Today is Blue Monday, the date in January that considers factors including the average time for New Year's resolutions to fail, the bad weather to set in, and the credit card statement coming in from all that Christmas spending.
Therefore, in order to combat such a miserable day, we have brought the team some treats from Benningtons Bakery to help counter those post-holiday blues.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It’s great to see the office life starting to return to normal and no better way to celebrate than with a selection of pancakes, fillings and other sweet treats for the team to enjoy!
Read MoreSoftware licensing and compliance in this area can be difficult to understand, let alone hard to keep maintained. Especially when that licensing is for Microsoft products and services, which even experienced IT professionals can view as a complicated mix of rules and conditions depending on the type of organisation you are, the type of license you need, and the purchase method undertaken, and comparable to learning a new language the day before you go on holiday.
So, with that in mind, depending on how and when you purchase your Microsoft software the rules and typical costs for that licensing will change by 24 March 2022, when Microsoft will have implemented a global increase in pricing by 10-40% across their entire portfolio of solutions, along with changes to their terms and conditions for the licensing of both commercial and non-profit based customers.
So, where this would have normally only affected commercial organisations in the past, these changes are now going to also affect non-profit organisations for the first time in a while on a group of organisations who would have previously benefitted from Microsoft’s donation program.
First and foremost, before we create unnecessary panic, we need to make it clear that there are still benefits provided to non-profit based organisations. But equally there are also changes that you will need to be aware of and will need to be considered from a budgeting perspective going forward.
Any existing on premise or cloud license agreement will remain in place until it expires, or its annual anniversary (in relation to cloud-based subscriptions) is met. Once expired or met your organisation will then fall within the new terms and conditions and a change of pricing will be implemented for any new agreements going forward.
Your organisation will no longer be able to avail of the usual donation-based licensing for on-premises based Microsoft software such as Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, and associated User/Devices CALS. Previously organisations got this software as a donation and only paid a small administration fee from the distributor such as TechSoup or a Microsoft Partner authorised to sell non-profit based licensing and is extremely popular as a result. However, come the March deadline, when an organisation wants to renew that software going forward, it will be at the commercial price with a discount of between 60-75% applied depending on the products required. This will mean a considerable increase in cost for this type of license compared to previous years. Although there will be exceptions and offers available in cases where computer labs, training rooms and public access computers are needed in organisations that qualify.
In addition, any Microsoft Cloud licensing (Office 365, Microsoft 365, and Dynamics 365) you may be using today will also have some form of price change applied once the anniversary date is met. Fortunately, in most cases the price increment for these will be minimal and there will still be free tiers of licenses with limited functionality available. The only considerations to consider here will be that these new tiers may offer less functionality than previous licensing. So, a review of consumption and comparison of what functionality will be offered still needs to take place on a case-by-case basis to maximise the spend applied as much as possible.
However, any organisations currently using non-profit Microsoft Azure donation/credits of $3,500 (approx. £2,500) per annum to run cloud-based servers and associated services will still be able to continue to avail of this scheme unchanged.
The highest cost increase will be for organisations that have a high usage of on-premises Microsoft licensing running their internal systems, especially those that utilise technologies such as Windows Server, Remote Desktop and Microsoft SQL Server. Once those types of licenses become non-compliant and need to be renewed, the pricing will increase anything from 3-5 times more compared to the current donation programme method and will have a real impact on ICT budgeting.
In terms of cloud licensing, it is better news with more options available but the advice we would give initially is to review what cloud subscriptions are in use within the organisation before the annual anniversary date arrives. Because on the start of the next year, a typical cloud subscription’s cost will increase from 10 to 40% per user, per month and if you do not review the rate of consumption, you will miss potential opportunities to keep cost increases minimised.
So, as we’ve mentioned, costs for Microsoft licensing are going to increase. Therefore, the first step to minimise cost is a perform a review of current usage and requirements. In the past, our experience has shown there would tend to be an over allocation of licensing in the non-profit sector because the pricing was so low which ensured all usage was complaint but not applied efficiently because the costs were low.
Therefore, a more commercial focus will need to be adopted, reviewing what is used on premise and in cloud and selecting the most appropriate licensing and pricing offers that meets those needs in the best way. For example, Microsoft will provide additional discounts on common cloud licensing if it is purchased up front for 12 months, compared to month-to-month based subscriptions. However, that means the organisation must know the amount it intends to use in advance, hence the importance for a comprehensive review to be undertaken beforehand. Also, free donation cloud licenses are still available, but some of the functionality has now changed and would need carefully compared before changes are made in an organisation.
