Blog Post coming on 6th April 2026! Here are some Power Automate posts you want to check out – Thank you!
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Here’s how you can add another person to enter time on your behalf.
The post Time Entry Delegation in Project Operations | [Preview Feature] appeared first on D365 Demystified.
Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
Growth is exciting—but it introduces complexity.
As small and midsize businesses scale, finance and operations become harder to manage. Transactions increase, reporting requirements expand, and disconnected systems start to strain visibility and margins. What once worked becomes a constraint.
A newly published Forrester Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study helps quantify what many organizations are already experiencing: modernizing on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central delivers measurable financial impact.
Microsoft commissioned Forrester Consulting to evaluate the potential return on investment organizations may realize by deploying Business Central. Based on interviews with four business decision makers, which were aggregated to model a fictitious composite organization1, the study projected that the composite organization could potentially realize:
Across finance productivity, enterprise resource planning (ERP) consolidation, improved profitability, and reporting efficiency, the composite organization modeled by Forrester realized more than $680K in three‑year, risk‑adjusted present value benefits.
These outcomes reflect the potential impact of modernizing finance and operations on a single, integrated cloud ERP platform—while also establishing the foundation for AI‑powered experiences like Microsoft 365 Copilot and intelligent agents.
The Forrester TEI study highlights several areas where organizations can potentially realize tangible, risk‑adjusted benefits when using Business Central.
Manual processes often slow growing organizations. Interviewed customers reported meaningful efficiency gains across accounts payable (AP), accounts receivable (AR), billing, and financial close.
By year three, the composite organization was projected to potentially achieve:
These improvements translated to more than $210K in present value over three years in finance productivity alone for the composite organization—allowing teams to shift focus from reconciliation to higher‑value analysis.
Standardizing data and workflows in Business Central also creates the conditions necessary for AI‑enabled automation. While AI benefits were not independently quantified in this study, interviewees noted that unified processes accelerate the adoption of Copilot‑supported approvals, variance analysis, and exception handling.
Interviewees reported operating aging on‑premises ERP systems alongside spreadsheets and disconnected point solutions. Consolidating onto Business Central reduced infrastructure complexity and IT overhead.
The study projected the following potential benefits for the composite organization over three years:
Beyond direct savings, simplification can reduce operational risk and improved scalability—allowing organizations to grow without layering on new systems to compensate for gaps.
Unified, real‑time visibility across finance and operations enables faster, more informed decisions.
By year three, the composite organization was modeled to potentially experience:
Better insight into costs, projects, and performance enables earlier course correction. AI‑powered experiences such as Copilot can further assist by surfacing cost variances, project overruns, or unbilled work sooner. While AI alone does not drive margin improvement, modern ERP data and standardized processes strengthen an organization’s ability to act with precision.
Business Central’s integrated data model and native Microsoft Power BI capabilities streamlined reporting and audit preparation.
Based on modeling by Forrester, by year three, the composite organization was projected to potentially reduce:
These projected improvements were valued at nearly $50K in present value, while also enabling increased confidence in data accuracy and consistency.
In addition to quantified financial outcomes, interviewees highlighted broader operational improvements, including enhanced customer experience, reduced days sales outstanding (DSO), better warehouse management, and a more intuitive user experience.
Just as importantly, Business Central provides an AI‑ready ERP foundation.
By unifying finance and operations data and aligning processes to best practices, organizations are better positioned to leverage Copilot, Power BI, and intelligent agents to:
While AI‑driven outcomes were not directly measured in this TEI, the study reinforces a critical principle: realizing AI value at scale depends on clean data, integrated systems, and standardized processes. Business Central delivers that foundation.
For SMB‑focused organizations and partners evaluating ERP modernization, the full Forrester TEI study provides a detailed financial framework to help quantify potential projected value—grounded in customer interviews and risk‑adjusted modeling.
The Forrester TEI study highlights the potential value organizations may realize with Business Central—from faster financial processes to improved profitability and lower total cost of ownership.
We’ll continue these conversations at Directions North America 2026, where partners, Microsoft engineering, and product leaders come together to discuss what’s next for the Business Central ecosystem and the future of AI-powered ERP.
Join me for the keynote, where I’ll explore how Business Central is evolving into an AI-powered system of action with Copilot and intelligent agents.
Attendees will:
The post Enable accelerated growth with confidence: A Forrester TEI study projects more than 200% ROI over three years and six-month payback using Dynamics 365 Business Central appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.
Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
Today, Copilot Cowork—designed for long-running, multi-step work in Microsoft 365—is available via the Frontier program.
The post Copilot Cowork: Now available in Frontier appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.
Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
In modern contact centers, not every customer question can be resolved by a single representative. Complex interactions often require quick collaboration—bringing in subject matter experts, supervisors, or external partners—without breaking the flow of the conversation or forcing customers to repeat themselves.
Dynamics 365 Contact Center addresses this challenge with powerful consult capabilities, enabling service representatives to collaborate in real time while keeping conversations seamless across voice and digital channels.
To see how these capabilities come together in practice, let’s step inside Contoso Health, a multi‑specialty healthcare provider delivering patient support at scale.
Contoso Health serves thousands of patients every day through its Patient Access and Care Coordination teams. Representatives handle a wide range of interactions—appointment management, referral validation, insurance questions, post‑discharge follow‑ups, and care plan clarifications.
Their goal is simple: connect every patient to the right expertise instantly, without transfers, repetition, or uncertainty.
Here’s how consult capabilities in Dynamics 365 Contact Center make that possible.
Some situations require a quick second opinion before responding to a patient. Rather than transferring the interaction, representatives can consult another service representative or supervisor while keeping the patient on hold.
A patient calls to reschedule a specialist appointment and asks whether their referral is still valid. The Patient Access representative initiates a consult with a Scheduling Specialist, who can see the conversation context and confirm referral rules in real time.
When the required expertise isn’t known upfront, representatives can consult an entire specialist queue. Dynamics 365 Contact Center uses routing logic to connect the representative with the most appropriate expert based on skills and availability.
A patient asks detailed questions about preparing for an upcoming procedure. The representative consults the Nursing queue, allowing the system to route the consult to an available clinician.
Healthcare interactions often depend on information outside the organization—insurance providers, labs, or partner clinics. Representatives can consult external PSTN numbers directly from the communication panel.
A patient wants to confirm coverage for a diagnostic imaging procedure. The representative consults the insurance provider via an external number, verifies eligibility, and returns to the patient with confirmed details—without ending the call.
Many clinicians and care coordinators work primarily in Microsoft Teams, not the contact center. Dynamics 365 Contact Center allows representatives to consult Teams users directly.
A recently discharged patient calls with concerns about medication timing. The representative sees the assigned Care Coordinator is available in Teams and initiates a consult to confirm instructions before responding.
In complex service environments, not every expert, team, or specialist should be available for every consult. An unfiltered list can slow representatives down and increase the risk of engaging the wrong resource. Dynamics 365 Contact Center supports filtered consult experiences, ensuring representatives see only the most relevant queues and users based on organizational rules and roles.
A customer interaction is routed into the Care Coordination queue based on intent. Once the conversation lands in the queue, consult options are filtered. Representatives see only approved specialist queues and users aligned to Care Coordination roles and policies. This ensures consults stay within the correct domain, prevents accidental misrouting, and helps Contoso resolve complex requests efficiently after work enters a specialized queue.
Filtered consults help Contoso Health maintain clinical accuracy, reduce decision fatigue for representatives, and ensure collaboration happens within the right care boundaries—supporting safer, more confident patient interactions.
Great customer experiences depend on confident, well‑informed conversations. Dynamics 365 Contact Center enables representatives to stay in control while collaborating in real time with the right experts—peers, specialist queues, external partners, or Microsoft Teams users.
The primary representative remains the single point of contact, preserving continuity while bringing in additional insight when needed. Customers experience faster resolutions, fewer handoffs, and clearer answers—without repeating themselves or losing context.
To explore the consult capabilities in detail, visit the official documentation:
The post Better Collaboration, Better Care: All Consult Capabilities in Dynamics 365 Contact Center appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.
Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
In today’s customer-focused landscape, every interaction matters. Modern contact centers must quickly connect customers with the right expert through voice, chat, or digital channels. Effective transfer options are critical—especially in multi-intent conversations, where a customer may start with one request (for example, a loan inquiry) and then pivot to a completely different need.
Dynamics 365 Contact Center solves this by offering robust transfer features, allowing service teams to route conversations efficiently to experts, specialist groups, or external partners. From direct transfers to warm handoffs or collaboration, these tools keep service smooth and consistent, helping representatives get customers the support they need without disruption.
To see how these capabilities play out in a real-world setting, let’s visit Contoso Bank.
