This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
What is oh my posh?
Oh-my-poshis an amazing prompt engine that does not only pretty up the terminal you use, but it will ease your work. By using anestablished themeor creating a new one, you get important information directly in the context of your work, highlighted in the way that works best for you. For example:
In which repository am I working in?
Which branch?
When did I execute a command?
On which node.js version am I working?
the M365Princess theme by Luise plus environment variables by Anoop
Making good things even better: A while ago,Luisecreated her own theme and nowAnoophad the idea to level it up:
When interacting with Microsoft 365, most of the times we use the Microsoft 365 platform community driven PowerShell module calledPnP PowerShell. One of the first commands we execute while using PnP PowerShell, isConnect-PnPOnlineto connect to a SharePoint site. We can now see right in the terminal which SharePoint site we are connected to and which Microsoft 365 tenant the SharePoint site lives in.
These are displayed with the help of a couple of environment variables that are set by PnP PowerShell after running theConnect-PnPOnlinecommand.
In the preview below, the connected SharePoint site is/sites/yoursitewhich is in the tenant namedyourtenant.sharepoint.com
The original idea to show these values comes fromErwin van Hunen, the father of PnP PowerShell.
How to install oh-my-posh and the theme
To have this experience in Visual Studio Code, complete the following steps:
In case the prompt is responding slow on Windows OS, then one of the reasons might be the oh-my-posh process being blocked by Windows defender. To overcome that, please run PowerShell with elevated permissions (Run as administrator) and execute the following command:
Add-MpPreference-ExclusionProcess“oh-my-posh.exe”
If that doesn’t solve the problem then, execute the following command
It’s the little things! Of course this is just one puzzle tile, but better overview, crucial information presented in a minimal but nerdy and compelling way helps people to ease their workloads. When working with PnP PowerShell, it’s a game changer to know to which of your tenants and sites you are connected to.
If you like the oh-my-posh and can afford it, go buy Jan, who builds and maintains this awesome open source project, a coffee :hot_beverage::oh-my-posh repository
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
Cisco has released security updates to address vulnerabilities in multiple Cisco products. An attacker could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
Retail executives have long understood the critical role that supply chain management plays in their organization’s ability to meet customer demand. Yet, as central as the supply chain is to success in most companies, customers rarely consider it when placing an order. This status quo shifted dramatically during the pandemic as high-profile disruptions and global shortages pushed supply chain from the boardroom to the forefront of consumer awareness. It has also cemented supply chain as a top priority for retailers, direct-to-consumer manufacturers, and distributors in the consumer goods sectormany of whom are embarking on enterprise resource planning (ERP) modernization. In this blog, we discuss composability for retailers alongside three customer success stories that showcase how Microsoft Dynamics 365 breathes composability into ERP modernization.
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A composable business is an organization consisting of modular building blocks that can be orchestrated to rapidly adapt operations to changing market conditions, new business opportunities, and unpredictable disruptions. Unfortunately, while many sectors are reaping large benefits from composability, retailers have been slower to adopt a flexible approach. When Gartner asked retailers if they accept the risk and costs of new technology and deploy it as early as possible, only eight percent of retailers agree, compared to 21 percent for highly composable business.1 One company that certainly exemplifies the value that a composable approach can create is Signature Cosmetics.
Signature Cosmetics
Signature Cosmetics, a leading cosmetics and fragrance group, based in South Africa, began a modernization program in 2019 to rationalize the complexity that years of steady growth brought to its supply chain. When they embarked, the retailer was hard pressed with even simple tasks, like determining accurate product cost and margin. Operating three divisions (manufacturing, imports, and retail) in four countries, each with siloed and separate systems, had made even routine decision making extremely difficult.
When the company began its modernization program by implementing Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, it was not immediately clear the value that a composable solution would provide. As the pandemic hit, it quickly understood that a pivot in strategy was necessary. Because of the composable nature of the Dynamics 365 platform, it was able to rapidly stand up a new e-commerce site in less than two months, becoming the first Dynamics 365 e-commerce solution in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. The company quickly went from zero online sales at the onset of the pandemic to a 20-30 percent revenue growth in its first few months.
