Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Score 7.8 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a CRM providing sales, marketing, and service functionality. It is offered as SaaS and on-premise. Dynamics 365 is part of the larger Dynamics suite of business intelligence and ERP products.
$44
per month
Vena
Score 8.6 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
Vena Solutions provides a financial process automation solution to automate Corporate Performance Management, accounting and budgeting, Regulatory & Compliance, and other finance-related processes. It is scaled for medium to large-sized organizations.N/A
Pricing
Microsoft Dynamics 365Vena
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Professional
N/A
Complete
N/A
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Dynamics 365Vena
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsProfessional Plan is the most flexible way to get started quickly and add as you grow. The plan includes: Growth Platform, Customer Success Manager, Standard Support and Customer Portal. Complete Plan includes everything in Professional, plus: Microsoft Power BI Embedded, Premium Support, Sandbox Environment, Expert Managed Services and more. *Vena offers special pricing for not for profit organizations. To learn more, speak to an expert.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Dynamics 365Vena
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Dynamics 365

No answer on this topic

Vena
Chose Vena
I think Vena is more efficient than workiva, but i don't think my previous organization had purchase the full access of workiva.
Chose Vena
As our company grows we need more efficient ways to manage profits, employees, working in a pandemic/hybrid situation across multiple states and more. We have continued to experience rapid growth and found Vena and the Vena partners are the best at simplifying the information …
Chose Vena
I really like Vena for organizations with smaller finance teams. Excel is at the heart of Vena so there is a less new technology for them to learn. All three solutions have strengths that make them appropriate for specific organizations.
Chose Vena
Clearly a better fit for our company from a culture perspective. Adaptive sales team was super pushy and not a good fit for us. Also, the system would have LET us work in Excel, but that was not its main interface.
Chose Vena
We looked at Adaptive Insights before we decided on Vena. The main thing that set Vena apart was the heavy utilization of Excel.
Chose Vena
Vena was chosen for its flexibility, capabilities, and current growth. The product is constantly being updated. User management was better. The Excel user interface was a major factor in user adoption. Hyperion seemed to be a new interface to an old product (Oracle).
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Microsoft Dynamics 365Vena
Sales Force Automation
Comparison of Sales Force Automation features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
7.9
69 Ratings
3% above category average
Vena
-
Ratings
Customer data management / contact management8.768 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow management7.266 Ratings00 Ratings
Territory management8.250 Ratings00 Ratings
Opportunity management8.362 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail)7.665 Ratings00 Ratings
Contract management8.451 Ratings00 Ratings
Quote & order management8.447 Ratings00 Ratings
Interaction tracking7.259 Ratings00 Ratings
Channel / partner relationship management7.650 Ratings00 Ratings
Customer Service & Support
Comparison of Customer Service & Support features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
6.9
54 Ratings
8% below category average
Vena
-
Ratings
Case management7.850 Ratings00 Ratings
Call center management8.144 Ratings00 Ratings
Help desk management4.948 Ratings00 Ratings
Marketing Automation
Comparison of Marketing Automation features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
7.8
66 Ratings
3% above category average
Vena
-
Ratings
Lead management8.460 Ratings00 Ratings
Email marketing7.261 Ratings00 Ratings
CRM Project Management
Comparison of CRM Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
7.8
63 Ratings
3% above category average
Vena
-
Ratings
Task management7.458 Ratings00 Ratings
Billing and invoicing management7.643 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting8.452 Ratings00 Ratings
CRM Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of CRM Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
8.9
64 Ratings
16% above category average
Vena
-
Ratings
Forecasting9.154 Ratings00 Ratings
Pipeline visualization9.160 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable reports8.463 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
7.8
66 Ratings
3% above category average
Vena
-
Ratings
Custom fields8.365 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom objects7.960 Ratings00 Ratings
Scripting environment8.347 Ratings00 Ratings
API for custom integration6.851 Ratings00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
7.9
61 Ratings
5% below category average
Vena
-
Ratings
Single sign-on capability8.355 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based user permissions7.556 Ratings00 Ratings
Social CRM
Comparison of Social CRM features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
8.0
