Guide · Dynamics 365 CRM consulting
Dynamics 365 CRM consulting ships three deployables. Clone drives Dynamics 365 with zero of them.
Every Dynamics 365 consulting engagement on page one of Google ends with the same three artifacts: a
Managed Solution .zip
, an Azure AD App Registration, and a Dataverse environment. Clone's architecture file defines the Computer Agent layer with four GUI verbs (“Reads the screen, clicks, types, scrolls”), not four API verbs. That definition, in six lines of code, is why none of the three deployables exist when Clone drives your Dynamics 365 tenant.Every caption is pulled from architecture.tsx line 20 (Computer Agent sublabel) or lines 55-59 (principle 3).
What every Dynamics 365 CRM consulting page quietly assumes
I read the first ten pages that rank for "dynamics 365 crm consulting" before writing this one. Microsoft's own Dynamics 365 page, DynamicsCrmConsulting.com, Codinix, C5 Insight, Centric Consulting, GSG Global Solutions, Evoke Technologies, LevelShift, Citrin Cooperman, and a Medium roundup of the top eight USA partners. They all cover the same ground: Microsoft Partner status, Gold Competency, 325+ ERP/CRM engagements, 8+ years average certified-resource tenure, and a pitch for implementation plus customization plus integration plus post-go-live managed services.
Not one of those pages examines what is actually shipped at the end of the engagement. The three deployables below are universal. They are not optional. They are what makes a Dynamics 365 engagement a Dynamics 365 engagement.
Clone's approach to the same problem begins from the opposite end: what if the automation does not need any of the three, because it happens at the UI layer instead of the API layer?
The three deployables a Dynamics 365 consulting engagement always ships
Inside the final Dynamics engagement handoff
- A Managed Solution .zip file (Dataverse tables, Business Process Flows, Security Roles, Power Automate flows, plugins) that a Dynamics admin imports into the production environment.
- An Azure AD App Registration with a Client ID, Client Secret, redirect URI, and the Dynamics CRM user_impersonation scope consented at the tenant level by a Global Admin.
- A Dataverse environment (Production, Sandbox, or Developer type) provisioned inside the Power Platform Admin Center, with a database, a security model, and a storage allocation billed monthly.
Below is what Clone ships instead, derived from the same input (your Dynamics tenant, your repeated actions, your Friday call summaries):
Inside ~/.clone/ on your laptop
- A plain-English ritual file under ~/.clone/rituals/, e.g. rituals/dynamics-monday-log.md.
- A client file under ~/.clone/memory/ with context about the Dynamics contact the ritual operates on.
- An action log written every time the ritual runs, readable in any text editor, reversible from the Clone UI.
The Dynamics engagement produces three artifacts the vendor owns; Clone produces three artifacts you own.
The anchor fact: architecture.tsx lines 18 to 23
Open src/components/architecture.tsx in the cl0ne.ai repo. Read lines 18 through 23. The sublabel on line 20 is four verbs. Four GUI verbs. No API verbs.
The shape of that sublabel is the whole argument of this page. Every verb a Dynamics 365 integration needs to call the Dataverse Web API (register, consent, grant permission, acquire token, paginate via OData) is missing. Every verb a human uses to drive the Dynamics UI (read, click, type, scroll) is present. The consequence is that the three deployables do not exist.
The Dynamics 365 modules Clone already drives, through the same Chrome tab
A Dynamics 365 consulting firm scopes an engagement per module (Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, Marketing). Clone is indifferent. Whatever module you opened in Chrome this morning, the Computer Agent reads, clicks, types, and scrolls through it the same way.
