We’re pleased to introduce a new capability for Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations archive with Dataverse long-term retention: parallel processing for archive jobs. This enhancement allows the Archive job scheduler to run multiple archive jobs at the same time, dramatically reducing the time required to archive high volumes of transaction data across legal entities. 

The challenge: Sequential bottlenecks 

Previously, archive jobs within the same scenario were processed sequentially. For organizations operating across dozens of legal entities—each with millions of transaction records in General Ledger, Sales Orders, or other scenarios—this approach created a bottleneck, and archiving could take days or even weeks to complete. 

For example, a multinational organization may have 50–200+ legal entities, each containing one fiscal year of General Ledger transactions. Archiving one legal entity data at a time delays storage optimization, increases SQL Server load, and slows the movement of data into long-term retention in Dataverse. 

The solution: Use Job criteria key partition to enable parallel processing 

Parallel processing introduces the Job Criteria Key—a partition identifier you set when you build the archive job contract. The job criteria key tells the archive job scheduler which archive jobs operate on independent data sets. This allows them to run simultaneously without conflict. 

How it works 

1. Define the partition key — When you build the archive job contract, set the criteria key (typically the legal entity) that represents the data partition. 

2. The scheduler identifies parallel candidates — The archive job scheduler detects that jobs with different criteria keys target non-overlapping records. 

3. Jobs run concurrently — Rather than waiting in a queue, archive jobs for different partitions execute in parallel. 

The zero-overlap guarantee 

The job criteria key depends on one critical invariant: when multiple archive jobs run within the same scenario, each job with a different job criteria key must process a completely distinct set of records with zero overlap. 

For example, if you run two Sales Order archive jobs at the same time—one with job criteria key “USMF” and another with “DEMF”—the records archived by the USMF job must not overlap with those archived by the DEMF job. This is why DataAreaId is a natural choice for many scenarios: it inherently partitions data by legal entity. 

Monitoring parallel jobs 

You can monitor archive jobs running in parallel from the Archive with Dataverse long term retention workspace in Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations. Each job shows its criteria key value, making it easy to confirm which partitions are being processed concurrently. 

Join the private preview 

Parallel processing for archive jobs is currently available in private preview. If you’d like to try this capability in your environment, we’d be happy to have you participate. 

Submit your request to join the private preview 

By joining the preview, you’ll get early access to parallel archive job execution. You’ll also have an opportunity to provide feedback that helps shape the final release. The preview is open to all Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations customers and partners.

The post Support Parallel Processing for Archive Jobs in Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

This week, thousands of manufacturers will gather at Hannover Messe 2025 for insights into solutions to unprecedented challenges, from rising energy costs to supply chain disruptions, workforce shortages to geopolitical conflicts. Top of mind for many attendees is how AI agent-led automation, production, and supply chain processes can help empower a high-performance and sustainable industry.

To help answer these questions, Microsoft leaders and industry partners will showcase the very latest AI innovation for manufacturers designed to help address today’s most critical challenges.

Dynamics 365 ERP solutions

Infuse AI across business processes and workflows.

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AI agents will transform manufacturing in 2025 and beyond

Moving forward, four transformative trends will set the pace of growth and success in the evolving manufacturing landscape:

• Improving supply chain operations
• Driving operational excellence with operational technology data from siloed sources
• Delivering great customer experience
• Increasing energy efficiency and employee productivity

At the Microsoft expo booth, manufacturers will learn how they can achieve these trends by using agents across critical business processes and workflows with Microsoft Dynamics 365 autonomous ERP solutions.

Improving supply chain operations with AI agents

Manufacturers face increasing supply chain challenges, from fluctuating customer demand to geopolitical uncertainties that can pressure organizations to restructure supply chains or reshore operations to unaffected regions. It’s imperative to have the agility to adapt to rapid demand shifts while operating profitably and keeping costs in check.

AI agents can play a crucial role in manufacturing operations, autonomously monitoring processes for potential disruptions, with the ability to proactively mitigate potential issues before they’re serious issues.

The Supplier Communications Agent in Dynamics 365 autonomously manages interactions with vendors and suppliers to help ensure on-time delivery of purchase orders helping to avoid downstream delays to customers. The agent provides visibility into the supplier’s supply chain and allows teams to spend more time improving supplier relationships and negotiating better contracts, rather than firefighting shortages.

Lifetime Products—a global manufacturer of products ranging from basketball hoops to picnic tables, sheds, and kayaks—depends on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management to optimize operational capabilities. In addition to handling logistics and supply chain management more effectively, the manufacturer is implementing AI agents to “rebalance” its knowledge workforce to do more with same and be more efficient rather than reduce labor.

“One of our biggest learnings has been to let the autonomous agent run its own calculations. You’ll get a more comprehensive, better result.”

—Sinahi Lopez, Global IT Functional Manager at Lifetime Products

The company is now preparing to deploy the Supplier Communications Agent in Dynamics 365, to autonomously communicate with suppliers to proactively mitigate order delays and supply chain disruptions.

