Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform – 2023 Release Wave 2

The 2023 Release Wave 2 for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform is here, and it brings new innovations that provide significant capabilities to transform your business.

The Microsoft Dynamics 365 release contains hundreds of new features across several Dynamics 365 applications, including Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, Finance, Supply Chain Management, and Commerce, among others.

The Power Platform release contains new features for Power BI, Power Apps, Power Pages, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents, Dataverse, and AI Builder, among others.

Beginning in October 2023 and running through March 2024, Microsoft will begin rolling out these new features. Check out the deployment schedule here.

What’s new with Field Service 2023 Release Wave 2?

Dynamics 365 Field Service is a robust field service management application that makes it easier for companies and their technicians to navigate the complex and connected landscape of service operations.  Dynamics 365 Field Service allows for a proactive, streamlined, and relational approach to servicing customer accounts.

Here’s some of the enhanced Field Service capabilities:

• Ability for end-users to utilize Copilot for work orders
• Resource scheduling enhancements
• Updated work order UX
• Mobile app improvements to images and offline sync settings
• Work order integration with Outlook and Teams

The following features have been deprecated in Dynamics 365 Field Service (these deprecations are persistent from the 2022 wave 2 release):

• Dynamics 365 Field Service on-premise
• Xamarin Field Service Mobile app

You can view the full list of 2023 Release Wave 2 Dynamics 365 deprecations here.

What’s new with Power Virtual Agents 2023 Release Wave 2?

Microsoft Power Virtual Agents enables anyone within an organization to create low-code/no-code, AI-powered chatbots to interact with internal or external clients without the need for developers or data scientists.  These chatbots allow employees to be more productive by freeing up resources that would otherwise be expended on relatively menial tasks.  Furthermore, chatbots provide a faster customer service experience for the end-user.

Here’s some of the enhanced Power Virtual Agents capabilities:

• Several key updates to the Microsoft Bot Framework
• Teams-based bot creation
• Power Platform admin center analytics and reporting integration
• PowerShell functionality for analytics and reporting
• Use of Dataverse as a source for AI-created generative answers

What is Dynamics 365?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a set of intelligent business applications that helps you run your entire business and deliver greater results through predictive, AI-driven insights. There are many applications to choose from, including:

• Intelligent sales and marketing
• Proactive customer service
• Connected field service
• Modern finance and operations
• Connected commerce

These Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications work seamlessly together for a comprehensive solution that runs your entire business in the cloud. You’ll get a 360-degree view of your organization to uncover the real-time insights that bring better results. See our Microsoft Dynamics 365 services page for more information.

What is the Power Platform?

The Microsoft Power Platform is the low code platform that spans Office 365, Azure, Dynamics 365 and all Microsoft applications.  It enables your business to craft solutions while empowering you to unite customized technology to help everyone, from the CEO to the front-line workers, drive the business with data.

The Microsoft Power Platform is comprised of five key products: Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Power Pages, and Power Virtual Agents. For an in-depth explanation of these features see our Microsoft Power Platform services page.

Contact Beringer Today!

We love to implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform solutions here at Beringer.  We’ve been working with Microsoft Dynamics since its inception, and we’re always finding innovative ways to implement the latest tools and help automate business processes.

Beringer Technology Group, a leading Microsoft Certified Partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and CRM for Distribution also provides expert Managed IT Services, Backup and Disaster Recovery, Cloud Based Computing, Email Security Implementation and Training, Unified Communication Solutions, and Cybersecurity Risk Assessment.