Upgrade your development pipeline quality 

Power CAT Tools feature suite is designed to streamline your development workflow with capabilities that automate essential tasks and provide insightful guidance based on real-world best practices. Read on to learn about the tools in this powerful suite of features.

Code Review Tool 

Code Review Tool automatically reviews your code to help to ensure adherence to best practices and standards, helping you identify and rectify potential issues early in the development process. 

Code Review Tool automatically reviews code to identify potential issues early in the development process, providing actionable insights and recommendations for optimization and improvement. It meticulously scans the codebase of various platform component types (canvas apps, cloud flows, bots, and more), highlighting areas that require attention and offering a standardized checklist of best practices curated by solution architects in Microsoft.  

This helps developers maintain high standards in their code, reducing the likelihood of errors and enhancing overall performance.

Learn more about code review.

AI-generated solution documentation 

Using AI, solution documentation automates the generation of basic documentation details, significantly reducing the manual effort required. This AI-powered approach helps to ensure that documents are created efficiently and accurately, minimizing human errors and removes the burden of generating basic documentation details, allowing users to focus on more strategic activities and enhancing productivity and efficiency. Simply choose or upload an unmanaged solution, choose the desired document sections, and export to word for quick and easy documentation. 

Read more about AI solution documentation.

Risk assessment 

The Risk assessment feature evaluates potential risks in solutions exposed by security roles and provides actionable mitigation strategies. This proactive approach helps makers and admins address risks collaboratively before and after deployment into production with real business data, helping to ensure the stability and security of their solutions and the system. 

It’s imperative to establish a robust framework for managing security threat tolerance and reducing vulnerability surface area. Whether you’re using Microsoft Dataverse or any other data store, this principle remains crucial. Setting a standard for identifying risks appropriate for your business data’s context is a critical first step. Organizations should define clear guidelines and baseline policies that can systematically evaluate and address potential security threats. This proactive approach helps to ensure that all custom roles are assessed against predefined criteria, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches. Continuous monitoring and updating security configurations to adapt to evolving threats is essential for maintaining a strong security posture. 

The Risk assessment tool offers a comprehensive suite of capabilities designed to enhance security and compliance specific to the Dataverse security model and Microsoft Power Platform solutions. This tool is particularly beneficial for both makers and administrators, as it provides automated scanning and compliance checks for custom security roles within Dataverse. By continuously monitoring and evaluating security roles, the tool helps identify potential weaknesses and helps to ensure that roles meet baseline access levels, which can be customized to reflect an organization’s specific security requirements.  

It flags noncompliant roles that do not meet baseline policies defined by administrators, preventing deployment of solutions with noncompliant roles and allowing app owners to take corrective action promptly. Detailed insights into the privileges and clear instructions help app owners understand the potential risks and take appropriate actions to mitigate them to achieve compliance. 

For administrators, the tool offers a unified view of security settings across different environments, making it easier to manage and monitor security roles. It also supports the evaluation of roles against configurable baseline risk ratings, helping administrators enforce compliance and maintain governance throughout the development lifecycle. 

Get more information on Risk assessment.

API playground 

The API Playground, offering a Postman-like experience, allows developers to test and explore APIs seamlessly. This tool is a pre-authenticated software testing environment that helps makers quickly and conveniently interact with Dataverse web API. By eliminating the need for extensive setup or authentication processes, it simplifies the process of integrating and debugging APIs. 

Learn more information on API playground.

Plugin monitor 

The tool provides a convenient, modern interface to easily monitor and analyze plugin performance and behavior, providing insights into efficiency and helping plugin developers optimize their plugins for better performance. Use tracing to troubleshoot low-code and pro-code plug-ins. Tracing helps makers by recording run-time information as an aid in diagnosing the cause of failures, or for general validation of certain states during development. 

Learn more about plugin monitor.

Empowering makers with Power CAT Tools solutions

The Power CAT Tools solution is a distinctive community offering provided by the Microsoft Power CAT team, designed to elevate your development experience beyond what the native platform offers. Built on the low-code platform itself, this open-source repository helps to ensure transparency and offers unique insights into development best practices that are not available natively. The tools suite helps build robust and efficient solutions by making it easier for makers to adhere to best practices. 

Get started with Power CAT Tools today 

To get started with Power CAT Tools, simply download and install the app from the Microsoft AppSource. Configure your development environment to integrate with Power CAT Tools, explore the various features, and begin using the toolkit to enhance your development projects. 

Go to the GitHub repository to get started, or quickly install from AppSource.  

We hope you find Power CAT Tools valuable in your development journey. Thank you for your continued support and contributions. Happy building! 

The post Elevate your Microsoft Power Platform development experience with Power CAT Tools  appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

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.

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.

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 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

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 Power Platform Blog.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting your journey, this event is designed to inspire, educate, and connect developers, IT professionals, business users, and like-minded tech enthusiasts who share enthusiasm for digital transformation. Microsoft is the proud lead sponsor of the third annual Power Platform Community Conference: a three-day, in-person, action-packed community event taking place at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, from September 18 through September 20, 2024. At PPCC, get ready to:

• Take advantage of the latest cutting-edge advancements in technology with generative AI and Microsoft Copilot.
• Gain skills and learn best practices to help your team stay ahead of the newest developments.
• Connect with like-minded individuals who share your interest.
• Have direct access to experts who can answer your questions for your business scenarios.

The event kicks off with pre-conference workshops on September 16 and September 17, followed by the main event from September 18 through September 20. Additionally, there will be a day of post-conference workshops on September 21.

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to be part of the Microsoft Power Platform revolution. Register now and join us for an event that will inspire, educate, and empower you to achieve more.

Thriving together: The Microsoft Power Platform community experience

Prepare to immerse yourself in the dynamic world of low-code/no-code. This group of problem-solvers, developers, and analysts is united by a common goal: to unlock the full potential of Microsoft Power Platform. By exchanging ideas, best practices, and building on each other’s work, this vibrant community breaks down barriers and elevates the platform to new heights. The Microsoft Power Platform community paves the way for a future of seamless integration, automation, and data-driven decision-making, enriching the lives of businesses and individuals alike.

This year, PPCC will continue to feature the latest and greatest in generative AI and Copilot with several sessions showcasing how these cutting-edge technologies are transforming Microsoft Power Platform and the business landscape. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from Microsoft’s senior thought leaders, product experts, and engineers who are driving these innovations.

Building on the success of previous events such as the European Power Platform Conference, DynamicsCon, TechCon365, and Global Power Platform Bootcamp, this year’s conference may be our best yet.

Networking is a key component of the PPCC experience. The conference provides numerous opportunities for attendees to connect with their peers, share ideas, and learn from each other. Whether it’s during sessions, workshops, or social events, there are plenty of chances to build relationships and expand your professional network.