Finally, one of the main reasons organisations use on premise systems is compatibility with legacy line of business systems. However, with the advancements in modern cloud platforms, these might be migratable to the cloud and the forthcoming license increases could then be seen as the opportunity for an organisation to make move to cloud which then adds additional benefits in business continuity and information security as cloud hosted solutions tend to offer, compared to running them on your own equipment on premise.
Endeavour is a leading multi gold competency Microsoft Partner with considerable experience assisting customers in managing its ICT systems and migrating them to cloud based platforms. Their in-house Microsoft certified specialists can guide you through how these changes may impact the way you consume Microsoft licenses and will review how you can take full advantage of the forthcoming pricing increases, minimising costs and making the most of your ICT purchases.
You can contact the team to request a free, no commitment review of your current Microsoft licensing via email at solutions@endeavour-is.com or by calling Lee Surgeoner, Partner with Endeavour on 028 9031 1010.
With Halloween nearly upon us we’ve arranged with some help from Benningtons Cakes for some very tasty treats to be delivered to the office today. We suspect a number of disappearances will take place before too long, but doubt there will be any mystery as to why….
It’s been just over 3 months since my last update on our collection of Microsoft competencies but we’ve added a new one in the last few days.
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 a gold competencies and demonstrate consistent capability and commitment in a Microsoft solution area.
Endeavour now holds 8 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 in our technical competence to deliver scalable solutions, deployed using a wide range of Microsoft cloud-based solutions that help meet compliance, replace complex and costly legacy systems and give them the necessary advantage in the current mobile-first, cloud-first world.
I can’t believe that it has only been a month since the last post about our collection of Microsoft competencies!!!
We are delighted to announce that Endeavour has attained another gold competency from Microsoft!!!
Microsoft gold competencies are awarded to partners who demonstrate their technical excellence in Microsoft technology areas.
Thank you to our team for attaining the required Microsoft Exams that are required to attain this award.
Endeavour now holds 8 Gold competencies and 4 Silver competencies - what didn’t seem possible 10 months ago has now been achieved 2 months ahead of our target date, providing proof if ever it was needed that to attain a goal, you need to take the first step and keep moving forward at a steady pace.
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 in our technical competence to deliver scalable solutions, deployed using a wide range of Microsoft cloud-based solutions that help meet compliance, replace complex and costly legacy systems and give them the necessary advantage in the current mobile-first, cloud-first world.
As many of us continue to work from home and with many travel restrictions still in place, we’ve become used to attending webinars and other events virtually rather than attend in person. Starting this month, Microsoft is rolling out Teams webinar capabilities which includes a registration page with email confirmation for registrants, and reporting for registration and attendance.
Users with Office 365 or Microsoft 365 E3/E5/A3/A5/Business Standard/Business Premium will be entitled to these new capabilities and Microsoft are offering these capabilities for all other Teams users for the rest of 2021.
The rollout is due to be completed in May 2021, after which all Teams users will see an additional option when scheduling a meeting:
Users will be able to add registrations for meetings and webinars outside of their own organization and this will be turned on by default for all users within the tenant, however this can be restricted in the Teams admin centre or with PowerShell commands.
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.
We are delighted to announce that Endeavour has attained the Gold Data Platform Competency from Microsoft, awarded to partners who demonstrate their technical capability to make sure that customer database systems operate efficiently, secure data from unauthorized access, and categorize data so that it can be translated into business insights.
Thank you to our team for attaining the required Microsoft Exams that are required to attain this award.
In addition to this new competency, we also hold six Gold competencies and five Silver competencies.
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 in our technical competence to deliver scalable solutions, deployed using a wide range of Microsoft cloud-based solutions that help meet compliance, replace complex and costly legacy systems and give them the necessary advantage in the current mobile-first, cloud-first world.
We are delighted to announce that Endeavour has attained the Gold Windows and Devices Competency from Microsoft, awarded to partners who demonstrate the ability to deliver services, offer devices or build, test, and maintain applications optimized for the Windows environment. .
Thank you to our team for attaining the required Microsoft Exams that are required to attain this award.
In addition to this new competency, we already hold five Gold competencies and six Silver competencies.
