Latest Power Platform, Power Apps, Dynamics 365 News

Total Economic Impact of Power Apps Premium key findings

September 16, 2024

Microsoft commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct an independent study titled Total Economic Impact of Power Apps. The study involved interviews with 13 representatives from organizations that have invested in Power Apps Premium and other components of the Power Platform. It highlights the significant impact these organizations experienced over three years of using Power Apps.

 
 

Total Economic Impact of Power Apps key findings:

  • Over 1 million hours saved through user efficiency on high-impact use cases by the third year.

  • Professional developers cut app development time by 50%, improving governance, reducing shadow IT, and enhancing employee experience.

  • Customers recouped their initial investment within six months, achieving a 206% ROI.

  • Developers using Copilot in Power Apps had a 60% higher success rate, and 70% of Microsoft 365 Copilot users reported increased productivity.

August 2024 Power Automate for desktop updates

September 13, 2024 Friday

Every month, Microsoft releases updates for Power Platform’s Power Automate for desktop, highlighting their dedication to continuously improving the product. These updates make developers' work easier and faster, with expanded access to powerful new features. Microsoft also encourages user engagement by offering opportunities for questions and feedback, driving ongoing innovation.

 
 

Key feature updates on Power Platform’s Power Automate for Desktop:

  • Run Subflow Action now allows dynamic subflow invocation using variables with the new "Input as expression" property.

  • Log Message Action now supports messages up to 10,000 characters, increasing log capacity.

  • Log size limits have also been expanded for DOS, VBScript, JavaScript, PowerShell, Python, and .NET script actions.

  • Installation issues can now be diagnosed with the troubleshooter tool.

Download the latest Power Automate for Desktop here.

Microsoft case study key findings on the impact of Power Automate to businesses

September 12, 2024 Thursday

Microsoft commissioned the 2024 Forrester Consulting Total Economic Impact study to showcase how customers have cut operational costs and boosted productivity with Power Automate. By consolidating automation into a single platform, customers saved an estimated USD 9.5 million over legacy systems, cutting licensing costs and simplifying management. Interviewed customers reported a substantial three-year ROI of 248%, a payback period of under six months, and a net present value (NPV) of USD 39.85 million.

 
 

2024 Forrester Consulting Total Economic Impact key findings:

  • Employees handling high-volume tasks like data entry, invoicing, or document gathering saw the biggest impact from Power Automate’s RPA, saving 200 hours annually.

  • Expanding RPA across more use cases can deliver 40% more value to the organization from medium-impact scenarios.

  • Customers gain USD 31.3 million in time savings from extended automation, on top of the USD 13.2 million saved through RPA.

  • With Power Apps and Power Automate, customers can build low-code apps that engage employees and deliver tailored experiences.

  • Power Automate enables organizations to boost operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve ROI.

August 2024 Power Apps updates summary

September 11, 2024 Wednesday

Stay up to date with the latest in Power Apps! In the August 2024 update, Microsoft introduced exciting Copilot enhancements, key features now in general availability for makers, and a comprehensive set of learning and documentation updates. These updates are designed to keep the Power Apps community informed and provide everything you need in one convenient place.

 
 

Here are some of the August 2024 Power Apps update:

  • Easily filter, sort, and search canvas app galleries connected to SharePoint lists using Copilot.

  • Power Fx now supports calling SQL Server stored procedures, with this feature generally available across all regions.

  • Manage app users more efficiently with the new, GA Application Users page in the Power Platform admin center.

  • Remove stub, unlicensed, or deleted Microsoft Entra group users from the Dataverse environment.

  • Learning and documentation updates have been made to Power Apps training, developer, and admin modules.

Access the full list here.

Microsoft 365 leaders talks how generative AI transforms the customer service industry

September 10, 2024 Tuesday

Colette Stallbaumer, General Manager of Microsoft 365 and Future of Work, recently spoke with Mala Anand, Corporate Vice President for Customer Experience and Success at Microsoft, about how AI solutions like Microsoft Copilot are transforming customer service operations. The days when increasing call capacity was the only solution for handling more inquiries and complex customer needs are over. With generative AI, such as Copilot integrated into Dynamics 365 Customer Service, businesses can efficiently manage surges in customer demand and leverage insights to help leaders enhance their own customer support experiences.

 
 

Discover how generative AI, like Microsoft Copilot, can enhance customer service operations:

  • Simplifies complex information for quicker onboarding of new hires.

  • Speeds up issue resolution by providing relevant information with sources.

  • Generates case summaries and email communications quickly without compromising quality.

  • Offers self-help resources to reduce the workload on customer service teams.

Microsoft Learn launches blog series to boost Copilot and Microsoft 365 Skills

September 9, 2024 Monday

Businesses are increasingly adopting Copilot and Microsoft 365 to boost productivity, streamline tasks, and enhance collaboration. To help organizations integrate these tools, Microsoft Learn has launched a blog series that offers step-by-step guidance for upskilling teams and maximizing the potential of Copilot within the Microsoft 365 environment. This resource provides a practical roadmap for improving workflows and driving efficiency, enabling companies to fully leverage the power of these tools.

 
 

Check out Microsoft Learn’s latest blog series, packed with updates, resources, and opportunities to enhance your technical expertise in Copilot and Microsoft 365:

  • Kickstart your Copilot journey with resources like the Copilot Lab, Copilot Success Kit, User Enablement Toolkit, Microsoft Scenario Library, and the “What’s New in Copilot” blog series.

  • Discover how to leverage Copilot for your business with guides like the Copilot Success Kit for Small and Medium Businesses and “Grow Your Business with Copilot and Microsoft 365.”