In addition to the educational and networking opportunities, the conference also offers a chance to hear real-world customer stories and shared insights from industry leaders. These stories provide valuable perspectives on how Microsoft Power Platform is being used to drive digital transformation and achieve business success.

Be sure to follow the Microsoft Power Platform Community LinkedIn for more announcements, exciting executive speaker lineup updates, and continued Microsoft Power Platform Product Weeks coverage.

What’s new and next for Microsoft Business Apps

This year, we’re thrilled to present an exceptional lineup of keynote speakers who are leading the industry. Dive into 150 interactive sessions covering a diverse range of topics, many of which are led by Microsoft’s senior thought leaders and product experts.

On day one of the conference, you’ll gain valuable insights from Charles Lamanna, Corporate Vice President, Business and Industry Copilot, as he discusses how generative AI and Copilot are transforming software engineering. Jeff Teper, President of Microsoft Collaborative Apps and Platforms, will explore the future of collaboration and productivity. Kim Manis, Vice President of Product for Microsoft Fabric and Power BI, will highlight the latest advancements in data analytics and visualization.

Participate in 20 hands-on technical workshops designed to provide practical knowledge that’s immediately applicable to your work. These workshops cater to all skill levels, from beginner to advanced.

Learn about the newest features and capabilities of Microsoft Power Automate from Sangya Singh, Vice President, Power Platform Intelligent Automations. Discover how Microsoft Dataverse drives data-driven decision-making with insights from Nirav Shah, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Dataverse. Ryan Cunningham, Vice President, Power Platform Intelligent Applications, will showcase the transformative potential of Microsoft Power Apps and Microsoft Power Pages. Kim Manis will provide comprehensive coverage of Microsoft Power BI. Ilya Grebnov, Vice President and Deputy Chief Technology Officer, Business and Industry Copilot, will discuss the architectural innovations behind Microsoft Power Platform, and Omar Aftab, Vice President, Conversational AI, will introduce the latest in Microsoft Copilot Studio. These sessions are crafted to equip you with the knowledge and skills to stay ahead of the curve, whether you’re looking to deepen your expertise or explore new areas.

PPCC 2024 will also feature an array of breakout sessions and other engaging activities hosted by Microsoft product teams, the Microsoft Power Customer Advisory Team (CAT), Power BI CAT, Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs), super users, and experts from around the globe.

Join the fun at the Power Platform Community Conference

The Power Platform Community Conference is not just an event; it’s an experience that brings together a diverse group of individuals who are passionate about digital transformation. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the industry, network with like-minded individuals, and gain practical knowledge that can be applied to their work.

This conference is a must-attend event for anyone who is passionate about digital transformation and wants to stay ahead of the curve. With a packed agenda, a stellar lineup of speakers, and a vibrant community of attendees, this year’s conference promises to be an unforgettable experience. So, don’t miss out—register now and join us in Las Vegas for the 2024 Power Platform Community Conference.

Register for the event and make your MGM Grand Hotel reservation today.

Power Platform conference

Join like-minded tech peers who share enthusiasm for digital transformation.

Register for the event

The post Showcasing AI innovation at the third annual Power Platform Community Conference appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

Microsoft partners are helping organizations achieve greater efficiency by using our growing ecosystem of Microsoft Copilot connectors in Copilot Studio to build these types of solutions. We’re excited to announce that Litera, a global leader in legal technology solutions, enabled its first innovative Copilot connector designed to transform legal workflows. The connector extends Litera’s core workflows beyond their proprietary user interfaces, offering unparalleled accessibility to a firm’s intellectual property. 

Accenture extends its portfolio of Intelligent Supply Chain Platform solutions built on Microsoft technologies by unveiling a groundbreaking copilot extension in Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 for its Supply Risk Control Tower solution. 

Copilot Studio makes it easy to extend the capabilities of copilots with actions, connectors, and sources of data. Copilot connectors include data sources within the productivity cloud in Microsoft 365, business data in Microsoft Dataverse, data from Microsoft Dynamics 365, and analytical data in Microsoft Fabric, as well as non-Microsoft enterprise data sources. Through Copilot connectors, you can now ground your copilot responses with multiple enterprise data sources for more relevant and reliable responses from copilots and copilot extensions. 

Litera’s Copilot connector provides unparalleled accessibility to a firm’s intellectual knowledge 

The Litera Search Copilot connector enables legal professionals to execute complex natural language searches for both legal matter experience and precedent content from any Copilot-enabled application, allowing users to get matter and precedent detail without learning how to navigate a complex search screen. Best-fit insights are delivered instantly, eliminating the need for endless clicks to drill down into legal matter context or iterations to refine search context and outcomes. Imagine that you are a junior associate in charge of creating a first draft for a real estate credit litigation in a New York state agreement: you can gain instant insight into how your top firm experts have structured and written indemnification clauses for credit agreements saving valuable time and leveraging the firm’s collective knowledge. Whether drafting new contracts, looking to assign the most experienced attorney to a specific case, compiling a pitch for new business, or understanding market conditions during negotiations, the Litera Search Copilot connector brings the ease of natural language matter and content search to a vastly expanded domain of user interfaces. 

 “Collaborating with Microsoft has allowed us to advance our use of new AI techniques to create revolutionary tools for the legal industry. By integrating with Microsoft Copilot, we’re delivering intelligent, AI-driven experiences that significantly enhance productivity and efficiency for legal professionals. This partnership not only highlights our commitment to innovation but also sets the stage for a transformative future in legal technology.”

Greg Ingino, Chief Technology Officer at Litera 

First, the user asks in natural language for litigation that meets certain criteria. 

Once they see the list of matching litigation, the user then makes the request for details on a specific legal matter from the first set of results. 

For end-users, these solutions offer significant value by streamlining workflows and enhancing productivity, as legal professionals can now reduce the time spent on administrative tasks, allowing them to focus on more critical aspects of their work. The integration of AI and natural language capabilities means users can interact with the software more intuitively, ultimately transforming the way they manage and utilize legal documents.  

Accenture brings supply chain management to Copilot 

Extending its portfolio of Intelligent Supply Chain Platform solutions built on Microsoft technologies, Accenture has unveiled a groundbreaking extension in Copilot for Microsoft 365 for its Supply Risk Control Tower. This innovation streamlines the daily workflows of supply chain teams, particularly material planners. Supply chain professionals can now receive daily updates from Copilot detailing incoming orders and providing real-time insights into potential risks. More than just a tracking tool, Copilot proactively recommends optimal course of action, streamlining decision-making processes and empowering teams to respond swiftly and strategically to dynamic supply chain scenarios.  

To create this advanced functionality, Accenture used the capabilities of Copilot Studio, incorporating knowledge, topics, and actions. This was combined with the power of Dataverse and its vast connector ecosystem, integrating Accenture’s deep supply chain data domain expertise with Copilot generative AI capabilities. The outcome is the transformative Supply Chain Insights App. With Microsoft Power Platform native integration into Copilot Studio, Accenture automated critical order management tasks in enterprise resource planning systems such as Dynamics 365 and SAP, saving valuable time and reducing manual data entry errors. 

