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How to implement Dynamics 365 cloud solutions

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This section of the Dynamics 365 implementation guidance helps you plan and execute your cloud implementation. You'll learn how to upgrade from on-premises to online, customize and extend cloud apps, and operate in the evergreen cloud with Dynamics 365. You'll also discover why you need to adopt a cloud mindset for a successful digital transformation.

The cloud is a network of connected servers, data warehouses, and software and services. It's the core of a digital transformation strategy.

Organizations of all sizes use the cloud to modernize their operations, increase efficiency, and better serve customers. For some organizations, the shift to the cloud means running their applications in a public cloud infrastructure instead of a traditional on-premises datacenter. For others, it means using cloud applications and a cloud platform (software as a service, or SaaS) to transform their business with more agility and adaptability.

Whatever model you choose, the key to success isn't just the implementation. It's how you approach the digital transformation journey. Success in the cloud isn't just about the technology or the features. It's about the organizational mindset. To transform your business, you need to prepare for changes across the entire enterprise, including structure, processes, people, culture, and leadership. It's as much a leadership and change exercise as it is a technical exercise.

In this section, we give you a perspective on what to expect when you implement your cloud solution based on Dynamics 365. We introduce principles that apply to any online application. We expand on these concepts in other sections. We hope these principles help you set your course and guide you in your leap into the cloud.

We start by explaining how to develop a cloud mindset in your organization, which is the foundation of your digital transformation. Then we explore the factors to consider and understand before you move to a shared public cloud from an on-premises setup; for example, how the move affects the controls you have, and how to think differently about things like scalability, performance, and shared resources. After that, we discuss the principles for customizing and extending cloud apps. Finally, we examine the operating model, the always up-to-date evergreen cloud model, and the options to migrate to the Dynamics 365 cloud from on-premises.

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Using SaaS applications to run your business can speed up your digital transformation. But it's also important to recognize that your cloud maturity affects your strategy's long-term success. If you're working on your first major implementation in the cloud, you should expect some disruption to existing ways of deploying and managing applications. We hope these articles help you apply Success by Design thinking by setting the context for the changes you'll face and driving you towards higher cloud maturity.

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