“Pivoting to an e-commerce platform has really opened the doors for them for new revenue opportunities.”Mario Engelbrecht, Chief Technology Officer, Parity Software (Implementation partner).
At Microsoft, we believe in the value that composability can bring to retailers. With new enhancements to our solutions, such as our Inventory Visibility Add-in for Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, retailers can begin their composability journey without significant risk or cost.
Our Inventory Visibility Add-in is a highly scalable microservice that enables real-time on-hand inventory tracking. The solution can easily connect and pull inventory from multiple third-party systems, allowing companies to create a single, global view of all inventories. By creating one pool of global inventory from which all orders can pull, companies can often increase inventory accuracy and thereby maximize sales opportunities. Plus, when coupled with the soft reservation capability, sales order fulfillment can avoid over-selling, effectively mitigating the risk of missed sales opportunities that may challenge some organizations. Ultimately, with the Inventory Visibility Add-in, users can compose a bespoke inventory system that delivers superior business value by meeting the unique needs of your operating model.
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), total returns increased from $428 billion in 20202, to $761 billion in 20213, an increase of more than 65 percent. While the growth in retail sales certainly accounts for a corresponding rise in returns, this may not be the entire story. Indeed, a 2021 Incisive survey of over 6,000 consumer transactions found that 73 percent of returns occurred due to a retailer-controlled action or inaction.4 In light of this fact, it is not surprising that savvy consumer goods companies are not inclined to treat returns as a necessary cost of doing business. Instead, they are working aggressively to stop returns from ever occurring while also focusing on reducing the operational cost of supporting the returns that they must support.
After all, it isn’t realistic to reduce returns entirely, which is why providing a quick and easy return mechanism is an essential part of delivering a quality post-purchase experience to consumers, particularly for online buyers. Still, e-commerce complexity and digital demand continue to grow, and many organizations are challenged to provide a seamless returns process. With initiatives such as our multiyear collaboration with FedEx, Microsoft is changing this situation for retailers.
We recently announced that the next step of our partnership with FedEx brings a unique integration to Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management. The integration, which begins the preview on April 30, 2022, will help brands deliver modern, high-value post-purchase experiences directly to their customers, including convenient, seamless returns. Users of Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management will gain the ability to allow their customers to take advantage of over 60,000 FedEx drop-off locations, convenient at-home pick-up, and paperless/label-less returns with easy-to-use QR codes, at no additional cost. One company that is leveraging Dynamics 365 to overcome the unique challenges of today’s retail supply chain is FOCO.
FOCO
As you saw during the Microsoft Business Applications Launch Event, FOCO, which is a leadingmanufacturer of sports and entertainment merchandise, including apparel, accessories, toys, collectibles, novelty items, and more, needs to provide a seamless returns experience for its customers. They can use the new FedEx integration returns management app to do so. As others discussed here, this composable microservice solution plugs into its existing e-commerce application.
FOCO can provide its customers with an intuitive, guided self-service returns experience. The process captures just enough information to coordinate a refund or exchange, requiring customers to visit a drop-off location of their choice and scan a simple QR code to complete the returnmeeting consumer expectations with minimal effort. The process wraps up neatly for FOCO too. The solution combines multiple return items across multiple return points into a consolidated return shipment to the warehouse. Composable solutions like these make the post-purchase experience delightfully simple for the customer while also reducing the operational burden of the returns process for companies.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) modernization
Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Dynamics 365 Finance offer businesses two standardized ERP capabilities on a composable ERP platform, functioning as stand-alone solutions or as a tightly integrated and extensible system. As product-centric enterprises look to renovate their existing ERP platform to improve systems and processes by moving them to the cloud, Dynamics 365 is enabling the transformation and improving IT agility to deliver business outcomes in the process. Another company using Dynamics 365 for ERP modernization is Simply Good Foods Company.
The Simply Good Foods Company
The Simply Good Foods Company was formed by merging two well-known brands, Atkins and Quest. Before the merger, Quest modernized its ERP system by upgrading to Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Dynamics 365 Finance. One of the aims of the merger was to standardize business operations between the two companies, which led Atkins to join the implementation of the new ERP solution.