Activate Dataverse data as knowledge using Copilot connectors 

Using Copilot connectors, you can bridge the gap between Dataverse data and Copilot. The ‘Add knowledge sources’ option allows developers to integrate deeply with Dataverse and Microsoft Power Platform. Once configured, a semantic search allows the connector to understand and interpret the text data, enabling more relevant and context-aware responses. Data synchronization and caching ensure your data is available for quick access and reduce potential latency issues. 

Using Dataverse is just one of the capabilities of Copilot connectors. For example, with a few clicks, you can access the ecosystem of more than 1,400 connectors, which includes extensive third-party service integration with your copilot. Using these connectors, you can add actions to your copilot to allow it to complete new tasks related to your solution. The following diagram illustrates the full breadth of capabilities of Copilot connectors. 

Adding actions using a Microsoft Power Platform connector is just one of the options available for adding new actions to a copilot.  

Prompt actions allow you to generate content or extract insights with AI Builder prompts. The prompts include prebuilt prompts that can be customized by parameters or from Dataverse data. For example, passing a customer name, a prompt action could summarize related data for the customer name using Copilot. 

Conversational actions receive a user query and process it by completing one or more operations, and then sends one or more responses back to the copilot that it is being used from. The conversational action could use the generative answer node to respond to the query. The answer could be based on knowledge configured that was unique to the scenario. For example, you could have a billing code lookup that produced answers about specific billing codes to the requesting user. 

Flow actions allow you to build a Microsoft Power Automate flow that runs to process the request from a user. These actions can be used to add the ability for the copilot to complete a task. For example, adding a billing code could be implemented as a flow action. The cloud flow would use other connectors to check if the billing code existed, follow company standards, and then finally add the billing code, responding to the user that the code was added.  

Copilot connectors allow you to build complete solutions 

Copilot connectors provide you with multiple ways to extend copilots with your unique solution. By combining several of these capabilities to form your full solution, you’ll be able to provide your users with access to the right knowledge and actions to make them more productive. These features are just the beginning of what’s to come, and we can’t wait to see how organizations will use them to innovate using Dataverse and Microsoft Power Platform. 

Copilot connectors in Copilot Studio

 Extend the capabilities of copilots with actions, copilot connectors, and sources of data.

Learn more

The post Litera and Accenture transform business processes with Microsoft Copilot connectors appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

If your organization is already using Microsoft Power Platform and you’re interested in sharing your insights and experiences, we’d love to hear your story.

Cineplex benefits from Microsoft Power Platform automated solutions

Customer  

Cineplex  

Country  

Canada  

Industry  

Media 

Cineplex is one of Canada’s leading media and entertainment companies. To streamline business processes, over 100 employees are using Microsoft Power Platform to develop innovative automation solutions for finance, guest services, and other departments. Watch the video to learn how Cineplex saves over 30,000 hours a year in manual processing time.

See full story.

Leroy Seafood Group drives digitization with Microsoft Power Platform

Customer

Leroy Seafood Group

Country

Norway

Industry

Forestry and Fishing

The Leroy Seafood Group, a leading global producer of salmon and trout, has leveraged Microsoft Power Platform products to drive its digitization strategy, significantly enhancing data sharing and operational efficiency. By purchasing more than 4,000 Premium Microsoft Power Apps licenses and implementing an automated Center of Excellence, Leroy has empowered its employees to develop innovative enterprise applications. One such mobile app, for example, has standardized and centralized data reporting from offshore crews, improving reporting accuracy by 11.6%, equating to an USD 8 million saving. Leroy’s structured development approach, supported by the Power Platform Center of Excellence Starter Kit, ensures robust governance and quality. Managed Environments have further strengthened development controls, enabling seamless innovation and the potential for additional applications, such as health and safety training tools. Overall, Microsoft Power Platform has been pivotal in enhancing Leroy’s data-driven decision-making and operational excellence, aligning with its vision of becoming a leader in sustainable seafood.

“When we started with [Microsoft] Power Platform, we made the decision to jump directly into [Microsoft] Dataverse as was saw it as the most secure and reliable way to store and manage our data—especially our mission critical data. It was a natural choice for us and it has worked amazingly well.”

Andreas Fauske: Team Lead Power Platform, Leroy

See full story.

Peppermint Technology boosts law firm efficiency with Microsoft Power Platform

Customer 

Peppermint 

Country 

United States  

Industry 

Professional Services 

Peppermint Technology redefines legal business processes with their innovative Copilot, integrating seamlessly with Microsoft Power Platform to boost law firm efficiency. By using enterprise data in Dataverse and SharePoint, Peppermint’s solutions empower lawyers to streamline client services, enhancing productivity and client engagement with minimal effort. Learn more by watching the video. 

See full blog.  

Majesco expands it’s copilot capabilities with Microsoft Copilot Studio

Customer

Majesco

Country

United States

Industry

Professional Services

Majesco, an insurance industry leader, used Copilot Studio, to build a comprehensive copilot that is embedded in all twelve of its insurance software products, a task that previously took nine months for a basic version. This shift reduced reliance on a small data science team, allowing 400 developers to handle 95% of the copilot’s functionalities independently. Integrated with Microsoft Power Automate, the copilot can perform diverse actions like data summarization and task management, significantly improving efficiency. The new copilot processes inquiries and actions in less than 30 seconds, saving substantial time and costs. This advancement addresses industry challenges such as underwriter shortages and easing the learning curve for new hires, providing real-time support and reducing administrative burdens. Copilot Studio has accelerated Majesco’s market delivery, giving it a strong first-mover advantage and progressing toward a fully AI-driven user interface.

“Using Microsoft Copilot Studio has accelerated our speed to market and given us a strong, first-mover advantage.”

Manish Shah: Chief Product Officer, Majesco

See full story.

Call2Recycle optimizes its operations with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform

Customer

Call2Recycle

Country

United States

Industry

Other

Call2Recycle, operator of the largest battery recycling program in the U.S. and Canada, streamlined its operations with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform, saving approximately USD 25,000 annually. By integrating Dynamics 365 for enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM), the nonprofit automates processes across operations, finance, services, and sales, reducing manual work and increasing efficiency. This setup saves hours on tasks like invoicing and vendor payments, allowing the organization to focus on its sustainability mission. Additionally, Call2Recycle launched an e-bike battery recycling program using Microsoft Power Pages, seamlessly integrated with Dynamics 365. This system supports more than 2,000 retailers, enabling efficient enrollment, training, and management of battery collection. Automation through Power Automate and real-time monitoring with Microsoft Power BI ensure streamlined operations. The flexibility and scalability of Microsoft Power Platform are crucial for adapting to the rapidly changing battery market, driving growth, and enhancing environmental impact.

