Contributed, Author at Dr. Ware Technology Services - Microsoft Silver Partner

The Dynamics 365 Business Central Universal Code initiative is live

by Contributed | Oct 28, 2022 | Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Last April I shared that Microsoft is working on an initiative that encourages partners to invest in a cloud-first strategy. Today, we are excited to announce that the Business Central Universal Code initiative went into effect with the launch of Dynamics 365 Business Central 2022 release wave 2.

The Universal Code initiative is designed to encourage the use of a modern architecture in customer implementations of Business Central. It gives all on-premises customers the choice to select a cloud (SaaS) implementation when desired while also finding the right apps on the Microsoft AppSource marketplace. The initiative reduces the friction around potentially complex, lengthy, and expensive upgrades and frees up partner capacity over time. Partners can use the additional capacity for activities beyond (re)implementing customizations, providing more value to their customers.

Microsoft partners share the impact of Universal Code

On AppSource, you can easily discover the success of our modern Universal Code initiative. As of October 2022, more than 2,800 Business Central apps are available to respond to the unique requirements of customers. Our partner channel is sharing the positive impact a modern architecture has on their business:

“It was scary to change our industry solution from a customized code to Universal Code as we didn’t want to compromise its rich functionality, but our team succeeded faster than expected because of their great expertise and out-of-the-box thinking. The impact has been enormous! Today, we are able to serve 14 localizations through fully automated means and we are able to generate weekly releases. In the past this took us a month of manual work. Universal Code in combination with our tooling is providing us the agility to stay in front!”

Richard Postborg, CTO, TRIMIT Group A/S

“For us here at LS Retail, Universal Code is all about sustainability for the customer. With Universal Code and the move to the extensibility framework, customers can upgrade their environments with a fraction of the effort it required before. This is good for everyone involved. The customer can stay current with a minimal effort. The partners can add value in other areas, such as providing business insights. This is a win-win for everyone involved.”

Dadi Karason, CTO, LS Retail

The future of Business Central on-premises is Universal Code

The modern architectural choice of Universal Code is key to the success of our customers, partners, and Microsoft. We encourage customers to have the Universal Code conversation with their implementing partner.

As of October 2022, new Dynamics 365 Business Central customers deploying on-premises and customers transitioning to Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises deployments will have to deploy a “cloud-optimized extensions” architecture (Universal Code) or license payable modules that unlock classic customization behavior.

Learn more

Find supporting materials with details about the Universal Code initiative at https://aka.ms/BCUniversalCode.

Partners can also learn more about next steps by watching the Universal Code session at the Dynamics 365 Business Central virtual launch event. Register to watch on-demand at https://aka.ms/BCLE.

The post The Dynamics 365 Business Central Universal Code initiative is live appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.

Catalog Adoption: Discover more with Data estate insights in Microsoft Purview

by Contributed | Oct 28, 2022 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Adoption and usage of data governance tools are critical and lack of user engagement can be a serious blocker for the whole organization in its data governance journey. When it comes to solution adoption, fortunately Microsoft Purview comes with the built-in ability to analyze it.

This functionality is very useful to answer the following questions:

Are users actively using Microsoft Purview?

How is usage changing over time?

What is activity type e.g., data curation or search data?

Which assets are the most viewed ones in an organization?

What are we missing in the catalog?

How to track the adoption?

Adoption tracking is part of Data estate insights functionality in Microsoft Purview. To be able to use it, the user needs to have appropriate permissions assigned. There is a dedicated Insights Reader role that can be assigned to any Data Map user, by the Data Curator of the root collection. More information about required permissions can be found in Permissions for Data Estate Insights in Microsoft Purview – Microsoft Purview | Microsoft Docs.

Let’s start with some basics

Going into the Insights area and choosing Catalog adoption, we can find information about monthly active users.

In our case, we can see that currently we have 254 distinct users and the number dropped 7% in the last month. Microsoft Purview counts active users as a user who took at least one intentional action across all feature categories in the Data Catalog within a 28-day period. It’s also possible to determine how active our users are in total as Microsoft Purview aggregates number of total searches performed by users

Note

Data estate insights functionality in Microsoft Purview shows information based on user permissions, which means data seen in Insights is limited to collections to which the user has permission to access. In this case, the user used to see insights has access to all collections, meaning the information visible in the catalog adoption is the overall number of users in the organization.

Even more information about catalog users

More adoption data means more insights into how the catalog is used.

