Microsoft and Dun & Bradstreet Embark on Mutually Beneficial Partnership

Last week Microsoft and Dun & Bradstreet revealed a new strategic partnership of sorts. At the core of the arrangement is the fact that Dun & Bradstreet has selected Microsoft Azure as its cloud platform, and that Dun & Bradstreet business data will be seamlessly integrated into Microsoft Dynamics 365. The alliance also includes cross-selling of each other’s products, though, which seems to make it a win-win for the companies themselves, as well as their respective customers.

Microsoft and Dun & Bradstreet announced a significant strategic partnership today. Dun & Bradstreet—a respected and reliable source of business data for almost two centuries—has chosen Microsoft Azure as its cloud platform, and is teaming up with Microsoft to make Dun & Bradstreet data available through Microsoft Dynamics 365.

The announcement from Microsoft and Dun & Bradstreet outlines three primary pillars of the new relationship: Dun & Bradstreet will use Microsoft’s Azure as its cloud platform, Dun & Bradstreet data will be made available through Microsoft Dynamics 365 and the Microsoft’s Common Data Service, and Microsoft and Dun & Bradstreet will enter into a co-selling arrangement beginning later this year.

There are few companies in the world that have existed as long as Dun & Bradstreet. The company established itself as a trusted source of crucial data on businesses—data that helps investors and other businesses evaluate relationships and make intelligent decisions. The reason it is still around after 176 years, though, is its ability to adapt and evolve. Embracing the cloud and modernizing Dun & Bradstreet data with a data-as-a-service offering integrated with Microsoft Dynamics 365 is precisely the kind of flexibility and vision that will allow Dun & Bradstreet to be around another 176 years.

I had a chance to speak with Dun & Bradstreet CEO Bob Carrigan about the new alliance with Microsoft. He talked about how Dun & Bradstreet had expanded its scope over time—moving from strictly trade credit data to helping companies manage and monitor supply chains, compliance management, and prospect and lead management. One of the keys over time, though—especially in the past few decades—has been technology.

Carrigan explained that technology is the key enabler for Dun & Bradstreet. Dun & Bradstreet provides data on over 265 million businesses around the world. That information is updated 5 million times per day from over 30,000 sources. Technology is crucial for Dun & Bradstreet to be able to keep up with the sheer volume and pace of data.

The partnership with Microsoft, and the strategic decision to embrace Azure and integrate with Microsoft Dynamics 365 are all part of an effort to move to a data-as-a-service delivery model. Carrigan told me that D-U-N-S Number and other Dun & Bradstreet core business data will be integrated for Microsoft Dynamics 365 customers. He told me that embedding data and analytics directly in customers’ workflow will allow customers to be more agile and take action on the information more seamlessly.

You can read the full story at Forbes: Dun & Bradstreet CEO Talks About New Microsoft Partnership.