While challenging to complete alongside the merger, broadening the implementation enabled The Simply Good Foods Company to consolidate master data, increase third-party logistics, and improve its sales order process productivityall without sacrificing reporting independence. Today, the company goes to market as a multi-brand retailer, presenting a unified face to its customers but reaping the operational benefits from economies of scale created by the merger.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s Research & Advisory organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
GARTNER and MAGIC QUADRANT are trademarks and service marks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
As part of our work to make Dataverse more relevant to our education partners, the 2022 release wave 1 of the Dynamics 365 education accelerator includes features that we developed in response to your feedback. In addition to new and enhanced data model entities, you’ll find updated sample applications that demonstrate how to use the entities in K-12 and higher education.
What’s new in the education data model
An enhanced learner record captures students’ home language, preferred language, accommodations, achievements, program level, and mode of study.
A new school record captures information about school hierarchy, calendar, schedule, special learning needs, and daily attendance.
A new teacher certification management record captures certification requirements, process, and completions.
What’s new in the sample applications
The higher education and K-12 model-driven apps capture more detailed information in the contact data for each student, such as home and preferred languages.
The higher education and K-12 student portals capture achievement data.
The K-12 portal captures school calendar data.
The K-12 model-driven app captures teachers’ certification and credential information.
What our partners are saying
“As an ISV who has aligned with the Higher Education Accelerator (HEA) since V1, we see the April 22 (V4) release of HEA as a substantial step forward for partners and customers. With the inclusion of the learner record, school calendar, instructor certifications and other new features along with the ability to leverage components from K-12 for Higher Ed, this release truly enriches our greymatter Higher Education Lifecycle CRM and allows us to deliver a comprehensive learner record and true Student 360 view to empower institutions like the College of Southern Nevada to create exceptional student experiences.”
Shekar Kadaba, CEO, Frequency Foundry
“We are seeing a real positive response from the K-12 space since the recent releases of the industry accelerator. It is providing a platform that allows schools to adjust to the ever-changing demands for their industry. The flexible nature of the accelerator has meant that schools have been able to start modernizing the way they interact with their parents and students through the different channels provided with the Dynamics 365 platform. One of the many advantages we have seen for schools is how they can move away from the traditional siloed environment. This has allowed them to interact with their data in ways they have not been able to previously. It is an exciting time being a partner in the education space and leveraging the Microsoft Education Accelerator and Power Platform to improve the whole customer experience in schools.”
Brad Orders, Solution Specialist, Fusion5
“For PwC, keeping our clients’ systems evergreen is as important as upgrading and extending their usability. Private preview allows us to plan and schedule updates in our clients’ data models. We are excited about the new release, which expands the student learning profile and workforce development and directly addresses what we have learned from schools.”
Khue Trinh, Lead Solution Architect Connected School, PwC
Next steps
Get started right away with version 4.0 of the Dynamics 365 education accelerator on Microsoft AppSource. The data model, solutions, sample applications and data, Power BI reports, and UX controls that come with the education accelerator are available to any Microsoft Power Platform developer.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
We want to inform you about a change that we are working on. This change will be rolled out in a phased manner starting in the later part of April 2022.
The Name parameter associated with a user within a tenant should be unique. However, while we sync objects from Azure Active Directory to Exchange Online, the way Name parameter is being evaluated currently led to periodic conflicts. We realized that the current method is not the best method to compute this parameter. Hence, we want to move away from current method to a more robust way of generating the Name parameter which is through ExternalDirectoryObjectId (EDOID).
EDOID value is unique. We’ll use this GUID as Name instead of synchronizing the Name from on-premises or using the alias (if Name is not specified). With this change the DistinguishedName (DN) value will also get impacted. To better understand how this will impact objects in a tenant where directory synchronization is enabled, consider the following example:
With this new change, when creating a new Office 365 (remote) mailbox from on-premises Exchange Admin Center, the Name field will no longer synchronize to Exchange Online.
