In this episode, we explore the future of the Power Platform, AI, and low code development. Our special guest, Julia Kasper, a Program Manager at Microsoft, joins us as we uncover the most recent advancements and what’s on the horizon. Julia shares her insights and perspectives, highlighting the importance of embracing a growth mindset and fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation within Microsoft. During our discussion, we explore the concept of the Modern Workplace and its seam...
Jun 14, 2023•34 min•Season 3Ep. 20
In this first of two episodes recorded at the Microsoft Build conference in Seattle, Liz interviews Bob Serr, VP of Azure Communication Services at Microsoft. They delve into the world of Azure Communication Services (ACS), discussing its real-time communication features like voice calling, video calling, SMS messaging, and chat functionality. The episode also unveils exciting new AI announcements tied to ACS. Listen in to discover how businesses can leverage ACS to enhance customer satisfaction...
May 31, 2023•25 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Wrapping up our three-part mini series on the user-focused side of technology transformation, this week we talk about Change Management. We're focusing on the people side of change and how you (or your organization) can guide their team through a technology or process change. Training ties in closely to change management and helps ensure your teams know how to do their jobs following the change. Change Management takes training further by identifying issues that may arise due to the change (such...
May 17, 2023•29 min•Season 3Ep. 18
We have a secret for you. You can build the best possible tool for your end users, but they won’t know how to effectively use it without adequate training. Technology tools need to be intuitive, but training on these tools still needs to be comprehensive enough so your users know where to go as soon as they access the tool for the first time. In our last episode, we hinted (ahem, declared) that UAT is not training, and in this episode we discuss what training means and how to empower your end us...
May 04, 2023•46 min•Season 3Ep. 17
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) can be ran in many different ways - from small single feature tests, to gigantic enterprise platform releases. We discuss how there are many different views on how to plan and execute successful UAT sessions, and highlight important aspects regardless of your project size. There’s so much more to UAT than just identifying bugs vs. features, though sometimes that can be the most difficult part! Visit https://www.dynamicshotdish.com for more information!
Apr 19, 2023•43 min•Season 3Ep. 16
DynamicsCon Live is coming up on May 22-25 in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona! Whether you're a conference veteran or a conference newbie, DynamicsCon is a great choice to learn all about Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. Going into its third year, the Dynamics User Group (DUG) has made some changes that will make this the best year yet. Join us this week as we discuss what you can expect at this event with Kylie Kiser and Chad Althaus. Visit https://www.dynamicshotdish.com for more information....
Apr 05, 2023•38 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Join us as we discuss all things Omnichannel for Customer Service! There are many new and exciting things in Omnichannel and we're delighted to discuss all the capabilities with you. Omnichannel in Dynamics 365 is truly amplifying the way businesses interact with customers by bringing all the different ways customers can reach out to a business into a single work area. In this episode, we take a deep look into Omnichannel capabilities. Spoiler alert - there are so many capabilities, there's like...
Mar 22, 2023•43 min•Season 3Ep. 14
We have some exciting news to share this week! A familiar voice and a new voice are joining the permanent crew of the podcast. Meet Ali, who is a Functional Consultant at Stoneridge Software and actually likes going to the dentist. Liz is back and is thrilled to be talking about a topic that's been all over the media recently: ChatGPT. Join us as we discuss what ChatGPT is and how generative AI is the future, though it has some road bumps to overcome. What are your thoughts on the future of AI i...
Mar 08, 2023•48 min•Season 3Ep. 13
For this week's episode, we cover a few news-worthy items, including some notes on the upcoming Wave 1 release, the events we're looking forward to in 2023, and an announcement. For more information, visit https://www.dynamicshotdish.com.
Feb 22, 2023•28 min•Season 3Ep. 12
This week we talk about how Customer Service has improved over time and some of the coolest features available today. We go down a short rabbit hole on Power Virtual Agent but it ties back up into the omnichannel capabilities Microsoft has built out over the years. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments! Visit https://www.dynamicshotdish.com for more information.
Feb 08, 2023•33 min•Season 3Ep. 11
This week we talk about a Dynamics 365 module we haven't spent much time on in the past - Project Operations! Ashley's been working with it recently so we discuss some cool features, potential limitations, and why you need a lot of data setup to make it work. Leave your thoughts or experiences in the comments! Visit https://dynamicshotdish.com for more information.
Jan 25, 2023•31 min•Season 3Ep. 10
This week's episode kicks off 2023 with an extension of our user adoption and training content with Marquis Caldwell from ClickLearn. We discuss user learning styles, how different types of learning materials and content supports these different styles, and where ClickLearn can help. We also just generally have a great conversation with Marquis! For more information, visit https://www.dynamicshotdish.com.
Jan 11, 2023•33 min•Season 3Ep. 9
This week we jump into the Dynamics 365 Marketing module to talk at a high level about the capabilities Marketing brings to the table. We focus specifically on the outbound features and customer journeys, which allow organizations to set up automated marketing plans that customers progress through by time or action. If you're using Marketing, let us know your experiences! For more information, visit https://www.dynamicshotdish.com.
Dec 14, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 8
A frequent question from companies implementing a software system is "how do we manage this thing after go-live?" This week, we share our perspectives on how best to administer and maintain your Dynamics system after the consulting team walks away, leaning heavily on Ashley's experiences as an administrator. If you've found anything that works well for you, please share a comment! For more information, visit https://www.dynamicshotdish.com.
