It’s official: Outbound marketing is on its way out of Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys, with some features ending as early as this year. If you’re still using Outbound, we’ve got some info for you on making the switch to Real-time Journeys (RTJ).

Q: So, this is really happening, huh?

A: It’s a big change, but don’t panic. Outbound marketing (OB) isn’t going anywhere until next June. So, while now’s the time to begin the transition to Real-time Journeys, you have some time to plan things out. From personalized transition guides to our Knowledge Hub and more, we’re here to help!

Q: Can I still use the Outbound work area after June 30, 2025?

A: After next June, Outbound will be removed for good, but moving to RTJ today has tons of benefits—enhanced native analytics, trigger-based journeys, better personalization, and channel optimization, just to name a few. We’re here to ensure this is as easy as possible for you.

Q: How long will the transition take?

A: Depending on the number of assets that need to be migrated, the progress of your current journeys and those that need to be recreated, a full transition can typically take 2-4 months. Our guide for moving to Real-time considers seasonality, upcoming events or campaigns that may affect the team’s bandwidth, along with a roadmap for making the move with minimal disruption.

Q: Will the move to RTJ cost more $$$?

A: Transitioning to Real-time marketing doesn’t require additional software investment, but it can help increase return on your marketing efforts. Features like triggers allow you to action on behaviors happening beyond email and your website, extending throughout your marketing ecosystem. Combine this with the right strategy and process, RTJ can help you get the right message to the right customer at the right time. (Bonus: The new license also allows you to install unlimited environments.)

Q: What will happen to my custom fields/existing configuration?

A: Real-time tables, columns, forms, and views are different than Outbound, so configuration to things like email and form tables in OB will need to be replicated for RTJ. (No changes will be made to tables like leads, contacts and accounts.) Our recommendation: Start by documenting your changes, analyzing them against RTJ, and applying your changes before OB is removed.

Q: What will happen to my emails, forms, etc.?

A: While the work area is being removed from the UI, the tables aren’t going anywhere. (Same goes for data—more on that below.) That said, assets like emails and forms will become unusable; you can get ahead of this by migrating applicable templates from OB to RTJ before the switch. (Tip: Email templates can be migrated using the recently released import wizard.)

Q: What about my engagement data?

A: Your historical engagement data isn’t going anywhere, with Real-time reports updated to reference Outbound data. More to come from Microsoft on this, but in the meantime: To view both Outbound + Real-time engagement data in aggregate, we recommend Microsoft Fabric to retrieve RTJ data combined with Blob storage for OB/historical engagement.

Q: Will I be able to keep my subscription lists?

A: Consent management works differently in RTJ (more on that here), including a new consent center. The good news: Subscription lists can be converted into new RTJ Consent Center records that are connected to topics. More importantly, this is the perfect time to review consent practices for your organization. We can walk you through the new consent model—from compliance profiles to topics and everything in between.

Q: Will I be able to use the same features in RTJ?

A: You can expect to see most of the core features of Outbound available in Real-time, including several enhancements. (Heads up: Select features such as LinkedIn Lead Generation and social posting, will be removed on December 2, 2024. If these features are important for your organization, contact us to learn more about leveraging Customer Insights – Data to minimize disruption.)

Q: How can C+D help?

A: No matter where you are in the transition from Outbound to Real-time, we’ve got you covered. Start here:

Personalized Transition Guide: Choose from several modules to create a custom transition guide focused on the RTJ features of Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys that matter most.

Knowledge Hub (coming soon):  Full of self-paced courses, learning toolkits and more, the Knowledge Hub is your one-stop shop for all things Dynamics 365 CE. Subscribe today for more info on training and community support specific to the transition from Outbound to Real-time.

While Microsoft’s official announcement of Outbound’s end date may be worrisome, we’re here to ensure you have the resources, information and support you need. Get started on your success plan by contacting Coffee + Dunn today.