Clone Computer Agent reads whichever Dynamics module you have open
The four numbers that define the engagement shape
Line by line: Dynamics 365 CRM consulting versus Clone driving Dynamics 365
Both produce the same business outcome (Dynamics kept current with your Zoom calls, follow-ups, and pipeline updates). The difference is which deployables the approach requires and what happens when Dynamics changes.
| Feature | A standard Dynamics 365 consulting engagement | Clone driving Dynamics 365 |
|---|---|---|
| What the engagement deploys | A Managed Solution .zip (customizations package with Dataverse tables, Business Process Flows, Security Roles, Power Automate flows, plugins). A Global Admin imports it into Production. The import is audited and often staged through a Sandbox first. | Nothing. The output of running Clone for a week on your Dynamics tenant is a handful of ritual files in ~/.clone/rituals/. There is no Solution to import, no admin to request, no Sandbox to provision. |
| What identity provider the automation needs | An Azure AD App Registration with a Client ID, a Client Secret, a redirect URI, and the 'Dynamics CRM user_impersonation' permission scope granted by a Global Admin at the tenant level. The secret rotates and has to be refreshed in every automation that references it. | Your already-logged-in Chrome session. Clone's Computer Agent reads whatever dynamics.com tab is open in your browser, with your identity, your role assignments, and your Business Unit scope. No separate OAuth client exists. |
| Where the data model lives | Inside a Dataverse environment. Custom tables, columns, choice sets, relationships, calculated columns, and rollup columns are schema objects sitting in the vendor's multi-tenant relational store. Their existence is billed per Dataverse capacity. | Inside the Memory layer on your laptop (architecture.tsx line 24, labeled Clone Memory). Four named buckets: clients, voice, templates, history. No schema. No Dataverse capacity fee. The CRM is the fifth item in the 'Your Apps' row. |
| How an ambient process rule is authored | As a Business Process Flow, a Power Automate cloud flow, a Dataverse plugin (C#), or a classic workflow. Each is a vendor-proprietary artifact authored inside an admin console. Reading or editing requires a Dynamics admin with the right Security Role. | As a paragraph of English in a file like rituals/dynamics-monday-log.md. The file is checked in by you, readable in TextEdit, editable in any IDE, and does not depend on a Security Role to open. |
| What a Dynamics 365 Wave release does to the automation | A Wave release can deprecate an entity API name, rename a Sales Hub page, or change a field's default behavior. Every deprecation note in the Microsoft Release Planner maps to at least one customization that needs verification and often rework. Consulting retainer exists in part to absorb the Wave cadence. | Nothing. The Computer Agent re-reads the screen on the next run. A renamed Dynamics field is still a field with a visible label. The Memory layer holds the English description ('log a call'); the Agent adapts the keystrokes. |
| What happens when you move off Dynamics 365 | The Managed Solution is worthless. Dataverse tables do not port. Power Automate flows built on the Dataverse connector are worthless. The Azure AD App Registration is deleted. The 6-14 week engagement has nothing transferable except institutional knowledge. | The rituals/*.md files keep working. Principle 3 of architecture.tsx, 'Tool agnostic by design', says 'Switch CRMs, change invoicing tools, add a new client portal, Clone adapts in the same conversation. No re-wiring required.' The same ritual runs against Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, or your Notion client DB. |
| Ongoing bill after go-live | Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise at $95/user/month + Dataverse capacity + Power Platform per-flow or per-user licensing + 120 to 260 consulting/admin hours per year to maintain the Solution through Wave releases. A three-seat firm is $350 to $550 per month on licenses alone, before consulting. | $49 per month on Solo, flat. You keep whatever Dynamics 365 seat you already pay for. Clone is not a replacement for Dynamics; it is a Computer Agent that drives whichever CRM you signed into. |
Six Dynamics-specific artifacts that do not exist in Clone's architecture
Each card below is an artifact every Dynamics 365 consulting engagement configures or delivers. Clone's architecture file does not name any of them, because the Computer Agent layer operates at the GUI level.
No Managed Solution .zip
A Dynamics 365 engagement's deliverable is a Solution file imported into your tenant. Clone has nothing to import. The deliverable is a ritual paragraph in ~/.clone/rituals/ that you wrote in English and can open in TextEdit.