36 Ratings
10% above category average
Vena
-
Ratings
Social data8.335 Ratings00 Ratings
Social engagement7.636 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrations with 3rd-party Software
Comparison of Integrations with 3rd-party Software features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
7.6
55 Ratings
6% above category average
Vena
-
Ratings
Marketing automation7.655 Ratings00 Ratings
Compensation management7.628 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform
Comparison of Platform features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
8.4
47 Ratings
11% above category average
Vena
-
Ratings
Mobile access8.447 Ratings00 Ratings
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
-
Ratings
Vena
8.7
86 Ratings
8% above category average
Pixel Perfect reports00 Ratings8.648 Ratings
Customizable dashboards00 Ratings8.875 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings8.782 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
-
Ratings
Vena
8.1
174 Ratings
2% below category average
Drill-down analysis00 Ratings8.7167 Ratings
Formatting capabilities00 Ratings8.4166 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings6.848 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration00 Ratings8.4144 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
-
Ratings
Vena
9.0
132 Ratings
9% above category average
Publish to Web00 Ratings9.262 Ratings
Publish to PDF00 Ratings9.091 Ratings
Report Versioning00 Ratings9.1109 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling00 Ratings8.798 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
-
Ratings
Vena
8.1
77 Ratings
6% above category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)00 Ratings8.569 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization00 Ratings7.353 Ratings
Predictive Analytics00 Ratings8.459 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings8.06 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
-
Ratings
Vena
9.2
168 Ratings
5% above category average
Multi-User Support (named login)00 Ratings9.0157 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model00 Ratings9.2156 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)00 Ratings9.3159 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings9.222 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings9.2116 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
-
Ratings
Vena
9.1
80 Ratings
13% above category average
Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings9.277 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings8.966 Ratings
Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting
Comparison of Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
-
Ratings
Vena
8.7
210 Ratings
5% above category average
Long-term financial planning00 Ratings8.7187 Ratings
Financial budgeting00 Ratings9.2202 Ratings
Forecasting00 Ratings8.6193 Ratings
Scenario modeling00 Ratings8.2172 Ratings
Management reporting00 Ratings8.8199 Ratings
Consolidation and Close
Comparison of Consolidation and Close features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
-
Ratings
Vena
8.4
182 Ratings
4% above category average
Financial data consolidation00 Ratings9.2155 Ratings
Journal entries and reports00 Ratings8.0110 Ratings
Multi-currency management00 Ratings7.2103 Ratings
Intercompany Eliminations00 Ratings8.2102 Ratings
Minority Ownership00 Ratings8.666 Ratings
Local and consolidated reporting00 Ratings8.5134 Ratings
Detailed Audit Trails00 Ratings8.8161 Ratings
Financial Reporting and Compliance
Comparison of Financial Reporting and Compliance features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
-
Ratings
Vena
8.5
200 Ratings
3% above category average
Financial Statement Reporting00 Ratings9.0180 Ratings
Management Reporting00 Ratings8.7185 Ratings
Excel-based Reporting00 Ratings9.3194 Ratings
Automated board and financial reporting00 Ratings8.8139 Ratings
XBRL support for regulatory filing00 Ratings6.445 Ratings
Analytics and Reporting
Comparison of Analytics and Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
-
Ratings
Vena
8.7
148 Ratings
8% above category average
Personalized dashboards00 Ratings8.4121 Ratings
Color-coded scorecards00 Ratings8.990 Ratings
KPIs00 Ratings8.9105 Ratings
Cost and profitability analysis00 Ratings7.9116 Ratings
Key Performance Indicator setting00 Ratings9.1103 Ratings
Benchmarking with external data00 Ratings8.877 Ratings
Integration
Comparison of Integration features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Dynamics 365
-
Ratings
Vena
9.0
196 Ratings
8% above category average
Flat file integration00 Ratings9.4156 Ratings
Excel data integration00 Ratings8.8180 Ratings
Direct links to 3rd-party data sources00 Ratings8.9143 Ratings
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Microsoft Dynamics 365Vena
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Score 9.8 out of 10
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Score 8.4 out of 10
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Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Centage
Centage
Score 9.6 out of 10
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Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.2 out of 10
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User Ratings
Microsoft Dynamics 365Vena
Likelihood to Recommend
7.8
(88 ratings)
8.8
