Microsoft’s 2021 release wave 1 will bring exciting new updates to all existing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales implementations – delivering enhanced timesaving, intelligence and mobile experiences.

What is Microsoft 2021 release wave 1?

Microsoft’s 2021 release wave 1 is for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform. It is a series of automatic updates made across all applications and the platform at large, creating hundreds of new features, changes and opportunities.

Automatic production deployment for the 2021 release wave 1 begins April 2021, continuing through to September 2021. In this article, Telefónica Tech will explore the new features arriving for Dynamics 365 Sales and the actions that systems owners must take to prepare for the rollout of release wave 1 changes.

Dynamics 365 Sales – what is new?

Many of the new wave 1 features for Dynamics 365 Sales are scheduled for preview in May/June 2021. The solution updates are focused on three main concepts: saving time, providing enhanced intelligence and improving the mobile experience.

Saving time

Microsoft have announced new features designed to reduce navigation time across the solution. These enhancements will make essential information easily accessible to users.

• Custom side panel – the new side panel feature provides sellers with a quick view of key opportunities, contacts and accounts while on Dynamics 365 Sales. The easy navigation can be customised and removes the need to click through multiple pages to search records. Public preview for this feature is not due until June 2021- but it will be an update worth waiting for.
• Deal Manager – a new workspace in Sales Hub where sellers can view and analyse their key sale information. This is an intuitive page with support for custom apps, including: advanced editable grids, personalised columns, aggregations for numeric columns and business logic on grid actions. Deal manager will allow sellers to quickly identify the best opportunities to focus on, saving them time.

Enhanced intelligence

Due for public preview in May 2021, the new intelligence features will help sellers to quickly understand their pipeline and collaborate with ease.

• Microsoft Teams integration – Microsoft Teams integration with Dynamics 365 Sales will be enhanced with new capabilities. For example, Teams chats and channels will be linked directly to sales records and the Teams embedded chat experience will allow sellers to collaborate seamlessly with stakeholders within their CRM.
• Pipeline Manager – the new workspace provides users with personalised information and actions in a single location. Users can now trigger key actions and activities from the grid and side panel, without navigating away from their main screen.
• Stats – new calculated metrics called Stats will help users understand their pipeline. The metrics will come from opportunity management and they can be configured to map to relevant opportunity fields. The stats will be available on public preview from April 2021.
• Sales Insights – the workspace experience can be enhanced with information from Sales Insights. Scores and insights can be viewed within the side panel, grid or bubble chart.

Improved mobile experience

New functionality in the mobile experience has been on preview since February and is scheduled for release in April 2021. The new features will provide a range of improvements to the mobile experience including insights on meeting participants, deals and accounts, easy access to files and quicker access to activities and follow up actions.

The improvements focus on optimising the mobile experience for core day-to-day activities, enabling sellers to be productive anywhere.

What does this mean for your Dynamics 365 Sales solution?

The release will affect all Dynamics 365 users. Microsoft will automatically apply wave 1 updates to production environments from April 2021.

To ensure your organisation is equipped to adapt to these changes, you should begin your adoption strategy. Administrators, owners and leaders should take action to prepare for the release wave to ensure a seamless rollout to production for users and environments.

If your organisation requires assistance navigating the rollout of Microsoft’s 2021 release wave 1 across Dynamics 365 or Power Platform, get in touch.