Welcome to the October edition of the Dynamics 365 and Power Platform monthly update! Brought to you by the Business Applications Customer Success team at Microsoft. Lots of great updates this month including the roll out of 2023 Release Wave 2. Enjoy! And as usual, you can find all our service offerings at the link here!
- Featured News
- Deprecations and Retirements
- jQuery 2.1.1 to be removed in model-driven apps
- Dynamics 365 for phones and tablets will be deprecated – January 2024
- Dynamics 365 Connector is deprecated
- Deprecating support of unregistered MSA and External Azure Active Directory users in Dataverse
- Dynamics 365 Customer Service
- Other Deprecation Articles
- Microsoft Sales Copilot
- Public preview of new custom connector enhancements
- License management with auto-claim for Power Apps and licensing insights for Power Automate
- Updates for modernization and theming in Power Apps
- Power Pages | Overview of AI-Powered and Copilot Features
- Power Pages | Streamline digital agreement workflows with Microsoft Power Pages and DocuSign
- Power Automate | Easier navigation across Power Platform and Environments
- Power BI | September 2023 feature summary
- Customer Stories
- Learning
- Video Roundup
Featured News
The New Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights
We are bringing together Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights
- Enabling organizations to unify and enrich their customer data to deliver personalized, connected, end-to-end customer journeys across sales, marketing, and service.
- We are retaining the existing “Dynamics 365 Customer Insights” name to encompass this new offer of both applications.
- The new Customer Insights offers your organization flexibility to meet your business needs, with access to both the customer data platform (Customer Insights—Data) and real-time marketing with customer journey orchestration (Customer Insights—Journeys).
- Achieve greater personalization with Copilot in D365 Customer Insights
WHAT IS CHANGING?
- Customers with previous license for Marketing and/or Customer Insights
- Beginning September 1, 2023, customers who had the previous license for Marketing and/or Customer Insights will only see a product name change in the product.
- There will be no changes to the core product functionality due to the consolidation of the two products.
- The new pricing enables customers to unlock access to both applications and then buy the capacity they need.
- If you’re an existing customer of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service, you can use Customer Insights as the foundation of your customer experience (CX) stack by achieving greater customer understanding and orchestrating contextual customer journeys across every touchpoint of the business.
2023 Release wave 2 General availability – Deployment in Progress
2023 release wave 2 Features focus on Data, Collaboration, and massive investments in AI Copilot capabilities.
WHAT TO DO?
- Check the deployment schedule for you region. (starts September 29, 2023)
- For Enterprise customers, ask your Microsoft representative if you know your region but are not sure about the Station of your Scale Group.
- Check the early access for Dynamics 365 apps [features automatically deployed].
- Check the early access for Power Apps [features automatically deployed]
- Use the Release Planner for easy read of upcoming features and early access features
Upcoming Microsoft Events
Microsoft Power Platform Conference
Date: October 3-5, 2023 in Las Vegas
This in-person conference will feature pre-conference workshops, keynotes, sessions, breakouts, and more—all dedicated to Microsoft Power Platform products: Power Automate, Power Apps, Power BI, Power Pages, and Power Virtual Agents.
- Kicking off on October 1 & 2 with pre-conference workshops, the event runs October 3-5, 2023.
- Get inspired by Microsoft’s senior thought leaders, software engineers, and community experts who are focused on uniting humanity and technology. You’ll also have the chance to hear from users that solve real business problems daily.
- Conference Website
- Speakers
- Learn More
Microsoft Ignite
Date: November 15-16, 2023
Explore the latest innovations, learn from product experts, level up your skillset, and create connections from around the world. Sign up below to be one of the first to know when registration opens.
Deprecations and Retirements
jQuery 2.1.1 to be removed in model-driven apps
As part of a service update designed to improve security within Microsoft Power Apps we’re removing jQuery version 2.1.1 from model-driven applications. In October 2023 we’re removing the library located here: /_static/_common/scripts/jquery-2.1.1.min.js
Dynamics 365 for phones and tablets will be deprecated – January 2024
Effective January 2024, Dynamics 365 for phones and tablets (iOS and Android) will be deprecated for online users. Online users must migrate to the Power Apps mobile app. The Power Apps mobile app provides updated capabilities, a modern user experience, and fast load times.
Dynamics 365 Connector is deprecated
Effective May 5, 2020 the Dynamics 365 connector used for data integrations, flows, Azure Logic Apps, and canvas apps is officially deprecated. We recommend that you don’t create new connections using this connector.
In November 2023, we’ll announce the timeline for final shutdown of the connector. This is to provide full feature parity in the replacement connector. Users will have one year from the date of announcement to move to the new connector.
Deprecating support of unregistered MSA and External Azure Active Directory users in Dataverse
As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance the security and performance of Dataverse platform, we are announcing deprecation of support to unregistered MSA and externals Azure Active Directory (AAD) users in Dataverse due to its relative obscurity and complexity associated with this feature in authorization scenario. By October 2023, we will be removing support of unregistered MSA and external AAD users in the Dataverse.
Dynamics 365 Customer Service
Customer Service workspace legacy layout is deprecated
The Customer Service workspace legacy layout is deprecated as of April 2023, and won’t be supported after October 2023.
Omnichannel for Customer Service agent-facing app is deprecated and will be removed in June 2024
Effective April 2023, the Omnichannel for Customer Service agent-facing app is deprecated. Support is available until June 2024. We recommend that you migrate your omnichannel configuration to Customer Service workspace. More information: Migrate from Omnichannel for Customer Service to Customer Service workspace.
