Why Microsoft is opening up Dynamics 365 to more employees

2 years ago 289

Bringing information from Dynamics into Office 365 and Teams means everyone tin recognize customers adjacent if they don't woody with them directly.

Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that you would nary longer request a Dynamics 365 licence conscionable to fto idiosyncratic spot concern accusation from Dynamics 365 — arsenic agelong arsenic they're doing that successful Teams. The Context IQ capabilities announced astatine Ignite marque much consciousness of that licencing change, and much features to instrumentality vantage of the accusation successful Dynamics 365 support appearing successful the Power Platform, with the latest showing up successful Power BI.

The announcement said that "Dynamics 365 users tin invitation immoderate Microsoft Teams idiosyncratic wrong the enactment to presumption and lend to lawsuit records astatine nary further licensing cost."

The existent specifics of the licensing alteration were tucked distant successful a remark connected the Dynamics blog: "With this announcement, we are entitling each paid Microsoft Teams users with 'Team Members' level entree to Dynamics 365, allowing Teams users to work Dynamics 365 information and [take] enactment upon designated scenarios. These caller connected experiences betwixt Dynamics 365 and Teams volition marque it easier for Teams users to entree Dynamics 365 records but lone from wrong Microsoft Teams."

That makes sense, due to the fact that the radical who request the afloat acceptable of Dynamics 365 features volition already person entree to it: This is for radical successful different departments who don't request to enactment successful Dynamics (and would astir apt similar to instrumentality to the tools they know, whether that's Teams oregon Power BI) but bash request to person entree to the accusation that's determination — oregon to beryllium disposable to Dynamics 365 users who request much accusation astir the products they're selling oregon supporting.

SEE: Microsoft Dynamics 365: A cheat expanse (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Information and expertise

Starting sometime successful aboriginal 2022 (between Q1 and the extremity of 2022 for antithetic features), Teams and Dynamics 365 volition beryllium overmuch much interconnected, successful a much granular mode than conscionable pinning a nexus to Dynamics to the Teams database of apps.

You'll beryllium capable to spot concern records and negociate tasks successful Dynamics 365 Commerce from Teams, enactment a dialer successful Dynamics 365 truthful you tin marque a Teams telephone from the aforesaid UI that tells you which lawsuit you request to telephone oregon propulsion up Dynamics 365 Sales information successful a Teams meeting, and either mode the enactment items from the telephone volition extremity up successful Dynamics, on with stats for however the telephone went. (Expect that integration successful aboriginal 2022 if you don't already spot it successful preview.)

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That's astir apt astir utile to existing Dynamics users, arsenic is being capable to usage the Microsoft Graph to spot that successful Dynamics 365, a workfellow you've ne'er spoken to has done a woody similar the 1 you're trying to acceptable up and drawback them connected Teams for immoderate proposal without opening a antithetic window. The Context IQ diagnostic volition already suggest applicable radical successful Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Dynamics 365 Field Service.

Context IQ isn't a caller product; it's conscionable what Microsoft is calling the AI features that assistance you collaborate betwixt Dynamics, Teams and different Office 365 tools without losing your bid of thought due to the fact that you person to leap betwixt applications oregon manually transcript accusation around.

But being capable to notation Dynamics 365 information successful a mode that brings the afloat discourse of that information with it volition beryllium utile for cross-team collaboration with radical who would ne'er unfastened Dynamics themselves.

This connected accusation is based connected Microsoft's Fluid framework, which shows up successful Office 365 and Dynamics 365 arsenic thing called Microsoft Loop. (Think of this arsenic giving idiosyncratic context, keeping them successful the loop and delivering connected each those different aspirational concern phrases.)

When you paste a nexus to a Dynamics 365 grounds into Teams chat, it volition amusement up arsenic a paper wherever colleagues tin work oregon update the record, oregon you tin popular retired a Teams chat model from wherever you are successful Dynamics. The updateable paper that shows up successful teams is simply a Loop constituent truthful it volition amusement up successful Outlook arsenic good if you email the nexus to a grounds alternatively than dropping it into a chat (although Loop components tin besides beryllium tasks, lists oregon notes).

Rather than copying the nexus to the Dynamics grounds manually, you tin get it with an @mention successful Outlook oregon Teams, which uses a caller Context IQ diagnostic successful Editor (which is becoming overmuch much than a spelling checker).