Based on study with IDC, $3.5 million in annual inventory-related cost savings, using Dynamics 365, optimizing working capital​.¹

Achieving operational excellence with operational technology data from various silos

To stay competitive, manufacturers need to optimize operations by reducing costs, minimizing downtime, improving agility, and ensuring efficient production. This requires data-driven decision making that takes advantage of the industrial Internet of Things (IoT), AI-driven automation, integrated data clouds, and edge-to-cloud architectures to enable real-time insights, predictive maintenance, and quality control. Microsoft Dynamics 365 includes applications to manage finance, supply chain, sales, and customer relationships, designed to unify business data, improve efficiency, and simplify decision-making. The applications work seamlessly with Microsoft 365, which enhances productivity and collaboration with leading applications like Word, Excel, and Microsoft Teams, while Azure provides cloud infrastructure and IoT capabilities.

A key innovation is the AI agent, powered by Microsoft Copilot Studio, that automates tasks and streamlines workflows, securely grounded on data sourced from various systems by using Microsoft Dataverse as a central hub. Microsoft Fabric enhances analytics, helping businesses turn data into insights. For customization, Microsoft Power Platform offers low-code tools to build apps and automate processes, while Microsoft AppSource provides industry-specific solutions from Microsoft partners.

Together, these technologies create a connected ecosystem, reducing data silos and enabling businesses to operate more efficiently. With everything working seamlessly, organizations can focus on growth, innovation, and smarter decision-making.

Enerjisa Üretim, Türkiye’s largest private electricity generation company, replaced its legacy asset management system with Dynamics 365—a modern, user-friendly solution that provides end-to-end lifecycle management of all 312,500 assets across 29 power plants.

The organization is also transforming operations with Dynamics 365 and Azure, achieving efficiency, cost reduction, and workforce empowerment. Integration of asset management, IoT, and Microsoft Azure Digital Twins provides real-time insights for predictive maintenance. Unified systems improve data consistency, streamline workflows, and enhance collaboration, setting new standards for operational excellence in energy.

“Our equipment data is the key to operational efficiency. The Asset Management [capabilities] in Dynamics 365 extends the lifespan of critical infrastructure. By leveraging real-time data and advanced analytics, we can predict equipment failures before they happen.”

—Alper Serçe, Deputy General Manager, Enerjisa Üretim

Dynamics 365 integrates seamlessly with Enerjisa Üretim’s external systems like SAP, streamlining operations and enhancing efficiency. Real-time inventory updates from SAP into Dynamics 365 helps ensures that technicians have the right materials. And integration with HRweb and Yüklenici Entegre Sistemi (YES) optimizes resource allocation, matching skills and qualifications to work orders.

Based on study with IDC, 85% reduction in unplanned asset downtime, using Dynamics 365, ensuring smoother operations​.¹

Deliver better customer experiences

Manufacturers are facing intense global competition, making customer experience essential to maintain relevance. To differentiate and retain customer trust, they must reconsider traditional business models and explore new revenue streams like product-as-a-service and aftermarket services.

Dynamics 365 assists manufacturers in transitioning to a product-as-a-service (PaaS) model by integrating IoT, AI, automation, and flexible financial frameworks.

• Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Microsoft Azure IoT enable real-time product performance monitoring and predictive maintenance, reducing downtime, helping to ensure timely spare parts delivery and streamlined logistics, which are important for service-based models.
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service uses AI and IoT data for a predictive service model, enhancing efficiency and optimizing service contracts to improve customer satisfaction.
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance supports flexible pricing, pay-per-use, and subscription models, converting products into ongoing services.

Hobart Corporation, a provider of commercial food equipment, needed to modernize its field operations to better support nearly 400,000 customers across the United States and Canada and solve inefficiencies in service delivery.

By adopting Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Field Service, Hobart standardized processes, improved dispatch accuracy, and provided field technicians with mobile access to real-time inventory and customer data. This transformation enabled quicker response times, improved first-time fix rates, and better parts availability. The solution also facilitated predictive maintenance, ensuring proactive issue resolution before failures occurred.

As a result, Hobart significantly enhanced operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and workforce productivity, reinforcing its reputation for high-quality service.

Organizations facing similar issues can also use the recently announced Scheduling Operations Agent (SOA) for Dynamics 365 Field Service, now in preview. This AI agent creates optimized schedules for technicians, even as conditions change throughout the workday. Whether it’s traffic delays, double bookings, or last-minute cancellations, the SOA helps ensure that schedules remain efficient.

The SOA uses advanced algorithms to address common scheduling challenges. By considering factors such as technician skill sets, territories, and promised time windows, the SOA maximizes technician utilization and prioritizes work orders effectively. This enhances productivity and helps ensure that customer commitments are met accurately.

Based on study with IDC, 40% faster order and product delivery times, using Dynamics 365, increasing customer satisfaction.¹

Operating sustainably by driving energy and employee efficiencies

Manufacturers are under increasing pressure to improve energy efficiency and reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining productivity. By integrating Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP solutions and Sustainability Manager in Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, manufacturers can gain real-time visibility, AI-driven insights, and automated tracking to drive sustainability at scale.