Intraday Insights reports in Omnichannel for Customer Service are deprecated
The Omnichannel intraday insights reports are deprecated as of May 1, 2023.
- Support will continue to be available for the deprecated intraday insights reports until October 31, 2023.
- Effective April 30, 2024, Omnichannel intraday insights reports won’t be available for existing organizations. Reports won’t be available for new organizations or tenants onboarded after May 01, 2023, or for those organizations that haven’t used the reports in the last 30 days.
Other Deprecation Articles
Important changes coming in Power Apps portals.
Important changes (deprecations) coming in Power Apps and Power Automate
Deprecated features in Dynamics 365 Sales
Deprecated features in Dynamics 365 Customer Service
Deprecated features in Dynamics 365 Field Service
Deprecated features in Universal Resource Scheduling
Removed or deprecated features in Finance and Operations apps
Product Updates
Microsoft Sales Copilot
- Microsoft Viva Sales is rebranded and part of Microsoft Sales Copilot
- It is a seller super companion app that brings together data from Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams app…) and CRM systems allowing sellers to improve customer experience, increase productivity, and gain valuable AI-insights into their customers – all in the flow of work.
- Catch up on the latest improvements before everybody else at Sales Copilot blog.
- Stay connected on new updates following this new video post series:
- September 2023 Updates
Public preview of new custom connector enhancements
- We are announcing the Public Preview of two new custom connector features:
- Service principal authentication
- One of the key highlights is the introduction of service principal authentication. This feature enables you to authenticate as a service principal rather than using a user account. The advantage of this approach is that service principals do not rely on short-lived tokens that expire, making them an excellent choice for scenarios where you require continuous and uninterrupted access for automated processes, such as those within a Power Automate Flow.
- Custom connectors supporting OAuth 2.0 with Azure Active Directory as the identity provider can now be configured to enable service principal authentication.
- Environment variables in policies
- Environment variables play a vital role in facilitating application lifecycle management (ALM) scenarios, particularly when migrating an application or Flow between Power Platform environments.
License management with auto-claim for Power Apps and licensing insights for Power Automate
- We are introducing the public preview of auto-claim for Power Apps licenses, a feature that empowers administrators to effortlessly set up policies within the Microsoft 365 admin center. These policies enable automatic license assignments to unlicensed users when they engage with Power Apps that require licensing.
- Introducing auto-claim for Power Apps licenses: Simplifying license management for admins
- We’re dedicated to automating license management processes, effectively easing the complexity and administrative load associated with license assignment.
- Set up auto-claim for Power Apps
- We’re thrilled to announce that the Power Automate licensing experience is now available for public preview in the Power Platform admin center.
Updates for modernization and theming in Power Apps
- In the month of August, there was critical progress made on the journey to modernize Power Apps with the release of new controls and improvements on existing controls.
- Table – The first iteration of a new responsive Table control is now available for makers.
- Updates to Text, Date Picker control
- Learn More >>
Power Pages | Overview of AI-Powered and Copilot Features
- Next-generation AI enhancements using Copilot in Power Pages is revolutionizing how to build and launch data-centric business websites.
- Watch this video to learn how Copilot can empower you to better respond to your customers’ needs and requirements.
- To learn how to use the new AI features in Power Pages, see:
Power Pages | Streamline digital agreement workflows with Microsoft Power Pages and DocuSign
- Microsoft announced new, seamless interoperability between Microsoft Power Pages and DocuSign available in public preview.
- Power Pages makers can now effortlessly create data-centric websites with document generation and e-signature capabilities that empower businesses to improve their agreement workflows.
Power Automate | Easier navigation across Power Platform and Environments
- We have made it easier to navigate with a simplified left navigation pane and a more informative environment selection experience.
- New Left Navigation Now Simplified and Customizable
- Finding an Environment is Now Faster and Easier
- Filtering and searching environments.
Power BI | September 2023 feature summary
- Check the latest Power BI September 2023 update Video here
- Learn more>>
Learning Corner
Customer Stories
Customer-focused business driven by Dynamics 365 Customer Insights: Lynk & Co
- Lynk & Co is a Sweden-based company that is transforming the way people use cars by offering a simple and flexible experience where customers can choose to buy, borrow, or subscribe to a vehicle.
- The company chose Microsoft Dynamics 365 for its out-of-the-box and customizable tools and the ability it provided to build in modules to create unique processes and prioritize specific customer experiences.
- The company uses Dynamics 365 Customer Insights to capture actionable customer data and link it with operational data within its cars.
Read the full story here
How Generative AI transforms business processes within marketing, sales, services at IDC
- The true potential of Gen AI infused in tools such as Microsoft Sales Copilot unfolds when it seamlessly integrates with other applications such as CRM systems, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Teams, presenting a harmony that minimizes risks while maximizing benefits. This strategic synergy aligns with industry best practices and fosters an environment of innovation.
- Learn about IDC customer story through its Marketing and Sales Technology Research Director, IDC, and the Product Marketing Manager, Business Applications, Microsoft. How AI-powered customer and seller experiences, How AI augments the front office with insights, enhanced overall business efficiency.
Learning
Power Platform Community
Enjoy these resources:
Power Apps Samples, Learning and Videos Galleries
Power Pages | Build websites with Power Pages – Online Workshop
- With Power Pages – the newest member of the Power Platform – anyone can build an enterprise trusted and secure low-code website quickly.
- This online workshop is designed for walking prospective makers through end-to-end creation of a Power Pages website.
Power Virtual Agents – Get started with PVA bots
Get started creating bots with Power Virtual Agents. This Learning Path introduces you to creating bots. You’ll be introduced to important concepts such as how to create topics that will be used to drive conversations.
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