I recently assisted with a support call logged by a client following the introduction of an RM integration created using SmartConnect.

The client enters exchange rates at the start of the month, but following the integration being deployed, extra exchange rates were being inserted into the exchange rate table. This caused problems as the rate from the external system varied more often than the rates entered, and required, in Microsoft Dynamics GP.

The investigation started from the integration to see if there were any settings in it which could be causing this issue, but none seemed relevant. The only currency fields being set was the Currency ID and the Exchange Rate.

After this I started taking a look into the eConnect stored procedures on top of which SmartConnect runs. After digging down a couple of levels I discovered that taMCExchangeRate has a section which inserts the exchange rate passed in if it is not in the Exchange Rate table; this is regardless of the setting in Multicurrency Setup (Financial area page » Setup » Multicurrency) which were set to allow rates to be used without being added to the exchange rate table.

The client was running Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 SP2 and my investigation was confirmed on a 2019 October Release environment so this is a long standing issue which is not yet resolved; I have confirmed with Microsoft that they are aware of this issue and it is logged with the development team for resolution in a future version.

In the meantime, I have deployed customised versions of two stored procedures to the client so that they do not have the exchange rates being inserted into the exchange rate table.

Read original post Exchange Rates inserted by eConnect integrations at azurecurve|Ramblings of a Dynamics GP Consultant

Une firme d’architecture de plus de 500 employés offrant de nombreux services a fait l’acquisition de plusieurs firmes plus petites au cours des quelques dernières années. Le résultat fut que tout le monde avait sa propre façon de travailler et d’interpréter les données extraites du système. En plus, la direction éprouvait de la difficulté à obtenir un portrait complet du portfolio de projets et du pipeline versus ce qui avait déjà été complété.

Heureusement, une solution de comptabilité par projet spécifiquement développée pour les firmes d’architecture leur a permis de relever leurs défis.

Le problème : Obtenir des données cohérentes

Comme cette firme avait fait l’acquisition de nombreuses firmes à travers l’Amérique du Nord, il était essential de pouvoir gérer des projets multicompagnies et multidevises. Mais puisque les informations n’étaient pas regroupées en un seul système, il était difficile d’obtenir des données uniformes.

La direction avait également besoin de rapports fiables et complets, détaillant les disciplines, services, marchés, niveaux d’utilisation et la profitabilité par marché. Cependant, obtenir des rapports comprenant toutes ces données prenait énormément de temps.

La solution : Un système intégré pour tous les départements de l’organisation

JOVACO Solutions aide les firmes de services professionnels à optimiser leurs opérations depuis plus de 35 ans. Les opérations de cette firme d’architecture nécessitaient la solution complète JOVACO Projet pour l’automatisation des services professionnels, laquelle utilise la plateforme de Microsoft Dynamics afin de créer et gérer toutes les différentes phases de projet :

• Gestion des opportunités et propositions
• Estimation et création du projet
• Planification du projet et ressources humaines
• Coûts de projet et autres fonctionnalités de comptabilité
• Gestion des feuilles de temps
• Facturation
• Rapports

En tirant profit de la plateforme robuste de Microsoft et en y ajoutant la solution JOVACO Projet, le client bénéficie maintenant d’une solution complète requérant peu de personnalisations. Il importait au client de garder la maintenance simple, donc ceci était un facteur important dans la sélection de leur solution.

Comment JOVACO a pu les aider

Puisque JOVACO a une longue expérience dans le domaine des services professionnels, nous parlons le même langage que les finances et les opérations, ce qui nous a permis de trouver le juste milieu entre ce que chaque département recherchait en matière de rapports et d’autonomie. Ainsi, les équipes ne dépendent plus des autres pour obtenir les informations dont elles ont besoin pour compléter les rapports demandés par la direction.

JOVACO a également pu ajouter de la structure à l’organisation. Dû à sa croissance, la firme requérait maintenant un système pouvant supporter ses nouveaux processus et la gouvernance que l’équipe exécutive cherchait à mettre en place. Il lui était donc important d’ajouter de la structure tout en maintenant la flexibilité requise afin que les différentes unités d’affaires puissent continuer d’opérer selon leurs besoins spécifiques. Par exemples, certaines divisions travaillaient sur des projets d’infrastructure de plusieurs millions de dollars et se déroulant sur plusieurs années, alors que d’autres travaillaient sur de petits projets de design intérieur. Le système devait pouvoir supporter les deux sans créer de limitations pour un groupe ou l’autre.

Des rapports pour tout le monde

Avec un système intégré, les rapports sont facilités pour tout le monde. Les différents groupes peuvent ainsi être autonomes et obtenir leurs informations rapidement. Chaque niveau de l’organisation a accès à des rapports adaptés à leurs besoins : les finances ont les données comptables, les opérations ont un portrait global en temps réel du statut des projets et le développement des affaires a un point d’accès central où les données saisies peuvent être centralisées et consultées facilement. En centralisant ces informations dans Microsoft Dynamics 365, JOVACO a pu adapter et contextualiser les données selon l’employé ou le client, accélérant ainsi les processus et les analyses.

Est-ce que votre organisation fait face à une situation semblable?

Apprenez-en plus sur les différentes fonctionnalités disponibles pour les firmes d’architecture. Votre firme peut aussi bénéficier d’opérations rationalisées tout en maintenant la flexibilité requise afin de répondre à ses besoins opérationnels.