Before changes are implemented: DisplayName: Jeff Smith Name: Jeff Smith Alias: jsmith DistinguishedName: CN= Jeff Smith,OU=(tenant).onmicrosoft.com, OU=Microsoft Exchange Hosted Organizations, DC=NAMP283A001, DC=PROD,DC=OUTLOOK, DC=COM ExternalDirectoryObjectId: 12313c53-fff7-46d4-8b83-71fb317d1853
After changes are implemented:
DisplayName: Jeff Smith Name: 12313c53-fff7-46d4-8b83-71fb317d1853 Alias: jsmith DistinguishedName: CN= 12313c53-fff7-46d4-8b83-71fb317d1853, OU=(tenant).onmicrosoft.com, OU=Microsoft Exchange Hosted Organizations, DC=NAMP283A001, DC=PROD, DC=OUTLOOK, DC=COM
In this example, both the Name and DistinguishedName are updated with the EDOID value.
Note: This would also mean that any subsequent CN value change in Exchange on-premises will not be reflected in the object’s Name property in Exchange Online.
Will this change not allow modification of the Name property? Customers can still use Exchange PowerShell cmdlets (Set-User, Set-MailUser, Set-Mailbox with -Name parameter) to update the Name property in Exchange Online. Since the cmdlets ensure uniqueness, it would allow the operation to succeed only when the passed Name is unique in the tenant.
How will the change impact new and existing users? The updated naming logic would take effect only during new user creation. Existing users won’t get impacted in any way.
Please note that since we will start using EDOID as Name in Exchange Online, we shall stop allowing changes in CN to reflect in Name property in Exchange Online for all users (both new and existing).
We recommend that Administrators evaluate any scripts or other automation that may rely on the Name property and update them accordingly.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
CISA has added 10 new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. These types of vulnerabilities are a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risk to the federal enterprise. Note: to view the newly added vulnerabilities in the catalog, click on the arrow on the of the “Date Added to Catalog” column, which will sort by descending dates.
Although BOD 22-01 only applies to FCEB agencies, CISA strongly urges all organizations to reduce their exposure to cyberattacks by prioritizing timely remediation of Catalog vulnerabilities as part of their vulnerability management practice. CISA will continue to add vulnerabilities to the Catalog that meet the meet the specified criteria.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
For over a decade, revenue recognition has remained one of the most complex areas that finance leaders must navigate and manage. At the same time, more and more businesses are introducing subscription-based offerings in an effort to meet evolving consumer needs for innovative and convenient products and services while also creating new and predictable revenue streams. Indeed, the average US consumer now has four subscriptions, according to McKinsey & Company.1 It is no surprise then that the subscription economy is forecast to grow at a blistering pace in both B2C and B2B markets, rising 18.5 percent year-over-year from $224 billion in 2021 to $275 billion in 2022.2
As organizations add new subscription-based offerings, though, their revenue recognition processes become more complex, and many are challenged to incorporate the pricing and billing scenarios necessary to operate successfully at scale. To meet the growing need of organizations to manage the unique demands of subscription-based business models, we are excited to announce the general availability of Subscription billing for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance. Subscription billing is offered at no additional cost to users of Dynamics 365 Finance.
Introducing a new approach to Subscription billing
Often, the most difficult challenge of transitioning to new subscription-based business models is adopting the right technology solution and aligning operational processes to support the complexities of recurring revenue. For example, consumers pay for a single, convenient line item with product-as-a-service offerings. Internally though, obligations and financial performance must be managed. This usually requires organizations to become proficient at allocating portions of customer payments for revenue recognition in multiple revenue streams, such as separate accounting for hardware revenue and the monthly recurring revenue from related and ongoing service contracts.
Subscription billing is specifically designed for managing the ins and outs of recurring revenue and does so through three primary features: recurring contract billing, revenue allocation, and revenue and expense deferrals. In the remainder of this blog post, we provide a general overview of these features and explore how they help chief financial officers (CFOs) to tackle the challenges of the subscription economy.