Dynamics 365 ERP collects energy consumption data from IoT sensors, smart meters, and production systems, offering a comprehensive view of energy usage across facilities. This data flows into Microsoft Sustainability Manager, where AI-powered analytics identify inefficiencies, benchmark performance, and recommend optimizations. Manufacturers can track carbon emissions in real time, ensuring they meet sustainability targets.

With predictive analytics and AI-driven workload balancing, manufacturers can optimize machine usage, reduce energy waste, and lower costs. Additionally, optimized supply chain operations help minimize environmental impact through smarter logistics and material sourcing.

Camfil, a leading manufacturer of premium clean air filtration solutions, is using Dynamics 365 to enhance sustainability and profitability. By implementing Dynamics 365 with a standardized data model, Camfil has harmonized its processes across more than 30 production facilities and nearly 6,000 employees.

The integration of Dynamics 365 Finance, Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, Dynamics 365 Project Operations, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, and Dynamics 365 Sales has improved operations such as ordering, manufacturing, warehousing, shipping, and invoicing. This harmonization enabled by Dynamics 365 has led to better resource utilization, improved energy efficiency, a more connected and collaborative culture, and enhanced customer satisfaction through continuous innovation in air filtration systems—all contributing to a more sustainable and cost-effective manufacturing operation.

A well-empowered workforce can better manage inventory, demand planning, and supplier interactions, reducing waste and inefficiencies.

Based on study with IDC, 27% more manufacturing processes automated, 20% improvement of productivity across supply chain, procurement, and inventory management teams by using Dynamics 365 AI-powered ERP solutions.¹

Future-proof your manufacturing operations in 2025 

AI-powered solutions for ERP and service systems are more than a technological upgrade. They’re a strategic imperative for manufacturers aiming to improve the supply chain, drive operational excellence on the factory floor, deliver great customer experience, and operate sustainably and efficiently.

If you’re registered for Hannover Messe, we invite you to visit the Microsoft booth (#G06, hall 17) and join Sameer Verma, Microsoft’s GM, Dynamics 365 AI ERP, to learn how Dynamics 365 drives manufacturing excellence with AI agents. The session will take place on Monday, March 31, 2025, at 12 PM Central European Time (UTC +1).

Also, continue to visit the Dynamics 365 blog to learn more about how Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform are helping retailers reimagine the road ahead; and feel free to contact us to learn more about the Dynamics 365 AI-powered ERP system solutions. 

Source

¹ IDC White Paper, sponsored by Microsoft, The Business Value of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Manufacturers, doc #US53226425

The post The future of manufacturing with Microsoft Dynamics 365 is here—are you ready? appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

We’ve published the 2025 release wave 1 plans for Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Platform, and Role-based Copilot offerings. These plans are a compilation of the new capabilities planned to be released between April 2025 and September 2025. With advancements in agents, automation, intelligence, and seamless integrations, this release is designed to address the evolving needs of modern enterprises while driving efficiency and innovation across industries.

Key areas of focus include expanding AI capabilities and agents to automate routine tasks, provide actionable insights, and improve decision-making at every level. This wave introduces enhancements to user experiences, enabling more intuitive workflows, smarter resource management, and greater collaboration. Businesses can benefit from intelligent tools that optimize operations, improve customer engagement, and support strategic growth initiatives.

In addition to productivity and efficiency, this release prioritizes security, governance, and extensibility, helping to ensure businesses can scale confidently while maintaining compliance and control. With these advancements, organizations can take advantage of the full power of AI and agents to transform their operations and deliver exceptional value to their customers. Watch a summary of the release highlights for 2025 release wave 1.

Dynamics 365 release wave 1

Check out the 2025 release wave 1 Dynamics 365 features.

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Highlights from Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales brings the power of AI to help sellers meet their targets while boosting seller productivity. Copilot and agents enhance performance and simplify tasks, to help grow your pipeline, sharpen strategies, and accelerate deals. A reimagined user experience ensures sellers never miss the best move. Automated research, ongoing follow-ups, and prioritized tasks provide continuous guidance, allowing you to focus on the right actions to drive success and grow your business. Watch this video to discover the new and enhanced features included in this release wave.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service will enable agentic capabilities for case and knowledge management, as well as AI-driven routing, while extending Copilot capabilities for customer service representative and supervisor experiences, with a focus on productivity improvements. Watch this video to discover how the latest enhancements to Customer Service can benefit your business.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center will transform service experiences with new features to deliver effortless self-service, accelerate assisted service, and drive efficiency. The 2025 release wave 1 introduces Copilot and agent capabilities to automate intent determination for evergreen self-service and autonomous knowledge management.  Additional key features include multi-modal support in customer intent agent, enhanced unified routing features, and new workforce and quality management capabilities.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service introduces Copilot-first experiences that enhance service operations and deliver exceptional customer experiences in 2025 release wave 1. Key features include automated inspection generation from templates, actionable insights for schedulers, quick access to vital information for frontline workers and managers, plus seamless integrations with Microsoft Teams and Outlook.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance capabilities are designed with a copilot-first experience, delivering enhanced automation and agentic capabilities. This release focuses on simplifying complex tax management and regulatory compliance, automating account reconciliations with agents, improving bank reconciliation processes, and adding intelligence to planning, along with extensibility and data refresh updates for business performance analytics. Discover how the latest enhancements to Finance can benefit your business in this video.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management advances autonomy by integrating intelligence, automation, and analytics to improve productivity and organizational adaptability. This update enhances operational efficiency by automating supplier communications, improving demand planning accuracy with cell-level explainability and generative insights, and taking advantage of AI in manufacturing to align production data with actual processes.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Operations is focused on enhancing usability, performance, and scalability in key areas such as project planning, contract management, invoicing, time and expense entry, and core transaction processing. The spotlight is on AI-assisted core functionality improvements in what-if analysis, proposal generation, time and expense and approvals. This release will introduce a mobile app for time management and deliver scale improvements to support larger projects and handle higher invoice volumes.

