In the techie world we have long had a core understanding of the differences between structured data and unstructured data and in the business world most business leaders have not had any need to really understand and deep dive into the differences. Data was Data.

In today's Business World Unstructured Data is the untapped corporate goldmine and with silver linings that are sometimes already used and other times difficult to reach.

What is the difference?

• Structured data is organized and often entered and stored in predefined formats—thinks forms that you enter, data that is defined per field, rows (such as the rows and columns in a Spreadsheet like Excel or rows and columns in relational databases (The customer tables in Dynamics 365 or transactions in SQL).

• Unstructured data is everything else: created documents, PowerPoint presentations, emails, social media posts, chat transcripts, video, voice, other types of documents—anything not neatly organized or that might be mixed.

Why

Why is this important to understand? Why is the positioning of structured and unstructured data such a great topic in today's world?

• Structured data powers applications such as the Accounting software of the world (aka ERPs), and the Customer Relationship Management Software (CRMs), and predictions surfaced in dashboards or reports. It’s essential for traditional analytics, regulatory reporting, and core business functions. Business applications traditionally run on structured data and although they have long provided access to some unstructured data, it was not easily consumed or used.

• Unstructured data is the untapped corporate goldmine. It holds deep insights about customer's through e-mail interactions, captured tone and sentiment, product feedback, market trends, historical relationships, deep research reports and perhaps even other "tool" predictions given that format could be different. 

One power of AI (Azure OpenAI, GenAI, OpenAI, etc.) is in leveraging the unstructured data goldmine and combining or using unstructured and structured data. 

Deeper Thinking

• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) and products designed using AI (Copilots) thrive on unstructured data. Large Language Models (LLMs) (like the secure Azure OpenAI models) are trained on unstructured text. The emergence of tools like Microsoft Copilots (140+), Microsoft Agents and Azure Cognitive Search are all about interpreting and acting on unstructured content.

• In the world of Microsoft Fabric - Data lakes and lake houses have blurred the lines—organizations now store all types of data together for flexible analytics using platforms like Microsoft Fabric or Azure Synapse or other vendor products.

One area that is more advanced and that humans (consulting for instance) comes into play is with Compliance and governance. Compliance and Governance is more complex. Structured data is easier to audit; unstructured data often hides sensitive content and requires new tools for classification, data loss prevention (DLP), redundancy, and security. 

In Summary: 

“Structured data keeps your engine running. Unstructured data shows you where to steer next. In this AI-first world, the winning formula is intelligent integration—where insight, trust, and action converge.”  Anne Stanton

Engaging and tracking customer information is no longer confined to rigid CRM screens or siloed systems.

Welcome to the world of "integration of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CE) and Microsoft 365 including Microsoft Teams, and Copilot for Microsoft 365. It is a NEW world and leveraging AIs tag = Conversational CRM.

The shift brings customer data, collaboration, unstructured data, structured data and contextual AI directly into the flow of daily work. You pick or does it matter? Get information from a virtual meeting, a Teams chat, emails in Outlook, or details from the Dataverse - users can now surface insights, update records, or get AI-generated next steps—without ever opening Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement.

The result? Work in Microsoft Teams and get faster decisions, higher productivity, and more natural engagement.

• "I hate to update CRM"
• "Do you want me selling or updating the system?" 
• "Do I have to sit in my car after an onsite meeting and type in what happened? 
• "If you really want to know what the meeting was about then .... "

In the world of Microsoft 365 and Business Applications and AI, these traditional complaints just go away.

Copilot M365 acts as a bridge between traditionally separated workloads—email, meetings, documents, phone calls, and CRM—making Dynamics 365 CE feel less like a standalone system and more like a seamlessly integrated assistant.

Imagine a sales manager asking Copilot within Teams for a summary of stalled opportunities by region, or a customer service agent receiving real-time AI suggestions during a call, powered by both CRM context and Microsoft Graph (office) data. The future of customer engagement is not just smarter—it’s more conversational, collaborative, and proactive than ever before.

The following scenarios were generated using AI; however, they were all validated and considered worthy of sharing: 

"Use Case #1: Sales Collaboration in Teams with CRM Context

Scenario: A regional sales team is preparing for a quarterly review. Instead of logging into Dynamics 365 CE directly, the team uses a shared Microsoft Teams channel where Copilot summarizes opportunity pipeline, flags deals at risk, and generates talking points—drawing directly from CRM data.

