Credit: Microsoft
From the session list, it appears that there will be a lot of Dynamics 365-related news at next week’s Microsoft Ignite virtual conference for IT developers and developers. One area that needs a lot of emphasis is better integration between Teams / other Microsoft productivity tools and Dynamics 365.
Microsoft is already offering some Teams Dynamics integration. In 2019, officials announced and made available Dynamics 365 sales integration with teams. This gave users the ability to link Dynamics 365 Sales records to Microsoft Teams channels without leaving the Dynamics 365 Sales App.
But it sounds like a lot more is going to come. In a one-day session, entitled “Microsoft Teams + Dynamics 365: The unified collaboration platform for modern business,” the argument is made for improving the ties between these two product families. The session description says that Teams-Dynamics integration will streamline the processes of enterprises, exchange information and knowledge.
According to my contacts, Microsoft has a number of planned announcements around ‘built-in collaboration between different Dynamics 365 programs and teams’. It will allow Dynamics 365 users to include Teams chat, meetings, calls and records directly in various Dynamics 365 applications, such as sales and customer service, to make collaboration a real-time experience.
Microsoft is also working to improve integration between Teams and Dynamics 365 Marketing. It can provide sources of seamless connections for live events and webinars. And tighter integration between Teams and Dynamics 365 Field Service and Commerce is also on the to-do list.
The already announced Dynamics 365 mobile app – which in some ways reminds me of the Office mobile app – brings several Dynamics products together in a single app. This app, pre-available for Windows, offers features like merging a single meeting card Dynamics Relationship Insights, Outlook and LinkedIn. Dynamics 365 mobile app users can dictate or scan a business card and related notes; use deep linking between Outlook Calendar, Email and Teams; and get automated transcripts for calls and meetings.
For some reason, I’m interested in what Microsoft has to say on this topic of Teams Dynamics integration. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, and other leaders of the company often talk about the integration of record-breaking systems and systems of engagement. I believe this Teams-Dynamics integration is a tangible example of this. Anything that makes the use of Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 together seem to be welcomed by users – even those who also have the ability to mix and match Microsoft and non-Microsoft applications.
Speaking of Dynamics 365 and Ignite, it looks like Microsoft is also planning an announcement next week about a new intelligent order management system.