No Azure AD App Registration
Every Dynamics integration needs a Client ID and a Client Secret registered in Azure AD, scoped to Dynamics CRM user_impersonation, and consented by a Global Admin. Clone uses your Chrome session. No App Registration is created.
No Dataverse environment
Dynamics customizations live in Dataverse environments (Production/Sandbox/Developer). The Memory layer is a directory on your laptop. No environment is provisioned, no capacity is billed.
No Business Process Flow stage bar
Dynamics uniquely puts a visual stage bar at the top of Lead, Opportunity, and Case records (Qualify → Develop → Propose → Close). Clone induces rituals from 12+ observed runs instead of prescribing a stage gate.
No Security Role matrix
Dynamics' four-scope security model (User, Business Unit, Parent-BU, Org) decides who can see which record. Clone has no multi-user model; the Memory layer is yours alone.
No Power Automate flow library
A Dynamics partner delivers a library of Power Automate flows (triggered on record create, wait for approval, update related record). Clone replaces the library with a ritual file per scheduled English instruction.
The one sentence in architecture.tsx that outlives any Dynamics Wave release
Principle 3 in the founding-principles block is the sentence a Dynamics 365 consulting firm cannot offer. Every Solution .zip they hand you is Dynamics-specific. The ritual paragraph the Memory layer holds is not.
“Switch CRMs, change invoicing tools, add a new client portal, Clone adapts in the same conversation. No re-wiring required.”
architecture.tsx, principle 3, lines 56 to 59
How Clone runs against Dynamics 365, end to end
Six steps, none of which require a Dynamics Partner, a Global Admin, or a Power Platform licensing call.
Keep your Dynamics 365 tenant exactly as it is
You stay on Sales Hub (or Customer Service, Field Service, etc.). The Business Process Flow on your Opportunity record stays. The Security Role on your account stays. Clone does not touch the Dataverse environment.
Install Clone on your Mac or PC
Clone runs locally. Principle 1 of architecture.tsx ('Runs on your machine') is the reason: client files, emails, Zoom transcripts, and Dynamics context never leave your laptop.
Sign into Dynamics in Chrome the way you do every morning
Your work Microsoft account, the usual Conditional Access / MFA challenge, the usual tenant URL. No Azure AD App Registration consent screen appears because no App Registration is created.
Describe one Dynamics rule in plain English
"Clone, every Monday at 9:15, open last Friday's three Dynamics Sales contacts, log the call summary from my Zoom notes, and set a Friday follow-up task." Clone runs it. The run is observable in Clone's ledger.
After 12+ clean runs, Clone proposes a ritual file
The file is a plain-text paragraph under ~/.clone/rituals/. You read it, edit it, save it. That file is what a Dynamics consulting firm would have built as a Power Automate flow inside a Managed Solution.
Move to a different Dynamics module, or off Dynamics entirely
Principle 3 of architecture.tsx. The ritual paragraph keeps working when you switch from Sales Hub to Customer Service, or from Dynamics to HubSpot. The Memory layer above the CRM does not care which viewer renders it.
A 60-second narrative: the ritual survives Wave releases and module switches
This is the concrete case a Dynamics 365 consulting engagement cannot survive: a Wave release renames a field, then a quarter later the team switches from Sales Hub to Customer Service. A Managed Solution .zip breaks on both events. A ritual file breaks on neither.
A ritual that does not know which Dynamics module it runs against
Monday. Dynamics 365 Sales Hub.
What a Clone ritual file for Dynamics 365 actually looks like
This is the file Clone proposes after observing the same desktop action 12 times. Every line below is plain English. Compare it to a Power Automate cloud flow or a Dataverse plugin.
And here is what Clone's describe command prints about that file, including what it does and does not depend on:
If it renders in Chrome under dynamics.com, the Computer Agent reads it. The ritual file above is identical regardless of which module you use.