(214 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(20 ratings)
8.6
(18 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(18 ratings)
8.9
(25 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.8
(6 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.4
(6 ratings)
Support Rating
7.9
(11 ratings)
10.0
(95 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Online Training
7.5
(2 ratings)
8.8
(3 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.2
(4 ratings)
7.6
(4 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(3 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
3.9
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
8.8
(3 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.8
(6 ratings)
Professional Services
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.7
(3 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.8
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft Dynamics 365Vena
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
All told, if it hadn't been for the fact that we were testing it with both employees who knew CRM lingo and those who were new, we wouldn't have found such an issue. The program itself can be very useful for people who already manage CRMs, who know how to use them, who know how to run and manage employees on them, namely because of the "one-stop-shop" concept in data visibility. When it came down to it though, if you have high-turnover, then this product will devolve into only being used for it's base components. Down the middle, we found that the people who'd been in marketing for 4-5 years fell into the product easily because of the way it was written. Everyone before that, with novice experience, thought it was written like a textbook for a graduate class - little to no leeway if you don't happen to know one specific term
Read full review
Vena Solutions
Vena is very well suited to handle budgeting, forecasting, and reporting. The platform is very flexible, and I have been able to create some great reports that has allowed our team to deepen our analysis of our organization's performance. I also use Vena for other data storage and reporting, such as creating a site code directory for our field staff, developing an invoicing schedule for our AR department, and creating a workbook to facilitate calculating and reporting on our site staff mileage stipends.
Read full review
Pros
Microsoft
  • Some useful out-of-the-box features, like mass uploads of Leads from trade shows or when qualifying a Lead, CRM automatically creates the Opportunity, Contact, and Account for you, etc.
  • Really powerful customizations through the user interface to improve user experience. Things like Business Rules, for example, if Field A = 1, then Field B = 2 and Field C = 2, if Field A = 2, then Field B and Field C don't apply, so automatically hide them.
  • Or other functionality that improves user experience, like Business Process Flows. These walk users step by step through our business process, helping them know when certain actions should take place, and at what point other data is now required. We've used this extensively with our Lead to Opportunity to Quote to Order process, helping users understand the business process each step of the way.
  • Customizations built on top of the platform now called model-driven PowerApps. You can have connections to "typical" data, like Accounts, Contacts, or Opportunities, for example, but then connect that data to custom entities, records that only apply to your specific business. This is all done through the user interface and allows you to customize and automate specific line-of-business applications for your specific needs.
  • Behind the scenes, D365 CE is built on SQL. So the data conforms to industry standards and makes it much easier to interact with. Your developers and IT team will thank you.
Read full review
Vena Solutions
  • Easy to manage and maintain
  • Provides a better end user experience
  • Workflows and automatic emails make the budgeting process much easier to manage/complete
  • API integrations with important tools such as Power BI, Sage Intacct, and Salesforce
  • Easier for Finance to "own" the tool and troubleshoot data issues without having to rely heavily on internal/external Data teams
Read full review
Cons
Microsoft
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365 storage & license cost can prohibit some large deployments or even cost-sensitive small projects from using the platform (although I'm certain most deployments would realize a positive ROI if implemented correctly with process automation).
  • The cost and licensing document for Dynamics 365 is 61 pages and will take a rocket scientist to understand it. It's better to just have your Microsoft help estimate the cost if they are willing to help you that.
  • The documentation on how to first fully understand the Out of the Box default solution and settings is lacking or even non-existing. This has the potential to derail Dynamic 365 launches and implementations from the gitgo. Want to use an out of the box entity?.. well it's probably related to 5 other entities that require configuration and full understanding of it to successful implement. And you ask where is the laymen guide or instructions?... User groups and forums. In Summary, Microsoft can up its game in deployment training and supporting documentation.