“By automating processes in Business Central, we save 10 hours per month on invoicing, 8 hours on banking activities like vendor payment uploads, and 12 hours on processing vendor invoice approvals.”

David Ainsley: Director of IT, Call2Recycle

See full story.

Laris Hotels Group improves booking data access using Microsoft Power Platform

Customer

Laris Hotels Group

Country

Poland

Industry

Other

Laris Hotels Group, one of the largest hotel chains in Krakow, Poland, improved its access to booking data using Microsoft Power Platform products. Previously reliant on a cumbersome weekly manual process, Laris implemented desktop robotic process automation (RPA) in Power Automate to pull daily data from a legacy property management system (PMS). This data is now seamlessly integrated into Power BI for customized reporting. With faster, daily updates, Laris enjoys a clearer view of booking data, increasing average hotel occupancy by approximately 15%. The new system allows for detailed analysis, including commission and tax breakdowns, and aligns booking data with budget targets. Reports are automatically distributed via Microsoft Teams, ensuring timely information for decision-making. Developed by Atteli, a Microsoft partner, the low-code solution was created in just two weeks, offering cost-efficiency and easy maintenance. Beyond improving internal operations, Laris plans to extend this system to support other hotels through its Hotel Sales Link initiative. The scalable solution, ready to handle various PMS systems, positions Laris for further innovation and enhanced data-driven decision-making, with potential expansions into Microsoft Fabric for deeper insights.

“Our [Microsoft] Power Platform system provides us with greater availability of booking data, with average hotel occupancy increasing by approximately 15% as a result.”

Chris Barker: International Sales Director, Laris Hotels Group

See full story.

Nsure streamlines customer processes with Microsoft Power Platform

Customer 

Nsure 

Country 

United States 

Industry 

Insurance 

Nsure.com enables consumers to compare quotes from over 50 home and auto insurers and to buy online in minutes. For over five years, the company has been using Microsoft Power Platform to automate business processes. Watch the video to see how Nsure used the generative AI capabilities in Microsoft Power Automate, including text recognition and sentiment analysis, to reduce manual processing time by 60% while also reducing associated costs by 50%. 

See full story. 

Zurich empowers developers with Microsoft Power Platform

Customer  

Zurich 

Country  

Switzerland

Industry  

Insurance 

To help enable fusion development, drive innovation, and streamline operations across the global enterprise, citizen and pro developers at Zurich Insurance Group are using Microsoft Power Platform for low-code and pro-code business app development, process automation, and more. Check out the video to learn more.  

Tell us your story

We'd love to hear about your Microsoft Power Platform story

Share it here

The post How Microsoft Power Platform is driving real-world impact—April and May customer success stories appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

AI and Microsoft Copilot empower non-coders and coders alike

AI is still unfolding its full potential for the world, but its transformational effect on how businesses work is already evident. Copilot is constantly becoming more helpful within the low-code ecosystem of Microsoft Power Platform—new features are being released every month and with Microsoft Build coming up this May, we will be sharing the next wave of Copilot innovation.

We’re thrilled to see the excitement in the community. At the Microsoft Power Platform Conference, we spoke with attendees and gathered their thoughts on how Copilot empowers them as developers, makers, and end-users to elevate their personal work and business operations. Whether it’s facilitating data management and process optimization, streamlining app creation, or achieving superior business outcomes, Copilot is revolutionizing their work and enhancing their overall effectiveness.

Enabling innovation starts with strong security and governance

Microsoft is built on trust. With the introduction of generative AI technology and Copilot to Microsoft Power Platform products, we affirm our dedication to safeguarding data and processes within Microsoft. Our unwavering commitment to data security, privacy, and responsible AI principles inform every facet of our development journey. Customers can confidently trust that their data remains theirs, protected by robust measures at every turn.

Who better understands the crucial role of security and governance within Microsoft Power Platform than those leading its practices within their organizations and actively building apps and automations on our comprehensive low-code platform? While our engineers responsible for building Microsoft Power Platform may possess deeper technical insights, let’s first hear from people in business who are using Microsoft Power Platform: Nishant Kumar (S&P Global), Blake Jones (Chevron), Farzeen Daruwala (Coca Cola Bottling Canada), Mohammed Alkuhlani (Baker Hughes) and Mary Myers (WorldMax). They will share their perspectives on why they trust and feel confident in building with Microsoft Power Platform in the video below.

Traditional code developers and other makers alike find speed, ease, and scale with Microsoft Power Platform

Is this going to be simple enough? Will it scale? And how fast can we get to seeing the real value?

These questions are critical whenever you’re thinking of a new project—whether it’s a brand-new scope or modernization of an existing solution.

Ahmed Salih, Senior Power Platform Solution Architect at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Microsoft MVP shared how easy it was to bring Microsoft Power Platform, and especially Microsoft Dataverse, to his organization with so much security and accessibility right out of the box.

“We have people who are nurses, accountants, students, teachers who actually can go there and create security models in Dataverse. So, as a pro developer, imagine you come there, how efficient you can be.”

Ahmed Salih, Senior Power Platform Solution Architect at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Microsoft MVP

Hear what Ahmed had to say in the video below.

Yes, it’s true that Microsoft Power Platform does see remarkable success with makers who don’t come from a traditional coding background because it’s simpler for them to start building solutions with the visual tools, Microsoft Power Fx language, and the useful features in Microsoft Power Platform that help accelerate the work. But traditional developers get the same advantages, combined with their deep experience and know-how—resulting in an even more powerful combination than “just” a code-first approach can provide.

Discover firsthand accounts from individuals beyond Microsoft MVPs about the simplicity and value they’ve experienced when using Microsoft Power Platform.

We interviewed Michael McCullough (Amtrak) with and Mark Stocks (JE Dunn Construction), and they both attest to the ease of establishing and scaling Microsoft Power Platform practice.

“We went from two apps six years ago to 6,238 apps as of this year. We went from two developers six years ago to 538 developers as of last month.”

Michael McCullough (Amtrak)

In the video below, learn more from them as they talk about their transformation and slashing development time from months to mere days and enabled the creation of intricate business applications.

Microsoft Power Platform

We'd love to hear your insights and experience with Microsoft Power Platform.

Share your story

The excitement and energy around Copilot, governance, security, and Dataverse is steadily increasing.

In Q3 earnings we shared that more than 230,000 organizations have used AI capabilities in Microsoft Power Platform, which was a strong 80% increase over the previous quarter.¹ Our product teams are dedicated to advancing governance and security for people and organizations using Microsoft Power Platform. Enabling fast and scalable innovation is at the core of the Microsoft Power Platform offering—whether it’s building apps, automating processes, designing and deploying pages, or customizing and creating copilots.

We can’t wait for the next event so we can share new exciting news with our community. If you’re thinking about joining us for Microsoft Build this May, you can register here.

