In my conversations with customers about the future of business applications and low-code development, generative AI innovations come up frequently as the next transformative platform shift. This is especially true at Microsoft. Over the last several months, we have introduced new AI-powered copilot experiences in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform that revolutionize how businesses and people work.

Of all the questions that customers have, one of the most common is how Microsoft continually delivers new AI innovations at a rapid pace. This includes the major enhancements covered in blog posts and videos from Microsoft Build 2023. Our customers also want to understand how they can infuse AI into their own applications and products.

If you are still running systems on-premises, it starts with application modernization in the cloud. To help customers understand what such a journey might look like and how potentially to go about it, we documented our work to modernize Microsoft Dynamics 365 on Microsoft Azure. The key takeaway is that moving to the public cloud is more of a journey than a destination. But if you approach it right, you can realize substantial new value at every step, making incremental and concrete progress as you move to modern public cloud applications on Azure.

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Starting our application modernization journey

Up through 2016, before the move to Azure, Dynamics 365 ran as a traditional, on-premises or hosted software solution. Customers could either install and run it on their own, or they could access it via a software as a service (SaaS) model, where Microsoft ran and supported it in its private datacenters.

Under the hood, both options were the same—the major difference being that the SaaS offering ran in Microsoft data centers at a much larger scale. It was powered at the lowest technical layer by thousands of bare-metal servers running Windows Server 2012 R2, with a frontend based on Internet Information Services (IIS) and backend based on Microsoft SQL Server 2012 R2, as illustrated in the left half of the following diagram.

Compared to the modern-day Dynamics 365 SaaS offering, both 2016-era deployment options suffered from limited availability, scalability, and flexibility. Product release cycles were measured in months, major customizations by customers required professional developers or partner assistance, and infrastructure upgrades required significant planning and downtime. Customers who chose the on-premises model also had to invest in expensive infrastructure up-front, which made it more difficult for smaller businesses with limited IT budgets (and expertise) to adopt.

Lift-and-shift isn’t always exciting, but it buys time and frees-up cash to modernize

The first step in our journey was to lift-and-shift the existing Dynamics 365 solutions to Azure. An as-is migration allowed us to focus on operational simplicity and delivery of a SaaS capability in a timely manner, begin transitioning from siloed areas of ownership to an integrated DevOps culture, develop experience operating a public cloud service at scale, and start migrating our existing customers.

Envisioning the future of Dynamics 365 solutions

In parallel to lifting existing Dynamics 365 solutions into the cloud, we started to envision the future—more specifically, how we wanted to go to market and have customers experience our offerings. Over the next several years, we proceeded to focus on several key areas.

• Implement support for a modular set of offerings, instead of a monolith, from which customers could adopt only the functionality they wanted instead of having to go all-in when adopting Dynamics 365. From an application modernization perspective, this meant projecting the surface of Dynamics 365 as modules while evolving the existing codebase.
• Empower customers and partners to customize and extend their Dynamics 365 applications through Microsoft Power Platform, a low-code/no-code platform for rapidly building customized end-to-end business solutions. A major enabler for all this was a Common Data Service (CDS)—now called Microsoft Dataverse—which today supports both transactions and analytics across all Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform solutions.
• Build AI-driven insights directly into Dynamics 365 applications to help drive actions and further optimize experiences and interactions. We are also continuing to infuse generative AI through copilot experiences across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform, enabling users to describe what they want to create using natural language—for example, “Build a site-inspection mobile application” and then have an app created automatically.

Looking back: Substantial new value at every step of the journey

Our multiyear work to modernize Dynamics 365 on Azure has empowered enterprises in many new ways, at every step of our journey. Immediate benefits of our initial lift-and-shift to Azure were primarily technical, resulting in better scalability, performance, and reliability. The larger benefit, however, was that the move to Azure set the stage for reimagining the customer experience and bringing that vision to life.

