Month: November 2018

What is the Common Data Model?

For those who want a quick answer:

The Common Data Model (CDM) is a standardized, modular, extensible collection of data schemas published by Microsoft that are designed to make it easier for you to build, use, and analyze data. This collection of predefined schemas—consisting of entities, attributes, semantic metadata and relationships—represent commonly used concepts and activities, such as Account and Campaign, to simplify the creation, aggregation, and analysis of data. – Microsoft 

For those looking for more detail:

The CDM is a common data structure that you should use to build out all of your business applications for consistency in entities, attributes and relationships.

For example:

Scenario 1: You’re a company that sells and manufactures widgets. Your sales, manufacturing and accounting departments all manage their own business processes and data within their own application. That’s 3 applications. AKA your IT departments worst nightmare. And each individual application may have different data structure and records for the same Accounts data. Sending/receiving data from one system to another may require custom attribute mapping and some data may not make it.

Scenario 2: You’re a company that has motivated executives who have had their ears to the ground on Microsoft’s digital transformation message. You also sell and manufacture widgets. You have since converted all of your business applications into the CDM and your Sales, Manufacturing and Accounting teams all share the same set of Account data. No integration needs to take place and your IT department’s business expense for Advil has gone to $0. Building out additional business applications is a breeze – since the core of your application has already been built for you.

Which company do you think has the leg up on their competition?

Digital Feedback Loop

Microsoft’s business applications are uniquely capable of helping you transform your business. You cannot name another business software company that can provide you with modern, integrated and intelligent applications for every part of your business process. Whether that is sales, marketing, operations, finance, HR, or customer service – Microsoft has an application for you – built on a common data application and analysis platform (called the Common Data Model), which is built on Azure, integrated with Office 365 (the largest productivity suite) AND  the worlds largest professional network LinkedIn.

This combination can supercharge your business and is completely unmatched. Microsoft calls this solution framework the Digital Feedback Loop, and is confident (as am I), it will propel your digital transformation.

There are 5 pillars to the Digital Feedback Loop. Keep in mind that there is quite a bit of crossover between the 5 pillars.

Engage Customers

Microsoft gives you applications like Dynamics for Marketing, Sales or Customer Service, which are mainly customer-centric applications designed to tailor individual customer experiences. They enable you to have the right processes, data and touch points in place so that you engage your customers in an effective way. That means having the right information at the right time to make the right decision every time OR providing the customer with the information they want at the right time through things like customer portals – and Dynamics 365 gives you that.

Empower Employees

Just like with engaging customers – you of course need to give your employees the right information at the right time etc…. but you also need to provide your employees with the tools they need to do their job more efficiently and effectively. These tools also need to be able to adapt to the ever-changing business landscape so that your employees can stay ahead of the curve. The productivity suite, business applications and data analysis tools at your employees fingertips cannot be matched.

Not to mention, your employees will be able to collaborate any time, any where and on any device.

Optimize Operations

When companies think of digital transformation they sometimes leave out their operations team because they are stuck on some legacy application or their user group may not be the most tech savvy. But those days are changing as Microsoft has been coming out with powerful applications that can empower your field service, project or finance & accounting departments.

These applications will improve your responsiveness, service levels and reduce costs – leading to higher profitability.

Transform Products

Microsoft obviously cannot make your products awesome for you… but it can help shift your vision from hindsight to foresight by providing the data and applications you need to make those key product decisions.

Data & Intelligence

PowerBI is the application of choice for data visualization and integration. These analytics will help your employees make the key decisions reduce complexity of static data.

There are also built-in AI tools in Dynamics 365 like the Relationship Assistant, that serves up friendly reminders to complete tasks or answer emails. Not to mention, with the recent additions of AI for Sales, and AI for Customer Service, Microsoft is giving businesses the power of Artificial Intelligence to make (or help make) key decisions for you.