¹ Microsoft Fiscal Year 2024 Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call, January 30, 2024

The post The Microsoft Power Platform community is buzzing about Microsoft Copilot, governance, and scale appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

You can quickly: 

• Create low-code web and mobile apps, using Microsoft Power Apps, with complex security requirements, which are cross-platform and easy to deploy. 
• Integrate with internal and external systems using more than 1,000 connectors and robotic process automation, using low-code Microsoft Power Automate flows. 
• Publish websites, using Microsoft Power Pages, that have complex membership, content management, visual styling, and data access requirements.

Yes, ok, you’re highly likely to have heard all this before, and you may be thinking that all this talk of “low-code” is more hype than reality. With the advent of the age of AI where copilot is being used to build apps using natural language, you may even think that low-code is only for simple, low-usage applications in teams that do not have access to professional developers. Does it really suit large-scale application development that must adhere to a strict set of enterprise architecture requirements? And what about supporting all this low-code as it grows in complexity? Wouldn’t it be better to build using traditional software development tools right from the beginning and prevent any costly rewrites when the demands and complexity becomes too high for low-code. 

Let’s forget about low-code (for a minute)

Do you respond with a resounding yes to the questions above? If so, and you are a professional software developer, then this doesn’t surprise me, and I’m not sure that the term “low-code” is always that helpful when trying to describe Microsoft Power Platform. 

“Wait, what now?” Well, just hear me out!  

There’s no doubt that there’s a huge and growing demand for application development. We’re building new apps, modernizing existing apps, and adding innovations through AI and connectivity with Microsoft 365. Starting a development project requires making tough decisions, such as which technology to use for the data access layer, how security will be managed, and how to scale your app. The level of abstraction we choose often dictates the speed at which the software can be built, and there are tradeoffs between productivity, flexibility, and cost. Using Microsoft Azure services such as Microsoft Azure API Management is a good example of where the benefits, such as easy deployment and subscription access control features, outweigh the licensing and implementation constraints. With this in mind, following are some of the ever-growing features of Microsoft Power Platform, looked at through the lens of the software development tooling you may already be familiar with. 

Building business applications fast 

Business applications can be complex to develop due to the high number of factors that need to be considered, such as user interface design, storage requirements, security, compliance, and scalability. Microsoft Power Platform makes building business applications easier. 

• Responsive and accessible applications can be developed once and then used across multiple platforms on desktop or mobile devices. 
• Reusable UI components are built using React that can be assembled using a drag-and-drop interface. 
• React components can be developed and deployed using Microsoft Visual Studio Code for single application use or shared between multiple projects via a centralized repository. 
• Apps can be easily deployed as packages that include both metadata components, compiled code, and data import files. If required, canvas apps can be distributed as native mobile apps to end users through Microsoft Intune, Visual Studio App Center, Google Play store, and Apple Business Manager. 
• Native offline support uses a local MySQL database, and automatically stores data operations to be automatically replayed once reconnected to the network. 
• Test Engine uses Playwright to execute user interface tests as part of automatic testing pipelines. 
• Microsoft Power Platform CLI can be used to automate all parts of solution development, deployment and environment management using Azure PowerShell, Microsoft Azure Pipelines, or GitHub actions. 
• Public facing websites can be quickly created using Power Pages, and then edited using Visual Studio Code. These sites that use Azure-deployed ASP.NET as the backend, have automatic content delivery network (CDN) and caching support. Sites can use the built-in Web API with a configurable security provider to create complex single or multi page applications. 

Everything connected 

With data stored in so many places within your organization—and external services often being vital to business processes—integration and connectivity are crucial for successful business solutions. Microsoft Power Platform makes integration easier.  

• A library of more than 1,000 connectors can be used to create event-driven orchestrations that are built on top of Microsoft Azure Logic Apps and OpenAPI, but without the need for Azure subscription setup and deployment. 
• Microsoft Visual Studio can be used to create ASP.NET Web APIs that can easily be deployed as custom connectors. Debugging using dev tunnels is easy when using the Visual Studio Microsoft Power Platform Connected Services configuration. 
• Dataverse Synapse Link and Dataverse Link to Microsoft Fabric data can be used for real-time analytics within OneLake. 
• Dataflows in Microsoft Power Platform use Power Query to import or synchronize data from diverse data sources. 

Data platform as a service 

Storing data in a secure, performant, and scalable way is vital to every business application’s success. Microsoft Power Platform makes this easier using Microsoft Dataverse to underpin all its tools. 

• Dataverse is a highly available, cloud-based data platform that is built upon Azure, providing all the robustness, scalability, compliance, and security that you’re used to with Microsoft Azure SQL, Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Data Lake, and Microsoft Azure Blob Storage. 
• Data can be relational, blob, or unstructured, and is metadata-driven so that it can be accessed in a highly contextual way. Fully functional apps can automatically be built using this metadata, and AI can be used to query using natural language. 
• Uptime guarantees and monitoring tools give you complete visibility of your data without the need for building additional logging and monitoring solutions. 
• An Open Data Protocol (OData) Web API and connector is available to interact with your data and expose it to other applications that can be built using traditional software tools. 
• The Dataverse SQL endpoint is used to automatically create compelling and visually appealing Microsoft Power BI dashboards and reports. 
• C# can be used to extend Dataverse with custom business logic and create custom APIs that run inside the Dataverse platform. 
• Native integration with Microsoft Azure Service Bus makes it easy to extend using Microsoft Azure Functions, Microsoft Azure Event Hubs, and Microsoft Azure Event Grid. 
• Virtual tables allow non-Dataverse data sources to be surfaced, queried, and linked to standard Dataverse tables. Out-of-the-box support for Azure SQL, SharePoint, and C# custom providers makes it extremely easy to build apps upon multiple data sources in a unified way.
• Built-in audit log capabilities and long-term data retention features allow you to track changes and retain unlimited data long term in a cost-efficient way, without the need for any added development or management. 
• Dataverse search gives users a fast, AI-powered way of finding data and documents within Dataverse.  

Native AI support 

• Conversational bots that use Azure Bot Service can be quickly configured, trained, and deployed to be used inside Microsoft 365 or external facing websites. 
• Complex AI models can be trained in document, image, and sentiment recognition and then easily deployed and used in business applications. 
• Microsoft Copilot Studio supports building natural language conversational AI copilots that can be built using a graphical UI and trained on data for internal or external scenarios.  
• Copilot plugins can be built using OpenAPI connectors in combination with prompt engineering. 
• Copilots can be automatically added to business applications to give a natural language interface to data and information that is most relevant to the user.  

Performance and scale 

Microsoft Power Platform is built on Azure and is already tried and proven so that you don’t need to build your own platform. With automatic elastic scale, it can manage thousands of users and terabytes of data. Where performance cannot be met due to the tradeoffs that come from a higher level of abstraction, Microsoft Power Platform can be extended using lower-level tools and technologies, and connected through the many extension-points such as custom connectors, custom controls, Service Bus integration, and C# plugins. Many of these extensions can be deployed using Microsoft Power Platform solutions to make versioning and dependency management easier. 

