Earlier this year, we discussed Microsoft’s update plans for Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. The company promised over 400 changes to the services, including new features and tools. Specifically, the changes would be delivered in two waves. Wave 1 is ongoing until September, but Microsoft has last month offered some dates for when Wave 2 will be available. As the company promised then, its release plans are now live as of July 8. Microsoft is also sticking to the wider release schedule it touched on a month ago:
August 3, 2020: Early access available Try the new features and capabilities that will be part of the October update of the 2020 release wave 2 before they are enabled automatically. October 1, 2020: General availability This is when the production deployment for the 2020 release wave 2 begins. Regional deployments will commence October 2, 2020.”
Upcoming Features
As we have seen with recent Dynamics 365 updates, Microsoft is orienting features towards improving AI functionality. For example, Wave 2 will bring improved forecasting, relationship intelligence and conversation capabilities. Furthermore, a new analytical view will be available in Dynamics 365 Customer Service Insights. Dynamics 365 applications for Microsoft HoloLens will get new tools. Specifically, the Guides app will have instructions that can be customized “on the fly based on operator inputs”. Remote Assist will get new features that give technicians the ability to capture data, perform surveys, and conduct walkthroughs. In the full Microsoft Dynamics 365 suite, applications are getting improvements. These include feature coming to Customer Service, Sales, Marketing, Human Resources, Field Service, Commerce and Connected Store apps. On the Power Apps platform, Microsoft is adding the ability to create applications for Microsoft Teams. Power Automate (previously Microsoft Flow) will now work better with WinAutomation and cloud AI Builder. As there are hundreds of changes inbound across both services, it’s worth checking out Microsoft’s release notes for all the details.
