 (Enterprise).
View overview · Service page Knowledge · not a serviceDispatching, route planning, technician app, IoT-driven maintenance, spare parts logistics. Approx. EUR 95/dispatcher/month, Frontline approx. EUR 20/resource.
View overview · Service page Knowledge · not a serviceMarketing automation, real-time journeys, segmentation, lead nurturing. Formerly "Dynamics 365 Marketing". Tenant-based from approx. EUR 1,500/month.
View overview · Service page Knowledge · not a serviceOpportunity-to-cash for project-services firms: quoting, resource management, time & expense, project-based accounting. Approx. EUR 120/user/month.
View overview · Service page Knowledge · not a service · NEW 2024Standalone contact-center app with voice, IVR, omnichannel routing and Copilot. Built on Azure Communication Services. Available as standalone or add-on to Customer Service.
View overview · Service pageLicensing, pricing, costs and discounts
Microsoft list prices (net, per user and month, annual commitment). Negotiation room via CSP / reseller is common. As of: May 2026.
| App | Pricing model | From price |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Professional | Per user | approx. EUR 65/user/month |
| Sales Enterprise | Per user | approx. EUR 95/user/month |
| Sales Premium | Per user (incl. Copilot) | approx. EUR 135/user/month |
| Microsoft Relationship Sales | Per user (incl. LinkedIn Sales Navigator) | approx. EUR 135/user/month |
| Customer Service Professional | Per user | approx. EUR 50/user/month |
| Customer Service Enterprise | Per user | approx. EUR 95/user/month |
| Customer Service Premium | Per user (incl. Copilot) | approx. EUR 135/user/month |
| Field Service | Per dispatcher | approx. EUR 95/user/month |
| Field Service Frontline | Per resource (technician) | approx. EUR 20/user/month |
| Customer Insights Journeys | Tenant-based (10,000 contacts incl.) | from approx. EUR 1,500/month |
| Project Operations | Per user | approx. EUR 120/user/month |
| Contact Center | Per user + voice consumption | approx. EUR 100/user/month + voice |
Attach licences: Anyone holding at least one full licence (Enterprise or higher) can license further CE apps at reduced "attach" prices — typically EUR 20–50 per app and user. This makes multi-app setups (Sales + Customer Service + Field Service) significantly cheaper than the sum of individual list prices.
Volume discounts and tiered pricing: Microsoft offers discounts for large volumes (typically from 250 or 500 users), multi-year contracts and industry bundles (e.g. "Customer Service Premium" incl. Copilot Studio). Source: microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics-365/pricing — as of May 2026.
CRM partners and consultants
Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is not a product you "just install". A good partner brings three things: methodology, industry knowledge, and the willingness to honestly say no when the solution doesn't fit.
What should matter in the selection conversation:
arades is a Microsoft partner and delivers the Customer Engagement Apps as engineering service. Our focus: mid-sized customers (50–500 users) in the DACH region, with or without an existing ERP. If you're planning a 5,000-user global rollout, we'll happily refer you to a better-suited partner in our network.
Microsoft CRM training
Microsoft maintains its own certification scheme for the Customer Engagement family. The functional-consultant exams all carry the prefix MB-2xx. They target consultants who configure the apps, power users and solution architects.
| Exam | Title | Audience |
|---|---|---|
| MB-210 | Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Functional Consultant | Consultants configuring Sales, setting up pipeline stages, lead scoring and Power Automate extensions. |
| MB-220 | Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights (Journeys) Functional Consultant | Marketing specialists setting up journeys, segments, lead scoring and event management. |
| MB-230 | Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service Functional Consultant | Service consultants for case management, SLAs, routing, knowledge base and omnichannel. |
| MB-240 | Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service Functional Consultant | Service architects for field-service setup: resource scheduling, work orders, IoT integration, inventory. |
| MB-260 | Microsoft Customer Data Platform Specialty (Customer Insights Data) | Data specialists for Customer Insights Data — profile unification, segmentation, predictive models. |
| MB-280 | Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Experience Analyst | Solution architects for cross-CE architectures — app choice, data model, integration design. |
Exams cost approx. EUR 165 each (as of 2026) and are valid for 24 months. Microsoft Learn offers free preparation paths. Training partners (including arades) offer guided classes, bootcamps and exam vouchers.
Frequently asked
Microsoft has not officially sold a product called "Dynamics CRM" since 2017. The term refers colloquially to the six Customer Engagement apps: Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, Customer Insights Journeys, Project Operations and Contact Center. Microsoft itself speaks of "Customer Engagement Apps".
Depending on app and tier (as of May 2026): Sales Professional approx. EUR 65, Sales Enterprise approx. EUR 95, Sales Premium approx. EUR 135 per user/month. Customer Service Professional approx. EUR 50, Enterprise approx. EUR 95. Field Service approx. EUR 95 per dispatcher. Project Operations approx. EUR 120. Customer Insights Journeys is tenant-based (from approx. EUR 1,500/month). Attach licences for additional apps available at reduced prices.
Six: Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, Customer Insights Journeys (formerly Marketing), Project Operations and the 2024-introduced Dynamics 365 Contact Center. All share Dataverse as their data platform and integrate natively with Microsoft 365 and the Power Platform.
Customer Service covers classic case and ticket management — fitting for B2B service desks, IT support teams, customer service centres with mail and web tickets. Contact Center is a separate 2024 app dedicated to voice, IVR and omnichannel contact-centre scenarios with high voice volume. If you primarily process tickets, Customer Service suffices. If you operate a classic inbound call centre, look at Contact Center.
Project for the Web is a lightweight project-management tool within Microsoft Planner / Microsoft 365 — intended for internal projects without billing. Project Operations is the full CRM app for project-services firms: opportunity-to-cash, resource management, time & expense, project-based accounting with integration to Finance or Business Central.
A Microsoft Partner for Business Applications with industry references, documented methodology (Sure Step, FastTrack) and an honest discovery phase. Ensure the partner matches your size: a 500-person generalist won't be much help for your 50-user sales setup, and a five-person specialist can't deliver your 5,000-user global rollout.
Sales as initial install: 3–6 months. Customer Service: 4–8 months. Field Service with dispatcher optimisation: 6–12 months. Customer Insights Journeys: 3–9 months depending on data model and source count. Project Operations: 6–12 months, because ERP-finance integration is added. Group-wide rollouts with multi-country and multi-entity correspondingly longer.
Our contribution
This insights page explains terms and products. If you want to implement or extend one of the CE apps in a concrete project, our service offerings are here:
30-minute first call
Tell us about your plan. We'll give you an assessment — which app fits, which licence tier is enough, what implementation effort is realistic.