Consumption and licensing 

It can often be extremely difficult to calculate the cost of Azure resources required by an application that you’re building once it is deployed. With Microsoft Power Platform comes a higher degree of predictability of cost through seat-based licensing, with consumption-based licensing being applied to services such as AI Builder and Copilot Studio copilots.  

The pay-as-you-go plan for Power Apps and Power Automate does give you the flexibility to use an Azure subscription if you prefer a pure consumption-based model. 

So, what about low-code? 

A common challenge in software development is that there are simply not enough hours in the day. It is generally accepted that adding more developers to a team does not always mean higher productivity. Adoption of new tools or technologies is usually driven by the desire to write less code to make the development process faster, less prone to bugs, and to make it easier to meet standards—especially around security. This is exactly what Microsoft Power Platform does for professional software development. Yes, there are tradeoffs, but as with all technology choices, the benefits are balanced against the drawbacks. Microsoft Power Platform provides a huge degree of functionality with minimal coding—making development much easier and faster. Where needed, it can be extended using traditional languages such as C# and TypeScript, deployed to cloud or even on-premises servers. So low-code is more about less code, and the less code we write, the easier it is to maintain, support, and upgrade—leaving more time for innovation on new features. Any software libraries that we might have used to speed up development before always need to be kept up to date to avoid deprecations and security vulnerabilities. An often-overlooked benefit of writing less code is that Microsoft Power Platform always keeps up-to-date with security patching, and very infrequently removes a feature. Multiple years notice is given before it is. 

But should everyone really develop apps? 

In addition to reducing the time and effort needed to build software, Microsoft Power Platform can also lower the barrier to entry, enabling those without traditional software development skills to build low-code solutions. 

As a professional developer, you may think that giving everyone access to build apps would cause software to be created that does not follow your organization’s IT policies and standards. With Microsoft Power Platform’s focus on governance, management, and monitoring, it creates an ecosystem that is safe and controlled for both low-code and pro-code developers to build applications within. This gives one set of standards for everyone, where administrators create clear boundaries and policies without restricting innovation.  

These managed environments foster collaboration and innovation, so that you can easily share and co-author your solutions with other developers, business users, and stakeholders. Inevitably, this will result in applications being built that are more likely to meet requirements and delight your users. When Microsoft Power Platform is available to all, there is also a lowered risk of teams procuring their own Shadow IT solutions. 

Write less code with Microsoft Power Platform

The term “low-code” is used to describe the next level of abstraction in software development and empowering everyone to build applications. However, Microsoft Power Platform is also a set of tools that is built upon the technologies you may already be using in Azure. It can coexist, augment existing solutions, and be extended by using traditional software development techniques. So next time you hear “low-code”, think about writing less of that tedious boilerplate code, to give you more time to create more robust, exciting, and innovative solutions. 

Get started as a developer

• Sign up for a free developer plan, discover self-paced learning paths, and read the full Microsoft Power Platform developer documentation. 
• Register here to attend the DEVintersection Conference and the Microsoft Azure + AI Conference. 
• See the full list of sessions at DEVintersection. 

Interested in learning more about how Microsoft Power Platform accelerates productivity for professional developers? Sign up for our monthly newsletter to get the latest updates! 

The post Accelerate developer productivity with Microsoft Power Platform appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

Extending your Copilot and conversational experience with enterprise data using plugins

Customers have been asking how they can use Copilot to tap into enterprise data, remove data silos, and improve productivity and collaboration. With plugins, customers can ensure their copilots can securely integrate with this most critical line of business data. At Ignite, we are announcing the ability to extend your Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 with Microsoft Power Platform plugins and Microsoft Copilot Studio. We’re introducing three ways in which customers can leverage the power of data inside Copilot for Microsoft 365 or their own Microsoft Power Platform copilots.  

1. Using the existing Microsoft Power Platform connector ecosystem of more than 1,100 live connectors, customers and partners can enable their users to access and update data from external systems. Customers can leverage existing certified Microsoft Power Platform connectors as Microsoft Copilot Studio Topics, which in turn can enrich Copilot for Microsoft 365. 

We are extending the capabilities of our more than 50 intelligent supply chain solutions with Microsoft Power Platform, [Microsoft] Fabric, and Copilot. For instance, Accenture’s supplier risk control tower solution builds the digital twin using Dataverse and Fabric to predict delays and offers recommendations to supply chain operators through the copilot for real-time collaboration with suppliers and automated execution to mitigate disruptions. Through the Power of 3 with Microsoft, Accenture, and Avanade, we are able to infuse rich data and intelligence through Copilot into the broader Microsoft 365 and business application ecosystem, thus enhancing decision making and overall productivity for our clients. 

– Kumar Majety, Cloud Supply Chain Solution Lead, Accenture 

2. With prompt builder, customers can build, test, and deploy AI prompts that will instruct copilots to perform specific actions when asked. In addition, prompts can be grounded in business data to customize your prompts with real-time business data. For example, makers can teach Copilot to produce a specific case summary, case classification, or draft an email reply according to their company policy and based on their company’s case history stored in Dataverse.

3. With Power Automate flow plugins, users can expose the tasks they have in Microsoft Planner by asking “What are my planner tasks?” Similarly, users can find the list of approvals assigned to them by asking “List my approvals.”  

Companies, developers, and ISVs can extend their products into Copilot using plugins 

Our partners have expressed their excitement about taking part in the age of AI. Enabling their products and services as plugins across low-code applications allows them to become part of the extensibility opportunity. ISVs can leverage existing Microsoft Power Platform connectors for creating AI plugins or import existing OpenAI plugins to use in public preview.

“We are thrilled to participate with Microsoft in this age of AI and provide value to our joint customers. The introduction of Power Platform connector as a plugin for Microsoft Copilot opens up an entirely new set of ways for our clients to deliver exceptional customer service.” 

– Kumar Krishnasami, Founder and CEO, Desk365 

Accelerate content generation scenarios with AI Builder GPT prompts 

Generative AI and Microsoft Power Platform create a powerful combination to bring to life next-generation workflows.  

To enable more organizations to leverage the power of generative AI, we are excited to announce the general availability of GPT prompts within AI Builder. Prompts are how users can interact with large language models like GPT, instructing the next generation of AI models to perform specific tasks. However, starting from zero can be tough, but by using AI Builder, users can now integrate generative AI prompts within their Power Automate workflows, Power Apps, Dataverse tables, and copilots. To help users get started, a prebuilt library of ready-to-use prompts is available and includes common scenarios like summarization, classification, content extraction, translation, and sentiment analysis. The prompts also comply with Microsoft’s approach to responsible AI. Users can also craft their own prompts, grounded with company data to produce specific outputs that are unique to their business.  

Build apps better and faster with Dataverse and Copilot AI assistance

Copilot in Power Apps is an AI companion that lets low-code makers easily create apps from ideas through natural language or from existing data in Excel and is one of the fastest-growing ways to build enterprise-ready business solutions backed by Dataverse.

