Microsoft Dynamics partner: how to choose the right partner for your SMB

Choosing the right Microsoft Dynamics partner is a key step for SMBs that plan to implement or upgrade Dynamics 365 and want a setup that works from day one.

Pick the wrong partner, and you may face project delays, messy integrations, low team adoption or long-term support costs that put strain on a small business budget. The right partner will keep your rollout straightforward, grounded in real workflows and manageable for a lean team.

In this guide, you’ll learn what a Microsoft Dynamics partner does and how to evaluate prospective partners. You’ll also discover how Pipedrive can strengthen your sales foundation before and alongside a Dynamics project.

Key takeaways from Microsoft partner

• A Microsoft Dynamics partner is a certified expert who helps SMBs plan, deploy and optimize Dynamics so teams get value quickly and avoid wasting time or budget.

• Structured evaluation criteria help SMBs compare partners on industry fit, technical skills, support models and workflow needs.

• A clear partner selection process reduces risk, improves user adoption and creates a stable Dynamics setup that can grow with your business.

• Pipedrive helps SMBs prepare for and complement Dynamics by cleaning data, mapping processes and supporting fast adoption. Try it today with a 14-day free trial.

What is a Microsoft Dynamics Partner?

A Microsoft Dynamics partner is a certified company or expert that helps your small business set up Dynamics 365 the right way so your system is stable, accurate and ready for daily use.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a set of business applications for sales, service, finance and operations.

Here’s an example of how Dynamics 365 displays all this activity in one place so small teams can work with clear, real-time information.

Microsoft Dynamics gives SMBs a single system for managing customers, tracking work, handling inventory and supporting daily operations.

When small business owners who want the power of Dynamics lack internal IT resources, a partner fills that gap. They help you map your workflows, set up modules, migrate data and connect Dynamics to tools you already use.

Partners also guide you through support, training and future updates so your system keeps pace as your business grows.

Microsoft Dynamics Partners work across the full Microsoft ecosystem. They understand how Dynamics interacts with Windows devices and cloud-based tools, such as:

• Microsoft 365
  
  

• Microsoft Azure
  
  

• Microsoft Power Platform
  
  

• Microsoft Teams

With a full view of the ecosystem, partners can design streamlined Microsoft setups for SMBs to keep costs low, reduce the risk of delays and avoid complex fixes later.

Partners also help prevent integration issues that cause data errors or surprise costs during and after rollout.

Understanding partner types

There are several types of Microsoft Dynamics Partners, each one serving a different small business need.

Here are the main types of partners and what they do

A single company can hold several of these roles, so many SMBs work with one partner that covers licensing, setup and support.

How to find a Microsoft Dynamics Partner

You can find prospective partners by using Microsoft’s directories, checking designations and reviewing real SMB project experience.

Here’s how to search for a Microsoft Dynamics Partner with confidence:

• Use the Microsoft Partner Center and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner Portal. These directories let you search by industry, region and solution area and view certifications and customer stories to filter out enterprise-only partners.
  

• Check for the Microsoft Solutions Partner designation. This designation confirms proven skills, trained staff and strong customer outcomes. Many earn it through the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, which measures performance across Microsoft technologies.

• Look for real SMB case studies. Check for examples from similar-sized businesses so you can see how the partner handles workflows, challenges and results that match your needs.
  

• Ask for referrals from local business networks. Chambers, industry groups and local advisors often know trusted partners. You can also check LinkedIn for endorsements and client feedback.
  

• Review the partner’s site, team and delivery approach. Look for transparent pricing, clear explanations and real project examples. Avoid vague claims or processes that do not match SMB timelines.

Once you know where to find potential partners, the next step is understanding how to evaluate them.

4 key criteria to evaluate when selecting a Microsoft Dynamics 365 partner

As you narrow your list, use these criteria to assess whether a prospective partner can support your workflows, protect your budget and keep your Dynamics system running smoothly.

1. Industry experience and business context

Look for partners with experience in your industry to reduce delays and prevent costly missteps.

Industry fit helps partners understand your daily operations. They know your common workflows, typical bottlenecks and the customer data you rely on, so planning feels faster and less abstract for SMBs with limited time.

A good partner should understand your go-to-market strategy and map relevant sales steps to your Dynamics setup.

Good partners start with a discovery process. They ask questions about sales steps, service tasks, inventory needs or compliance rules. They map these to Dynamics so your rollout feels grounded in real work.

A strong partner ties every recommendation back to your business goals so the system stays aligned with what matters most.

A small medical clinic, for example, will benefit from a partner who knows how patient scheduling, billing and record rules shape healthcare CRM setups. Without this context, your team spends more time explaining than implementing.