To see these transfer capabilities in action, let’s walk through a real-world example from financial services. Contoso Bank is a global financial institution known for its premium wealth management offerings. Its Wealth Desk Support team assists high value clients each day. They answer investment queries, clarify portfolio allocations, manage insurance-related questions, and coordinate with Relationship Managers and specialists across the bank. Their mission is simple: connect every client to the right expert instantly, with a service experience that feels seamless, personal, and trusted.
Here’s how Dynamics 365 Contact Center empowers Contoso Bank’s service representatives to deliver that promise across voice and digital channels.
Direct Transfer enables service representatives to move a voice or digital conversation to another representative instantly, without a consult step.
A customer initiates a chat with a general banking question, such as loan eligibility. As the conversation progresses, it becomes clear that the Relationship Manager (RM) is the right person to guide the customer further. The representative performs a Direct Transfer to the customer’s assigned RM.
From the client’s perspective, the experience feels immediate and effortless. There is minimal wait time, no need to repeat information, and the conversation continues directly with the Relationship Manager who understands their portfolio best.
Warm Transfer allows a representative to first consult with another expert while the customer is on hold. This ensures the handoff is informed, confident, and respectful of the client’s needs.
A customer contacts their Relationship Manager (RM) to discuss concerns about recent market volatility and its impact on their portfolio. The RM consults a Wealth or Portfolio Specialist to review the customer’s risk profile, preferences, and current holdings. Once aligned, the RM completes a Warm Transfer, briefing the specialist before bringing the customer into the conversation.
This approach preserves the personalization and trust already established by the Relationship Manager. It also reduces customer anxiety during sensitive financial discussions, and ensures the specialist receives full context before engaging with the client.
When the next handler depends on deeper expertise or workload balancing, conversations can be transferred into a queue, where routing logic selects the best representative.
A client wants to switch mutual funds via chat. The representative transfers the conversation into the Wealth Operations queue, ensuring the next available specialist picks it up.
This ensures efficient workload distribution across specialists, supports compliance-friendly handling of regulated requests, and delivers consistent, reliable service for customers.
Banks frequently rely on external insurance, investment, or brokerage partners. Service representatives can transfer voice calls directly to an external PSTN number, creating a unified client experience even across institutional boundaries.
A client needs details from Contoso’s insurance partner about an insurance product. The representative enters the partner’s PSTN number and transfers the call seamlessly.
The customer experiences a smooth handoff without channel disruption, while Contoso Bank maintains a connected end-to-end journey even when collaborating with external partners.
Many Relationship Managers and wealth specialists work primarily in Teams. Dynamics 365 Contact Center enables representatives to transfer conversations directly to Teams users, bridging contact center operations and collaboration tools.
A VIP client calls needing immediate portfolio guidance. The representative sees the Relationship Manager is active in Teams and transfers the call instantly.
This enables faster access to advisors, eliminates context loss between systems, and gives Relationship Managers greater flexibility to engage from their primary workspace.
After transferring a call or chat, representatives often need to document the interaction — capturing notes, updating CRM fields, tagging compliance steps, or recording follow-ups.
Wrap Up After Transfer provides dedicated time to the expert before new work is assigned, helping maintain accuracy and quality.
During this wrap up time, the representative can complete KYC verification, add investment-related notes, and schedule any required follow-ups without pressure from incoming work.
This reduces operational errors, strengthens compliance posture, and ensures customer records remain complete and accurate.
In large contact centers, not every queue or user should be available for every transfer. An unfiltered list slows representatives down and increases the risk of incorrect or noncompliant handoffs. Dynamics 365 Contact Center addresses this by allowing organizations to control which queues and users are visible during transfer, ensuring representatives see only the most relevant options.
A customer’s chat is transferred into the Wealth Operations queue once their request is identified as a fund switch. Representatives can now see and transfer only to approved Wealth Operations sub-queues and eligible specialists, based on role and policy. This ensures the conversation stays within the correct domain, prevents accidental rerouting, and helps Contoso maintain accuracy, compliance, and faster resolution once work enters specialized queues.
Filtered transfers reduce cognitive load for representatives, improve transfer accuracy, and reinforce compliance—especially in multi-intent conversations where choosing the right next destination is critical to a seamless customer experience.
In any industry, strong customer experiences depend on connecting people with the right expertise quickly. Dynamics 365 Contact Center offers flexible transfers and intelligent routing to keep conversations efficient, regardless of complexity.
To explore the transfer capabilities in detail, visit the official documentation:
The post All Transfer Capabilities in Dynamics 365 Contact Center appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.
Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.
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