Connect – Microsoft Dynamics 365

By Madeline Watchmaker

Originally scheduled for April 1st, 2020, Microsoft will now begin deploying its first Dynamics 365 update of the year on May 1st, due to the COVID-19 situation. According to the new release schedule, North American customers will receive the updates automatically between Friday, May 22nd and Sunday, May 24, 2020.

Users have a lot to be excited about, so we’re highlighting the top 5 features that will impact you and make your day-to-day so much easier.

Before we dive in, it’s important to note that these features are only available in the Unified Interface and only apply to the online, cloud-based versions of Dynamics 365, not on-premises. Also, some of the new features apply to a variety of modules, such as sales, marketing or customer service, while others apply specifically to the sales module.

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The October 2019 release is one of Microsoft's biggest releases to date. With over 400 new capabilities, it's something you don't want to miss!

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By Lauren Haapakoski

If you’re using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Online, you have a year to convert to its Unified Interface. 

Microsoft announced that its web client customers will have to convert to the Unified Interface by October 2020. 

Here is how you can prepare.

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Sales cold calls and boilerplate emails aren’t enough to hack it in today’s competitive landscape, a new report says.

B2B sales leaders say the foundation for success is combining relationship-building with the right data-driven metrics. 

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Time is money in the world of hiring. The difference of a few days could mean the difference between your perfect candidates being available for hire or no longer on the market. 

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As I was testing the XML request for a web service, I would periodically get this response back: [400]: Error parsing xml.   

After some troubleshooting, I discovered that the error was caused by a few of the Predefined XML Entities included in the actual data. The most common issue was the ampersand "&" being embedded in the address and account data.

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The .NET Framework Task Parallel Library (TPL) can significantly increase processing performance by using all available cores on the host computer more efficiently. With the typical execution model, a task (which is a unit of work) executes sequentially on a single CPU core.  

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Usually, when filtering data from a database or a collection, you are comparing one or two values to a list of many. However, with a recent application, I found myself needing to filter a list of items using another list. 

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By Lauren Haapakoski

Let’s talk ROI. You and your organization understand the value and ROI of your financial and operational software. But how can you make that ROI better?

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By Ryan Swiderski

When Microsoft updates Dynamics 365 in October, customers can expect to be able to leverage AI and use mixed-reality to improve employee efficiency. 

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Designed to make the product smarter and the job easier for end users, Microsoft’s latest update delivered a variety of exciting improvements to the software. There were more than 350 new capabilities and feature updates across the entire Dynamics 365 environment and Power Platform.

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User adoption of any software can be slow at best. Often as a CRM Admin, you struggle with users who want an easier, faster way to provide data and to connect to existing data.

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There are some key visual differences between the new unified interface and the old legacy interface. The first being the site map is now on the left-hand side of the screen. In the old legacy, it was found at the top and required more clicks to access the information you wanted. This cleaner design makes navigation to records easier than ever. And with a new responsive screen adjustment, what you see on your desktop will appear in the exact same way on your mobile device. 

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The April 2019 release for Microsoft Dynamics 365 is nearly upon us. On April 5, the next major update for Dynamics 365 Online will enter general availability, and, over the course of the month, all online customers will be automatically updated to the latest version.

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Starting in April 2019, the Microsoft Dynamics 365 update will be applied to all online environments. This means all users will be on the latest version and a consistent update schedule. From now on, major updates will be released every April and October.

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If you have access to Microsoft Dynamics 365, chances are you also have access to a feature called Insights. This “insightful” tool can be a powerful asset to every sales person, but unfortunately it is underutilized by many CRM users. This blog will take you through a five-step account research process that will help you use Insights’ data to ultimately win new customers.

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By Kevin Scully

Keeping branches and business lines connected, managing data and gaining new customers are all familiar challenges for most businesses. But how powerful would it be for an organization to manage these challenges using a relationship management solution tailored to their industry?

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By Andrew J. Potasek

Nonprofits face unique challenges, and meeting them is incredibly tight with limited resources. Of course, you would rather focus on your mission than the organizational aspects that take up so much of your time. But in working with nonprofits — like humanitarian organization Team Rubicon — I have seen that software they thought was only used by for-profit businesses is perfect for the networking, event-planning and donation-tracking needs nonprofits have. One of the best applications for nonprofits is Microsoft Dynamics 365.

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By Andrew J. Potasek, Ryan C. Rademann

Whether you’re new to Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) or are wondering if adding the Project Service Automation module is worth it for your organization, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’re diving into how Project Service Automation — D365’s project and resource management tool — can streamline your processes and increase your team’s efficiency and productivity.

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What can you do to clean up bad data and prevent it from entering your system? Today, we’ll offer you and your team a few important tips that will allow your CRM system to flourish and become an even more valuable tool to your company.

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The D365UG/CRMUG Summit is the can’t-miss conference for users of Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The Summit is tailored to fit all levels of experience and a wide range of topics.

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By Andrew J. Potasek

Maximize performance, increase collaboration and streamline processes — that’s what Microsoft Dynamics 365 is made to do, right? It is, if you’re taking full advantage of it.

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By Kevin Scully

How secure is your data on the Dynamics 365/CRM platform? From individual user access, to data transfer, to data storage, get a glimpse at what Microsoft is doing to protect your organization.

