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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Service Review

Download the PDFCustomer service employees working

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Service is an on-the-go customer service module. The suite has different hubs that make it easy to attend to various customer needs. Whether you need to have a live chat with them or respond to their emails and so on, there is a tool that can help do that.

We describe it as being an on-the-go service module because it has a great mobile version with apps that can handle customer needs. Microsoft has designed this suite with foresight into what a business would need to address customer concerns. With 365 Service the customer care team can provide customized assistance to every customer and they can do this without breaking a sweat.

What You can Do with Dynamics 365 Service?

  • Create cases to track customer problems.
  • Enter cases into a queue and direct them to the right department for assistance.
  • Record customer interactions with service personnel.
  • Chat with clients.
  • Automate responses to particular questions.
  • Generate reports on performance and manage productivity using dashboards.
  • Schedule tasks
  • Manage cross-channel conversations.

Features of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Service

Case Management

A customer service agent can use this feature to create a case and process it through the different levels (assignment, escalation, and resolution). This feature also allows automation of the process with pre-defined rules. Once a case is created, the service agent will receive details about the customer that can help in assisting them better. It is also linked to a knowledge base.

Templates

This suite contains several templates that a service agent can use for communication like sending emails to customers informing them about their case or whatever communication they may have to send out. The templates improve efficiency and can be personalized.

Mobile App

This feature allows customer care to provide support on the go. The app is furnished with the necessary hubs for communication like the live chat hub and customers can also type their queries and follow up progress in resolving their issues. This feature can be configured so that a business provides round-the-clock assistance even during holidays.

Reports

Microsoft Dynamics service manager dashboard

Dynamics 365 Service has a dashboard that provides feedback on the performance of the customer care service. There are various items that are reported for example the number of incoming calls, channels being used, the number of cases resolved and so much more.

Added Features

Some features are part of the upgrade plan. When a client signs up for the advanced plan, they can access the added features. In most cases, these features are suited for large businesses that can benefit from spending more on these features. Some of these features include a self-service portal that can be accessed separately for customers to enjoy automated service. There is also the Gamification feature that provides games for agents to relax. It has been shown to improve motivation among service agents.

Dynamics 365 Service Integration

Microsoft makes it possible for a business to improve the performance of this module through integration. First of all, you can integrate with other Dynamics modules like sales and marketing.

This module can also integrate with third-party applications and software. For example, you can integrate with cloud-based document automation software to automate communication between the business and the customers.

Pricing

Pricing will depend on the needs of a business. The minimum rate is $50 per user per month and this is the Professional plan which entitles a user to basic customer care functionality like case management, templates, knowledge base, and so on.

The Enterprise plan is more favored by medium businesses and it is priced at $95 per month. This offers customization, better automation using intelligent software, gamification, portals, and other professional features.

There are other pricing plans that allow the purchase of particular features that are available separately. The virtual agent is one of the most common add-ons and costs $1,100 per month.

Verdict

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Service is a feature-rich module that can help a business have more organized customer assistance. Its pricing seems reasonable in comparison to other alternatives and it has the backing of Microsoft. Many reviews say nice things about it, so it is worth giving a try.

If you’ve just discovered us, we’re excited. Try Windward Hub (integrates with Microsoft Dynamics) for free and take it for a spin. Start automating customer service reports and more in just a few clicks starting today.

Tags Start & End

Tags Can Start & End Anywhere

Appendix B

.NET code for multi-page image output

Appendix A

Java code for multi-page image output

Data Bin Search

The Data Bin can now be searched to find a table, column, node or other piece of data without scrolling through it all.

Shrink to Fit

This will shrink the contents of a cell until it fits the defined cell size.

Time Zone Conversion

A new Windward macro has been added to help with converting dates and times from UTC time to the local time zone.

Image Output Format

New image output formats added.

PostScript Output Format

PostScript, commonly used with printers and printing companies, has been added as an additional output format.

New and Improved Datasets (Designer, Java Engine, .NET Engine)

Datasets have been re-written from scratch to be more powerful and easier to use.

Stored Procedure Wizard (Designer)

This works for all tag types that are connected to a SQL-based data source (Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, or DB2).

Boolean Conditional Wizard (Designer)

Before, conditional statements could only be written manually. Now they can also be built using our intuitive Wizard interface.

Reorganized Ribbon

The ribbon menus have been re-organized and consolidated to improve the report design workflow.

XPath 2.0 as Data Source

Adds various capabilities such as inequalities,descending sort, joins, and other functions.

If you've just discovered us, we're excited. Learn more about Windward document automation software now.

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SQL Select Debugger

SQL Select  Debugger

  • The look and feel was improved
  • Stored Procedure Wizard
  • Improved Exceptions pane

If you've just discovered us, we're excited. Learn more about Windward document automation software now.

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Tag Editor/Tag Selector

Added a Query tab as a field for typing or pasting in a select statement

  • Color Coding of Keywords
  • TypeAhead
  • Evaluate is now "Preview"

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Rename a Datasource

All tags using that Data source will be automatically updated with that name.

