The release of new features and feature improvements continues to speed up, and yet we still have a major bundle of updates for the Power Platform and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement apps each Spring and Fall. 

In North America, this means that July is a giant month. July is about that the time that many North American businesses can catch their breath and consider all that is new. The release update train starts in the spring and works its way around the world with the ending station in North America. The train station dates can be found here. 

Big shifts include Power BI and Data leaning heavily into their marriage with the incredible Microsoft Fabric landscape. Microsoft Fabric is a short name that encompasses a HUGE amount of technology options. Similarly to the Power Platform it is hard to contain all of what it can do in six letters (Fabric), but the name also is appropriate given that stitching together all of the different data needs is the accomplishment. This includes transformation, integration, analysis, access, and so much more. 

We also can't talk about this release without mentioning Copilot and Agents and not only Agents that you can use and that you can build, but also agents for the Power App makers. The plan designer supports the maker in creating and building using business language. Diving into this so expect to see more posts on this topic. Most of the Microsoft MVPs for Business Applications are deep in the weeds with Agents right now so if you follow any of their blogs or posts on LinkedIn, I am sure you are overwhelmed with the art of the possible. (or just overwhelmed) The space is moving quickly with weekly changes and awesome releases.

Power Pages has also had Agent injection "Recent updates include AI-powered features like Web Agents for multi-platform engagement (email, Teams, WhatsApp), AI-assisted form filling for improved productivity, dynamic list visualizations for better insights" _{retrieved from Microsoft Power Platform 2025 release wave 1 plan overview | Microsoft Learn}   They said it so well. Power Pages puts the sexy in Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE apps while also providing external authenticated access. They are also data driven which is an interesting twist and has always been a variable for deployments. Microsoft has also added additional deployment support for Power Pages.

Power Automate has taken business process automation to the next level in this release. Transforming the more complex business processes through new human "in loop experiences" and more management through the new automation center.  You would think that AI would "replace" Power Automate, but instead Copilot and Agents become a marriage with Power Automate. 

Not much needs to be said about Copilot Studio it has its own messaging and everyone is talking about it - Copilot Studio is flying faster than a multi-million-dollar military jet. Chatbots, Agents, autonomous agents.

The Microsoft built, Model Driven Power Apps, falling under the Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement umbrella have also all been updated. Check out the details on the release pages here 

Last year when I was listening to MS Build 2024 and I must admit a lot of it was so technical and so focused on foundation that I wasn't very excited. It was a bit like swimming through the mud. Technology changes daily and although this continued with big changes, it was still the cement of the foundation.

This year listening to MS Build 2025 reality struck a huge "Wow" for me, there really are huge changes that solve real needs and frustrations.

Across the global customer engagement landscape, AI "prompts" are redefining how professionals can engage with customer data. As someone who has implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE across diverse markets, I’ve seen firsthand how organizations are balancing innovation with responsibility. There are data initiatives, privacy alignment, balancing access and overall talking about how to use these new tools while people are using them.

The opportunity is substantial: "according to IDC, organizations that integrate AI into their customer engagement workflows are improving customer lifetime value by 25% on average, while reducing time spent on administrative tasks by up to 40%. These gains aren’t just about efficiency—they’re about accessibility."

For UI/UX designers and solution architects of "heartbeat applications", such as business applications that manage a huge asset pool of critical information, the focus is shifting to building interactive and collaborative access. This evolution doesn’t mean abandoning control—it means creating interfaces that surface the right data at the right time to the right person, without overwhelming the person. It also means building transparency into AI suggestions, so users understand why a recommendation was made. The way we interact with systems is changing and it is changing fast.

As technologist, bridging the gap between business think and technology think, this is not an unusual ask. It is extremely exciting to be able to learn and interact with the software we have long championed AND training and learning curves are reduced. 

One of my favorite tips for anyone diving into learning AI, is to use AI to learn AI.  Ask your favorite AI tool how to write the best prompt or ask AI to build out a training plan for you using your favorite way to learn. The options are endless.

After 21 years of living and breathing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement and the Power Platform as CRMLady, I’m taking a moment to explore what’s next. It is an incredible journey—working alongside amazing partners, teams, and clients to solve real business challenges with the Microsoft Stack of offerings, Business Apps, CRM and a swagger of digital transformation.

I’m now open to new opportunities where I can bring my experience, creativity, and passion for helping organizations get the most out of their Microsoft investments. If you know of a team looking for someone who understands both the tech and the people side of CRM and has the learnings from real life involvement with Partners, Customers and Microsoft let’s connect!

Individuals will always have a preferred method for working.

Some individuals will push their comfort zones and always dive into the latest and greatest tooling and options and others take the stance of if it is working for me, I am not changing unless I have a huge reason to change or if I don't have a choice.

We are living in a world of more and more choices.

One of the hidden ROI benefits of Copilot is that the various consistent Copilots roll across all of the Microsoft products and stack of available technologies. This not only includes products within Modern Workplace (Excel, Word, Teams, etc.) or Business Applications (Dataverse, Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Power Platform), but also a wave across all of the various "more developer or IT centric" tooling (Visual Studio, Github, Azure DevOps, etc.).

• Copilot has the ability to silently break down silos while also maintaining individual choice.

Data here, data there, data everywhere. Everyone is creating data on a daily basis, good data, bad data, helpful data, temporary data.

• In the world of noise, Copilot can be the saw that cuts through to the answers.

Speaking of data, the culture of a company contains a huge amount of proprietary data. Tribal Knowledge is a company asset that is rarely harvested and yet this knowledge can be the differentiator for a company. The difference between a "WOW" experience where issues are quickly discovered and successfully resolved and an "average" experience where people do their jobs and go home. Using AI to tap into Tribal Knowledge is an untapped goldmine. 

• Tribal Knowledge, the gold that is often untapped.

There are most likely areas of the business or processes that happen like clockwork every month or quarterly or even daily. Employees go on autopilot and get the work done that always needs to get done. They don't have to think too hard about this if they have been at the company for a long time.  Most probably don't like this type of work. It is mundane, repetitive and yet drives other dependencies so has to get done. 

• Agents might make your Employees happier. 

Speaking of employees. You might be surprised to learn that they might be using AI already. ChatGPT is right at their fingertips and although helpful might not be where you want proprietary customer or company specific questions being asked. Many a risk was taken in pure innocence. I just needed a quick image, the question was pretty generic, I didn't use any names.

• Providing people with the right AI options, that give them even more, mitigates people using tools that might introduce company risk.