Use the fundamentals without booking a retired exam

Microsoft retired Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (CRM), associated with MB-910, on 31 December 2025. The customer-engagement concepts remain useful for business users, new consultants and implementation teams. The right current objective is to understand the applications and choose an active learning route, not to prepare for a retired assessment. A historical course can still be educational when its status is made clear.

Part one: sales from interest to an order

Build a simple fictional journey from a new enquiry to a qualified opportunity, quote and order. Explain the purpose of each record and who owns the next action. Distinguish activity volume from pipeline progress: ten follow-up calls are not the same outcome as an agreed buying decision. Sketch the information a salesperson needs before recommending configuration or AI assistance.

Part two: marketing and customer understanding

Describe an audience segment, a consent assumption and a relevant communication journey for the same fictional company. Ask how the business knows a message is appropriate and which result it measures. Keep Customer Insights concepts connected to sales handover rather than treating a campaign as an isolated email blast. Do not load real personal data into a trial simply to make a demonstration look realistic.

Part three: customer service and field work

Compare a support case handled remotely with a work order requiring a site visit. Identify common customer information and the different scheduling, asset and inventory needs. Explain why an organisation may use more than one application instead of forcing every task into a sales opportunity. A useful exercise is to trace a faulty-product report through diagnosis, a possible technician visit and a customer update.

Part four: the shared platform and a review case

Review records, relationships, security, reporting and automation at a conceptual level. Then present the company’s complete journey without product jargon: who captures the request, what information moves and how completion is demonstrated. Four parts can be studied over four weeks if that fits your starting knowledge, but the calendar is a suggestion, not an exam-readiness promise. Check current documentation when old lessons use earlier product names or interfaces.

Choose the next route from the work you want

A learner who enjoys service operations may explore current Customer Service learning, while a low-code builder may investigate Power Platform and someone interested in AI sales should inspect the relevant current objectives. MB-910 is not a required gateway that every learner must still complete. Existing holders should preserve their transcript record. Use a small process portfolio to demonstrate understanding, then verify the status of any new certification before paying for training or an exam voucher.

Separate shared records from distinct processes

Imagine a customer who has an open sales opportunity and a service complaint. Explain which information should be shared, which team owns each workflow, and how closing a case differs from winning an opportunity. Use this example to practise CRM terminology without memorising product slogans. If asked whether fundamentals alone qualify someone for implementation work, explain that it supplies vocabulary; practical configuration, security, testing and discovery skills still require separate evidence.

Official references

Certification requirements and programme terms can change. Use the issuer’s current page and your account to confirm details before applying or paying.