Once on Azure, we began harnessing the power of managed services in the cloud to accelerate value delivery. A modular approach gave customers greater choice, enabling incremental and rapid time-to-business outcomes when adopting Dynamics 365. Microsoft Power Platform expanded extensibility, enabling customers and partners to extend their Dynamics 365 solutions the way they wish, including easy version control, packaging, and distribution. Dynamics 365 Customer Insights let business users extract the insights needed to personalize customer experiences and orchestrate optimized, real-time customer journeys. The infusion of AI across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform user experiences has further empowered our customers, enabling them to describe what they need using natural language and have it done for them.

A stronger business today

The modernization of Dynamics 365 on Azure has had an increasingly profound impact on the business, making Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform some of the fastest growing software categories for Microsoft. We’ve been able to launch new products, new features, and new user experiences at a faster pace, and with more precision, due to our cloud migration. We better understand our customers and can quickly solve unmet needs. The DNA of the team has fundamentally changed, and it shows throughout our products.

The journey continues

Looking forward, we are working to adopt Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) as our main compute infrastructure, and to deliver further improvements in scalability and resiliency through increased use of Availability Zones. The real game changer, however, is generative AI, which we will continue infusing into Dataverse and Microsoft Power Platform, enabling virtually anyone to build and deploy (and automatically scale and govern) apps, workflows, and chatbots using natural language.

Although the future is bright, it all started with that initial cloud migration. Across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform, the Business Applications and Platforms group is now innovating at the fastest pace in our history, and we were ready for the generative AI opportunity because of the investments we made back in 2017. Our biggest lesson learned is that we should have started the move to Azure earlier.

Take the next step

Read an in-depth case study covering our Dynamics 365 application modernization journey. Enterprise customers and independent software vendors (ISVs) can utilize the patterns and lessons it covers to help plan for their own modernization journeys, as they make the move from on-premises systems to modern applications in the cloud. In addition, customers and ISVs may be able to further accelerate their journeys by building atop Dataverse and Microsoft Power Platform, as a means of accelerating time-to-market while reducing their initial and ongoing engineering investments.

The post Dynamics 365 application modernization on Azure: Envisioning the future appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Welcome to a new era in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, powered by AI. In recent years, businesses have embraced AI to automate and enhance processes from planning to forecasting. Now, generative AI is taking center stage as a game-changing technology that promises to modernize the way work gets done, driving innovation across ERP; from streamlining operations to speeding time to actionable insight.

Dynamics 365 Copilot, announced in March, takes advantage of recent advancements in generative AI to automate tedious tasks and unlock the full creativity of the workforce. In April, we shared how generative AI can be applied to key supply chain processes, and today we are introducing more AI-powered assistance across our ERP portfolio, included in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, Dynamics 365 Project Operations, and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management. To activate these new Copilot features within your Dynamics 365 products, work with your IT admin.

ERP systems have long been the central nervous system of modern businesses, centralizing data for better business insight from core functions like finance, HR, procurement, resourcing, and supply chains. However, traditional ERP solutions have struggled to keep pace with the dynamic nature of today’s global markets. Complex and rigid processes within ERP create more work for people, and repetitive manual data entry overwhelms departments. Dynamics 365 Copilot promises to help finance managers, collections agents, project managers, and procurement professionals complete time-consuming tasks and get insights faster.

Speed time to insight—get the most from your ERP data

Harnessing big data is even more crucial as we enter a new era defined by next-generation AI. At Microsoft Build 2023, we announced how Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Fabric work with Dataverse and our business intelligence tools to deliver actionable insights and reporting. Our upcoming extended planning and analytics solution will build on this powerful foundation to help finance managers and business analysts spend less time slicing and dicing data. With the ability to use familiar tools like Microsoft Power BI and Excel infused with Copilot capabilities, these professionals can:

• Use natural language to bring data to life by simply describing the visuals and insights that one is looking for. Copilot will help create a Microsoft Power BI dashboard or report—complete with visualizations and summaries—and help refine it. One can dig into the data further by asking questions. Copilot will find the right answer.
• Collaboratively align plans, budgets, and forecasts with business strategy.
• Streamline sales and operations planning.
• Automate financial consolidation for seamless book closing.
• Strategically close talent gaps for an empowered workforce, gain a comprehensive view of cash flow dynamics, and access highly accurate predictions through advanced predictive analytics powered by machine learning and AI.

