As we embark on a new school year, students may have their textbooks, teachers, and courses ready, but the world of Microsoft's cloud services also has some exciting updates in store for us in September 2023. While it's undeniable that the spotlight was on Copilot this month, there have also been some notable changes within the Microsoft ecosystem that could impact businesses and organizations. In this installment of our series, "What's New in Microsoft Business Applications," we'll dive into these updates and explore their implications for users and businesses alike. From Dynamics 365 licensing shifts to Microsoft's continued leadership in B2B marketing automation and improvements in Power Platform tools, there's a lot to uncover in the world of Microsoft's cloud offerings. Let's explore the latest innovations that Microsoft has brought to the table.
Dynamics 365 Business Central Licensing Changes
In September 2023, Microsoft introduced significant changes to the licensing of Dynamics 365 Business Central, particularly benefiting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Business Central offers two versions: Essentials and Premium. Microsoft's recent licensing adjustments are aimed at customers who have other Dynamics 365 solutions, specifically in the CRM domain, such as Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service, or Field Service.
Previously, Business Central Premium served as the base license for Sales, Customer Service (Enterprise versions), and Field Service, allowing customers to acquire these licenses as "attach" licenses at nearly 80% lower prices than before. For example, if a company owns 10 Dynamics 365 Business Central Premium licenses and wants to implement Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise, they can purchase Sales Enterprise licenses as attaches at €18.7/user/month (annual commitment) instead of €88.9/user/month.
In September 2023, a similar approach was applied to Business Central Essentials, making it an attach license for Sales, Customer Service Enterprise, and Field Service. This change allows for significant cost savings, making these solutions more accessible to businesses.
Microsoft as a Leader in B2B Marketing Platform Automation
For the second consecutive year, Microsoft was recognized by Gartner as a leader in the category of B2B marketing automation solutions. This accolade is attributed to Dynamics 365 Marketing (now Dynamics 365 Customer Insights), which has been on the market since 2018. With continuous development, integration with Microsoft Dataverse, and the introduction of Copilot - an AI assistant - Dynamics 365 Customer Insights empowers marketers to:
- Ensure a consistent brand narrative and customer experience through email campaigns, forms, and event registration pages aligned with organizational standards.
- Seamlessly coordinate customer journeys across marketing, sales, and service domains, enabling quick responses to customer needs, lead generation, and improved customer satisfaction.
- Efficiently create customer segments, allowing more time to build meaningful relationships.
Enhanced Data Gateway in Power BI
A crucial update for Power BI administrators and users who rely on on-premises data sources is the update to the Data Gateway. This version ensures that reports published in Power BI and refreshed through it will operate with the same query logic as available in the September release of Power BI Desktop. Additionally, starting from March 15, 2023, any Power BI dataflows utilizing an older version of the on-premises data gateway (pre-dating April 2021) may experience issues. To ensure continued functionality, it's essential to update existing gateways to the latest version, available through Microsoft's website.
Power Automate Integration for ChatGPT
In a move into the realm of artificial intelligence, Power Automate is now available as a plugin for ChatGPT, currently in the preview phase. This plugin enables users to create, view, and execute flows directly from ChatGPT. With Copilot's assistance, users can create flows without the need for coding, utilizing prompts to design automation workflows.
Simplified Navigation in Power Platform Environments
As the Power Platform continues to evolve and share a common foundation in Microsoft Dataverse, managing environments becomes increasingly important. Microsoft has responded to partner feedback by introducing several enhancements. Users can now customize the navigation bar by pinning or unpinning specific options, changing their display order, opening them in new tabs, or quickly switching to specific Power Platform services.
Environments are categorized into two sections:
- Build flows: Environments where users have flow creator permissions.
- Other environments: Environments with "run-only" permissions.
Users can also filter environments by role (e.g., "Admin"), data platform (Dataverse or not), and environment type (sandbox, trial, developer).
These updates and changes in Microsoft's cloud services demonstrate the company's commitment to enhancing the functionality and user experience for businesses. To see how these innovations can benefit your organization and improve user productivity, consider scheduling a free consultation with our advisor by filling out the form at the bottom of the page!