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Connecting to a Data Source

New single interface to replace 2 separate dialog boxes

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Tag Tree

Displays of all the tags in the template, structured as they are placed in the template. This provides a simple & intuitive way to see the structure of your template. Also provides the capability to go to any tag and/or see the properties of any tag.

Added Javelin into the RESTful Engine

If you've just discovered us, we're excited. Learn more about Windward document automation software now.

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Support for Google Application Engine Integration

The ability to integrate the Windward Engine into Google’s cloud computing platform for developing and hosting web applications dubbed Google Applications Engine (GAE).

If you've just discovered us, we're excited. Learn more about Windward document automation software now.

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Additional Refinement for HTML Output

  • Improved indentation for ordered and unordered lists
  • Better handling of template header and footer images
  • Better handling for background images and colors

If you've just discovered us, we're excited. Learn more about Windward document automation software now.

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Redesigned PDF Output Support

This new  integration will allow for processing of complex scripts and bi-directional  text such as Arabic.  Your PDF output  will be much tighter and more closely match your template, and we’ll be able  to respond rapidly to PDF requests and fixes.

If you've just discovered us, we're excited. Learn more about Windward document automation software now.

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PowerPoint Support

Includes support for new ForEach and slide break handling, table header row repeat across slide breaks, and native Microsoft support for charts and images.

If you've just discovered us, we're excited. Learn more about Windward document automation software now.

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Tags are Color Coded

Tags are color coded in the template by type, making it easy to visually identify them.

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Increased Performance

Version 13’s core code has been reworked and optimized to offer a reduced memory footprint, faster PDF generation and full documentation of supported features and limitations in the specifications for DOCX, XLSX and PPTX.

If you've just discovered us, we're excited. Learn more about Windward document automation software now.

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Advanced Image Properties

Documents can include advanced Word image properties such as shadows, borders, and styles.

If you've just discovered us, we're excited. Learn more about Windward document automation software now.

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Improved HTML Output

Windward has updated HTML output to reflect changing HTML standards.

If you've just discovered us, we're excited. Learn more about Windward document automation software now.

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Version 13 New Data Sources

Windward now works with a slew of new datasources: MongoDB, JSON, Cassandra, OData, Salesforce.com

If you've just discovered us, we're excited. Learn more about Windward document automation software now.

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Generate Code

The Generate Code tool in the designer allows you to open an existing template and, with a click of a button, automatically create a window with the code needed to run your current template with all data sources and variables. Simply copy this code and paste into your application's code in the appropriate place. You now have Windward integrated into your application.

You only need to do this once. You do not do this for each template. Instead, where it has explicit files for the template and output, change that to parameters you pass to this code. Same for the parameters passed to Windward. This example uses explicit values to show you what to substitute in where.

Pivot Tables Adjusted in Output

Any pivot tables in an XLSX template are carried over to the XLSX output. The ranges in the pivot ranges are adjusted to match the generated output. So your final XLSX will have pivot tables set as expected in the generated file.

This makes creating an XLSX workbook with pivot tables trivial.

Imported Template Can be Set to Match the Parent Styles

In an imported sub-template, if its properties for a style (ex. Normal) differ from the parent template's properties for the style, the use in the sub-template can be set to either use the properties in the sub-template, or the properties in the parent.

You set to retain when you don't want the child template's styling to change when imported. You set to use the parent when you want the styling of the imported template to match the styling in the parent.

Any explicit styling is always retained. This only impacts styling set by styles.

Tags can be Placed in Text Boxes

Tags can be placed in text boxes. Including linked text boxes. This gives you the ability to set the text in a textbox from your data.

Tags can be Placed in Shapes & Smart Art

Tags can be placed in shapes & smart art. This gives you the ability to set the text in a shape from your data.

HTML Output Supports Embedded Images

When generating HTML output, the engine can either write bitmaps as distinct files the generate HTML references, or it can embed the images in the HTML providing a single file for the output.

Footnotes & Endnotes can Have Tags

You can place tags in pretty much any part of a template, including in footnotes & endnotes.

Document Locking Supported in DOCX & XLSX

Any parts of a DOCX or XLSX (PowerPoint does not support this) file that are locked in the template, will be locked the same in the output.

Specify Font Substitution

If a font used in the template does not exist on the server generating a report, the font to substitute can be specified.
In addition, if a glyph to be rendered does not exist in the font specified, you can specify the replacement font. This can be set distinctly for European, Bi-Directional, and Far East fonts.

Process Multiple Datasources Simultaneously

If you need this - it's essential. And if you don't need it, it's irrelevant.

Windward enables you to build a document by applying multiple datasources to the template simultaneously. When Windward is merging the data into a template, it processes the template by handling each tag in order, and each tag pulls from different datasources. (As opposed to processing all of one datasource, then processing the next.)

This allows the select tag to use data from another datasource in its select. For example, if you are pulling customer information from one data source, you can then pull data from the sales datasource using the customer ID of the customer presently processing to pull the sales information for that customer. If you're interested in patching together your data from multiple datasources, read this post on our blog.

Written by:_
Genesis Abel

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