  • Microsoft needs to incentivize more external platforms to build app connectors for easy integration, such as ZenDesk, Slack, Tableau, etc. Even the current connector apps such as Salesforce, MailChimp, Docusign are useless or don't work at all.
  • Several limitations inhibit successful Dynamics 365 deployments such as: limited number of Rollup field calculations (summarizing fields on child/related records), limited number rows that can exported to Excel via advanced find, Dynamics 365 files, log and database storage size limit is extremely small and will always require purchasing additional storage (for Online deployments).
  • New user buy-in or acceptance or system platform changes can be difficult if a solid change management plan isn't enacted.
  • Don't expect much help from Microsoft on implementation or solutions unless it's a technical flaw with the platform. Microsoft relies on their MVP partner network to consult for implementations at a hefty cost. Hiring a knowledgeable and savvy Dynamics 365 System Administrator can reduce the need for consultant support; of course, this is dependant upon many many variables.
Read full review
Vena Solutions
  • I have trouble logging into the Zoom meetings and have missed several meetings because of not being able to log in. That is likely due to limits from our IT department and probably not a Vena issue.
  • Sometimes I need more of an explanation or can't find the article I need in the Vena knowledge base. Also, some of the explanations leave me more confused about what I need to do to achieve my objective.
  • When we implemented Vena, the implementation team created a template for our unallocated lab expenses, but I wasn't able to effectively use it.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
CRM has allowed us to keep all of our data in one place that is easy for all users within the company to view. I came into the company after they had been using CRM for about 4 years. They have all said that since we have used this it has helped us control work processes better, it has allowed us to be able to track things so much better, and has been something that has helped unite many processes that used to be all over the place. We are currently using CRM 4.0 and are planning on upgrading in the next 18 months to the 2011 version. Support for 4.0 is almost all but dried up. Understandably so. Some of the customization we have done, and a plugins we use, are now contained within the 2011 version so we are looking forward to that upgrade. We use an email marketing company as well, and they primarily support the 2011 version, but their product connects and is integrated within CRM. This is a great benefit as well so that all of our marketing information can be contained in one location.
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Vena Solutions
Vena has been a huge win for us as an organization, as it vastly improved our budgeting process by removing manual consolidation that was incredibly time consuming, and it allows us to see a multi-year view of our organizational budget across all of our funding sources. We've seen Vena's platform grow over the years and we've not yet fully adopted some of them so it feels like there's still potential to get even more value out of the platform.
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Usability
Microsoft
My review can help others to choose the correct CRM like Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM. I see lots of great things in Microsoft Dynamics 365 that make your business easy and smooth also MS allows users to customize the software according to their needs. So Thought I should share my experience with others.
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Vena Solutions
This is split between usability from an end-user perspective and administrative. Administrative - The tool is lacking in a cohesive way to administer the tool, both from more of a back-end perspective (ETL/Integrations, scripting, etc.) as well as from a business administrative (Processes, Models, etc.). On the more back-end IT related aspects, the tool is a mishmash of modules that were clearly developed in stovepipe fashion. Basic feature/functionality aspects such as version control, auto vs manual save, etc. differ between the code preparation components. It is also lacking in any sort of coherent version control. Not all pages display the context information, so extreme caution must be used. There is also no coherent migration strategy. The process and model navigation has been somewhat challenging for our business administrators, often requiring assistance from Vena when creating or altering templates. 2 of 10 End User - This is better. The Excel add-in generally functions well. Creating basic templates is straightforward, and there is a large degree of flexibility when creating reporting templates. Being part of Excel puts many users into a comfort zone. The toggle switch between template and data mode is not well conceived, and the add-in pop-ups occasionally have issues on multi-monitor displays. 6 of 10
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Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Vena Solutions
Contact with Vena Solutions technical support is quick and experts in the field always respond. It is not necessary to go through a large form to explain the problems and then answer more questions to receive a direct answer, we simply send a message indicating the specific problem and they are immediately there to actively help us
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Performance
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Vena Solutions
Vena Solutions pages load quickly and only a few times does it get a bit slow, only when there are many integrations and the reports are long. But in general it is always fast and honestly I am very satisfied with the speed in the generation of statistical reports and the pages
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Support Rating
Microsoft
Our partner, Ledgeview Partners has been FANTASTIC to work with. They are always timely in their response and have taken time to understand our business and our specific needs. We've made a lot of advanced customizations and they have been a great help in making those updates.
