It’s a new year and time to start picking up the monthly updates again. As usual lots of great updates to report and even more so since we haven’t had a update in a minute. Happy 2024!! Interested in the services our team offers? Find them here.
- Featured News
- Deprecations and Retirements
- Product Updates
- Monthly channel for model-driven apps
- Introducing Power Platform Advisor
- General Availability for model-driven apps offline for maker
- Application modernization with Power Platform
- What’s new: Power Apps November 2023 Feature Update
- General Availability of Power Automate cloud flow integration with Power Pages
- Power Pages | Online Payments
- Power Pages | Security and Analytics dashboard
- Power Automate | Updated cloud flows designer
- Power Virtual Agents | Now part of Microsoft Copilot Studio
- Microsoft Copilot Studio implementation guide
- Dynamics 365 Customer Service
- Dynamics 365 Sales
- Dynamics 365
- Learning Corner
Featured News
Copilot Summary
Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365:
- Copilot for Microsoft 365 is generally available for enterprises.
- Check out the Microsoft 365 blog for updates across the suite including PowerPoint, Excel, Microsoft Viva and more.
Microsoft Copilot for Dynamics 365:
- Earlier this year, we introduced Microsoft Copilot for Dynamics 365, the world’s first AI copilot natively built for CRM and ERP.
- We announced end of 2023, updates to Copilot for Dynamics 365 to drive efficiency across the organization, featuring capabilities that help marketing, sales, and field service professionals provide exceptional customer experiences.
Microsoft Copilot for Service:
- In customer interactions, agents can ask Copilot for Service questions in natural language and receive relevant insights based on data sources from knowledge repositories, leading to faster and smarter resolutions.
- Copilot for Service can be further customized with Microsoft Copilot Studio
- Copilot for Service is available in preview in early December and generally available in early 2024.
- More HERE
Microsoft Copilot for Sales:
- The evolution of Sales Copilot, used by leading brands including 10,000 sellers within the Microsoft sales team.
- Copilot for Sales brings together the power of Sales Copilot and Copilot for Microsoft 365 in seller workflows, using customer data within the CRM system they already use, along with information in documents, email, and chats from Microsoft 365 applications.
- Copilot for Sales can be further customized with AI-assisted sales processes in Copilot Studio.
Microsoft Copilot Studio:
- Microsoft Copilot Studio is a low-code tool designed to customize Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 by integrating business-critical data and build custom copilots for internal or external use.
- Copilot Studio is included in Copilot for Microsoft 365 and brings together a set of powerful conversational capabilities—from custom GPTs, to generative AI plugins, to manual topics
Copilot in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Guides:
- Combining the power of generative AI and mixed reality, Copilot in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Guides helps frontline workers complete complex tasks and resolve issues faster without disrupting workflow.
- Available first on HoloLens 2, the hands-free copilot will help service industry professionals use natural language and human gestures to offer interactive guidance through content and holograms overlaid on the equipment.
Copilot in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service:
- Enable frontline workers and service managers to create, view, and manage work orders using the power of generative AI
- From creating work orders with the right information and assigning them to the right technicians, to equipping the technicians with sufficient support to successfully complete jobs—Copilot will help streamline critical frontline tasks.
- Learn More
Copilot in Power Automate
New time-saving experiences in Power Automate
- Get step-by-step guidance and information with Copilot
- Generate scripts using Copilot in Power Automate
- Use Copilot to analyze automation activity (preview)
- Use Copilot to do even more with cloud flows
Microsoft Ignite 2023 – Book of News
- It’s a book recap of the Ignite events –
- It features more than 100 announcements in a wide range of topics, including infrastructure, Microsoft Copilot, the relationship between data and AI, new tools for developers and security.
- Learn More
Introducing Project Sophia
Project “Sophia” is an AI powered business research canvas designed to help all business users solve complex, cross-domain business problems. It enables users to discover, visualize, and interact with data in new ways, to optimize business processes, and answer strategic questions that drive better outcomes.
