If you're considering a switch from Salesforce to Microsoft, you probably have some questions. For instance, what should you consider from a business planning perspective to ensure your transition is as hassle free as possible?

A little planning will go a long way in making your migration to Microsoft Dynamics 365 successful. To help you plan, we've put together several big-picture questions that you should ask yourself before you make the switch. The answer to these questions will vary greatly depending on the complexity and size of your current Salesforce implementation, but no matter how small your current system, you need to address each one.

What does your business need?

The fact that you have made (or are on the verge of making) a decision to move from Salesforce to Microsoft Dynamics 365 suggests you have already given a lot of thought to this question. Still, it is such a critical step in a successful migration project that it needs to be revisited many times over the course of a solution implementation. So, if you haven’t already, ensure you have given a lot of thought to the following:

• What precisely does your Salesforce solution currently do for you? Just as important, what doesn't it do for you?
• What precisely do you want Dynamics 365 to do for you — immediately and long-term)? What do you intend to keep outside the scope of Dynamics 365?
• What gap-fills or process changes need to happen to achieve this?

Yes, this is a daunting set of questions, but we can help pinpoint your needs and fine-tune your answers. We have worked through many successful Salesforce to Dynamics 365 migrations, so it's unlikely you'll come across any issues we haven't already seen and solved.

When is your current Salesforce contract up for renewal?

Salesforce offers some flexibility in their contracts, but they typically run in 12-month cycles. We will need to plan accordingly to avoid losing functionality mid-migration or having to pay for software months after you've stopped using it.

When is the best time for your business to go through a systems migration?

It's hard to imagine that a perfect time exists for migrating your entire technology infrastructure from Salesforce to Microsoft. Making changes to business-critical systems is always going to cause some level of disruption. But don't worry — we work closely with you every step of the way to keep disruptions to a minimum. And we've done these migrations several hundred times, so we are well-versed in minimizing downtimes. Part of that is carefully analyzing how your Salesforce solution is currently being used and, even more importantly, how your Microsoft Dynamics 365 solution will be used going forward, to identify the ideal migration timeline.

Which Dynamics 365 deployment option is right for your organization?

Many long-time users of Salesforce don't realize that Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers multiple deployment options, including cloud, on-premises and hybrid. While the latest trend is heavily in favor of cloud-based deployments — especially in the last few years, as workforces have become increasingly remote — on-premises and hybrid approaches remain readily available. It just depends on which strategy best suits your business. Our team of experts can help you make that determination.

These may seem like questions with very big answers, but rest assured, the Microsoft Business Applications experts at HCLTech are here to help.