2. Technical expertise across the Microsoft ecosystem

Your partner should know how to connect Dynamics with Microsoft 365, Azure and the Power Platform so your system works smoothly as you grow.

A strong partner helps your small business link CRM data with email, calendars and documents in Microsoft 365. They can also use tools like Power Automate or Power Apps to replace manual tasks with simple automated steps.

If you already use a system like Pipedrive, your partner should explain how they will handle CRM data migration so your contacts, deals and history move into Dynamics without loss.

The company or individual should understand security, compliance and basic cybersecurity practices to protect your customer and financial data as your business grows.

The right partner should also design your setup with stable cloud performance and clear access rules. These choices protect SMB budgets and reduce long-term maintenance work.

For example, a distributor using a simple CRM for quoting will need a partner who can sync those records with Dynamics inventory workflows without creating costly, hard-to-maintain integrations.

3. Customer success, support models and long-term value

Your partner should offer support that keeps your Dynamics system running every day and helps your team adopt it with confidence.

Look for partners with clear help desk options, structured support cycles and a well-defined service level agreement (SLA) that outlines exactly how the partner will work with you.

SLAs should include:

• Response times

• Escalation paths

• System review intervals

Strong partners will commit to helping your small business gain long-term value from Dynamics after a successful go-live by suggesting improvements and providing ongoing guidance.

A good Microsoft Dynamics Partner should offer transparent licensing advice, whether you buy your licence through a CSP or directly from Microsoft. Clear pricing helps SMBs budget confidently as their team and usage grow.

For instance, a small e-commerce brand planning for seasonal peaks needs clear licensing costs upfront so they can scale their licenses without facing unexpected costs.

4. Integration, interoperability and customization capability

Your partner must be able to connect Dynamics to your tools and build simple automations that reduce manual work for your team.

Most SMBs start with a CRM system like Pipedrive to track deals and customer activity, alongside tools such as accounting software, email platforms or point-of-sale apps.

A good partner should:

• Assess how this data will flow into Dynamics

• Decide whether a lighter CRM like Pipedrive should stay in place for day-to-day selling

• Map how all systems connect.

They should keep custom workflows simple to make your setup easy to maintain and know when to bring in an ISV to meet advanced needs.

A field service company may log jobs in a lightweight CRM system, for example. A good partner can map that workflow into Dynamics without creating complex code that inflates long-term costs.

Finally, your partner should offer ongoing support that keeps your system running every day and helps your team use it with confidence.

Partner evaluation checklist

Use this checklist to confirm whether prospective partners are a strong fit for your small business. You should be able to check most items for a partner to move forward.

Now you know what to look for in a prospective partner, let’s consider the questions you should ask to dig deeper into their knowledge and expertise.

Questions to ask Microsoft Dynamics implementation partners

Good questions help you understand how a prospective Microsoft Dynamics partner thinks, how they work with SMBs and whether they’ll keep your system simple.

Use this list during discovery calls or product demos to evaluate a partner’s capabilities and uncover any gaps early.

As you ask these questions, pay attention to how clearly the partner answers and whether they can give real examples from small business projects.

How to compare Microsoft Dynamics partners: a 5-step framework

Once you’ve evaluated your prospective partners and identified your shortlist, use this simple framework to compare final candidates and choose the right partner for your small business.

1. Evaluate how well each partner understands your workflows

The right partner for your SMB is the one who demonstrates the best understanding of how your business operates.

Share your documented processes, pain points and desired outcomes with each finalist. The strongest partner will ask smart clarifying questions such as:

• How does your team qualify leads?

• How do you manage service tickets?

• How do you handle inventory back orders?

From there, good candidates will outline a clear Dynamics plan grounded in your real business workflows.

2. Match your needs to partner solution areas

The best partner is the one whose skills match your exact requirements, not the broadest possible audience.

Comparing specializations side by side helps you separate strong candidates from generic ones. For example, you can review Partner Center profiles to see which Dynamics 365 apps, Business Central capabilities and Microsoft cloud services each partner specializes in.

This exercise allows you to see which partners have real experience with small businesses and which ones mainly serve large enterprises.

3. Assess each partner’s methodology and delivery approach

Each partner works differently, so choose the style that fits your team’s bandwidth.

If your team can only spare one or two hours a week, for example, you may prefer a partner offering structured, low-touch milestone reviews. If your workflows evolve more quickly, a partner using an agile methodology may help you validate changes sooner.

A clear delivery approach from prospective partners will help you judge who will keep your rollout manageable, who communicates well and who expects more time from you than you can spare.

Seek out concrete cues like timelines or change management plans to help you compare approaches.

