Dynamics 365 Technical Conference Highlights

At the Dynamics 365 Technical Conference in Seattle this month, it was interesting to see which topics were receiving the most buzz.

CDS (Common Data Service - a simplified data service that enables accelerated setup and management of the data, the user interfaces, and integrations in the cloud) was certainly very much talked about because it confirmed Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to Dynamics as a core component of their cloud strategy and its primary benefit of making data available anytime, any place and on any device using Dynamics 365 as well as other apps. Discussions about Dynamics 365 and the business impact of easily sharing data were ubiquitous. There were three major topics concerning Dynamics 365 that seemed to be on everyone’s mind and these were addressed during the conference:

Additional Deployment Methods:

Microsoft announced that Dynamics 365 for Operations customers will now have additional options for deploying the solution. What was once purely a cloud application will now also be available as a hybrid deployment. Named Cloud and Edge, the hybrid method of deployment allows critical operations processes to reside in an on-premises database, while the cloud can still be accessed for optimal scalability. In addition to those two options, the third option, called Local Business Data, allows Dynamics 365 to be totally on-premises.

Practical use of Power BI:

Dynamics 365 was designed with outstanding capabilities for reporting, dashboards, and visualization as part of its core solution with Cortana Intelligence integration and Power BI. During the conference, participants were shown new ways to use this data intelligence. Realistic demonstrations in scenarios involving both financial and operations data were presented in order to highlight the practical ways that Dynamics 365 can be used for warehouse management and production, shipping performance, product quality assurance and more. Best of all, dashboards can be customized by power users or business analysts without costly IT intervention.

Rapid Implementation:

Of interest to all was the topic of rapid implementation. One organization was able to successfully deploy Dynamics 365 in just over two months. Of course, one key to being able to implement so quickly was advance organization and planning as well as a commitment to keep customizations to a minimum.

Because Dynamics is already a very powerful and complete product, few if any customizations are necessary. Another key to rapid implementation is the engagement of users early on. When users are allowed to test the solution, see how it handles their processes and then are asked for input, the implementation can proceed smoothly and successfully.

The momentum behind Dynamics 365 was evident at the Dynamics 365 Technical Conference. The user community is certainly excited about this product and so are we at Western Computer. If you’d like to know more about Microsoft Dynamics 365 and how its expanded functionality can benefit your business, contact us at Western Computer.  Did you attend the Dynamics 365 Technical Conference?  What insights stood out to you?  Comment below to get the conversation started.