A Game Changer in Business Productivity

IDC have released their latest MarketScape Vendor Assessment for SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Enterprise Finance and Accounting Applications.

Microsoft has been recognised as a Leader across all customer segments including Small Business, Midmarket, and Enterprise.

We’ve taken a quick dive into the two key strengths highlights in the report below – a more detailed excerpt can be read here: https://idcdocserv.com/US51405823e_Microsoft

AI-Powered Tools

One of the key strengths highlighted is the integration of AI-powered tools, namely Dynamics 365 Copilot. Copilot is a Microsoft service being deployed across all Microsoft applications, from Windows and Office 365, through Bing Search and Power Platform. Copilot is a product of the collaboration between Azure OpenAI and ChatGPT; the latter having seen over $1bn of direct investment from Microsoft.

Copilot is embedded directly into the D365 application suite and can assist in generating ideas and content more efficiently, completing time-consuming tasks, and providing insights and next best actions. This means users of all technical abilities can leverage AI to enhance their productivity and concentrate on more critical tasks.

Automation Capabilities

The report also highlights D365 automation capabilities, namely how it seamlessly integrates automation into the workflow, allowing decision-makers to further optimise business processes. Power Automate in specifically called out by name.

The primary function of Power Automate is Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which empowers end-user teams to rapidly automate common business scenarios, using event triggers to run a series of actions (across multiple line of business applications, if appropriate). RPA frees employees’ time from manual, repetitive, and error-prone tasks. Advanced users and developers can further extend Power Automate flows using custom actions, custom connectors, Microsoft Azure services, and APIs.

Power Automate also includes Process Mining capabilities, which simplify work by identifying workflow bottlenecks and opportunities for further automation.

Why Choose Microsoft?

The report concludes by saying buyers should consider Microsoft where they’re looking for a well-established provider with the resources to innovate quickly and effectively.

Hello world!

Hello everyone! This is the inaugural post on our new blog, so it makes sense to use it to explain what it’s going to be about!

In short, we plan to share tips, updates, and experiments with Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (D365 F&O) platform. We don’t claim to “know it all”, so we welcome friendly thoughts and feedback on our content.

Also, we’re based in the UK, so expect to see us using British English (en-GB) references to modules and functionality, with occasional lapses into US English (en-US).

What is D365 F&O?

D365 F&O is a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system from Microsoft. It’s designed to help businesses adapt quickly to changing market demands and drive rapid business growth.

D365 F&O includes the following applications, within a single environment:

  • Finance: This is the financial hub of D365 F&O. It’s where you’ll find tools for managing everything from sales, purchase and general ledger, to budgeting, cash management, and fixed asset accounting. It also includes features for project management and compliance.
  • Supply Chain Management: This module provides oversight of your end-to-end supply chain. It includes tools for managing stock, planning, procurement, product information, and production control, as well as asset, transportation and warehouse management.
  • Commerce: This module is all about retail. It offers features for managing call centres and setting up sales channels, as well as tools for point-of-sale transactions.
  • Human Resources: This module helps streamline HR processes. It includes features for managing benefits, employee development and training, and absence, as well as standard APIs for recruitment and payroll.

Why the name, “AX7”?

AX7 was the original name of the first completely browser-based version of Microsoft Dynamics AX, which we now know as D365 F&O.

The product has changed names before, and may well change names again, but despite only being used briefly, the name AX7 marked a significant evolution in Microsoft’s flagship ERP.

On that note, we’ll mostly talk about D365 F&O on this blog, but may occasionally cover elements of the legacy on-premise product, AX 2012 and its predecessors, as well as D365 F&O’s sister product, the mid-market ERP, Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC).