Microsoft Ignite is one of the most anticipated events on the Microsoft calendar. This annual gathering of technology leaders and practitioners showcases the most significant and innovative updates from Microsoft’s product portfolio. This year, Microsoft announced exciting developments across Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Modern Workplace, and Azure, enhancing the capabilities of the unified Microsoft ecosystem.

The Telefónica Tech team has highlighted their top 6 innovative new tools and features that they are most excited about and believe will transform the way our customers drive value from technology.

Dynamics 365 Customer Service Voice Channel [Now Available]

The new voice channel, built on Microsoft Azure Communication Services, expands the existing Dynamics 365 Omnichannel Customer Service application. This new voice channel complements the existing email, chat, and social media channels, creating an end-to-end solution that unifies all points of customer interaction for Customer Service.

Power App Pay-As-You-Go Licensing [Available Now]

The pay-as-you-go licensing model is now available for Power Apps license holders. Customers can now pay per user activities, such as the number of unique apps or portals a user runs each month, using an Azure subscription. This flexible model benefits organizations by allowing them to establish usage patterns for a new app or solution before transitioning to subscription licenses.

The Microsoft Customer Experience Platform

Microsoft is launching a comprehensive customer experience solution that enables organizations to build intuitive customer journeys and deliver exceptional, personalized experiences. This new platform connects experiences across marketing, commerce, sales, and service, allowing precise use of customer data, integration into line-of-business applications, and seamless activation across a growing number of customer touchpoints.

Add AI to Power Apps with Power Fx

Microsoft unveiled new features for AI Builder that simplify adding intelligence to business applications. Power Fx allows makers to add advanced logic and AI to create sophisticated apps in Microsoft Power Apps. The new update extends Power Fx to open-source communities on GitHub, enabling developers to quickly leverage and distribute code to the makers in their organization. This open-source collaboration of Power Fx via GitHub and developer communities empowers everyone to create complex, rich applications faster than ever.

Azure SQL Managed Instance Link

The new Link feature in SQL Managed Instances enables on-premises SQL to be linked to SQL Managed Instances, allowing data to be replicated to Azure. SQL Managed Instances Link feature creates a read-only replica of on-premises databases, enabling reporting and other cloud-only features to be deployed without impacting production. SQL Managed Instances Link are scoped at the database level and can also be used for migrations, including complex scenarios where multiple on-premises SQL servers are replicated to one or many managed instances. This feature provides customers with the flexibility to enable cloud services on their on-premises data and facilitates on-premises to Azure Managed Instance migration.

Microsoft Viva – Employee Experience Hub

Earlier this year, Microsoft announced the beginning of Viva, the first employee experience platform. Now, all four modules—Viva Connections, Viva Insights, Viva Topics, and Viva Learning—are generally available and included with the purchase of just one plan, the new Viva suite. Embedded within Microsoft Teams, these features will help people and teams foster a culture of human connection, growth, and wellbeing.

Hundreds of new updates and features were announced at Microsoft Ignite 2021. To discuss what these updates mean for your organization and to ensure you capitalize on the latest Microsoft innovations, please speak to a member of our team.