By using these tools and technologies, finance managers can optimize their performance, allocate resources effectively, and drive better financial outcomes for their organizations.

Deliver more strategic value with intelligent automation for project managers

Project managers frequently struggle to complete projects on time and within budget. Today, we are announcing Copilot capabilities for Dynamics 365 Project Operations to dramatically reduce the time spent on project status reports, task planning, and risk assessments.

With Copilot, project managers can rapidly create new project plans for new engagements in minutes, instead of hours, simply by describing details of the project using natural language. Copilot will generate a project plan that can be further refined by the project manager.

Once the project is underway, the project manager can use Copilot to create a project status report, which Copilot will help generate in moments—reducing the hours often spent manually researching and writing. To ensure project success, Copilot then can be used to identify risks and suggest mitigation plans on a continuous basis. For example, the project manager can prompt Copilot to search across all open projects to identify common project risks that can derail a project, such as significant delays or budget overruns.

With Copilot, project managers can improve efficiency, reduce risks, and focus on more strategic and value-added activities.

Supercharge productivity of collections agents and procurement professionals

Today, we are announcing Copilot capabilities that will help collections agents and procurement professionals enhance productivity and better collaborate with customers.

Timely payments and healthy cash flows are increasingly important in times of economic uncertainty. With Copilot in Dynamics 365 Finance, collections managers have quick access to credit and payment history so they can prioritize and personalize customer communication, helping to increase successful collection rates and proactively keep customers in good standing.

Disruptions to supply chains are an everyday occurrence, and supply and demand can shift quickly. Workers like procurement professionals and buyers are tasked to sort through large volumes of purchase order change responses daily and need more intelligent and agile tools to help address and streamline this process. Order responses oftentimes require changes to ordered quantities, delivery dates, or products delivered. Today, procurement professionals must review the changes for individual orders one by one to identify the risk to plan and potential downstream impacts. With Copilot in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, users are able to efficiently handle changes to purchase orders at scale and assess the impact and risk to help optimize procurement decisions. 

They can quickly identify high-impact or low-impact changes and take rapid action to address any risk. Copilot enables quick collaboration with internal and external stakeholders that brings relevant information into Outlook and Teams using natural language. Users can also dig deeper with pointed questions to refine and approve changes so they can rapidly adapt their sourcing plans to meet customer and partner needs.

At Microsoft, we are fully committed to revolutionizing the future of ERP by harnessing the power of intelligent, composable technologies. With its ability to speed time to insight, intelligently automate processes, and foster productivity, Copilot can help you stay ahead in an increasingly complex business landscape. With Copilot, you’re in control as it is grounded in your business data and automatically inherits your valuable security, compliance and privacy policies, regulations, and processes. Stay tuned and join us on this exciting journey into the future of ERP.

Learn more about the latest AI breakthroughs with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot on the Dynamics 365 AI webpage.

Next-generation AI across Microsoft business applications

With next-generation AI, interactions with AI across business roles and processes will become second nature.

Discover more about AI

The post Introducing next-generation AI and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot capabilities for ERP appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

A common scenario for Field Service organizations is to augment their staff with external vendor resources.  Leveraging Azure Active Directory B2B Guest Access, vendors can be added to the organizational directory without being created as full first party users within the organization. This allows a clean delineation of users to manage security and data access. 

Dynamics 365 has made this vendor onboarding process even easier with Wave 1 2023 by introducing Tenant Switcher for Field Service Mobile. Tenant Switcher provides a user interface where guest users can now easily switch between their Home and Guest Tenants. 

Other considerations to note: 

• Guest Users require a Field Service license and appropriate Security role for access to Field Service Mobile. 
• Model Driven Application Authentication supports work or school accounts. AAD B2B Guest users configured with a personal account would not be able to authenticate and access the Field Service Mobile application directly. 

