Microsoft introduced the AppSource Marketplace along with the release of Dynamics 365. Here, you can find all kinds of apps for Operations, Sales, Field Service, Service, and Financials. Some of these apps are available for install and test right away whereas others are available through a trial and subscription. The AppSource is an excellent platform for Microsoft partners to showcase their apps and generate business. Even Microsoft publishes apps to the AppSource which are sometimes free and provided by Microsoft Labs which come with no support. Currently, the AppSource has the following apps published by Microsoft:
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 – Organization Insights (Free)
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 – Data Export Service (Free, Azure SQL database required)
- Coaching – Microsoft Labs (Free)
- Attachment Management – Microsoft Labs (Free, Azure blob storage required)
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 – Social Selling Assistant (In preview, in conjunction with Microsoft Social Engagement)
- Glympse integration for Field Service (Free, Glympse subscription required)
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 – Gamification (Free, through an acquisition)
- Project Service Automation (subscription)
- Field Service & Connected Field Service (subscription)
The above list of apps from Microsoft is only for Sales, Service, and the XRM platform itself. This list doesn’t include the other apps created by Microsoft for Financials or Operations. As you can see from the above list that Microsoft is committed to enhancing the Dynamics 365 ecosystem.
In this blog, I will discuss some of the above apps which are helpful and can enhance your use of the Dynamics 365 system.
Of all the apps listed above, you can start using the Organizations Insights app without any pre-requisites. The Organizations Insights app creates a dashboard within Dynamics 365 and provides information on the overall organizations regarding active users, API calls, Plug-In execution counts, most used entities, number of workflow executions, workflow information by failure counts, storage information, and the size of common tables, etc. This information is helpful in an online environment where you don’t have access to the SQL server or the underlying CRM services. The dashboard information helps to identify issues that may be affecting your Dynamics 365 (CRM) organization.
Microsoft Labs have recently released Apps like Coaching & Attachment management. The Coaching app allows experienced CRM users to generate KB articles and define the conditions when they can be used. So, when a new CRM user joins the organization, then these KB articles come up in the context of their transaction.
The attachment management app is a great tool to resolve the database size limitations that accompany a Dynamics 365 subscription. Initially, a Dynamics 365 organization is only allocated 10GB of space and increased in increments of number of users. This app provides a solution where notes and email attachments are not stored in the CRM database, they are stored in Azure Blob storage and can be previewed and downloaded seamlessly from with Dynamics 365. It also adds a new functionality to be able to upload multiple files as a note attachment in a CRM record.
I keep on checking AppSource for new apps as partners, and Microsoft is always looking to enhance the experience with Dynamics 365. I recommend checking the URL and look for apps that may provide the added functionality that you are looking for.
AppSource URL: https://appsource.microsoft.com/en-us
[avatar user=”dvora” size=”thumbnail” align=”left” /]DAVE VORA | Senior Business Software Consultant/ CRM Lead
Dave is responsible for leading KTL’s CRM consultants, assuring that our solution scoping, architecting and delivery meet and exceed customer expectations. Dave has built lasting relationships with clients by understanding their business needs and providing value by leveraging their existing resources. Along with his consulting team, he has delivered effective solutions beyond traditional CRM constraints. Dave has more than eight years of experience in implementing business software for a variety of industries, including service, government, distribution, not-for-profit and manufacturing. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science and also a specialization in Management from University of California at Irvine. His experience includes helping companies embrace technology to fulfill their organizational needs and creating innovative solutions using CRM, GP, Scribe and other Microsoft products.