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 in our technical competence to deliver scalable solutions, deployed using a wide range of Microsoft cloud-based solutions that help meet compliance, replace complex and costly legacy systems and give them the necessary advantage in the current mobile-first, cloud-first world.
Business has changed so much in the last 12 months and many aspects of this change are positive but not all businesses have embraced this new change. I recently had to register a power of attorney (POA) with a high street bank with very few branches in Northern Ireland. In these different times and seeing how our clients have adapted, I assumed that all businesses had adapted new digital ways in support of the government’s message about staying at home. Alas no… They want me to post the original POA, my passport or driving licence (I’ve opted for the passport as I’m not likely to need it over the next few months) and a utility bill dated within the last 4 months. But here’s the thing, all my utility bills are online but they won’t accept a printed version of the downloaded bill and have insisted that I contact my utility suppliers and request that they send me a bill. I know all of the reasons why they are requesting this but my own bank have gone out of their way to make the new banking experience both for our personal and business accounts as easy as possible and active encourage us not go to a branch. So what’s the first thing that I will be doing when I finally get the POA registered? I’ll be closing the account and transferring it to a new account with my own bank.
The reason that I’m sharing this story with you is because it has reminded me about the great work that our clients are doing to change their processes and keep in contact with their clients and customers. Many have updated their Dynamics 365 to integrate electronic signature capture with automated workflows for reminders. Others have provided online portals for their clients to be able to manage documents, communications and requests for service. Integrating automated text messages for regular contact is also an easy way to keep in touch.
I hope that many of the digital transformations that have taken place over the last 12 months inspire businesses to investigate what more they can do to improve their customers’ experience but only time will tell and I fear that those who do not embrace this change as a new opportunity will fall behind their competitors.
Enjoys the challenge of problem solving
Has a clear, logical and analytical mind
Has a positive “can do” attitude
Strives for excellence with an enquiring mind embracing change
Follows the latest trends in technology
Shares knowledge with a dedication to continual learning and accreditation
Investigates new technologies and ways of working
Believes in the power of teamwork
Treats others with respect and encouragement
Ambitious, self-motivated, trustworthy and reliable
Fluent in English with excellent written, verbal communication and presentation skills
If this sounds like you, why not visit our website at www.endeavour-is.com/careers to see the latest positions available. We’re always looking for the right people to join our team, so if the list above sounds like you, please forward your CV to careers@endeavour-is.com if there isn’t a suitable position available.
We are delighted to announce that Endeavour has attained the Gold Project and Portfolio Management Competency from Microsoft, awarded to partners who demonstrate the ability to deliver enterprise project management solutions to customers.
Thank you to our team for attaining the required Microsoft Exams that are required to attain this award.
In addition to this new competency, we already hold four Gold competencies and seven Silver competencies.
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 in our technical competence to deliver scalable solutions, deployed using a wide range of Microsoft cloud-based solutions that help meet compliance, replace complex and costly legacy systems and give them the necessary advantage in the current mobile-first, cloud-first world.
Microsoft have confirmed that Endeavour has met the requirements for the following Deployment Planning Services:
SQL Server
SharePoint
Private Cloud, Management and Virtualization
Desktop
Skype for Business and Exchange
As an approved Planning Services partner, we provide pre-deployment planning engagements for enterprise customers that are funded by Microsoft.
If you’re interested in having a chat about how we can help your organisation with pre-deployment planning, please contact Blaithin or Lee on 028 9031 1010/0131 376 0090 or email solutions@endeavour-is.com.
We are delighted to announce that Endeavour has attained the Gold Application Integration Competency from Microsoft, awarded to partners and developers who integrate unique applications and solutions into various products across the Microsoft ecosystem.
Thank you to our team for attaining the required Microsoft Exams that are required to attain this award.
In addition to this new competency, we already hold three Gold competencies and eight Silver competencies.
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 in our technical competence to deliver scalable solutions, deployed using a wide range of Microsoft cloud-based solutions that help meet compliance, replace complex and costly legacy systems and give them the necessary advantage in the current mobile-first, cloud-first world.
Blaithin Surgeoner, Partner at Endeavour Information Solutions shares her experience of meeting the challenges of enforced change using the latest Microsoft Cloud technologies.
I’m not sure that there is ever a “right time” for an organisation to undertake a digital transformation but most people would think that during a global pandemic with so many uncertainties would definitely be the absolute worst time to start the digital transformation journey. And yet, if our experience over the last six months has taught us anything, it’s that this is exactly the time when it is needed most.