Finance and operations cross-app capabilities will continue enabling AI and autonomous enterprise resource planning (ERP) with capabilities that support ERP application suite in Dynamics 365, including Dynamics 365 Finance, Supply Chain Management, Commerce, Human Resources, and Project Operations. We’re infusing agent experiences across applications, including chat, embedded AI, and intelligent process automation, and enabling extensibility for agent scenarios along with enterprise-grade security and compliance at scale.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Human Resources enhances intelligence, automation, and analytics across the hire-to-separate process to boost productivity and enable business agility. We’re advancing recruiting with AI-driven assessments and integrations with external job boards, including LinkedIn. Additionally, we’re improving benefits and people management experiences for employees and HR business partners through AI-first solutions and automation. View this video to learn more about the features releasing in this wave.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce advances in-store experience by providing a mobile-first point-of-sale that reduces store hardware footprint and boosts sales conversion. The improvements to the payment connector allow modern payments methods, further reducing hardware requirements and offering more purchasing options for customers. Additionally, omni-channel unified pricing enables retailers to establish more intricate pricing structures, helping them remain competitive.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central introduces intelligent AI agents to enhance efficiency and automation for small or medium sized businesses (SMBs). These agents seamlessly integrate to execute complex tasks, generate reports, automate processes, and optimize order creation using natural language processing. This release focuses on manufacturing, sustainability, and electronic document capabilities, along with enhanced Shopify and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service integrations.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Data powers Copilot and agents with the latest customer insights, enabling your teams to take advantage of this data directly within their daily workflow. Enriched with the latest marketing behavioral interactions and streamlined data ingestion, your business can access up-to-date customer profiles without delays to build each experience upon the last.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys brings the power of AI to engage your customers on new channels so you can create new scenarios and business opportunities. Thanks to advanced journey capabilities, you can optimize interactions with your customers, helping to ensure that each touchpoint is meaningful and impactful. The new forms and event management features not only streamline the lead generation process but also help ensure that high-quality leads are captured and nurtured effectively.

Microsoft Power Platform

Check out the 2025 release wave 1 Microsoft Power Platform features.

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Highlights from Microsoft Power Platform

Microsoft Power Apps changes how software solutions are built with the plan designer where makers can provide a business problem, and a set of agents helps them build a Microsoft Power Platform software. Apps created using Power Apps are intelligent, powered by a set of extensible agents that support most common tasks like exploring, entering, and summarizing data. Makers can automate common tasks by creating agents from existing apps and deploying them to take care of work autonomously. With integrated ability for users to understand and monitor agent actions, and easy ability to resolve issues when agents hit roadblocks, Power Apps is accelerating the shift to intelligent AI-driven solutions at scale. Watch this video to discover the exciting features launching in this release wave.

Microsoft Power Pages enables businesses to build secure, data-driven portals effortlessly. Recent updates include AI-driven features like Web Agents for multi-platform engagement (email, Teams, WhatsApp), AI-assisted form filling for improved productivity, dynamic list visualizations for better insights, and enhanced governance policies to strengthen security and streamline site deployments.

Microsoft Power Automate is transforming how enterprises automate complex business processes through new human-in-the-loop experiences, including advanced approvals and AI native capabilities, such as generative actions and intelligent document processing. A comprehensive suite of governance, observability, and security controls coming to the automation center and Microsoft Power Platform admin center help to manage complex automations at scale. Watch this video to learn about the new features releasing in Power Automate in this wave.

Microsoft Copilot Studio brings new autonomous agent capabilities; extension of Microsoft 365 Copilot with Custom Agents; new capabilities for the Copilot Studio embedded builder in Microsoft Copilot including support for actions, new enterprise knowledge sources, and the ability to upgrade a declarative agent to Copilot Studio custom agent to access additional capabilities and new conversational channels for custom agents including WhatsApp and SharePoint. Watch this video to discover how the latest enhancements to Microsoft Copilot Studio can benefit your business.

AI Builder in Copilot Studio brings the power of advanced automation to routine processes like email handling, document processing, and image management, helping businesses run smarter and more efficiently. AI Builder has multi-modal content processing capability, which allows businesses to handle various data types—including text, document, and images—within a single natural language instruction. Enhanced Prompt builder tools empower makers to customize AI actions with diverse inputs, expanded data sources from Microsoft Dataverse, and support for generating multiple content types, including documents.