This option shows the breakdown of active users by feature category. Feature category was divided into:

All (which covers all kinds of users)

Search and browse (which indicates users who are reading data from the catalog by searching them or directly browsing the catalog assets)

Asset curation (activities related to data curation like assigning data owner, description, applying classification, etc.)

Information on the chart can be shown in Daily/Weekly/Monthly time range.

Increase catalog adoption by giving users more precise information…

Among the information that you get as part of adoption reports is information about which assets are the most viewed in the organization. If you are wondering why it is important to have a look at the following summary:

The most viewed asset (231 views) “TicketReportTable” is fully curated (more about curation in the 2nd part of the article) which means the asset has an assigned owner, description, and at least one classification. On the other hand, the 2nd most viewed asset (136 views in last 30 days) “YearlySalesBySegment” is not curated at all. This can lead to situations where users are accessing catalogs and get poor-quality information. As a result, users may step back from using data catalog and adoption will be dropping. Based on such insights you can intensively work on asset curation and only provide users with high-quality information about data in your organization.

Adoption insights available in Microsoft Purview also give the ability to identify the most searched keywords.

It is interesting that one of the most searched assets is only partially curated. Based on this information it is possible to help data stewards and owners set priorities and identify the most important areas in an organization. On the other hand, it’s also possible to get information about keywords that were searched by users but yielded no results.

In this example, it looks like users are looking for information related to “sales” and couldn’t find it. This is an important tip for a data governance team and shows the next possible areas to investigate.

Summary

Now you should have a better understanding of how to identify the progress of Microsoft Purview adoption, You should also have learned how to improve it by converting provided insights into actions, like a better data curation process or by adding new assets to your catalog, which are searched by users.

Bring agility, connectivity, and sustainability to the forefront—at Supply Chain Reimagined

by Contributed | Oct 27, 2022 | Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Today, many companies face global supply chain challenges. From unexpected demand to ever-increasing fulfillment expectations, the stakes have never been higher. In response, some are looking for new strategies and solutions to help them quickly predict and overcome disruptionsto keep goods moving and their businesses profitable.

Create resilient supply chains with innovative new offerings

Join Chris Capossela and Panos Panay, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Product Officer at Microsoft, for the Supply Chain Reimagined digital event on November 16, 2022, to explore how to bring visibility, agility, connectivity, and sustainability to your supply chain.

You’ll learn about product innovations, essential insights, and the latest trends shaping supply chains, today and tomorrow. We’ll also take on topics like end-to-end visibility and data connectivity. You’ll leave with a better understanding of how technology is being used to improve both the customer experience and the bottom line.

And you’ll discover real-world best practices for supply chain resilience from thought leaders, industry experts, and Microsoft customers and partners. Plus, you’ll get valuable lessons learned from Microsoft supply chain leaders across our Xbox, devices, and global Azure datacenter teams as they share the inside story of our own supply chain transformation.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in energizing conversations with leading experts about how to overcome today’s supply chain challenges.

Learn how to create a connected, agile supply chain from your existing systems

Many of today’s leading supply chain systems are siloed solutions that don’t talk to each other. Because of that, some can’t handle the complexity of supply chain ecosystems that span providers, manufacturers, distributors, third-party and fourth-party logistics, delivery carriers, and consumerswhich leads to inefficient, reactive supply chain operations.

This digital event is a great opportunity for you to explore an effective solution to traditional supply chain issues. You’ll learn about a composable approach to supply chain transformation, which brings together various best-of-breed solutions on a common platform. You’ll see how to use this modular approach to enhance your existing systemsto deliver faster solutions to urgent problems and help your business become more resilient.

At Microsoft, we believe that a modular approach is key to supply chain resilience. That’s why we’re committed to providing solutions that work with your existing application landscapeto add extensible, scalable, and intelligent technologies that immediately improve supply chain practices, workflow, and value. This boosts agility by giving your teams the ability to quickly rearrange and reorient as needed depending on internal or external factors, like a sudden change in materials or a shift in customer priorities.

Moving from a siloed data infrastructure to a unified data platform is another key to supply chain resilience that highlights the benefits of an open, composable solution. Data is at the heart of supply chain operations and having a system that connects data across disparate systems is a critical advantage. You’ll gain end-to-end visibility across inventory systems, supplier schedules, and inbound and outbound orders, and you’ll empower your workforce to move from reactive to proactive, data-driven decision making throughout all areas of your supply chain.

Getting these essential insights is the first step toward building a connected, agile supply chain for your business. And it’s just one aspect of this information-packed digital event. We hope you’ll join us.