Field Service (Dynamics 365) mobile app overview  – Dynamics 365 Field Service | Microsoft Learn

The post Guest Access with Field Service Mobile: Introducing Tenant Switcher for Field Service Mobile appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

‘Offline-first’ with the Dynamics 365 Field Service Mobile application offers many advantages for frontline workers. The offline-enabled application will allow frontline workers to perform functions while they are in the field, without depending on an internet connection. This keeps them productive even in environments without high quality network coverage, which can be a common problem in rural locations or even remote urban areas where network coverage is poor.

In this blog post we will share details on recent enhancements to the Dynamics 365 ‘Offline-first’ as well as some new capabilities to help your organization debug customizations with the offline application. Let’s go!

Wave 1 2023 enhancements

With the release of Wave 1 2023, frontline workers will have a faster sync experience and better visibility into the sync status of their offline-enabled Field Service Mobile application. 

The offline sync icon is now moved from the sitemap to the header of the application providing an ever-present status of their offline app.

Based on states of the icon, the offline-enabled frontline worker can see if their application is connected to Dataverse, a sync is actively running, an up-sync in pending, or if the previous sync resulted in an error.  This will allow the user to make informed decisions while in the field. For example, if an up-sync is pending after a period of being without network access, they will know to connect and allow that sync to complete so all their changes can be viewed by the back office.

The offline status page is also enhanced with more details on the sync, the size on disk and app connectivity status.

In addition to offline-related interface update, the sync experience is faster and more reliable. This includes optimizations to intelligently sync table or metadata changes, and improved parallelization to bring down data faster – including when the application is accessed in a way which forces a record sync such as launching the app via push notification.

Debugging the offline application

Debugging on a mobile application can be a difficult task, which is made more challenging when introducing unique aspects of ‘Offline’ mode. To help support customers who require customizations and enhancements while working offline we have introduced debugging capabilities for the model driving applications running on Android and Windows platforms, iOS platform compatibility is coming soon.

Debugging on Android

Debugging on Windows

References & resources

Please check out Dynamics 365 Power Apps Documentation for even more information on Offline mode – best practices, limitations to consider, and more

Offline Profile Guidelines

Offline Capabilities & Limitations

The post Fire up your mobile field service game: offline enhancements for a seamless user experience appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Customer service agents in a digital contact center interact with multiple customers daily through live chat, phone calls, and social media channels. During customer interactions, often they find themselves searching for relevant information on various screens or other systems, resulting in increased wait time for the end customer. Also, they want to quickly capture or update the information about their conversation, in real time without having to create or link a case to a conversation. Recent enhancements to the Active Conversation form allow agents to access and edit relevant information without any screen switching.  

Now, agents have all the relevant information at their fingertips, so that they spend less time looking for information on different screens or systems and help customers quickly. This leads to a reduction in average wait time and better customer satisfaction.  

Customize the Active Conversation form

This feature allows administrators to add custom fields on the conversation form and embed canvas apps to display the information from external sources. To ensure agents can capture information quickly, it offers agents the flexibility to view pre-filled information and update it as needed while interacting with the customer. They can view the records related to the conversation on the sub-grids. 

Access the enhanced Active Conversation form  

The Active Conversation form now displays the Customer 360 card. This allows agents to view information related to the customer. They can also make inline edits without having to navigate to contact or account form. Similarly, it shows case details with information related to the case linked to the conversation and allows agents to make inline edits as needed. Administrators can configure the fields they want to show on both these cards.

Additionally, the form includes the configurable recent cases card. This shows the color-coded priority and case status for easy discoverability by the agents. Moreover, switching from the active to the closed conversation form is restricted when the conversation is still active. The reverse is true as well. 

Administrators can enable these enhancements in the Customer Service workspace application by navigating to the Customer Service Admin center > Workspaces > Active Conversation form settings. 

Learn more 

To learn more, read the documentation:  

View Active Conversation in Omnichannel for Customer Service | Microsoft Learn 

The post Customize and access the improved Active Conversation form  appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.