Microsoft Previews Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Updates at Microsoft Ignite

Microsoft at its Ignite virtual user conference this week introduced a wide variety of capabilities being added in the latest versions of the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365.

The Dynamics updates include the addition of a first-party voice channel for Dynamics 365 Customer Service, built on Azure Communication Services.

"By integrating voice into existing omnichannel capabilities, we are providing a seamless, end-to-end customer service experience within a single solution built on the Microsoft cloud that empowers teams to deliver consistent, connected support across all channels," said James Phillips, president of Microsoft Business Applications. "AI-powered features help resolve issues faster, including real-time agent suggestions and sentiment analysis that starts working right out of the box. And, thanks to our Common Data Model, voice channel data natively integrates into pre-existing datasets—no data manipulation or reformatting necessary."

The updates to the Power Platform include low-code updates for professional developers with an integrated Microsoft Power Apps, Microsoft Power Automate, Microsoft Power Virtual Agents, and Microsoft Azure API Management experience to scale solutions through Power Apps and distribute through Microsoft Teams. With these integrations, developers can create custom connectors to unlock access to any Microsoft cloud hosted data source, as well as seamlessly push custom connectors to dedicated Power Platform environments for discovery in Power Apps.? In addition, users can leverage Microsoft Azure Functions and Azure API Management to enable citizen developers to distribute Power Apps in Teams.?

In addition, Power Virtual Agents and Azure Bot Framework will now work together seamlessly to allow developers to build bots with no code. Microsoft also enhanced Power Virtual Agents to make it even easier for developers and users to publish on Teams with just one click.

Microsoft also recently introduced a Power BI app for Teams, which provides a more streamlined experience for accessing Power BI reports in Teams.

"The app will enable users to quickly discover, search, and discuss data without ever leaving Teams," Phillips said. "This central, personalized home for data in Teams will ensure that insights are always just a click away from where conversations are happening and where decisions are made."

Microsoft also previewed Power Automate Desktop for automating on-premises processes and tasks, from simple data transfers between systems or searching for images to more complex business processes and workflows—all from the desktop.

And finally Power BI is also now natively integrated with Excel.

"We continue to invest in robotic process automation (RPA). Our acquisition of Softomotive opened doors to pare Power Automate with WinAutomation, enabling anyone to automate manual business processes across both legacy and modern applications," Phillips said.

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