Bring sustainability into focus for your organization

Sustainability is a growing imperative for business as customers, regulators, investors, and employees are all asking organizations to do more to reduce their environmental impact. The pressure for measurable change is on supply chain leaders, as their systems often have the largest environmental impacts due to emissions or resource consumption.

At this digital event, you’ll find out how to build sustainable value chains on a secure, connected platform. You’ll learn from leaders in supply chain transformation how to reframe your strategy around sustainability and gain insights into practices that will empower you to deliver sustainability by design.

You’ll also gain insight into how Microsoft leaders have prioritized sustainability in our own supply chain practices, including building circularity into our design and striving to improve the impact across environmental, social, and governance factors.

Strengthen business resiliencenow and in the future

Finally, at the Supply Chain Reimagined digital event on November 16, 2022, you’ll also get an exclusive look at the future of supply chain transformation and the new solutions that can take you there. In addition to learning how to create an agile, connected, and sustainable supply chain, you’ll:

Get key insights you can act on from thought leaders on topics like customer satisfaction, business agility, and operational efficiency.
See what’s shaping supply chain innovation today and tomorrow with real-world best practices and lessons learned from Microsoft and industry leaders.
Learn how our customers, including Mitch Arends from the Kraft Heinz Company, are partnering with Microsoft to improve supply chain resilience.
Hear exciting announcements and be among the first to see new product innovations unveiledall designed to help protect your business from supply chain challenges.
Ask Microsoft supply chain experts all your most pressing questions in a live Q&A chat.

Join us on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, from 9:00 AM to 10:15 AM Pacific Time (UTC-8).

Supply Chain Reimagined

Start reimagining your supply chain for a more agile, resilient future.

The post Bring agility, connectivity, and sustainability to the forefront—at Supply Chain Reimagined appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.

Crayon: Strengthening a global company during the pandemic with a shared culture of learning

by Contributed | Oct 27, 2022 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Key takeaways:

As some companies pulled back in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Crayon doubled down broadly on training—including resources from Microsoft Learn—and is now in position to better serve its IT customers as organizations resume business at higher levels.

Access to Microsoft Learn resources and the expectation of earning certifications help the company maintain minimal employee turnover.

Crayon management says access to training and certification helps fulfill its commitment to addressing social concerns, including gender, culture, neurodiversity, equity, and inclusion.

Norway’s Crayon confronted the challenge of the COVID-19 era by doubling down on training and certification for its employees. Like many organizations, the global IT consultancy had to find ways for its teams to be productive while working remotely. Unlike others, though, Crayon saw distributed working as an opportunity to position the company for a return to normalcy. The company’s leadership projected that its corporate IT customers would have greater needs as the transition to the cloud accelerated. Crayon anticipated those needs by preparing employees with the Microsoft training and certifications required to support their customers’ ambitions.

Microsoft Learn resources naturally aligned with Crayon’s commitment to training, which is broad and long-standing. “We started out with having focus on certification and training from day one,” recalls Crayon Chief Operating Officer (COO) Bente Liberg, who joined the 3,300-person company 20 years ago as its sixth employee. She cites the strategic importance of training—internally and externally. “Our strategy has always been to help customers implement. We train them so that they can use the things they buy from us, and our commitment to training starts with how we educate our own people.”

Because Crayon both provides services and creates solutions that it sells to customers, the company has a need for its employees to step out of the revenue stream and invest in learning. Bente notes, “It starts with our GMs—actually, all of our country managers have a development KPI for the company. And for them to be able to deliver on that KPI, they need to develop skill sets in the company.”

This is true at the line level, too, and for recruitment. “That was actually something positive for hiring and also for retention,” Bente continues. “We heard from candidates: ‘Oh, can I [do] training?’ Yes, not only you can do training, you have to do training. ‘Can I take [a] certification?’ Yes. You have to take certifications.”

Crayon Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Melissa Mulholland made training and Microsoft Certification available broadly across the company—and not just for consultants. In the company’s India team, for example, “We actually had everybody, including finance—everybody—go and pass [Exam] AZ-900, the [Azure] fundamentals exam, because if they have a better understanding, that will make them better at their job.” Beyond fundamentals, more than one-third of the company’s 8,000 certifications cover in-depth topics, she reports.

From the perspective of a potential recruit or a new employee, this focus on training and certification is a professional opportunity. Senior Power BI Developer Allen Deniega recalls what drew him to the company earlier this year, noting that he has already completed two certifications since he joined Crayon. “The whole culture of helping others and promoting professional development—those two really made me come to Crayon,” he recalls. He started investigating training opportunities on his second day and made particular use of the Microsoft Official Practice Tests, often taking the same one multiple times. “Apart from giving you an idea of the structure and the format of the exam and the actual feel of the exam, it allows you to identify your gaps every time.”