Dataverse is continuing to extend maker experiences by enriching app and agent building capabilities across the platform. Dataverse can seamlessly connect all your data together with an ever-expanding set of external data sources. And with your data together, Dataverse can convert your enterprise data into knowledge, which you can use to customize and extend agents that are built in Microsoft Copilot Studio and the agent builder experience in Microsoft 365 Copilot. These investments are aimed at grounding AI-driven experiences with enterprise knowledge across Microsoft Power Platform.

Microsoft Power Platform Administration and Governance continues to provide enhanced tools and insights for admins to get the most from Microsoft Power Platform. In this wave. We’re focusing on security, easing adoption and governance of Copilot and agents, and helping enterprises boost the adoption of Microsoft Power Platform at enterprise scale with a modernized admin center experience and a new admin connector for automating admin tasks.

Highlights from Role-based Copilot offerings

Role-based Copilot offering release wave

Check out the 2025 release wave 1 Role-based Copilot offering features.

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Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales continues to drive innovation with advanced generative AI capabilities designed specifically for sales-focused roles. In this release, we’re enhancing our assistive features by surfacing further CRM platform insights and recommendations to the sales team across the Microsoft 365 product suite. We’re also streamlining SalesChat™ experiences and driving new agent workflows to put organizations in control of automation experiences and notifications.

Microsoft 365 Copilot for Service continues to deliver and enhance cutting-edge generative AI capabilities for agents within their flow of work. In this release, we’ll be introducing connectivity with any CRM system and inline email summary and drafting.

Microsoft 365 Copilot for Finance enhances efficiency for finance professionals by providing insights that aid strategic decision-making and reduce manual tasks. The 2025 release wave 1 focuses on intelligent automation of variance analysis in Excel, access to external data sources, extending functionalities through Copilot Studio, supporting collections calls in Teams, and taking advantage of generative AI to summarize macroeconomic conditions. Visit the release planner to learn more about upcoming features.

Early access period

Starting February 3, 2025, customers and partners can validate the latest features in a non-production environment. These updates include user experience enhancements that will be automatically enabled in production environments by April 2025. Take advantage of the early access period to test these updates and effectively plan for your customer rollout. Explore the 2025 release wave 1 early access features for Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform or visit the early access FAQ page for more information.

For a complete list of new capabilities, please refer to the Dynamics 365 2025 release wave 1 plan, the Microsoft Power Platform 2025 release wave 1 plan, and the Role-based Copilot offerings 2025 release wave 1. We also encourage you to share your feedback in the community forums for Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform.

The post 2025 release wave 1 plans for Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Platform, and Role-based Copilot offerings appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

In today’s digital landscape, the success of customer service on social media hinges on the quality of care provided to customers. It’s essential for communications from agents to be timely, accurate, sensitive, brief, and friendly to enhance customer satisfaction and foster brand loyalty. To support this, we are excited to introduce the first-party WhatsApp channel seamlessly integrated with Azure Communication Services, now available in public preview for Dynamics Contact Center. 

Why WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is a leading choice for contact centers worldwide, celebrated for its ease of use and extensive global reach. With billions of users, WhatsApp provides businesses with an unparalleled opportunity to connect with customers in a medium they trust and prefer. Now, with our first-party solution, integrating WhatsApp into your contact center has never been easier. 

Seamless integration with Microsoft’s ecosystem 

One of the key advantages of this new integration is its direct tie-in with Microsoft’s ecosystem. By leveraging Azure Communication Services, our solution eliminates the need for third-party connectors. This results in a simplified IT footprint, enhanced reliability, and more secure communication for your business. No more juggling multiple vendors or worrying about potential integration issues. Our solution is designed to work seamlessly within your existing Microsoft infrastructure. 

Key capabilities 

With the first-party WhatsApp channel, your contact center can benefit from a range of powerful features: 

• Easy Configuration: Administrators can easily configure the WhatsApp channel powered by Azure Communication Services, making setup straightforward. 

• Customer Engagement: Customers can reach out to your business through WhatsApp, engaging in an asynchronous manner that respects their time and preferences. Whether it’s a quick question or a detailed inquiry, your customers can connect with you when it’s convenient for them. 

• Unified Interface for Agents: Agents will have access to a unified, contextual, and productive interface. Subsequently, they can engage with customers and resolve issues more efficiently. This streamlined workflow reduces the time to resolution and enhances overall customer satisfaction. 

• Rich Reporting for Supervisors: Supervisors and managers can access detailed reports to monitor and optimize contact center performance. This data-driven approach ensures that your team is operating at peak efficiency, with insights that drive continuous improvement. 

Enhancing customer engagement

The integration of WhatsApp with Azure Communication Services is more than just a new channel—it’s a step toward more meaningful and contextual customer interactions. By leveraging WhatsApp, businesses can provide a seamless and personalized experience that resonates with customers, ultimately driving satisfaction and loyalty.

Get started today

To sign up to use this feature, fill out this form. We invite you to explore the new first-party WhatsApp integration in Dynamics 365 Contact Center. Whether you’re addressing product inquiries or managing customer service scenarios, this integration empowers your agents to deliver exceptional customer care. 

Join us in this exciting journey of enhancing customer communication. With this new channel, experience the benefits of a simplified, reliable, and powerful customer service tool. 