There is no single definition of digital transformation and its different for every organisation, but the goal is to improve efficiency and accuracy and to reduce risk to the organisation by adopting modern digital technology.
Most organisation’s journey starts with documenting and reviewing manual or older digital processes. Then with lots of “what if …” questions, “what if we could do x”, “what if we changed the way we do process y” and some creative thought based on knowledge of what modern technology can deliver, a proposed solution is formed.
Most people associate digital transformation with cloud computing and the paperless office and whilst these can be part of a proposed solution, there are a lot of other factors to consider.
As a Microsoft partner who has delivered numerous business solutions to a wide range of clients, and a background in financial, management and IT consultancy, we have the benefit of being able to use Microsoft’s software both for our own business but also for experimenting with, typically exploring the functionality of each product both individually and joined together to create a solution.
So why is now a good time for digital transformation? As many organisations are working full time or part time from home, cloud computing offers a flexible solution for email, collaboration on documents, file sharing, communication (video and messaging) along with security and scalability. Cloud computing also has the advantage of delivering frequent updates.
Most of us have adapted how we perform tasks because of working from home. One of the first things that we implemented at Endeavour, was the use of Microsoft Cloud services to scan accounts documents to SharePoint so that our accounts team could continue to operate and overnight our accounts function became paperless. We then added a few automated workflows using Power Automate to implement some of our previous processes including approvals. Our HR and Recruitment team quickly followed and added in Power Apps to collect and validate data and Customer Voice (previously Forms Pro) to collect and analyse data.
At Endeavour, we’ve always championed the use of SharePoint in organisations for document management, intranets and extranets, so we quickly created an internal resource for staff on COVID-19 which contains all the information that our teams in Belfast and Edinburgh need to know and which is quickly updated as the situation changes across the UK regions and includes data feeds from government and regional statistics in Power BI. The relevant forms are also embedded in this SharePoint site.
Three years ago, when our on-premise telephone system was due for an upgrade, we implemented Microsoft Teams VoIP call technology which enabled us to continue receiving and making calls whether we were in the offices or at home.
Microsoft Teams also allowed us to stay in touch with colleagues using chat, audio calls and video calls and every Friday afternoon we had an “All Hands” meeting to update everyone on what was happening in the business as well as provide some with the opportunity to play their guitars to a captive audience!
We continue to rely heavily on Dynamics 365 for sales, customer service and marketing with journeys to guide and support colleagues through relationship building and supporting our clients.
And the technologies that we use in Endeavour, are also being adopted by our clients. Migration of email to Office 365 in most cases was closely followed by migration of documents from servers to SharePoint Online and integrating all this information within a single pane of glass using Microsoft Teams.
So, if you’re interested in having a chat about how we can help your organisation become more resilient in the current climate by digitally transforming your organisation, please contact Blaithin or Lee on 028 9031 1010/0131 376 0090, email solutions@endeavour-is.com.
We are pleased to announce that we have been renewed as a supplier to the Crown Commercial Service's G-Cloud 12 framework. We have been suppliers to this framework since 2015 and we are now proud to announce that from October 2020 we have extended the range of cloud hosting, software and associated services we offer under the G-Cloud 12 Framework.
The framework allows all UK government departments, devolved administrations, local authorities, wider public-sector bodies, and arm’s-length bodies the ability to provision cloud services from a marketplace of approved suppliers such as ourselves who offer a comprehensive range of Microsoft based hosting, software and services under this framework.
For more information of the services we offer under the framework please contact solutions@endeavour-is.com
As some of you may be aware, 2019 represented Endeavour’s 10th anniversary. When we started out in 2009 it was literally from the kitchen table. We had a server (a physical one) hosting our email and files from our house and we used Starbucks as a base between the various client visits and meetings we had to undertake between projects.
Read MoreEndeavour Information Solutions based in the centre of Belfast, Northern Ireland and provide IT solutions using Microsoft based technologies such as Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Azure across the UK and Ireland.
14-18 Great Victoria Street | Belfast | BT2 7BA
1 Lochrin Square, 92-94 Fountainbridge | Edinburgh | EH3 9QA
Peter House, Oxford Street | Manchester | M1 5AN
sales: solutions@endeavour-is.com | support: helpdesk@endeavour-is.com
Copyright © 2022 Endeavour Information Solutions. Partners: Lee Surgeoner, Blaithin Surgeoner
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