The ability to correctly account for the revenue from complex subscription offerings is critical to obtaining an accurate picture of recurring revenue, maintaining financial compliance, and providing business leaders with the insights needed to accelerate growth. Subscription billing includes a recurring contract billing feature to help organizations overcome this specific challenge. With recurring contract billing, users have advanced control over pricing and billing parameters, contract renewal, and consolidated invoicing. Recurring contract billing can also handle specific billing requirements such as one-off, milestone, and usage-based, and can incorporate tiered or flat pricing strategies. Ultimately, the recurring contract billing feature shortens the quote-to-cash process. The user experience is also improved by providing an easy pathway to consolidate invoices by customer or item and simplifying the contact renewal and termination process.
Revenue allocation
As we mentioned earlier, allocating revenue into several revenue streams for accounting purposes is one of the unique challenges that participants in the subscription economy face. The revenue allocation feature of Subscription billing provides users with the ability to automate complex allocations and to ensure revenue compliance by handling pricing and revenue allocation across multiple items. Specifically, it helps organizations comply with International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 15 and Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 606 by assigning default and standalone selling prices and methods to items. This way, users gain flexibility and control by allocating revenue based on standalone prices.
Revenue and expense deferrals
Another challenge in the subscription economy is remaining in compliance with regulations that are still evolving, especially around revenue and expense deferrals. With changing regulations on how organizations recognize revenue, finance teams are apt to get bogged down in spreadsheets, working manually to create formulas and consolidate data for reporting. However, with Subscription billing’s revenue and expense deferrals feature, users can automate revenue and expense deferral processes in alignment with US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) standards. The solution also provides a robust and straightforward way of creating schedules for future period postings and consolidating invoices.
What’s next?
In this article, we discussed the growth of the subscription economy and the unique challenges that organizations face when transitioning or adding new subscription-based business models. We looked at how three features, recurring contract billing, revenue allocation, and revenue and expense deferrals, help CFOs tackle the challenges of the subscription economy.
Subscription billing is offered at no additional charge to users of Dynamics 365 Financeand we’re excited to announce some recent enhancements that make this offering even better. Thanks to a new licensing agreement with Binary Stream Software, Subscription billing now includes advanced features such as support for complex billing, both usage-based and tiered models, and advanced reporting capabilities for companies with recurring revenue. To learn more, check out our recent webinar, How to thrive in a subscription economy, where you can hear from our guest speaker, CEO and President of Binary Stream Software, Lak Chahal.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
Windows Holographic, version 22H1 is now available! In this article we’ll go over some of the highlights of this release and some recent months. If you’re interested in full details check out our official release notes.
Features continually evolve in Windows Holographic based on your feedback. We packed this new update with features for both end-users and IT admins with the goal of making the day-to-day usage of your HoloLens 2 more intuitive and customizable.
To get the 22H1 build now, go to -> Settings -> Update & Security -> Windows Update Select Check for updates. IT Admins can use Windows Update for Business (WUfB) and MDM policy to update their fleet of HoloLens. Note that you must upgrade to Windows Holographic, version 21H1 Update before you can upgrade to Windows Holographic, version 22H1.
Feature Highlights:
We have made some great improvements for our last flagship feature, Moving Platform Mode. Moving out of the beta phase, there’s new improved methods for enabling Moving Platform Mode and new settings you can configure while using it such as setting the down direction to be a different direction than gravity. Here’s 3 new ways to enable Moving Platform Mode which is different depending on how or when you want it enabled.
Start gestures settings – These are a new solution for those who want to keep the Start menu from appearing while doing tasks that involve looking downwards and actively using their hands. There are several options you can use or combine, such as requiring the user to look at their wrist or holding the icon for two seconds.
Power and Thermal SDK for apps – Try out this hot new feature for when it gets hotter in temperature. If you are in a warm environment or are pushing your app to the limits, and you’ve built your own app, then you can include this SDK to include notification events and have custom actions. These can help keep your app running longer.
Color-blind mode – Color-blind mode is a feature that makes HoloLens more accessible using new color filters that can help make things easier to view. Try it, you might be surprised at the difference it makes.
Single app kiosk policy for launching other apps – A new Mixed Reality policy, that allows you to launch specific apps from a Single App Kiosk app. This is useful if you want to use a specific app, but might need access to Settings to change Wi-fi, or Edge to perform a sign in.
As always, you can follow our IT admin update checklist to prepare for when you update your fleet of HoloLens 2 devices to the latest update.
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