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to expand the capabilities of Dynamics 365 Contact Center. Also, don’t hesitate to provide feedback during this public preview period. We’re here to support your success. 

Learn more

Watch a quick video introduction.

To learn more, read the documentation: Configure a WhatsApp channel through Azure Communication Services (preview) | Microsoft Learn

The post Try the first-party WhatsApp channel in Dynamics 365 Contact Center appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

A well-defined data maintenance strategy improves the quality and performance of your database and reduces storage costs. In part one of this series, we covered the roles and responsibilities of your data strategy team, tools for reviewing storage usage, and data management features in Dynamics 365 finance and operations apps that your strategy should include. We recommended that you start your planning by decommissioning unneeded sandbox environments in your tenant. In this post, we focus on creating a data retention strategy for tables as part of your overall storage maintenance strategy.

Create a data retention strategy for tables

After sandbox environments, tables have the greatest impact on total storage volume. Your data maintenance strategy should include a plan for how long to retain the data in specific tables, especially the largest ones—but don’t overlook smaller, easily manageable tables.

Review table storage by data category

In the Power Platform admin center capacity report for the production environment, drill down to the table details.

Identify the largest tables in your production environment. For each one, determine the members of your data strategy team who should be involved and an action based on the table’s data category. The following table provides an example analysis.

Consider whether table data needs to be stored

For each large table, continue your analysis with the following considerations:

• Current business use: Is the data used at all? For instance, was database logging turned on by accident or for a test that’s been completed?
• Retention per environment: Evaluate how long data should be in Dynamics 365 per environment. For instance, your admin might use 30 days of batch history in the production environment to look for trends but would be content with 7 days in a sandbox.
• Data life cycle after Dynamics 365: Can the data be purged? Should it be archived or moved to long-term storage?

With the results of your analysis, your data strategy team can determine a retention strategy for each table.

Implement your data retention strategy

With your data retention strategy in place, you can start implementing the actions you decided on—running standard cleanups, updating retention settings, configuring archive functions, or reaching out to your ISV or customization partner.

Keep in mind that implementing an effective strategy takes time. You need to test the effect of each action in a sandbox environment and coordinate with multiple stakeholders.

As you implement your strategy, here are some best practices to follow:

• Delete or archive data only after all stakeholders have confirmed that it’s no longer required.
• Consider the impact of the data life cycle on customizations, integrations, and reports.
• Choose the date range or the amount of data to target in each cleanup or archive iteration based on the expected duration and performance of the cleanup or archiving routine, as determined by testing in a sandbox.

Need more help?

Creating a data maintenance strategy for Dynamics 365 finance and operations apps is a complex and ongoing task. It requires a thorough analysis and collaboration among different roles and departments. For help or guidance, contact your Microsoft representative for a Dynamics 365 finance and operations storage capacity assessment.

Learn more

Not yet a Dynamics 365 customer? Take a tour and start a free trial.

The post Create a data maintenance strategy for Dynamics 365 finance and operations data (part two) appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Data maintenance—understanding what data needs to be stored where and for how long—can seem like an overwhelming task. Cleanup routines can help, but a good data maintenance strategy will make sure that you’re using your storage effectively and avoiding overages. Data management in Dynamics 365 isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Your strategy will depend on your organization’s implementation and unique data footprint. In this post, the first of a two-part series, we describe the tools and features that are available in Dynamics 365 finance and operations apps to help you create an effective storage maintenance plan. Part two focuses on implementing your plan.

Your data maintenance team

Data maintenance is often thought to be the sole responsibility of system admins. However, managing data throughout its life cycle requires collaboration from all stakeholders. Your data maintenance team should include the following roles:

• Business users. It goes without saying that users need data for day-to-day operations. Involving them in your planning helps ensure that removing old business data doesn’t interfere with business processes.
• BI and reporting team. This team comprehends reporting requirements. They can provide insights into what data is essential for operational reports and should be kept in live storage or can be exported to a data warehouse.
• Customization team. Customizations might rely on data that’s targeted by an out-of-the-box cleanup routine. Your customization partner or ISV should test all customizations and integrations before you run a standard cleanup in the production environment.
• Auditors and controllers. Even financial data doesn’t need to be kept indefinitely. The requirements for how long you need to keep posted data differ by region and industry. The controlling team or external auditors can determine when outdated data can be permanently purged.
• Dynamics 365 system admins. Involving your admins in data maintenance planning allows them to schedule cleanup batch jobs during times when they’re least disruptive. They can also turn on and configure new features.
• Microsoft 365 system admins.The finance and operations storage capacity report in the Power Platform admin center is helpful when you’re creating a data maintenance strategy, and these admins have access to it.

Tools for reviewing storage usage

After you assemble your team, the next step is to gather information about the size and footprint of your organization’s finance and operations data using the following tools:

• The finance and operations storage capacity report shows the storage usage and capacity of your Dynamics 365 environments down to the table level.
• Just-in-time database access allows you to access the database of a sandbox environment that has been recently refreshed from production. Depending on the storage actions you have set up or the time since the last database restore, the sandbox might not exactly match the production environment.