- Research Journeys to explore cross-functional data and insights to find innovative solutions.
- Magically generate rich user experiences and provide actionable recommendations.
- Achieve specific outcomes for high value business tasks using Business Process Guides.
Try the Project Sophia HERE
Project Sophia Overview Learn HERE
Microsoft Virtual Training Days
Build the technical skills you need to create possibilities at Microsoft Virtual Training Days from Microsoft Learn. These free training events are designed to build your skills, prepare you for certifications, and provide new opportunities for your career.
Deprecations and Retirements
Dataverse (legacy) connectors
Microsoft Dataverse (legacy) connector for Power Automate flows will be deprecated and replaced with another connector. For new and existing flows, customers should use the Microsoft Dataverse connector instead. Previously, the following features weren’t available in this connector:
- When a row is selected trigger.
- Connecting to environments other than the current environment.
These features started to be available in production-ready preview in October 2023, and are currently planned to be generally available by January 2024.
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.
Power Apps portals Studio to be retired
Effective February 26, 2024, Power Apps portals Studio will be retired. All sites open in Power Pages design studio.
Model-driven app controls deprecation
Effective January 2023, the following controls for model-driven apps are deprecated: auto-complete, input mask, multimedia player, number input, flip, and star rating.
- Starting April 2023, these controls can no longer be added to forms.
- Existing control instances will work on existing forms until April 2024.
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
Other Deprecation Articles
The list of deprecations and retirements above is only a partial set of announcements. Review the articles below for a full list of deprecations that may affect your environment.
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
Monthly channel for model-driven apps
Release channels provide more choice for adopting new features in model driven apps and Dynamics 365 apps. Rather than only being able to receive updates twice a year during the wave releases, you can choose some or all users to receive more frequent updates through monthly channel.
The key idea is that GA-ready end user impacting features release monthly instead of waiting for the twice-yearly release cadence. The same number of features are delivered in 12 smaller releases instead of two larger releases.
Introducing Power Platform Advisor
Power Platform Advisor, your guide to personalized best practice recommendations to optimize your Power Platform tenant. It analyzes your Power Platform resources and environments, and offers insights and inline actions to enhance security, reliability, and overall low code health.
- Get proactive, personalized best practices recommendations.
- Improve the overall health of your Power Platform tenant.
- Take inline actions or automate actions using cloud flows.
General Availability for model-driven apps offline for maker
With model-driven apps offline for makers experience, it is now easier than before to set up an app to work offline. After enabling your model-driven apps for offline, people in your organization can work seamlessly without worrying about connectivity!
Application modernization with Power Platform
We recently published a new whitepaper, “Application modernization with Power Platform”, that explores the benefits, strategies, and best practices of modernizing applications with Microsoft Power Platform.
- Key benefits of Power Platform for modernizing applications, including reducing technical debt, enhancing security and compliance, lowering costs, and boosting productivity, just to name a few
- Evaluating and prioritizing opportunities to modernize apps with low-code solutions
- Organizing and upskilling teams
- Extensibility options
- Low-code modernization architecture scenarios
- And much more!
What’s new: Power Apps November 2023 Feature Update
Trust
- Cards for Power Apps are supported for application lifecycle management (ALM) and DLP
Maker Productivity
- Improved Power Fx Formula Bar is now on by default for new apps
- Unleash seamless integration and advanced insights with Dataverse Link to Fabric
- Named Formulas is now GA
- Cards for Power Apps flow Connector is Generally Available
End User Productivity
- Extend Microsoft Copilot with Power Platform Plugins
General Availability of Power Automate cloud flow integration with Power Pages
Contextualization of cloud flow: One of the key enhancements in this release is the ability to contextualize your cloud flows. Enhance the business logic within flows using site context and user context. By doing so, you gain more granular control over your workflows without the need to explicitly pass values from the site.