4. Validate ecosystem alignment and technical readiness

Evaluate whether prospective partners can work confidently across your CRM tools and the wider Microsoft environment.

Concrete indicators include that a partner can:

• Describe how Outlook email and calendar sync will work for your team
  
  

• Explain how CRM data (e.g., deals, contacts, activity history) would map into Dynamics
  
  

• Show examples of past projects connecting Dynamics to accounting tools or point of sale (POS) systems

The right partner will explain how they can build a setup that will stay stable, secure and flexible as you grow.

5. Compare pricing and CSP licensing structures

This final step shows which partner takes a truly customer-centric approach to your budget and growth.

Look for specifics such as:

• A breakdown of which Dynamics licences you actually need based on roles in your SMB
  
  

• Examples of how costs will change if you add seasonal users or future modules
  
  

• A side-by-side comparison of CSP vs. direct licensing

With clarity in these areas, you can choose a trustworthy partner who will respect your budget and support your long-term plans.

Setting up for success with your partner

Once you’ve selected your Microsoft Dynamics partner, you can get the best results from the collaboration by setting clear expectations, supporting your team and planning for steady improvement.

Here’s how to set the partnership up for success:

• Establish clear expectations in your SLA. Set response times, escalation paths and ownership to ensure support is predictable. Your SLA should set out how changes are approved and what coverage you’ll receive during both go-live and daily operations.

• Make adoption easier for your team. Ensure your team can enroll in simple, role-based onboarding instead of long training sessions. Ask for short guides and on-demand resources so learning feels manageable.

• Ensure ongoing optimization and ROI. Review system performance and track sales metrics like deal progress and customer conversions. Meet with your partner regularly to adjust workflows and add automations. Share your upcoming initiatives so they can ensure your system evolves with your business.

How Pipedrive helps SMBs prepare for Dynamics or run sales in a hybrid setup

Pipedrive can support your CRM strategy at two points: before a Dynamics project – when you need clean processes and data – and during a hybrid setup, when your sales team needs a simpler tool that still fits a Microsoft environment.

1. Use Pipedrive as a readiness layer

Many SMBs looking for a Microsoft CRM partner want to be confident that their processes, data and team are truly ready for a Dynamics rollout.

Many start with a trusted CRM vendor to organize their sales work before moving into the broader Microsoft ecosystem. Pipedrive gives teams simple, structured processes long before they invest in a full Dynamics rollout.

The sales software makes it easy to build clear sales pipelines, test real workflows and see where deals slow down. These insights help you plan a smoother Dynamics rollout because you enter the project with defined stages, better habits and well-structured data.

Pipedrive helps SMBs:

• Map and test sales processes before a complex rollout
  
  

• Create clean, structured pipeline stages for easier migration into Dynamics 365
  
  

• Build sales habits and adoption in a tool reps enjoy using
  
  

• Organize their CRM data so fewer errors appear during integration or migration

Pipedrive lets you create clear, structured sales pipelines in minutes so you can see how work flows through your team.

This pipeline view helps you understand your real sales process, making it easier to plan your Dynamics setup and prepare clean data for integration.

2. Use Pipedrive in a hybrid Microsoft setup

Some SMBs want the strength of Microsoft’s ecosystem but prefer a simple CRM for daily selling. Pipedrive works well in this hybrid setup because it supports fast sales work while your wider business runs on Microsoft.

Some common SMB use cases include:

• Finance and operations using Dynamics while sales works in a simple Pipedrive pipeline
  

• SMBs selling day-to-day in Pipedrive and sync key records into Dynamics
  

• Teams seeking immediate visibility of pipeline progress and customer activity while planning a slower Dynamics rollout later

Many SMBs connect Pipedrive with Outlook and other Microsoft tools so sales can work from a simple CRM while the wider organization works in Dynamics.

Sales teams can sync email and calendar apps directly with Pipedrive, ensuring their daily communication with the rest of the business remains smooth and organized.

Together, Pipedrive and Dynamics give SMBs a flexible setup that supports efficient sales work and prepares the business for deeper Microsoft adoption in the future.

Microsoft Dynamics partner FAQs

Final thoughts

Selecting the right Microsoft Dynamics partner helps SMBs achieve digital transformation while reducing risk, improving workflows and protecting long-term growth.

With clear criteria, structured discovery and strong support models, you can choose a partner who understands your business and keeps your system simple.

Pipedrive supports SMBs throughout their Microsoft journey. Whether as a preparation layer or a hybrid sales tool, Pipedrive gives teams clear processes, reliable visibility and steady momentum as they grow. Start your free 14-day trial today.