Microsoft has launched Dynamics 365 Activate, an AI-powered tool designed to help businesses migrate away from Salesforce and other CRM or ERP systems to its own Dynamics 365 platform. Announced on Wednesday as a public preview, the tool aims to reduce the manual effort and risk typically involved in switching business software, and is aimed both at customers and at Microsoft's implementation partners. The move is notable because it comes as Salesforce faces criticism that its own AI offering, Agentforce, has failed to impress users, potentially making its customers more receptive to alternatives.

The tool works by profiling a company's existing data, business processes, customisations and dependencies to produce a "blueprint" showing what should be moved, changed or redesigned before migration. Microsoft plans to extend it to further CRM and ERP migration scenarios later this year. While Microsoft dominates roughly 25% of the ERP market, it holds only around four to five percent of the CRM space, where Salesforce leads with about 20% share; Microsoft's Dynamics-inclusive business unit generated $140 billion in revenue in its 2026 fiscal year, up nearly 15% year-on-year.