At its partner event Inspire, Microsoft today made
a host of announcements around Dynamics 365 and Teams, its employee experience platform Viva, and a new cloud PC service.
Teams & Viva Integrations
First, Microsoft has launched functionality that allows Dynamics 365 users to work with customer information inside Teams. The new Dynamics 365 with Teams integration features, available to any user at no additional cost, allow the ability to:
- View and edit Dynamics 365 records within Teams workflows — Dynamic 365 users can now invite anyone in their enterprise to view and collaborate on customer records directly in Teams chat or channels, Microsoft said. For example, customer service representatives can share customer case records and track follow-up tasks, Microsoft explained.
- Add a Teams meeting to appointments and capture notes — Dynamic 365 users can now add a Teams meeting when they create an appointment. Additionally, users can capture notes within Teams, which will be saved to the timeline in the Dynamics 365 record, Microsoft said.
- Automate notifications on records — Dynamic 365 users can now receive automatic notifications on updates to channels and chats. Users can set the notification frequency and set notifications to specific chats or channels, Microsoft said.
Microsoft also announced new and updated Dynamics 365 partner apps from Atlassian, SAP, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Workday, and said it will soon enable the ability for IT admins to purchase apps and subscriptions from ISVs directly from within Teams.
Additionally, for its employee experience platform Viva, announced:
- More partner integrations — Microsoft this fall will be adding 21 integrations from partners including Qualtrics, ServiceNow, and Workday.
- APIs — GA later this year, Viva Connections APIs will allow developers to integrate with the Viva Connections dashboard. Additionally, Viva Learning APIs can pull in due dates, assignments, and other content from learning management systems. The Viva Learning APIs will be available later this year as a preview, Microsoft said.
- Resources to build Microsoft 365 apps — To help partners create and market Teams and Viva apps, Microsoft is offering 1:1 consultations with Microsoft experts who can help design and build employee solutions and marketing resources for ISVs to meet new customers, Microsoft said.
Windows in the Cloud
Lastly, Microsoft revealed Windows 365, providing the Windows 10 and, eventually, 11 operating system via the cloud and creating what it calls “Cloud PC.” With the OS residing in the cloud, users will be able to stream their apps, tools, data, and settings to any device and allow them to pick up their last session even if they switch devices, Microsoft said.
Built with zero-trust security principles, Windows 365 will feature multifactor authentication to verify Cloud PC login. IT admins can provision Cloud PCs from the Microsoft Endpoint Manager dashboard, which allows them to define which version of Windows users receive, Microsoft said. Windows 365 will be generally available starting in August, Microsoft added.
