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Microsoft Teams stands tall not only as an effective method for businesses to facilitate internal communications, but also as a way for them to collaborate on their work. Teams allows for seamless collaboration in a variety of applications, especially with other Microsoft applications such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel and SharePoint. Teams has an integration to work with Dynamics 365 applications such as Dynamics 365 Sales and Dynamics 365 Marketing.
This integration is receiving some new features as part of the 2021 Dynamics 365 Release Wave 1. They’re expected to be coming with the first part of the release wave next month.
What does the integration do?
The Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Teams integration gives users a central platform from which they can more easily work together on Dynamics 365 entities. Add tabs to Teams channels to load views and other entities from Dynamics 365 right within Teams.
Files can be shared directly through Teams, so users won’t need to jump between apps in order to access different documents. The file integration also allows the normal co-authoring capabilities of Teams, but then those files can be synced to Dynamics 365 and stored within entities.
How to use the integration
The Teams integration is enabled through the Dynamics 365 system settings accessible by those with administrator permissions. There are two options that can be enabled: basic and enhanced. Basic has a quick set up process through Teams and enhanced has some additional options for setting up the connection.
For basic collaboration, once it is activated, Dynamics 365 records can be added as tabs to connected Teams channels. When adding a new Dynamics 365 tab, entities such as accounts or other views can be selected. They can then be interacted with as if it was within the normal browser interface. If needed, there is a button at the top right that will open the records in the Dynamics 365 app or browser.
Conversations can be started directly on the record’s tab in Teams. The chat icon at the top right will open a conversation window for team members.
In the connected Teams channel, the Files tab can be used to associate files with different records in Dynamics 365. Similarly, when files are added to a record, they will appear in that same Files tab. In instances where multiple Teams channels are linked to a record, the record will show the file as existing in multiple records. The Document Location drop down allows for quick switching between these locations.
The enhanced collaboration feature provides all the same benefits as basic, but allows for records to be pinned to a Teams channel while working within the Dynamics 365 app. The benefit over basic is that it is a bit more convenient to pull up a view or record in the Dynamics 365 app and connect it rather than have to use the search function from the Teams connector.
Users of Dynamics 365 Sales will also be able to make use of the Teams calling feature to communicate with customers and team members directly in Dynamics 365. This calling also includes real-time transcriptions of the conversation and will highlight key phrases and action items from the conversation. This helps the seller to track the important details from the conversation and make notes of what actions they need to take after finishing up. Any of these customer records can then be shared with team members in the channel.
Once it is enabled in the system settings, a Collaborate button will appear in the function bar on record and view pages. If a channel is connected already, it will be shown in the collaborate menu. If not, the Get Started button allows new connections to be set up.
Get started
Dynamics 365 applications provide businesses with all the tools to manage a variety of business tasks like sales and marketing. Microsoft Teams give a platform for coworkers to easily communicate and collaborate on their work. By combining them, users will have a much easier time working together, especially in work from home and hybrid environments.
To learn more about how these applications and their integration can help your business, click the button below to contact one of our Dynamics 365 consultants!