Features for managing storage

A comprehensive data maintenance strategy takes advantage of the data management features of Dynamics 365 finance and operations apps. The following features should be part of your plan.

Environment life cycle management is the process of creating, refreshing, and decommissioning sandbox environments according to your testing and development needs. Review your environments’ storage capacity and usage on the Finance and operations page of the capacity report.

Critically assess the environments and their usage and consider decommissioning sandboxes that you no longer need. For instance, if the system is post go-live, can you retire the training environment? Are performance tests less frequent and easier to run in the QA environment when users aren’t testing?

We highly recommend that you don’t skip the sandbox decommissioning discussion. Reducing the number of sandboxes has a far greater effect on total storage usage than any action that targets a specific table.

Cleanup routines are standard or custom functions that automatically delete temporary or obsolete data from the system.

Retention settings schedule automatic cleanup of certain data after a specified length of time. For example, document history includes a parameter that specifies the number of days to retain history. These cleanup routines might run as batch jobs or behind the scenes, invisible to admins.

Archiving functions move historical data to a separate storage location.

Compression routines reduce the size of data in storage. For example, the Compress payment tokens feature applies compression to stored payment property tokens.

Next step

In this post, we covered the roles and responsibilities of your data strategy team, tools for reviewing database storage, and data management features beyond cleanup routines. We suggested that you begin your planning process by reviewing your sandboxes. In part two, we discuss a strategy for specific tables and actions to take.

Learn more

Not yet a Dynamics 365 customer? Take a tour and start a free trial.

The post Create a data maintenance strategy for Dynamics 365 finance and operations data (part one) appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

End of support for Project Service Automation (PSA 3.x)

In April 2022, November 2022 and April 2023 release waves we announced the availability of the first, second and third and final phase of upgrade experiences from Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation to Dynamics 365 Project Operations. With the third and final phase of upgrade experiences, it is now possible to upgrade projects of any size to Project Operations.  Today, we are announcing the deprecation of Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation or PSA 3.x.  

As of March 31st 2025, Microsoft will no longer be supporting the PSA application. Beyond this date, there will not be any feature enhancements, updates, bug fixes or other updates to this application. Any support ticket logged on the PSA application will be closed with instructions to upgrade to Dynamics 365 Project Operations.   

We strongly encourage all customers of PSA application to start planning your upgrade process as soon as possible so you can take advantage of many new Project Operations features such as:  

• Integration with Project for the Web with many new advanced scheduling features 
• Project Budgeting and Time-phased forecasting   
• Date Effective price overrides  
• Revision and Activation on Quotes    
• Material usage recording in projects and tasks  
• Subcontract Management  
• Advances and Retained-based contracts  
• Contract not-to-exceed  
• Task and Progress based billing  
• Multi-customer contracts  
• AI and Copilot based experiences.  

Upgrade documentation and FAQ links 

Upgrade from Project Service Automation to Project Operations | Microsoft Learn 

Project Service Automation end of life FAQ | Microsoft Learn   

Feature changes from Project Service Automation to Project Operations | Microsoft Learn 

Project Service Automation to Project Operations project scheduling conversion process | Microsoft Learn 

Plan your work in Microsoft Project with the Project Operations add-in | Microsoft Learn 

Learn more about Dynamics 365 Project Operations 

Project Operations was first released in October 2020 as a comprehensive product to manage Projects from inception to close by bringing together the strengths of Dataverse, F&O and Project for the web assets. Want to learn more about Project Operations? Check this link and navigate to our detailed documentation!  

Want to try Project Operations? Click here and sign up for a 30 days trial!  

Thank you 

Rupa Mantravadi 

GPM, D365 Project Operations 

The post Announcing End of Support for Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation  appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Navigating the complex world of business data in the age of AI presents unique challenges to enterprises. Organizations grapple with harnessing disparate data sources, addressing security and compliance risks while maintaining cost effectiveness. Overwhelming challenges often lead to inefficiencies and missed opportunities more than ever. Dynamics 365 and Dataverse are offering a unified platform for managing data effectively and securely at hyperscale, while empowering low code makers and business users of Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.  

Customers in different industries, from finance to retail, have been trusting their data and processes with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform for years. We are excited to announce multiple features for helping IT administrators navigate effectively with rising AI, data, and security challenges. With Microsoft Purview integration, data governance and compliance risks are significantly reduced. Azure Sentinel provides vigilant monitoring against threats, while enhanced logging to the Microsoft 365 unified audit log tackles insider threats head-on. With Dataverse Link to Fabric, administrators can enable simpler data integration for low code makers, without the need to build and govern complex data pipelines. Moreover, the introduction of Dataverse elastic tables and long-term data retention strategies promise a substantial improvement in both hyperscale management and ROI, reinforcing a robust, secure, and cost-efficient data ecosystem.  