Value: Streamlines meeting prep, enhances collaboration, reduces CRM fatigue.

Use Case #2: Real-Time Support Assistance via Teams Chat

Scenario: A customer service agent is troubleshooting a complex case. They type a quick question in a Teams chat: “What other cases has this customer logged in the last 60 days?” Copilot instantly responds with a summary from Dynamics 365 CE, including case outcomes and satisfaction scores.

Value: Saves time switching apps, enables faster, more personalized support.

Use Case #3: Copilot-Driven Email Engagement

Scenario: A relationship manager receives an email from a long-time client. Before replying, they invoke Copilot in Outlook to summarize the account status, recent cases, and key contacts—pulled from Dynamics 365 CE. They respond with confidence in minutes, without needing to cross-reference.

Value: Makes every email smarter, improves client communication, increases CRM ROI."

If you have not noticed there has been a quiet shift over the last numerous years to Microsoft BizApps projects. We have always had projects that integrate to the larger ecosystem at Microsoft, BUT now these integrations are expected rather than nice to have. 

As AI traverses the wider world of data, Microsoft technology depth becomes more and more important.  BizApp conversations now include all of Microsoft 365 and many times numerous components from the world of Microsoft Azure. Tie in the power of data and the amazing things happening in the world of Microsoft Fabric brings it all together. 

We have the power to extend, aka the developers toolkits of many rich languages.

We have the power to use what is integrated, aka the integrations between Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Excel, Word, Teams) 

We have the power to leverage cross communication as Copilots roam and Agents get created and automate.

The world of Microsoft BizApps (aka The Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Apps, The Power Platform, the empowered citizen and more) just keeps getting more fun. 

Today I noticed a new feature in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement. Copilot can now be used to ingest from unstructured data such as a Word document into structured data (like the fields on a form).

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.

One of the key needs on any Microsoft Business Applications (BizApps) project is the ability to quickly understand the industry in which the project is focused. This does not only include documenting business processes (possibly) but also recommending slight shifts to processes for efficiencies or increased profits.

The Functional Lead and Functional / Solution Architect has a number of key skillsets that are not always found in the focuses of the Technical Architects. 

1) There might be a configurable answer to the need. 

Consider that Microsoft has 1000s of Microsoft developers working on the Microsoft Power Platform every day. All Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement apps are built on the Microsoft Power Platform and are considered Model Driven Apps. If the feature doesn't do exactly what you want it to do, there might be a configuration or customization that can meet the need. 

2) It is hard to think "business" first if you also live in the complexity of Code and Extensions.

There is a reason why we do technical design and translate business needs into the language of the developer. When an "extension" to the Microsoft Platform is of interest, then the developer needs to consider the 1000s of Microsoft Developers changing code daily, the Microsoft Software Developer Kit (SDK) and recommended practices and the latest technologies and versions in the world of development languages. They have their hands full of detailed awesome and are MUCH needed.

3) Development is an Art, Solution / Functional / Business Focused work is also an Art 

AI has already added to these Art Forms, but despite the radical news our worlds have always been in transition. This is the nature of technology. In some of my greatest projects the synergy between technical, business and teamwork has been incredible. These are the projects that make me smile. The ones that were life changing. 

4) Do you know the long-term cost of the option being selected?

It is easy to get mixed up in the ideal solution to the immediate problem, but are you always aligning to the constant change and the effort to maintain?

5) Performance matters! 

Sometimes the easy solution is going to cost you in the long run. An API Call is not necessarily the right answer to heavy load. Leverage the power of the architects to understand all of the variables surrounding your choices. Performance is often one that is forgotten until it is too late to make an easy shift.

6) It might look really pretty, but is it Accessible? 

We have incredibly diverse audiences. Color blindness (Are you using Reds and Greens?), adaptive keyboards, different sized monitors and 1000s of other unique configurations. UI/UX DOES matter, but so does accessibility. The two don't always align in the same way for every person. The Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Modules meet 100s of compliance regulations. 

If you are a senior sales executive, you know how to sell.

• You can close,
• you are organized,
• you have a full sales pipeline and sales funnel,
• e-mail is prioritized and
• you are rocking your world. 

Where would AI tools such as Copilot make a difference? 

We have access to the Sales 101 use cases for AI.