Create a flow within Power Pages Studio: To streamline workflow development experience, we’ve introduced the capability to create flows directly within Power Pages Studio. This eliminates the need to switch between different maker studios — now you can initiate the flow creation process from within Power Pages.
Support for file data type: With this update, maker can now leverage preferred file storage solutions to manage files within Power Pages.
Power Pages | Online Payments
Microsoft Power Pages empowers organizations and governments around the world to rapidly launch services as external websites to collect, automate, and share critical business data securely with their customers, partners, and the constituents they serve.
Whether you’re selling products, offering services, or accepting donations, the integration of online payments streamlines the entire transaction process.
Power Pages | Security and Analytics dashboard
As a Power Pages admin, you can now access these dashboards from the Power Platform Admin Center.
Security View: This dashboard gives you the security status of all the websites in your tenant. You also get key security insights such as – sites with Web Application Firewall disabled, sites with anonymous access, authentication providers used, etc.
Analytics View: This dashboard allows you to monitor the traffic to the websites in your tenant. You can view traffic to your websites like Daily, Weekly and Monthly Active Users (DAU, WAU and MAU) along with the split between anonymous users and authenticated users.
Power Automate | Updated cloud flows designer
The new designer provides a modern experience, is faster, and easier to use, with several features customers have been asking for.
- Robust handling of complex flows, with faster save and load times.
- Multi line expression editor and ability to search for dynamic content in expression editor.
- Richer Run After Settings in Action Settings that allow you to express more business logic in the flow.
- Smaller action cards and zooming controls for greater visualization of large flows.
Power Virtual Agents | Now part of Microsoft Copilot Studio
Microsoft Copilot Studio is a low-code comprehensive conversational AI solution that unlocks new Copilot capabilities: connect copilot to your data using pre-built or custom plugins and GPTs, create and orchestrate workflows and manage your copilots in one central place and ultimately build standalone copilots for your organization. Copilot for Microsoft 365 customers will be able to use Copilot Studio for customization to provide tailored responses and workflows for unique scenarios. Power Virtual Agents has provided the foundations for and will become part of Copilot Studio, together with Microsoft’s leading conversational AI technologies.
Microsoft Copilot Studio implementation guide
This detailed guide is designed to help customers, partners, and Microsoft teams review copilot projects and architectures for a smooth and effective implementation journey.
Dynamics 365 Customer Service
- Begin your copilot journey with summarization
- Knowledge management best practices for Copilot ingestion
- Orchestrate your WFM solution with Dynamics 365 Customer Service
Dynamics 365 Sales
- Introducing new Copilot experiences to boost productivity and elevate customer experiences across the organization
- Refresh the Sales experience with Dynamics 365 Sales modern update
- New sales capabilities in 2023 release wave 2—Helping sellers work smarter
Dynamics 365
- Deliver higher-impact experiences with better data quality and configuration with Copilot
- Unlock new value with your Dynamics 365 data in Microsoft 365 and Fabric, while safeguarding your data and assets
Learning Corner
Maker uses Power Platform to help his daughter manage diabetes
Managing type 1 diabetes comes down to keeping blood sugar at the right level. This process is normally taken care of by the body through the production of insulin. But for people with type 1 diabetes, the body no longer makes insulin, so they need to inject it manually. He created a mobile app using Power Apps that simplifies many of the time-consuming tasks required to manage diabetes. The app is called “Munching Red Panda”, named after Eden’s favorite animal.
Learning
Power Platform for professional developers
Stay informed about how the Microsoft Power Platform accelerates productivity for professional developers. Build on a low-code platform that’s natively extensible across Azure. Learn more >>
Microsoft Power Platform In a Day workshops
As a business leader, you need to react quickly to the changing market and cannot stay dependent on developing a software solution to do that. You want the ability to build a solution to meet your business needs swiftly. With Microsoft Power Platform, you can build great business apps without writing code. Learn more >>
Power Platform code samples
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