The following capabilities are now generally available: 

1. From ‘idea to app’ within a few minutes using natural language

Makers can describe the app that they want to build and have a Dataverse table and app generated through an interactive Copilot AI-assisted experience. Previously, many makers would spend multiple days gathering requirements, building a prototype, getting feedback, testing, and iterating with business users. Now, with Copilot-assisted app creation, makers can prototype an app faster than ever before, and iterate with business users to build the desired business apps.  

2. Import from Excel to build your apps

Makers can use Copilot AI assistance and the power of Dataverse to import data from Excel to create configurable tables in minutes. Makers were previously facing issues when wanting to scale their app from Excel to a wider audience and use cases—from size limitations, concurrent usage challenges, and governance. The process to upgrade from your Excel file to Dataverse was historically lengthy and prone to errors. With two clicks under two minutes, makers can now import their Excel files into Dataverse, and get suggested table schema to build their next Copilot-enabled apps.  

3. Build formula columns in Dataverse

Now generally available, Formula columns are the next generation of columns in Dataverse. Based on Power Fx, they use the similar Excel-like language you use for Power Apps. Makers can also use natural language to generate formulas, now in public preview. Formula columns empower citizen developers to express business logic on top of existing columns and reference columns from other tables, directly in Dataverse.  

Microsoft Dataverse

Do more with your data. Expand the possibilities.

Get started today

Activate Azure data to unlock AI-driven insights with Dataverse Link to Microsoft Fabric 

We are excited to announce the general availability of Link to Fabric, a no-copy, no-ETL (extract, transform, load) direct link between Dataverse and Microsoft Fabric. With the general availability of Microsoft Fabric, low-code makers can derive AI-driven insights across business apps and data sources and drive action.  

If your organization uses Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Microsoft Power Platform with Microsoft Power BI, Link to Fabric provides an even simpler data integration option. Your low-code makers can work with their data securely in Fabric without the need to export data or build and maintain data pipelines. 

Low-code makers can Link to Microsoft Fabric from the Analyze menu in the Power Apps maker portal command bar. The system validates configuration and lets you choose a Fabric workspace without leaving the 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 Power BI without making copies or building pipelines. As data gets updated in Dataverse, changes are reflected in Fabric near real time. 

Activate low-code app development atop your Fabric OneLake with Dataverse virtual tables  

We are also excited to announce the preview of Dataverse virtual tables over Microsoft Fabric, which enables your low-code app builders to connect to data in Microsoft OneLake and build Power Apps, and drive business actions without data copy, no-ETL, or third-party integration tools. Additionally combined with Power Pages, low-code makers can build external-facing websites and drive action from insights with partners, suppliers, and customers.  

Pattern Energy, a developer and operator of utility-scale wind and solar power facilities across the United States, Canada, Japan, and Mexico, is on a mission to accelerate the world’s transition from fossil energy to a sustainable future. Timely and detailed insights on projects in Dynamics 365 are combined with data from the field to keep track of issues and avoid delays in bringing green energy to the grid. Pattern Energy has empowered a team of low-code makers who can get actionable insights across their data sources and act faster within all their business units across the globe. 

“We worked with Microsoft from early stages of the Fabric preview and realized the features were going to be a game changer for us. Exporting data from Dynamics 365 has never been easier. With Power Platform and OneLake, our teams have access to near real-time data, actions, and workflows. Once all these features are made generally available we’re excited to deploy across our organization; giving everyone at Pattern the tools they need to accelerate their ability to make data-driven decisions.”  

– Duncan Gifford, Director, Enterprise and Data Architecture, Pattern Energy 

Learn more

• Learn more about Microsoft Dataverse.
• Extend Copilot with Microsoft Copilot Studio.
• Read more about Dataverse Link to Fabric.

The post Accelerate Copilot extensibility and Power Apps creation with Microsoft Dataverse appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

That’s why industry leaders are turning to AI-powered, low-code and no-code solutions as a way to help their people do their jobs more efficiently and help their business stand out among competitors. The potential for AI at work is practically endless. Understanding how your teams can accomplish more with AI is key for any business in the digital space.

Business Applications Launch Event

Experience the new era of AI-powered business

Register for the event

Explore the future of AI

Join us for a first look at the latest innovations for Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 at the tenth Microsoft Business Applications Launch event on October 25. Hundreds of new features, plus tons of AI updates—it all adds up to one great opportunity to find out more about AI and what it can do for your organization.

Register now to hear from thought leaders and Microsoft Power Platform experts about the future of AI, and be first to catch a glimpse of the latest AI capabilities helping businesses work more effectively, including:

• New copilot features in Power Apps that boost developer productivity, give every user access to natural language assistants, and generate admin insights.
• Improved copilot experience in Power Pages that makes building websites, connecting to your data, and managing it all easy.
• The latest AI in Power Automate that makes automating and authoring faster by helping you build new cloud and desktop flows with improved process mining.
• New AI features in Power Virtual Agents like multilingual bots, generative answers and actions, and interactive voice response (IVR) integration with Dynamics 365 Customer Service.

You’ll also get updates on Power BI, Microsoft Dataverse, governance and administration, solution extensibility, and ISV experiences to help you analyze, act on, and automate the data that fuels your business.

Hear from Charles Lamanna, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Business Applications and Platforms, about how our customers are innovating every day with Microsoft Power Platform, then catch the latest AI capabilities in action, with real-world demos and guidance on how to:

• Develop stronger insights, reduce costs, and enhance creativity with intuitive, AI-powered solutions.
• Help employees and teams focus on revenue-generating work by creating automation solutions that let them avoid repetitive tasks.
• Elevate collaboration by connecting people, data, and processes across your organization with the newest AI-powered tools.

Insights on how AI can empower your employees

To understand what’s ahead in AI-assisted low-code and no-code solutions—and what your employees can do with them—you’ll hear directly from Microsoft leaders about their vision for AI, customer service, and operations. Get timely tips on how to use these brand-new technologies to take on your business’ toughest challenges, and if you have questions about new AI features, how Copilot experiences work, or what’s new in low-code, stay for the live Q&A chat to get them answered by experts.

10 events’ worth of innovation

It’s hard to believe this will already be our tenth Business Applications Launch Event—a perfect moment to look ahead and reaffirm our commitment to business app innovation. But the best is yet to come. I’m looking forward to celebrating this milestone with our customers and partners, along with all the new features our team has been cooking up. I can’t wait to see what your business does with them next.

Register now. And join us to experience the new era of AI-powered business.

Microsoft Business Applications Launch Event

Wednesday, October 25, 2023 

9:00 AM–10:30 AM Pacific Time (UTC-7)

The post See new AI for Microsoft Power Platform at our tenth launch event appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.