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By Barbara Bell, Mark Christie

Attaining digital transformation and the resulting competitive advantage requires the right tools. Today, we’re going to discuss how you can use Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to simplify processes, integrate applications, empower your employees and make more informed business decisions.

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By Jason J. Smith

In a five-part blog series, we're exploring how a CRM solution can change the way contractors operate, allowing them to deliver better experiences to customers and foster successful businesses. In part two, we'll be diving into the second CRM capability you can use to drive more business: sales automation.

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There are tools to help streamline processes and increase productivity. Whether or not you’re already using Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365), its Project Service Automation application is one of the most reputable out there. Its features allow businesses to plan and manage projects, optimize resources, forecast project profitability, deliver insights and increase employee productivity. From sales, planning and delivery to after-sale service, managing the complete customer life cycle using just one application helps increase efficiency and collaboration.

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By Jason J. Smith

Technology has evolved at a rapid pace and there are now valuable tools the construction industry can leverage. In fact, there are even technologies specifically designed for specialty subcontractors, which can help you win more business and improve project margins. In this five-part blog series, we’ll take a look at five ways a modern customer relationship management (CRM) solution can change the way contractors operate, allowing them to deliver better experiences to customers and foster successful businesses.

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By Mike Adler

Are you accidentally connecting to the wrong instance of CRM? While I was working on a custom application the other day, I found that using “friendly name” over “unique name” can trigger this. Learn how to correct it.

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By Anshul Komalam

In this blog, we cover how to enable auto-selection of a price list on an opportunity based on the user’s territory, using the inbuilt rule of the Dynamics 365 platform.

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By Ryan Swiderski

One of the biggest ways companies who perform field service can value their customers’ time is by becoming more efficient. Reducing follow-up visits by having the information ahead of time to make a faster diagnosis, plus the parts available to resolve the problem right then and there, go a long way toward developing loyal customers — ones who won’t jump ship for another business the next time something goes wrong. Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service ties everyone together on one integrated platform to make it easier to predict field service calls, schedule field service resources, send invoices and even measure customer satisfaction.

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Creating customer loyalty is all about delivering an effortless experience — and delivering it on the customer’s terms. According to Harris Interactive, 86% of consumers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience, and 89% of customers who stop doing business with a company due to a poor customer experience will start doing business with a competitor . You can reduce poor customer experience by increasing employee resources, improving customer communication and performing reporting on customer service activities.

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D365 Online customers can now schedule their update to D365 9.0. To help achieve a successful upgrade, we have outlined below the required and recommended changes by code type.

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This blog will detail 5 free tools that administrators can utilize to more effectively manage their Dynamics 365 system for their organization. Part 1 of this blog can be found here.

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XrmToolbox - Plugin Trace Viewer resolves query and view limitations of Plugin Trace Logs within Dynamics 365.

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By Mike Adler

Administering Microsoft Dynamics 365 can be challenging at times.  This includes our recommendations for Top Free Tools for Dynamics 365 Administrators. 

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The D365UG/CRMUG Summit is the can’t-miss conference for users of Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. We look forward to seeing you there!

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With the release of Dynamics 365, Microsoft is introducing Auto Capture. This new functionality allows users to view untracked emails directly in CRM and are given the option to track emails in Dynamics 365.

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With the release of Dynamics 365, Microsoft is introducing Relationship Assistant.  This new functionality helps you focus on what’s important.  With new interactive cards notifying you of important events, interactions, to-dos for the day, and upcoming events, this new tool will drive productivity and increase your workforce efficiency.

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Microsoft previously mentioned developing features that would assist in bridging the gap between the two solutions of Field Service and Project Service Automation within Dynamics CRM.  They began using the shared data model to tie together native CRM entities with the new entities in the Field Service (FS) and Project Service Automation (PSA) solutions. 

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The next generation of the Field Service application through Dynamics 365 will support organizational growth goals by facilitating better demand generation via marketing automation, faster closing with salesforce automation, and a better customer experience following the sale with customer service, field service, and project service applications.

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Microsoft has announced this fall they will be launching Dynamics 365.  Read to learn what Dynamics 365 is, and how it will increase value for current Microsoft customers. 

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By Mike Adler

Custom Actions are a great way to extend Dynamics CRM.  In this post, I will show you how to use the Ribbon and JavaScript to call a Custom Action.

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To further show that Wipfli is dedicated to organizations’ success with technology solutions, we have been recognized as a top partner of Microsoft and added to another year of Microsoft’s Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics^®.

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By Mike Adler

Don’t consume a valuable CRM license for running background jobs and integrations.  Through Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, organizations can setup “service accounts” that work the same way as a CRM user.

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By Mike Adler

Taking too long to add Connections?  In this post, I will show you how to streamline the process and reduce the time it takes by adding a button to the Connections grid.

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Included in this blog you’ll find a link to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Spring 2016 Wave Release Preview Guide, along with a quick video on what to expect in the next update for Dynamics CRM 2016 Online Update 1 and Microsoft Social Engagement 2016 Update.

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This blog highlights features of FieldOne for Field Service Management inside existing Dynamics CRM 2015 & 2016 Online environments.

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Here is a solution on how to fix a products sub grid on the Quote or Order form that is out of sync with a CRM custom report.

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Microsoft has done it again. Microsoft Dynamics® CRM 2016 was recently released this month and continuously delivers more features to its users and administrators.

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