CRM 2016 - Online vs on-premises feature

Feature	CRM Online/CRM on-premises
Productivity
Learning Path guided help	CRM Online only
Dynamics CRM App for Outlook supported for CRM on-premises	CRM on-premises only
Office 365 Groups enhancements	CRM Online only
Email signatures for CRM users and teams	Both
Email integration
Hybrid server-side synchronization (connect CRM on-premises to Exchange Online)	CRM on-premises only
Mobile
Rich mobile offline experience	CRM Online only
Mobile devices conditional access	CRM Online only
Preview feature: Company news timeline solution	CRM Online only
Service reps can search for, view, create, and edit knowledge articles	Both
Sales professionals can manage quotes, orders, and invoices	Both
Manage mobile devices with Intune without enrolling the device	Both
Faster mobile app preparation after customization	Both
Service
Self-service portals for non-CRM audience	CRM Online only
Project-based sales with project service capabilities	CRM Online only
Remote service with field service capabilities	CRM Online only
SLAs for custom entities and other system entities	Both
Interactive service hub enhancements: Integrated with Unified Service Desk Apply SLAs for custom entities and other system entities Track progress of SLA KPIs with timer control Merge cases Add iFrames and web resources Configure lookup field properties to show filtered records Access forms and dashboards using keyboard navigation Support for Apple Safari 9 browser	Both
Unified Service Desk enhancements: Integrated with interactive service hub Windows Updates New demo packages Telemetry	Both
Intelligence
Preview feature: Azure Machine Learning product recommendations	CRM Online only
Preview feature: Azure Machine Learning knowledge base suggestions	CRM Online only
Analytics
Organization Insights Dashboard shows system usage stats	CRM Online only
Customization
Feedback and ratings on entities	Both
Customer field for any entity	Both
Package Deployer tool runs from command prompt	Both
Performance
Query load time optimization	Both
SDK
Create customer attributes for any entity	Both
CRM Web API enhancements: Filtering records based on single-value navigation properties Retrieving related records for entity sets by expanding single-value navigation properties	Both
Enhanced client API support in interactive service hub	Both
Support for knowledge base search control client APIs on CRM mobile clients and the interactive service hub	Both
Easily launch the interactive service hub using the CRM SiteMap	Both
Apply SLAs to custom entities and specific system entities in CRM	Both
Categorize entity records in CRM	Both
Provide feedback and rating for entity records in CRM	Both
Control how packages are deployed with the enhanced Package Deployer	Both
XRM tools enhancements for connections to CRM	Both
Simplified FormXML for Stream items in the interactive dashboards	Both
Entities updated for improved form rendering experience and new client APIs support	Both
Add SAS authorization support to CRM-Azure applications	Both
Send CRM data in multiple formats to a Microsoft Azure hosted listener application	Both
Integrate CRM with external event hub publishers	Both

Features introduced in CRM Online 2016 Update, CRM 2016 (on-premises), or CRM Online 2015 Update 1

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Note

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online 2015 Update 1 was an online-only release. Most of the features introduced in that release are now available for on-premises customers in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016.

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Feature	CRM Online/CRM on-premises
Navigation
Move around CRM using the new navigation bar and menu system	Both
Productivity
Dynamics CRM App for Outlook lightweight tracking app	CRM Online only
Track Exchange email activities automatically with Microsoft Outlook folder tracking	Both
Word templates	Both
Excel templates	Both
Export to Excel completely redesigned	Both
Store private documents in OneDrive for Business	CRM Online only
Trending documents with Office Delve	CRM Online only
Email integration
Hybrid server-side synchronization (connect CRM Online to Exchange on-premises)	CRM Online only
Monitor mailbox health using the improved server-side synchronization Performance dashboard	Both
Mobile
Email a link to a page from CRM for phones and tablets	Both
Enjoy the same mobile experience whether you’re using a phone or tablet	Both
Provide modern user interface with the new visual controls in CRM for phones and tablets	Both
Export data to Excel from CRM for phones and tablets	Both
Use iFrames and web resources in CRM for tablets	Both
Manage devices with Intune device management	Both
Preview mobile forms and dashboards before deploying to CRM for phones and tablets	Both
Secure your mobile data with Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Good	Both
View SharePoint documents in CRM for phones and tablets	Both
Preview feature: Create a task flow in CRM for phones and tablets	CRM Online only
Use mobile apps with Windows 10 and iOS 9	Both
Service
Use surveys to collect feedback from customers	CRM Online only
Prioritize workloads with new interactive service hub dashboards and forms	Both
Reduce case call-handling time with rich knowledge management articles	Both
Enable service level agreements (SLAs) on demand	Both
Share the knowledge base with Parature	CRM Online only
Speed up customer service with default entitlements	Both
New, improved Unified Service Desk	Both
Analytics
Power Query connector streamlines connections to CRM Online	CRM Online only
Administration
Switch or delete an instance of CRM Online	CRM Online only
Manage CRM Online updates (customer-driven updates)	CRM Online only
Customization
Add a logo or change the color scheme using themes	Both
Define business rules based on business process flows	Both
Move back to the previous stage of a business process flow on a different entity	Both
Call custom actions from workflows or dialogs	Both
Define rules for creating or updating CRM records from incoming activities	Both
Calculated field enhancements	Both
Clear field values with business rules	Both
Use solution segmentation for tighter control of solutions exports and patches	Both
Performance
Forms load faster with the new form rendering engine	Both
SDK
Change tracking API	Both
Control.getShowTime method for Date controls	Both
Create alternate keys for referencing records in CRM	Both
Custom actions in workflows or dialogs	Both
Custom claim mapping for SharePoint server-based integration	Both
Enhanced capabilities for sub-grid controls in forms	Both
Form script support for the new Knowledge Management (KM) integration with Parature	CRM Online only
Integrate CRM data with external systems more easily	Both
Integration with Parature	CRM Online only
Multiple message execution	Both
New form script capabilities Multiple message execution	Both
Optimistic concurrency	Both
Record creation and update rules	Both
Rollup field enhancements	Both
Specify custom price lists for opportunities, quotes, orders, and invoices	Both
Support for additional “older than” clauses for date and time fields in FetchXML and QueryExpression	Both
Support for new behavior of date and time values in CRM	Both
Tracing	Both
Track emails at the folder level	Both
Update message for specialized operations	Both
Upsert for updating CRM with external data	Both

Office integration

The following table shows the availability of Microsoft Office and email features, depending on whether Microsoft Office or Exchange is deployed online or on-premises.

Feature	CRM Online/CRM on-premises
Email - Dynamics CRM App for Outlook for Exchange Online*	CRM Online only
Email - Dynamics CRM App for Outlook for Exchange on-premises	CRM on-premises only
Email - Dynamics CRM for Outlook (aka Outlook client) for Exchange Online*	Both
Email - Dynamics CRM for Outlook (aka Outlook client) for Exchange on-premises	Both
Email - Monitor mailbox health using the improved server-side synchronization performance dashboard	Both
Email - Server-side synchronization Test connection to Exchange Online	CRM on-premises only
Email - Server-side synchronization Test connection to Exchange on-premises	CRM Online only
Email - Server-side synchronization - connect CRM Online with Exchange on-premises	CRM Online only
Email - Server-side synchronization - connect CRM Online to Exchange Online*	CRM Online only
Email - Server-side synchronization - connect CRM on-premises to Exchange on-premises	CRM on-premises only
Email - Server-side synchronization - track emails, appointments, tasks, and contacts immediately when manually tracking from Dynamics CRM for Outlook and Dynamics CRM App for Outlook.	Both
Email - Track Exchange email activities automatically with folder tracking	Both
Delve (Exchange Online optional for attachments). SharePoint Online license required	CRM Online only
Delve (Exchange on-premises)	Not applicable
Export to Excel completely redesigned	Both
Immersive experience, Excel Online	CRM Online only
Office 365 Groups (Exchange Online)*	CRM Online only
Office 365 Groups (Exchange on-premises)	Not applicable
OneDrive for Business (online). OneDrive for Business and SharePoint licenses required for each user*	Both
OneDrive for Business (on-premises)	Not applicable
OneNote (online)*	CRM Online only
OneNote (on-premises)	Not applicable
SharePoint Online*	Both
SharePoint (on-premises)	Both
Skype for Business (online)*	Both
Skype for Business (on-premises)	Both
Excel templates	Both
Word templates	Both
Yammer (online)	Both
Yammer (on-premises)	Not applicable

Migrate Dynamics CRM On-Premises to Dynamics CRM Online

Dynamics CRM Online is gaining popularity these days with the cloud first approach of Microsoft to have all updates come out for CRM Online before they are out for CRM On-Premises. CRM 2015 SP1 was only released for CRM Online and CRM On-Premises customers had to wait until CRM 2016 to get the cumulative updates since CRM 2015.