This release wave builds on our commitment to create applications and experiences that add value to every role by breaking down silos between data, insights, and people. New capabilities empower new ways to make informed decisions with AI-guided insights and suggested actions, easier ways to automate tasks and processes, and collaboration seamlessly integrated into the flow of work, plus, new low-code ways for anyone to build solutions.

Discover a whole new level of convenience in reviewing release plans for Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform with the release planner. Experience unparalleled flexibility as you personalize, filter, sort, and effortlessly share plans according to your preferences. Stay organized, stay informed, and stay in control as you effortlessly navigate through multiple active waves of plans. For more information, visit releaseplans.microsoft.com.

Highlights from Dynamics 365

Dynamics 365 Marketing will bring enhancements to Copilot features empowering marketers to quickly create new experiences and will bring unprecedented levels of personalization to email content, images, and layouts. Additionally, business-to-business (B2B) dashboards and directly assigning leads to the right sales rep will align marketers and sellers, enabling them to act as a unified team across the buying journey.

Dynamics 365 Sales will focus on enabling sales organizations to prioritize and manage digital sales processes through enhanced sequence capabilities. We will allow users to assign and monitor lead assignment status with enhanced lead assignment capabilities by providing recommendations, summarizing data, retrieving information, and performing actions in context and within flow of work.

Viva Sales is reimagining how sellers work by delivering advanced AI capabilities like email summarization, CRM recommendations, sales email composition, meeting summarization, and real-time sales tips. Additionally, we are making further investments to collaboration spaces in Microsoft Teams and will deliver new sales Copilot experiences that accelerate deal progression and close sales faster.

Dynamics 365 Customer Service will continue to empower agents to work more efficiently through Copilot capabilities, Join me On Teams, and visual enhancements to the agent workspace, ability to see live chats and voice calls in Inbox and personalizing size of conversational control. Additionally, we are making enhancements to the voice channel, call dialer improvements, and routing calls to agents with longest idle time.

Dynamics 365 Field Service updates will include new capabilities for frontline workers, service managers, and dispatchers. We are delivering several top requests such as converting quotes to work orders, enhancing inspections, and evolving our resource scheduling capabilities.

Dynamics 365 Finance is focused on enhancing organizations’ visibility into their data, continued enhancements for accounts payable and bank statement automation, and expanding out-of-the-box country coverage in Latin America. Additionally, the team will deliver further automation of complex tax scenarios and e-invoicing requirements for new countries and provide organizations ability for business model expansion and agility.

Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management continues to improve and optimize business processes to deliver the agility and resilience needed for businesses to thrive in an increasingly complex business environment. The sales and procurement processes will be further enhanced, manufacturers will enjoy greater flexibility, and warehouse processes related to counting, customer returns, and product receipts will be improved.

Dynamics 365 Project Operations is investing in enhancements to services procurement scenarios and project contracting and new functionalities and scenarios in pricing models will support the evolving patterns in the service-centric economy. Additionally, improvements to intelligent resource recommendations will provide suggestions based on experience, cost, and utilization across employees and subcontractors.

Dynamics 365 Human Resources will be improving recruiting experiences with functionally rich and intuitive experiences that target recruiters, candidates, and hiring managers. We will expand the human capital management ecosystem to include learning management system integration through public APIs using Microsoft Dataverse along with expanding our payroll partner network.

Dynamics 365 Guides is bringing several new capabilities and enhancements including Object Anchors, Azure Remote Rendering, and availability on Microsoft 365 Government Community Cloud High. Additionally, we are focusing on features allowing seamless integration with systems of record allowing customers to build mixed reality workflows that are integrated with their business data.

Dynamics 365 Commerce is using the power of AI to enable the effortless creation of engaging product content for digital commerce sites. New B2B investments allow distributors to view, accept, and reject orders from a centralized dashboard that enables B2B sellers, distributors, and buyers to all work in the same place.

Dynamics 365 Business Central will focus on core functionality to help companies manage their intercompany and consolidations across environments. We will continue to enhance our Copilot capabilities and will further improve our warehouse capabilities, create more Power Automate templates, and provide developers with more capabilities for automating testing of dependent apps.

Dynamics 365 Customer Insights is enhancing our Copilot features to allow you to ask questions in simple words, to quickly receive insights, and action these immediately. New capabilities in real-time data management will provide the latest view of your customers and easy access to insights within Dynamics 365 apps will allow your team to deliver seamless, personalized experiences across the customer’s lifecycle.

Microsoft Supply Chain Center is enabling resilient supply chain with enhancements in key areas such as Intelligent Order Management for purchase order orchestration, seamless collaboration with external partners via Supplier portal, and Copilot. Additionally, the team will be bringing Advanced Data Analytics to enable Insights to Action as well as new Network Inventory Optimization capabilities.

Dynamics 365 release planner

Highlights from Microsoft Power Platform

Power BI is improving the creation experience for individuals by improving and aligning our experiences with Microsoft 365, bringing more parity on the web, and bringing the Power Query diagram view into Power BI Desktop. For teams, we are bringing enhancements to meetings and multitasking. For organizations, we are enabling Git and source control integration to help developers maintain and collaborate on their business intelligence solutions.

Power Apps is expanding the use of Copilot to bring AI-assisted experiences to increase developer productivity, bring natural language to all users, and give insights to admins. We will bring modern controls and rich collaborative experiences to users, as well as improved deployment and governance support to ensure low-code can be enabled organization wide.

Power Pages continues to make strides in the Copilot maker experience to enable building a site. Managed environments will include Power Pages capabilities for maker usage and onboarding. For data, you can connect easily to data where it exists today. Low-code makers can collaborate and detect co-presence.

Power Automate will continue to make it easier to get started building new flows by using natural language across cloud flows and desktop flows, and by improving process mining to jumpstart creation of automation and authoring experiences. Additionally, we’re making it easier to manage work at scale by introducing unified activity view and deeper notifications on capabilities across the product. 

Power Virtual Agents will bring general availability for capabilities including Multi-Lingual bot support, Generative Answers and Actions, Standalone interactive voice response (IVR) and IVR integration with Dynamics 365 Customer Service, and our integration with the Conversational Language Understanding service. Additionally, we will continue to enhance our offering for customers by delivering on new Enterprise Trust capabilities.

AI Builder will allow makers to easily process structured and unstructured documents. Using the power of GPT, responses to customer requests can be pre-generated according to enterprise guidelines and will be available in a human validation station allowing makers to easily review and enhance content that is automatically generated from intelligent copilots.

Microsoft Power Platform release planner

2023 release wave 2 early access period

Starting July 31, 2023, customers and partners will be able to validate the latest features in a non-production environment. These features include user experience enhancements that will be automatically enabled for users in production environments during October 2023. To take advantage of the early access period, try out the latest updates in a non-production environment, and effectively plan for your customer rollout. Check out the 2023 release wave 2 early access features for Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform, or visit the early access FAQ page. 

The post 2023 release wave 2 plans for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform now available appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.