• Summarize my activities for or with a prospect
• extract data from the last 3 months from all channels of communication with the key prospect contacts (e-mail, teams, chat, channels, groups, etc.)
• Let me know if I have not followed up in the last 6 months on a subset of prospects
• and so many more.

    BUT what about the more sophisticated needs for that senior experienced sales expert? 

• What strategies do you use to identify the best fit prospects and most profitable opportunities for your industry niche?  

Do your sales executives spend trolling time? Rather than closing time? 

The sales executive ->  I use a combination of research and data analytics. First, I create a customer profile based on the demographic information I have access to. Then, I use data analysis tools to identify buying patterns and trends in order to better target my outreach efforts. Finally, I leverage social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to get more real-time sentiment and understanding. I also really appreciate having recent articles where my prospect and/or their parent account has been represented, presented or perhaps was a contributor.

• How do you communicate accurate and predictive forecasting information on your prospects to sales management and to the executive management team? 

Do your senior sales executive have to take valuable selling time to have management meetings or worse, repetitive management meetings? or can management easily understand the predictive analytics, the forecasts and the detailed information from data that sales team members capture? 

"In my current role as a senior sales executive, I ensure effective communication between the sales team and management by setting up regular meetings between the two groups to discuss progress and any issues that have arisen. I also make sure that our daily check-ins are productive by having the sales team provide detailed updates and discussing any potential roadblocks. Additionally, I compile weekly reports to provide management with an overview of the team’s performance. This system has been effective in helping the team stay on track and identifying areas of improvement.”

When you really want to know how to make a difference using "AI" in the world of a "Role" consider looking at the top 20 Interview questions that senior and experienced resources answer. 

20 Interview Questions Every Senior Sales Executive Must Be Able To Answer - InterviewPrep

Did you know -

In the new Microsoft Outlook, you can ask Copilots to define a new custom theme based on where you live or other variables. 

Select Settings

Select General

Select Appearance

Select Copilot Themes

Are you struggling to get your head around the various branding of AI? Consider that functionality can be built using the power of "AI" and that each functionality bundle can have a very different usage. The way it works, the way it is designed, the data that it uses, the reach and security that it leverages. Companies are working on communicating this, because for some audiences it matters.

In the world of "Business Think" the technology doesn't matter as much as what is being provided and how. If I have a specific need and that need is the same as another company, then perhaps, I just want to purchase something that meets that need. I don't necessarily need the technical details of how it is built, I just want the telephone system that allows all my employees to make calls, BUT just like buying a car, there are all the "you could also have" and "you might also need" or preferences such as color or in the case of a phone system, transcription, video, integrations, empowerment, security and the list goes on.

 Microsoft has an interesting dilemma as the world gets nosier. They empower teams, business people, technical people, partners, independent software companies and others with the power to configure their offerings and not only configure, but choice of configurations depending on need and if there many choices are not enough, they also support, deeply support extensions to their code bases. Just like walking down the cereal aisle at the grocery story. 25 choices that are slightly different and you can pick your own ingredients and make your own granola (oats, raisins, brown sugar, nuts, bake). 

Do we want choice?

Most of the time we do want choice. Try to be patient when considering that at times choices can be a bit overwhelming. Find your trusted souls, build your trusted network of gurus and most importantly have multi-person conversations on options. 

The human knowledge wells are deep, if you can tap into these without egos, fears, games, societies current anxieties, you will have more power and more information than needed to make the right long-term choices.  

Just a few fun terms to get you thinking about all you can build (Note: I did use Copilot (Microsoft Teams Copilot) to extract the definition for each of the below terms)

• Trigger Phrases: These are specific phrases or keywords that, when detected in a user's input, activate a particular topic or response in Copilot. They help in identifying the user's intent and directing the conversation accordingly.
• Nodes: These are the building blocks of a conversation in Copilot studio. Each node represents a specific part of the conversation flow, such as a question, a response, or an action. Nodes are connected to create a structured dialogue.
• Response Variation: This refers to the different ways Copilot can respond to the same user input. By having multiple variations of a response, Copilot can provide a more natural and engaging conversation experience.
• Quick Replies: These are predefined responses that users can select to quickly reply to a message. They help streamline the conversation and guide users through the interaction.
• Entities: These are specific pieces of information that Copilot can recognize and extract from the user's input. Examples include dates, names, locations, and other relevant data points.
• Variables: These are placeholders used to store and manage information within a conversation. Variables can be used to personalize responses and keep track of the conversation context.
• Power FX: This is a formula language used in Copilot studio to create complex expressions and logic. It allows for advanced customization and control over the conversation flow.