Microsoft has also been busy adding new data centers around the world to serve the increasing demand for CRM Online and improve performance by bringing the data centers close to the customers. Most recently, Microsoft added Data Centers to India, Australia, and Japan. Learn more about CRM Online Data Centers here.

With this policy change at Microsoft, CRM customers are increasingly adopting the cloud and moving from their current CRM On-Premises system to the cloud. And in the recent past, we have been assisting a lot of our customers in this transition.

What does it take to make the move?

1. User Licenses: Understanding of the features that your users use/need. This will help in deciding the licenses that need to be purchased. The different licenses available for CRM Online can be found here. The pricing and licensing guide for CRM Online can be downloaded from here. 
2. Email Integration: Are you using Exchange Online and integrate it with CRM Online? If not are Exchange or email server On-Premises? You can either integrate the email using Server-side Sync or Email Router or continue to use Outlook client for mail sync. 
3. Attachments: Do you store a lot of files in CRM notes or email attachments? When on On-Premises, you need to just ensure you have enough space on your SQL server to expand to accommodate all of the attachments. However, when you are moving Online, space is a valuable resource and is priced at a steeper end. You may want to consider options like SharePoint integration to store all of your attachments on SharePoint where the space is available at almost a fraction of the cost of CRM Online space. 
4. Customizations: You need to check the current CRM version that you are on and the versions you have skipped since then to the current. If you are still on Microsoft CRM 3.0 or CRM 4.0, we usually recommend considering the transition as a fresh start to redesign the CRM processes based on the feature set available in CRM Online at the moment. You would be surprised to note that most of the customizations from back then may not be needed moving forward and there would be a better and most likely a native way of handling it without the need of any customizations. Customizations can only be imported from a previous version of CRM to next version. Starting CRM 2016 you are actually able to export customization's out of Dynamics CRM 2013 and import that into CRM 2016. However if you are on CRM 2011, you would need to upgrade your customizations to be compatible with CRM 2013 so that an export from there can then be imported into CRM 2016. 
5. Data Migration: Microsoft currently does not support restoring of a CRM On-Premise SQL backup of the data to CRM Online so that the data is automatically migrated to the new instance on CRM Online. You are currently required to manage the data migration from Dynamics CRM On-Premises to CRM Online on your own. 

Tools for handling data migration from CRM On-Premises to CRM Online

1. There are various 3rd party data migration tools in the market that would help you get the data online. Scribe and SSIS Toolkit by KingswaySoft is a couple of the popular data migration tools that we have used in the past.
2. Data Loader Service from Microsoft – This is still in Preview I believe and is only available to CRM Online in North America.
3. Native Import data option within Dynamics CRM – You can provide data in csv file format and import it. From experience, this is not the most efficient way to get the data imported especially if you are importing huge data set.
4. Finally, if you are developer, you can go ahead and build your own data import tool using CRM SDK.

Some of the points to take care of during data migration

1. You need to map users between CRM On-Premises and CRM Online correctly. You might have data owned by legacy users that are no longer active in CRM On-Premises and will not be created in CRM Online. To handle these scenarios you need to discuss with the customer to provide for a default user that should own all such records/activities. 
2. The social pane on entity forms display list of activities associated with the record, it sorts the list on modifiedon. During migration the platform allows us to set the createdon to the original createdon for the activity but not the modifiedon, this means that the list here will be displayed in the order in which the activities are being processed during import.                           Earlier we used to migrate activities by the type i.e. All Phone Calls, then All tasks etc.… this caused the issue with the social pane only listing the last entity type records in the social pane.                                                              Make sure to process your activities from the Activity Pointer rather than the individual activity type entities. 
3. Unit Group and Primary Unit. You can have Unit with the same name in more than one Unit Group. When you do a lookup to search the Unit to be set to Primary Unit, make sure you also compare by the Unit Group. A mismatch in the Unit Group and Unit will cause issues with Product Import. 
4. When a Case is resolved or Opportunity Won, an activity record is created behind the scenes. Data migration using some of the tools available in the market does not create these background activities. This may cause issues with fields like actualclosedate incorrectly set.