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Vena Solutions
From initiate setup to going live, Vena's customer representatives and technicians have proven to be responsive and enthusiastic in getting our company up and running. They have been patient with our questions and frustrations and worked to troubleshoot issues that have come up.
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In-Person Training
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Vena Solutions
The original training was onsite and over two weeks. Since our original onboarding the company has come out with a training website to aid in user self directed needs.
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Online Training
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Vena Solutions
The online training was effective, it would be nice to see a more personalized solution. I understand the training is tailored for all industries, but it would be nice to see industry-specific use cases.
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Implementation Rating
Microsoft
We used a data warehouse to house our data, and our IT team and implementation vendor worked diligently ahead of time to construct idea implementation plans. Out of millions of records- we had less than a dozen errors, which is remarkable. My major insight is simply having a group of completely devoted individuals working towards your goal who fully understand the desired outcome. Focused resources for implementation season are critical to success.
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Vena Solutions
The Vena consultant had great knowledge of both the Vena solution and Excel and Excel functions. He was able to help suggest ways to build our templates that met our requirements using Excel functions we had not previously considered using. And we have been able to use the Excel information he provided in other ways outside of Vena. He was very patient and flexible as we learned the Vena tool and created templates
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Salesforce has more desirable functions than Microsoft Dynamics 365, at a competitive price. Its user interface is far more superior, it has more customization, easier customization, and out of the box it is more pleasing to the eye and to the end user. If the client doesn't have a deep-rooted connection with Microsoft I wouldn't leap to Dynamics 365.
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Vena Solutions
Vena has better reporting and budgeting functions than NetSuite Budgeting & Reporting when we compared the two. The Kansas City Chiefs currently use Vena and they had nothing but good things to say about it so that gave us confidence to go with Vena.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Microsoft
On our purchase, I'd been interrogated about our usage. Our needs are met by Microsoft Dynamics 365, which is simple to use. With so much data and information available, we must ensure that it is presented correctly to managers. Due to a lack of use, we don't have to spend as much money on Salesforce.
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Vena Solutions
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Vena Solutions
We use Vena across 10 countries and 200 users who are located in a wide range of settings and internet reliability. Even with that wide implementation, the most common issue we run into is a new hire not installing the Vena add-in, which is a super quick fix. Depending on our user's location, the internet can sometimes be spotty, but that is outside of Vena's control and even in those settings, Vena might take a little longer to open a template, but it still does open and the user can complete their work. Over 5 years of using Vena, we've collectively only had 3 issues where we needed Vena support to help look at a specific issue a user was having.
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Professional Services
Microsoft
My company's preferred program right now is Microsoft Dynamics 365. We use it to keep track of customers and important sales metrics in a streamlined manner. Anyone familiar with CRMs will find the tool extremely useful. Considering that we have a good turnover, this product will be used for its basic segments. As a result, there are few chances of error with Microsoft dynamics because it is so easy to use. Many options for recording data on these leads are available. It meets our needs and pays off.
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Vena Solutions
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • It is hard to say, the reason why we are using Microsoft Dynamics CRM is because it is provided to us for free.
  • It could be worthwhile to investigate whether an alternative CRM (even though paid) can be used to boost the ROI
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Vena Solutions
  • Saved considerable time for monthly close by streamlining reporting and entries
  • Saved considerable time and effort for reconciliations by standardizing input and output and ability to send reviews to different users and track completion
  • Saved a lot of headache when tracking down variances
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ScreenShots

Vena Screenshots

Screenshot of Operation Expenses - Predictive AnalysisScreenshot of Allocations DashboardScreenshot of Vena Add InScreenshot of Power BI DashboardScreenshot of Revenue and Sales PlanningScreenshot of Corporate Dashboard - Workforce Planning