  • Maximize your use of Copilot in Microsoft 365 by exploring the latest learning paths available on Microsoft Learn.

  • Dive into technical videos on Microsoft Mechanics, tailored for IT pros, solution architects, tech enthusiasts, and more.

  • Uncover additional resources for developers, including the Microsoft 365 Developer Center and guides on extending Microsoft Copilot within Microsoft 365.

Microsoft shares exciting updates with VMware Solutions

September 6, 2024 Friday

Leaders managing cloud and hybrid infrastructures continually seek efficient, integrated solutions to enhance their operations. Microsoft’s Azure VMware Solution offers just that—a seamless way to extend or migrate your VMware environments to Azure while ensuring operational consistency. With regular updates, Microsoft continues to enhance this solution, making it even more powerful and adaptable to evolving business needs.

 
 

Some of VMware Solutions updates:

  • AVS is now available in 33 regions, including Switzerland North, Italy North, UAE North, and India Central.

  • Azure VMware Solution has been approved for inclusion as a service within the DoD SRG Impact Level 4 Provisional Authorization (PA) in Azure Government.

  • NetApp and Broadcom customers can simplify their VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) hybrid cloud environments by utilizing NetApp ONTAP software for all storage needs.

  • Customers can now leverage Spot Eco by NetApp with AVS reserved instances to efficiently extend vSphere workloads to the cloud.

  • Enhance disaster recovery and ransomware protection with Azure VMware Solution and Jetstream.

Power BI introduces TMDL support in ALM Toolkit for enhanced semantic model management

September 5, 2024 Thursday

Business users, especially in large organizations, need a solution that can easily extract actionable insights at scale for intelligent decision-making. Power BI addresses this need by supporting enterprise-grade semantic models. To enhance this capability, the ALM Toolkit now supports diff comparisons of semantic model definitions in the Tabular Model Definition Language (TMDL) format. This allows you to view semantic model metadata in a clear, YAML-like format, making it easier to track and implement incremental changes.

 
 

Use ALM Toolkit for scenarios such as:

  • Deploy changes to model metadata while preserving data, including incremental refresh.

  • Diff and merge models with safeguards to maintain metadata integrity.

  • Reuse shared objects like conformed dimensions, date dimensions, and common measures across models.

  • Automate tasks with command-line execution.

Microsoft Customer Experience & Success streamlines operations with process mining in Power Automate

September 4, 2024 Wednesday

Microsoft Customer Experience & Success (CE&S) is one of the largest support teams globally, with over 17,000 employees dedicated to shaping Microsoft's end-to-end customer experience. To enhance their effectiveness, CE&S is leveraging Copilot within Microsoft Power Automate for automation and process mining, optimizing internal processes and driving strategic improvements.

 
 

Here’s how CE&S utilized the feature in one of their projects:

  • Process Improvement: CE&S applied Copilot in Power Automate to enhance their Just-in-Time (JIT) security process while maintaining rigorous security standards.

  • Rapid Deployment: They implemented process mining within a week, utilizing the tool’s intuitive interface to gather insights without the need for extensive prior training.

  • Data Analysis: Over 14GB of event log data was ingested into Power Automate, enabling the team to visually pinpoint variances and effectively filter the data.

  • Identifying Bottlenecks: Process mining uncovered delays in access requests for backup support, revealing key areas for optimization.

  • Efficiency Gains: By automating the approval process, the team could save up to 13,200 hours annually, streamlining approximately 54,000 requests.

Preview feature: Copilot Page in Power Platform Admin Center

September 3, 2024 Tuesday

As Copilot and generative AI features are increasingly integrated across Microsoft Power Platform, administrators face growing challenges in managing these advanced tools. To address this need, Microsoft has launched a preview of the Copilot page in the Power Platform Admin Center. This centralized hub provides essential readiness resources, documentation, insights into Copilot user activity, and unified settings, making governance more efficient and streamlined.

 
 

The Copilot page for Power Platform administrators offers the following features:

  • Educational Resources: Access comprehensive materials to get started with Copilot, understand AI data and security fundamentals, and stay updated on the latest Copilot advancements.

  • User Monitoring: Track how many users are utilizing Copilot across Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Pages, and Copilot Studios.

  • Feature Management: Easily view and manage Copilot features, including their activation status across different environments.

  • Responsible AI Principles: Explore how responsible AI practices are implemented through content moderation features, ensuring ethical use of AI.

Enhance your Dynamics 365 experience with Copilot

September 2, 2024 Monday

Boosting productivity and delivering personalized customer experiences are now top priorities for business leaders like you. To achieve these goals, having the right tools is essential. Microsoft’s Power Platform, Power Apps, and Dynamics 365 are at the forefront of this transformation, offering AI-driven solutions that enhance both efficiency and customer engagement. In this exploration, we’ll show how these tools empower organizations to seamlessly integrate AI into their operations, unlocking new levels of productivity and personalization.

 
 

Microsoft's generative AI tool, Copilot, is now seamlessly integrated into Dynamics 365, designed to boost productivity and deliver personalized customer engagement. Here's how Copilot transforms key areas of your business:

  • Marketing: Streamline repetitive tasks, quickly summarize insights for immediate action, and effortlessly generate initial ideas, visuals, and copy for creative projects.

  • Sales: Forge genuine connections by leveraging timely and comprehensive customer data, all at your fingertips.

  • Customer Support: Increase efficiency with AI-driven conversational assistants that resolve issues faster and more effectively.

To fully realize the benefits of generative AI in your Dynamics 365 environment, encourage daily use across your organization, manage AI as an assistant rather than just a search tool, and make the most of the time you save.