The Dynamics 365 modules Clone drives today
Dynamics 365 Sales
Sales Hub app. Clone logs calls, updates opportunity stage, sets follow-ups against the Contact record.
Dynamics 365 Customer Service
Case list and knowledge articles. Clone triages inbound cases and updates case status from the UI.
Dynamics 365 Field Service
Work orders and booking board. Clone drafts work order updates and follows up with customers.
Dynamics 365 Marketing
Journeys and segments. Clone reads segment counts and drafts follow-up sequences.
Dynamics 365 Customer Insights
Unified profiles. Clone reads the profile panel and references it from the Memory layer.
Dynamics 365 Project Operations
Project records and time entries. Clone logs time against the right project task.
Dynamics 365 Business Central
BC Sales Orders and Invoices. Clone drafts invoices when Clone's invoicing ritual fires.
Dynamics 365 Finance
Customer accounts and aged balances. Clone reads the overdue list and drafts reminders in your voice.
What the architecture file literally counts for Dynamics 365
GUI verbs on line 20 of architecture.tsx: read, click, type, scroll.
API verbs on the same line. No register, no consent, no token acquisition.
runs Clone observes before proposing a ritual file for a Dynamics action.
Dynamics 365 modules Clone drives through the UI, with the same ritual shape.
Why this matters for a solo consultant or small firm choosing Dynamics 365
A Dynamics 365 consulting engagement priced at $80K to $200K and scoped at 6 to 14 weeks is the right shape for an enterprise that needs custom Dataverse tables, compiled plugins, a multi-Business-Unit Security Role matrix, and a library of Power Automate flows. If that is you, hire a Microsoft Partner.
If you are a solo consultant or a small firm, the shape is different. You need Dynamics to stay current with your calls, your follow-ups, and your pipeline. The 6-to-14-week shape is scoped against the three deployables that Clone's Computer Agent layer does not produce. Once the Computer Agent is doing the reading, clicking, typing, and scrolling, the three deployables become unnecessary infrastructure.
The cheapest way to verify this page is to open architecture.tsx, read lines 18 through 23, count the verbs, notice they are all GUI verbs, and then decide whether a solo consultant's Dynamics routine actually needs anything beyond those four verbs.
Want to see Clone drive your Dynamics 365 tenant, live, without provisioning anything?
Book a 30-minute call. Bring your Dynamics 365 tenant and one desktop routine you repeat every week (Monday call logging, Friday follow-ups, month-end opportunity review). We will put the routine into a ritual file, run it against your actual Sales Hub or Customer Service tab in Chrome, and leave you with a plain-text paragraph that replaces whatever Power Automate flow a partner would have built inside a Managed Solution.
Book a 30-minute callDrive Dynamics 365 without a Power Platform deployable.
Twenty minutes together. We let Clone read your Dynamics 365 screens and push one action through it, no plugin, no workflow, no customization ship.
What Dynamics 365 customers ask before running Clone against their tenant
Is Clone a Microsoft Partner / Dynamics 365 Certified Solutions Partner?
No. Every result on page one of Google for 'dynamics 365 crm consulting' (DynamicsCrmConsulting.com, Codinix, C5 Insight, Centric Consulting, GSG Global, Evoke, LevelShift, Citrin Cooperman, and Microsoft's own page) leads with some version of Microsoft Partner status, Gold Competency, or Solutions Partner badge. Clone is not in that category. It is a desktop Computer Agent that drives Dynamics 365 the way a human would, from the same Chrome session a user uses. No partner badge, no tenant-level permission grant, no Dynamics-specific certification.
What exactly are the 'three deployables' this page says are missing?
