Late last year, Satya Nadella outlined Microsoft's plans to integrate LinkedIn with its product portfolio after having closed its $26.2 billion acquisition of the professional networking platform. With now over half a billion LinkedIn members, the potential integration opportunities are certainly not withering on the vine.
In an announcement yesterday, Microsoft said that it will be introducing its 'Relationship Sales solution' that will integrate Dynamics 365 for Sales and LinkedIn Sales Navigator for "about half the cost of competitive solutions in the market" in July. Specifically, the integration will allow salespeople to become more effective by:
- Leveraging signals across email, CRM and LinkedIn to get contextual recommendations for the next best action within Dynamics 365 for Sales, facilitating introductions directly through the company’s network, and sending InMail, messages and customized connection requests
- Engaging buyers with tailored content throughout the account lifecycle, and getting account and lead updates including news mentions and job changes
- Building strong relationships with existing contacts through access to LinkedIn profile details including photos, current roles and work history.
Also launching in July will be Dynamics 365 for Talent, which been touted as being able to provide a "360-degree view of your workforce" throughout the talent acquisition and management lifecycles. The application will provide:
- Access the best talent, more quickly, with LinkedIn Recruiter integrations that enable dynamic candidate profiles to give managers and interviewers the most up-to-date information
- Deliver personalized onboarding experiences that accelerate employees’ ability to deliver impact with targeted activities and learning resources, along with access to relevant contacts
- Maintain an up-to-date view of employee experiences through a consolidated HR profile spanning Office 365, Dynamics 365 and LinkedIn profile information
- Drive operational excellence, measure business impact and improve program effectiveness with integrated intelligence that lets you maximize your human resources.
As far as pricing is concerned, the Microsoft Relationship Sales solution will be available for $135 per user per month, while the company has yet to announce the cost of its Dynamics 365 for Talent application.
If you're interested in finding out more information about the above solutions, you can register for the Microsoft Business Forward live web event, which will kick off on May 3 at 10 AM Eastern Time. There will be presentations from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Corporate Vice President James Phillips, and Executive Vice President Judson Althoff.
