Dynamics 365 & Power Platform Release 2022 Wave 2

Microsoft have recently released the Microsoft Dynamics 365 & Power Platform 2022 Release Wave 2. This document shows the new features and improvements to the platform that will be released to the public between October 1st 2022 and March 2023.

 In this post we will be focusing on the new features and enhancements which are being rolled out for all Model Driven Applications & Power Platform in general.

Multi Entity Forms

The implementation of Multi Entity forms is one of the features that we are most excited about as this has been a long-awaited request from the community. This feature works similarly to the quick view but will allow the embedded related entity to be edited. The example below shows an account form with a related contact embedded in it.  The main difference this has from a quick view is that the contact information can be edited without the need to switch screens.

Teams Integration Enhancement

Microsoft have also been working on the Teams integration seen in recent waves. Currently this requires some settings to be tweaked and is only available in certain model driven applications. In this release wave this will be available for all model driven apps within the Power Platform. This will enhance the Dynamics 365 users’ ability to collaborate and reach the people they need in order to progress leads, opportunities, cases, or meetings with a single interface.

 Power BI Quick Reports in Model Driven Apps

In Release Wave 2 Microsoft have now included Power BI “Quick Reports” in model driven applications. This feature allows users to take their current view within Dynamics 365 and quickly visualise this data in a Power BI report. The users will then be able to manipulate this view by changing the visualisations, filters, and data to fit their needs. Once the user closes the view the changes are not permanent, and the report will be reset to its default state. This update will allow users within Dynamics 365 who are not Power BI report developers to create quick one-off reports and reduce lead time for information gathering.

View Users’ Presence

Along with the new improvements to the Microsoft Teams integration with Dynamics 365 Model driven apps, Microsoft have also now implemented activity status icons, like Teams. This is a small icon that will show if the user is Available, Busy, Away, Do Not Disturb, or Offline within the organisation. This feature will increase collaboration and ensure information is sent to the appropriate users who are available to work on it.

What’s new and planned for Power BI

Microsoft recently announced the planned feature releases for Power BI from October 2022 through March 2023 and includes changes for both Power BI Premium and Power BI Pro users to enjoy!

For Power BI Premium users, typically enterprise users, the new features include performance and security improvements.

For Power BI Pro users, the new features are focussed on the end-user experience and include more flexibility and design options for creating mobile-friendly reports, and a new Power Query Diagram view in Power BI Desktop which provides an more user-friendly interface to prepare, transform and visualise data.

If you’re interested in taking a more in-depth look at the new features as well as the dates that they will become available, check out the Microsoft Docs at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform-release-plan/2022wave2/power-bi/planned-features

Endeavour awarded fifth Microsoft Silver Competency

This is the first post of 2022 about our Microsoft competencies but since the previous post, we've increased our collection to include Communications.

Microsoft gold competencies are awarded to partners who demonstrate their technical excellence in, and best in class capability within, a Microsoft technology area.

Microsoft silver competencies are the stepping stones to gold competencies and demonstrate consistent capability and commitment in a Microsoft solution area.

Endeavour now holds 9 Gold competencies and 5 Silver competencies, thanks to our team for attaining the required Microsoft Exams that are required to attain and retain these.

As a cloud-first focused Microsoft Partner, we are extremely proud of our technical achievements and we hope that being awarded these competencies assures our current and future customers of our technical competence to deliver scalable solutions, deployed using a wide range of Microsoft cloud-based solutions that help meet compliance requirements, replace complex and costly legacy systems and give them the necessary advantage in the current mobile-first, cloud-first world.

Dynamics 365 and Teams Integration

It is essential that modern businesses focus on teamwork and collaboration to deliver the best possible experience to their customers. Microsoft have recognised this fact and at the recent Microsoft Ignite conference announced that they are greatly enhancing the integration between the Teams and Dynamics 365 platforms.

 Embedded Teams Chat in Dynamics 365

During the event, Microsoft announced one of the most sought-after features requested by developers in the past year and showed that users will be able to access one-on-one chats, group chats and meetings linked to a record in Dynamics 365 without the need to ever leave the page containing the records information.  It was also confirmed that this functionality will be rolled out across the Field Service, Sales and Customer Service modules to ensure team working and collaboration can be achieved regardless of department or role. 

Embedded Teams dialling in Dynamics 365

Microsoft also demonstrated at the event the ability for users to make calls directly from Dynamics 365 using Teams. During the demo, Microsoft showed off some of the key features of this new functionality including the ability to have Teams automatically transcribe the call and highlight key business terms, suggested follow actions will be shown for users and the ability to take notes that feed straight back into the phone call activity record. 

Post Teams Chat Summary

Once users have finished making a call in Teams or hosting a meeting, within seconds they are presented with a rich post-call summary which includes call playback and transcription, actions to be completed and tags of key words mentioned during the call. These data points can be used to track trends and provide the company with a better understanding of customer needs.

The first wave of the Teams and Dynamics 365 integration will be released in the Sales module in May 2021. If you would like more information regarding Dynamics 365 and what it could provide for your business, please email solutions@endeavour-is.com.