One: a Managed Solution .zip file. This is the packaged customization a Dynamics partner hands to your Global Admin to import into Production. It contains custom Dataverse tables, columns, Business Process Flows, Security Roles, Power Automate flows, and plugins. Two: an Azure AD App Registration. This is the OAuth client (Client ID + Client Secret + redirect URI + 'Dynamics CRM user_impersonation' scope) that any automation outside the Dynamics UI needs to call the Dataverse Web API. Three: a Dataverse environment. This is the Power Platform container (Production, Sandbox, or Developer type) where the schema and data actually live, provisioned in the Power Platform Admin Center. Clone does not ship, register, or provision any of the three.
If there is no API call, how does Clone actually log a call in Dynamics 365?
It reads the Sales Hub screen, clicks the Contact, clicks the Log a Call quick action, types the call summary into the form, sets the Regarding field to the correct Opportunity, and clicks Save. The architecture file line 20 describes this as 'Reads the screen, clicks, types, scrolls'. The Dataverse Web API is not touched. The only thing Clone consumes is the HTML of dynamics.com inside your already-signed-in Chrome window. That is why no App Registration is needed.
Does this work against on-prem Dynamics / Dynamics CE / CRM 2016 too?
If the CRM renders in Chrome, Clone drives it. On-prem Dynamics CE served from your internal URL still renders HTML in Chrome, so the Computer Agent still reads, clicks, types, and scrolls. The Dataverse Web API, OData endpoints, and Azure AD OAuth are all irrelevant to Clone's approach. The one requirement is the ability to log into the CRM in a Chrome tab as yourself.
What about Power Automate? My team already uses it. Do we have to stop?
No. Clone does not replace Power Automate flows you already rely on; it adds a plain-English ritual layer on top. If your team needs the Dataverse-triggered cloud flow (record create → approval → update related record), keep it. Clone's rituals are scoped to the desktop actions a solo consultant or small firm would otherwise have either manually repeated or asked a Dynamics partner to automate. A solo consultant logging three calls on Monday does not need a Power Automate license to do it; they need a ritual file.
What is the anchor fact I should verify before trusting this page?
Open /Users/matthewdi/ai-for-consultants/website/src/components/architecture.tsx and read lines 18 through 23. You will see the Computer Agent layer with the sublabel 'Reads the screen, clicks, types, scrolls'. Four GUI verbs. No API verbs. Any claim on this page about 'no App Registration, no Managed Solution, no Dataverse environment' is a consequence of that definition, and it is verifiable in six lines of code.
How is this different from UiPath or Power Automate Desktop doing RPA against Dynamics?
UiPath and Power Automate Desktop record and replay fixed UI scripts. If a Dynamics Wave release changes a button position or renames a field, the script breaks and a developer re-records it. Clone's Computer Agent re-reads the screen on each run, so a renamed or moved field is still recognized from its label. Also, UiPath bots are typically licensed per bot ($420 to $1,500 per month per bot) and orchestrated in a separate Orchestrator tenant; Clone is $49/month flat on Solo with no Orchestrator.
Can I still use a Dynamics 365 consulting firm for the deep customization work?
Yes. The two are not mutually exclusive. If your business genuinely needs custom Dataverse tables, Business Process Flows specific to your pipeline, role-based Security, or compiled plugins, you still want a Dynamics partner. Clone does not compete on that deliverable. It replaces the subset of the engagement that is about automating a solo consultant's or small firm's repeated desktop actions (log the call, draft the follow-up, set the task, update the stage). That subset is where Clone costs $49/month instead of $80K to $200K.
Adjacent angles on the same architecture file, different layer
Related guides
CRM System Consulting
The companion angle: the Clone Memory layer sits above whichever vendor CRM you pick, so the 'system of record' is not Dynamics, Salesforce, or HubSpot.
CRM Consulting Service
The Computer Agent layer, which replaces the integration build a CRM consulting firm sells on any vendor CRM, not just Dynamics.
Business Process Automation Consulting
Why 'the UI is the API' makes the Dataverse, Power Automate, and App Registration trio unnecessary for solo consultants and small firms.