Melissa believes that the learning culture not only makes Crayon more competitive and better able to differentiate its depth of knowledge to customers, but it also helps reduce turnover as employees see their career paths clearly. “It directly corresponds with talent retention, and we have very high retention in our organization. Globally speaking, from an annual standpoint, [turnover is] less than 10 percent, and I really believe that’s driven by this culture of learning and development.”

She also believes that training and certification are key to helping the company fulfill its social commitments. In 2021, Crayon created its first environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report.[1] For Crayon, Melissa explains, “Certifications [are] an excellent way to bring in more diverse skill sets and, for example, giving women who want to be in technical roles the ability to.” She says certifications provide a pathway for individuals who may not have had access to professional opportunities because of gender, culture, color, or neurodiversity. Through the training program, in partnership with Microsoft, she says, “If you have the passion and will, and you have the demonstrated certifications behind that, I’m willing to give people chances to prove themselves in roles, and I think that’s an important mindset that we have in the company that very much aligns to our ESG focus.”

Microsoft and Microsoft Learn have been steady partners for Crayon in these achievements, Melissa points out. “I am so grateful for Microsoft, I think really having our back, at being able to guide us,” she says. “You experience growth when you push yourself to learn and adapt, and it’ll open up not only career opportunities, but it’ll also give you more information to be able to do your job better. Never get in the ‘comfort zone.’”

[1] An ESG report focuses on an organization’s environmental, social, and governance impacts and priorities. The United Nations has published a comprehensive set of these sorts of priorities, called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which many organizations use to guide their own ESG goals and reporting.

New sales sequences experience improves seller productivity

by Contributed | Oct 26, 2022 | Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

The Microsoft Dynamics 365 sales accelerator helps sellers sell smartly by building a strong and prioritized pipeline, offering context, and suggesting next actions through sales sequences that expedite the sales process. We’ve made three improvements to sales accelerator that can help sellers be even more productive:

Sellers can now build their own sales sequences
We’ve made the sequence designer even easier to use
Sellers can add the Up next widget to any form

Let’s examine each of these improvements in more detail.

Empowering sellers to build their own sales sequences

Before now, sales managers enforced best practices by defining a set of consecutive activities for their sellers to follow throughout their workday. Managers could connect these sequences to leads and opportunities that appeared in the sellers’ work queue. Sales sequences helped sellers prioritize their activities and focus on selling to be more productive and to better align to business processes.

Now, we’re empowering sellers to build their own sequences. Often sellers are in a better position to decide the best engagement strategy to follow with a prospect. Now they can create sequences for themselves and connect them to records. They can also personalize a sequence with their own language and steps.

The following screenshot shows the new functionality in the Personal settings > Sequences page in the Sales Hub app:

graphical user interface, text, application, email

Use security roles to manage permissions to create, connect, and share sales sequences.

Improved design experience for sales sequences

As we give sellers the power to create sales sequences, we need to make sure it’s easy to do. That’s why we created a new sequence designer with a modern UX and an enhanced editing experience. Sellers will realize several immediate benefits:

Consistency between the marketing journey and sales sequences means sellers don’t have to learn two different systems.
A side panel makes editing easier and scalable with more space.
Changes are automatically preserved in the browser and can be saved with a single click.
The updated top command bar shows relevant options, leaving more space for editing.
An exit icon effortlessly identifies the end of any sequence branch.
Enhanced error handling enables easy identification and resolution of any errors.

Add the Up next widget to any form

Sales organizations may have hundreds or even thousands of records their sales teams are working on. As they start using sales sequences, they typically create a few to try out and use them to determine the best way to grow and scale based on business needs. The trouble with that is that then the organizations have a few records that are connected to sequences and a multitude of records that aren’t. For sellers, this means that only the few connected records appear in the Up next widget in their worklist, because the Up next widget is fed by sequences. They have to juggle the worklist and their leads, opportunities, and other entities tables, where their non-sequenced records live.

To solve this challenge, we now allow sellers to add the Up next widget to any form. Previously, the Up next widget and sales sequences were available only in the sales accelerator workspace.

To help new users easily discover the benefits of the sales accelerator, we’ve started adding the Up next widget to the default lead, opportunity, contact, and account forms. Sellers can easily start using the sales accelerator to create sequences, streamline customer interactions, and win more deals.