Protect your data and assets in the age of AI 

Growing cyber risks and increased corporate liability exposure for breaches have driven an increased focus on security in many organizations. To address this, Dataverse provides a comprehensive platform to secure your data and assets. At Ignite 2023 we are announcing several new security capabilities:  

Govern Dynamics 365 and Power Platform data in Dataverse through Microsoft Purview integration 

Dataverse integration with Microsoft Purview’s Data Map, available shortly in public preview, enables automated data discovery and sensitive data classification. The integration will help your organization to understand and govern their business applications data estate, safeguard that data, and improve their risk and compliance posture. Learn more here: http://aka.ms/DataversePurviewIntegration 

Monitor and react to threats with Sentinel  

Microsoft Sentinel solution for Microsoft Power Platform will be in public preview across regions over the next few weeks. Microsoft Sentinel is also integrated with Dynamics 365, with recently added OOB analytics rules. With Sentinel integration, customers can detect various suspicious activities such as Microsoft Power Apps execution from unauthorized geographies, suspicious data destruction by Power Apps, mass deletion of Power Apps, phishing attacks (via Power Apps), Power Automate flows activity by departing employees, Microsoft Power Platform connectors added to an environment, and the update or removal of Microsoft Power Platform data loss prevention policies. Learn more here: http://aka.ms/DataverseSentinelIntegration  

Manage the risk of insider threats via enhanced logging to the Microsoft 365 Unified Audit Log 

To manage the risk of insider threats, all administrator actions in Power Platform are logged to the Microsoft 365 Unified Admin audit log, enabling security teams that manage compliance and insider risk management teams who act on events the ability to mitigate risks in an organization. Learn more here: http://aka.ms/PowerPlatformAdminAuditLogging 

Seamlessly integrate your Dynamics 365 data with Fabric and Microsoft 365  

Empower your users to do more with Link to Fabric  

We are excited to announce general availability of Link to Fabric, a no-copy, no-ETL direct link between Dataverse and Microsoft Fabric. If your organization uses Dynamics 365 or Power Platform with Power BI, Link to Fabric enables simple data integration, and allows low code makers to securely derive AI driven insights across business apps and data sources and drive action.  

Low code Makers can Link to Microsoft Fabric from the Analyze menu in Power Apps maker portal command bar. The system validates configuration and lets you choose a Fabric workspace without leaving maker portal. When you confirm, the system securely links all your tables into a system generated Synapse Lakehouse in the Fabric workspace you selected. Your data stays in Dataverse while you can work with all Fabric workloads like SQL, Python and PowerBI without making copies or building pipelines. As data gets updated in Dataverse, changes are reflected in Fabric, near real time. 

We are also excited to announce joint partner and ISV solutions with Dynamics 365, Power platform and Microsoft Fabric. Partners and system are leveraging the Dataverse Link to Fabric to provide value added solutions that combine business functionality with insights and built-in actions.  

MECOMS is a top recommended solution for energy and utility companies across the globe enables next generation cities with smart energy and utility solutions that manage consumption from “meter to cash”. MECOMS 365, built on Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Fabric, gathers smart meter data from homes and businesses, processes billing and reconciliation in Dynamics 365 and integrates with Dynamics 365 for customer engagement. Smart cities can not only provide billing and excellent service, but also provide insights to customers on how they can lower consumption and save money.   

Ian Bruyninckx, Lead Product Architect, MECOMS, A Ferranti Company 

ERP customers can extend their insights and reduce TCO by upgrading to Synapse Link  

If you are a Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations (F&O) customer, we have exciting news to share. Synapse Link for Dataverse service built into Power Apps, the successor to the Export to Data Lake feature in finance and operations apps, is now generally available. By upgrading from Export to data lake feature in F&O to Synapse Link, you can benefit from the improved configuration and enhanced performance which translates to a reduction in the total cost of ownership (TCO).

To learn more about upgrading to Synapse Link, refer to https://aka.ms/TransitiontoSynapseLinkVideos.

Reference Dataverse records with Microsoft 365 Context IQ to efficiently access enterprise data 

One of the most time-consuming tasks, for any person that uses email, is sharing information in your line of business applications with colleagues. You must jump out of your Outlook web experience, open your line of business app, navigate to a record, and then copy and paste the link into your email. This is an incredibly time-consuming set of steps and actions. 

We are excited to announce general availability for Dataverse integration with Microsoft 365 Context IQ a new feature that makes it possible for users to access their most recently used data directly from Outlook Web Client using a simple gesture.   

Please refer to the settings on how to Use /mention to link to records in Outlook web client – Power Platform | Microsoft Learn. 

Efficiently hyper(scale) your business applications  

In the age of AI, customers are challenged with managing data at hyperscale from a plethora of sources. As a polyglot hyperscale data platform for structured relational and unstructured non-relational data, Dataverse can support all your business scenarios with security, governance, and life cycle management, with no storage limitations.  

For very high scale data scenarios, such as for example utilizing third party data for time-sensitive marketing campaigns or driving efficiency with predictive maintenance for your IOT business, Dataverse elastic tables is a powerful addition to standard tables, supporting both relational and non-relational data. You can even optimize large volume data storage with time-defined auto-delete capability. 

Additionally, while Dataverse can support your business growth with no limit on active data, to meet your company’s compliance, regulatory or other organizational policy, you can retain in-active data with Dataverse long term data retention and save 50% or more on storage capacity.  

Click here to learn more about Microsoft Dataverse. 

The post Unlock new value with your Dynamics 365 data in Microsoft 365 and Fabric, while safeguarding your data and assets appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.