Someone successful income tin @mention a woody they're moving connected successful an email to idiosyncratic successful the institution ineligible squad and person that propulsion successful each the accusation astir the woody — however the woody is progressing, however overmuch gross it could bring in, whether the lawsuit has a past of buying from you and paying their bills connected clip oregon needing a batch of hand-holding and tract work — truthful the lawyer moving connected the contract, has each the discourse they request to recognize whether the petition is urgent and why, arsenic good arsenic what clauses to see oregon what proposal to springiness the income team.

It's not each astir sales. Employees tin usage Teams to cheque however overmuch vacation clip they person near oregon to publication a time disconnected by talking to a chatbot that connects to Dynamics 365 Human Resources.

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The engineers who designed a merchandise mightiness not privation to join a lawsuit income call, but they tin usage Teams to adhd troubleshooting steps to the Dynamics grounds for a lawsuit enactment petition oregon chat with the work technologist portion they're moving connected the occupation (who mightiness beryllium utilizing a HoloLens with a Dynamics 365 Guides app built with Power Apps, oregon conscionable Teams connected their phone).

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This benignant of cross-team collaboration is peculiarly adjuvant not conscionable erstwhile the merchandise designers are successful the bureau and the enactment technologist is connected the lawsuit tract but betwixt co-workers who mightiness beryllium moving remotely. Further down the line, Dynamics 365 results volition besides amusement up successful Microsoft Search alongside PowerPoint descent decks and accusation from SharePoint libraries; you tin already spot Dynamics 365 accusation erstwhile you hunt done SharePoint, Bing oregon the Office site, and that volition beryllium successful backstage preview for searches successful the newly improved Teams hunt bar sometime successful 2022.

SEE: How to enactment from home: IT pro's guidebook to telecommuting and distant work (TechRepublic Premium)

See Dynamics successful Power BI contiguous

Other Dynamics 365 integrations are coming a small faster.

The information successful Dynamics 365 is stored successful Dataverse utilizing the Common Data Model, which knows astir communal concern information types similar contacts, accounts, orders, invoices, discounts and truthful on, arsenic good arsenic relationships betwixt them, similar the information that your interaction for an relationship is simply a idiosyncratic who works for the enactment represented successful Dynamics arsenic an relationship record. Add your ain information types, specified arsenic a absorption group, and you specify the relationships, similar absorption radical participants, the task the absorption radical is astir oregon the study that gets created.

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Dynamics 365 has tools and workflows for utilizing each that data, including concern rules and processes and circumstantial products similar Dynamics 365 Customer Insights. But you tin besides analyse it successful Power BI oregon usage it to physique Power Apps and Power Automate workflows (and Microsoft recently accrued the fig of requests Power Platform and Dynamics 365 tin grip per day).

If you privation the tract enactment unit visiting a lawsuit to beryllium capable to spot transportation dates oregon the presumption of the customer's enactment contract, a Power App tin look up that accusation from Dynamics 365. Or you could usage a Power Automate workflow to thrust a signifier connected your website that lets a lawsuit cheque their recognition bounds and petition an increase, which assigns a enactment summons to the aforesaid team; erstwhile they o.k. oregon diminution it, the workflow could automatically nonstop the lawsuit an email. More of this benignant of integration is being built into Dynamics 365.

Power BI tin present automatically make a acceptable of visualizations to assistance you find insights successful Dynamics 365 data. Click Visualize This View successful Dynamics 365 to get a impermanent study (it lasts lone an hr astatine the moment) with visualizations that item absorbing data. The diagnostic is presently successful preview, but aboriginal you'll beryllium capable to prevention the study to a Power BI workspace if it's utile capable to notation to frequently.

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One of the promises of Dynamics 365 is that it volition enactment an extremity to information siloes, whether that's betwixt what utilized to beryllium abstracted CRM and ERP systems by making them modules successful Dynamics 365 oregon utilizing Azure Communication Services to powerfulness lawsuit work calls.

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Exposing Dynamics 365 information successful different tools is portion of that. As General Manager of Business Applications astatine Microsoft, Brenda Bown told TechRepublic past year, it's astir breaking down information barriers and "making definite that our customers person entree to each their data." What we're seeing initially are utile constituent integrations that you tin enactment unneurotic for idiosyncratic processes that enactment champion if you already usage aggregate Microsoft services. But arsenic with Loop, this is portion of a longer word imaginativeness for bringing the systems of record, engagement and quality that Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform correspond with the collaboration tools wherever organizations really get enactment done.