Nov 30, 2022•34 min•Season 3Ep. 7
At the conferences this fall it seemed like AI Builder is all the rage, so we thought we might cover an introduction for this episode. We discuss what it is and isn't, how it fits into the overall Azure Cognitive Services picture, and consider use cases where it could add business value. If you're using AI Builder in your organization, tell us how you're using it! (And yes, our episode image was AI generated.) For more information, visit www.dynamicshotdish.com for more information.
Nov 16, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 6
User adoption is always a hot topic, and this week we have a guest speaker who is passionate about user adoption, and has been advocating for its importance for years. Asif Rehmani is the CEO of VisualSP, a tool built to help drive user adoption in web-based apps like SharePoint and Dynamics 365, and we get his perspective and expertise this week for the Hotdish! Visit www.dynamicshotdish.com for more information.
Nov 02, 2022•33 min•Season 3Ep. 5
In this week's episode, we dive into one of Ashley's passion areas - business process flows! While Microsoft (and partners) sell BPFs heavily during demos, it seems that users don't often find much value in using them. We discuss why that might be and consider best practices to make BPFs more useful (and used). Visit https://www.dynamicshotdish.com for more information.
Oct 19, 2022•27 min
We've talked about canvas vs model-driven apps in the past, but we admit that we generally try to solution in model-driven apps because it's our comfort zone. This week, we discuss some areas where model-driven isn't the right answer, or simply won't work, and expand on how canvas apps can help. Have a scenario you're trying to find the right solution for? Leave us a comment! Visit https://www.dynamicshotdish.com for more information and show notes.
Oct 05, 2022•28 min
For our first episode under our new format, Ashley and Merlin wanted to discuss a few exciting Wave 2 updates coming for the Power Platform and Dynamics 365 as a way to ease back into the Hotdish. We also go through an important draft (listen/watch to learn more). Feel free to comment your own exciting Wave 2 feature!
Sep 21, 2022•29 min•Season 3Ep. 2
We kick off our return from summer vacation with an interview, hosting Liz Hallen from Dynamics User Group (DUG) to discuss DynamicsCon Live (happening next week!) and all other things DUG-related. Thanks for tuning back in!
Sep 07, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 1
This week we dig into the different ways you can bring data into Dataverse/Dynamics 365, from the out-of-the-box tools to various external solution, and evaluate the pros and cons of each.
May 18, 2022•45 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Part 2 of our dive into Dataverse security continues this week with more tips and best practices. This week we expand beyond the "basic" security components to discuss extended features like column security, and form security. We also ponder some use cases - leave a comment if you have an example!
May 11, 2022•32 min•Season 2Ep. 18
This week we got back to the basics and dug into security within Dataverse and Dynamics 365. We go through some history, discuss best practices, and some things to consider when setting up your security. We had so much to discuss that we have a part 2 coming up next week!
May 04, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 17
Somewhat late to the party, but the fourth episode of our diversity series this week is a conversation about how those of us in positions of privilege can be effective allies to those who are in marginalized positions or populations. We even forgive Allie for working with Salesforce (*gasp*) because we appreciated her message and the way she helped define allyship.
Apr 27, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 16
This week we decided to pick up one of those ongoing topics that never really end or get the perfect answers - data quality. Anyone with any sort of database (or even a spreadsheet!) has run into issues keeping data clean and organized, and a CRM system is certainly no different. We cover a few tips that we've learned over time, a couple of tools that might help, and generally discuss how we approach data quality solutions.
Apr 20, 2022•28 min
On the podcast this week, we have the pleasure of talking to Matt Beard, a Microsoft MVP based in the UK, who is also on the organizing team for Scottish Summit. We discuss some of the details of Scottish Summit, including some aspects that make it a unique conference, and general fun conversation. Listen in to learn more! Visit www.dynamicshotdish for more information.
Apr 13, 2022•38 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Our episode this week brings us back into slightly more technical territory with a discussion on implementing sales processes into Dynamics 365 Sales. We cover the importance of starting at the process and bringing technology later, as well as considering the broader picture of what a process looks like outside of the CRM tool. Have any best practices you'd like to share? Leave a comment! Visit https://www.dynamicshotdish.com for more information.
Mar 30, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Finding data in Dynamics 365 and Dataverse has always been a bit of a struggle - you had to search the right way in the right place or you might not find what you were looking for, and using Advanced Find was not for the faint of heart. Now, for the first time in over a decade, Microsoft has changed Advanced Find, and this week we discuss these changes as well as other changes to searching over time. In short, it's getting better! Visit https://www.dynamicshotdish.com for more information!...
Mar 23, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Users and executives love dashboards, but as with most Microsoft solutions, there are a number of different ways to solve the problem. This week we discuss using standard Dynamics dashboards or Power BI as different options to provide users with that one stop view of important data, with some pointers on how to decide which solution fits best. Visit www.dynamicshotdish.com for more information.
Mar 16, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 11
For the third episode of our diversity series, we have a conversation with two Minneapolis-based entrepreneurs, Tayo Daniel and Nabil Ghebre. Both bring enlightening perspectives on bringing more diversity into the tech space, and both bring passion to this area with community-based action. We also talk more about TechFluent, as both Tayo and Nabil are involved as well!
Mar 09, 2022•35 min•Season 2Ep. 10