Check out the great sessions on WeDoAI 2024

AGENDA

• OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Copilot(s)
• The Power Platform
• Microsoft Power Platform Model Driven Apps built by Microsoft
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Journeys/Marketing
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center
• Microsoft Copilot Studio
• An Agent versus A Copilot

Although a direct API would be preferred, you also have the following power 

Microsoft Outlook

• An e-mail is received
• The e-mail has an attachment of an Excel Spreadsheet
• The spreadsheet is received every week and contains key data that validates information
• An Outlook rule moves this e-mail to a folder 

Welcome Microsoft Power Automate (flow)

• Pick-up the e-mail
• Save the Attachment
• Process the Attachment data and injected the data into Dataverse (Model Driven Power App)

Microsoft Power App

• Dashboards
• Comparisons
• Calculations
• Reporting errors 

There are many choices when it comes to business processes and eliminating manual steps. 

And the NA Summit kicks off with Copilot Studio. Good thing I was working on Adaptive Cards this morning and now in the presence of all the people who can answer my questions :) 

Yes, I am not afraid to ask question. (although not always in my best interest) 

For those who have access to Microsoft BUILD 2024 (or who sign up for access): Go watch BRK148: Extend Microsoft Copilot using Copilot Studio. This was the #1 watched session from the Business Applications group at Microsoft Build 2024. It is packed with great information.

Key Kickoff Tip: Cut through the noise - people want specific information, not a wave of information when they need an answer, and they don't want to do work redundantly. (<- my interruption)   

Copilot Studio: A Hydration of Bot Framework/SDK, Bot Service Channels, Azure AI Studio, Azure Cognitive Services, Power Platform Connectors and AI Builder

and then the ability to build and extend across the Microsoft ecosystem

The lines are getting very blurry and exciting. Enabling new actions and customized knowledge and published throughout the organization. 

Greatest question from the audience: What is "HYDRATE" and the answer "it is like watering a plant to allow it to grow and grow and grow"

And when it really gets fun, 

• Connectors (pulling data from different sources and business knowledge)
• Plugins (Extending what is offered from Microsoft)
• and Copilots that Copilot can use as extensions (the library of building blocks ;)

Although we have TWO big releases each year (Spring and Fall), the Microsoft Power Platform Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement applications are all running in a SaaS model.

This means drip updates, keep an eye on the blog to learn more each month. 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales -> Microsoft Copilot for Sales Blog - Microsoft Community Hub

It is so easy to get out of the habit of blogging, but my days of learning and knowledge sharing have never stopped. We continue to do daily learning and there is so much awesome that is both continuing to mature and brand new.

In the world of Microsoft Business Applications, the word Copilot is the hottest topic. We now have an automated assistant who can quickly cut through the noise and help prioritize what is really critical. It also provides insights into long neglected focus areas like really looking at your Enterprise data and Executive Summaries. 

One of the GEMS from Microsoft is Microsoft Learn. A free learning resource on every technology that Microsoft provides. If you have not discovered Microsoft Learn, here is the Copilot motivation of the day Microsoft Copilot documentation and resources | Microsoft Learn

and for Microsoft Power Platform Customers tap into what is available and coming  

Microsoft Dynamics 365:

• Copilot for Sales Welcome to Microsoft Copilot for Sales | Microsoft Learn and Microsoft Copilot for Sales – Microsoft Adoption
• Copilot in Customer Service Use Copilot to solve customer issues | Microsoft Learn
• Copilot in Field Service Dynamics 365 Field Service - Copilot in Field Service | Microsoft Learn
• Copilot in Marketing Using Copilot in Marketing (Copilot Scenario Library) – Microsoft Adoption
• Copilot in Project Operations Get started with copilot in Dynamics 365 Project Operations - Training | Microsoft Learn
•     and there are so many more!! including Microsoft Copilot Studio | Extend Copilots or Create Your Own so you can create your own and extend offerings.

To really get started, understand the art of the possible and the differences between Open AI, Azure Open AI, Copilot, ChatGPT and other offerings. Once you wrap your head around the overlaps and the unique features it all starts to click together, and you will find your "AH HA" moment with why Copilot can or should be part of your entire stack of applications and technologies.