À propos de JOVACO Solutions

JOVACO Solutions est un spécialiste des systèmes ERP et CRM opérant au Québec depuis plus de 35 ans. En tant qu’experts des solutions de gestion d’affaires Microsoft Dynamics, nous offrons une large gamme de produits et services afin de répondre aux besoins des firmes de services professionnels et des organisations gérant par projet. Nous offrons également des outils de gestion de projet spécialisés et des feuilles de temps pleinement intégrées aux solutions Microsoft Dynamics. Visitez notre site web ou contactez-nous pour plus d’informations.

Introduction

This blog will help you to understand how to load/add sprite image and how to use images in sprite image for PCF Control. An image sprite is a collection of images put into a single image...

I recently came across a couple of conversation around the same topic – Will a Power Apps license be enough to run Dynamics 365? Not sure why this became a big topic in the last weeks, maybe due to cost considerations, maybe some solution architects brought up that idea on Twitter? Anyhow, I thought the answer should be easy – just take a look into the license guide and every customer should know when to go with Power Apps or Dynamics 365 licenses.

But truth is, neither latest Power Apps licensing guide, nor Dynamics 365 licensing guide is providing a simple answer to this question. Furthermore, there´re some myths outside that customers must struggle with the answer. Want to know some of them?

I started reaching out to my good old friend Chris Huntingford asking if he came across this as well. To my surprise we´ve been addressing the same topics side by side without knowing. But without further details, let´s hop into content we aggregated, starting with a simple definition first. Above visual shows two houses and my challenger question would be: Where´s the difference?

People would start taking a deeper look into both images, trying to find a window with a wrong shade, a false angle, or any other difference. [Believe it or not, both are the same]

Next, we would outline that both houses share the same base – rock-solid, which is Azure as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) level. On top of this the Software as a Service (SaaS) layer is what we would typically see and where you would categorize both Power Apps and Dynamics 365 with. But more recently, we´ve seen a category aPaaS (Application Platform as a Service) in between that better describes the Power Apps offering. Another good old (MVP) friend of mine Jukka was already talking about this here. Anyway, back to the roots, Chris and I thought: Very high-level and very technical, isn´t it? So we asked if there´s an even better way to help distinguish between Power Apps and Dynamics 365?

Of course the answer to this is looking into more details. Whereas Power Apps main purpose is to either built from scratch or start with a template, Dynamics 365 1^st party applications simply would be installed, configured and then would be ready to use.

Those feature-rich applications contain pre-built business logic which makes those apps a perfect fit for specific business processes. Furthermore, those IP is currently protected using restricted entities. [In other words: Specific entities would force to have a Dynamics 365 license instead of a Power Apps license only]

Though above linked article is listed as out-of-date and you should visit the Power Apps licensing guide instead to find answers on licensing requirements by entities, you will figure out that it references back on the restricted entities article. Puzzled? Yes, we all agree that it needs a better way to address the protection of Dynamics 365 licensing. But the real issue is the myths on features, that some advisors would classify as forcing a Dynamics 365 license, which in fact are not or no longer.

So features like the App for Outlook, Server-side Sync and Exchange Integration, SharePoint Integration, Document Templates, Microsoft Teams Integration or even Plug-Ins are also included with a standalone Power Apps license. In fact, Power Apps Product Group just posted a reminder on their blog site here.

Why – you would think – should I have a Dynamics 365 license then?

Chris and I put together a real-life example. The true Power-House is to allow the license mix between front-end and back-end usage on typical solutions, such as:

• Facilities Management
• Fleet Management
• Inspections
• Logistics or Supply Chain Management
• …

Those solutions typically can be split into front-end users that would have lightweight access points on some parts of the solution, such as uploading a photo, adding notes, adding details and back-end users that takes care of business processes, such as case-routing, knowledge-base article creation, work-order creation or resource scheduling.

What all of those solutions have in common is a mixture of 60:40, 70:30, 80:20 or even 90:10 ratio of users assigned to either front-end or backend-roles. Well, instead of building the application needed for backend users, you will figure out that Dynamics 365 1^st party apps are already a good fit. They can be easily deployed and used, but for rolling those out across organization it might become an issue.

And here´s the beauty of the license mix. Building task-based front-end apps with a subset of features, but perfectly matching the needs of front-end users. Let´s look into one of the above examples in more detail.

Here you can see a Facilities Management solution that consists of two major solutions. One is containing custom entities that would be needed for both front- and back-end users, but also contains canvas apps and/or model-driven apps for front-end users + any business processes or flows needed for them.

A second one contains additions to entities that would be shipped with Dynamics 365 1^st party applications, such as FM-specific fields added to the case or work-order entity. It also contains all kind of back-end typical business process flows, case creation rules, etc.

By layering both solutions, the overall resulting solution is one Facilities Management solution that can be used by both front- and back-end users in a license mix, without violating any given license restrictions, such as CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) permissions.

Therefore, distinguish between Power Apps and Dynamics 365 in many situations is not what the solution architect should recommend. It should be pretty common instead, to have a license mix, use solution layers that merge into single or at least linked solutions with a harmonized Common Data Model inside the Common Data Service.

That´s all for now, until next time

No Coding Required: Azure Automated Machine Learning Predicts if a Tumor is Malignant or Benign (and So Much More)

Many businesses accumulate massive amounts of ERP data, but successfully putting this data to work is often a different story. AKA Enterprise Solutions is constantly leveraging the latest technology from Microsoft to provide breakthrough ERP solutions. As a Dynamics 365 technical consultant at AKA who regularly works with large databases filled with thousands of rows of data, I decided it was time to find a new way to help businesses get more from their data. My mission led me to discover a Microsoft ERP solution called Azure Automated Machine Learning. This no-code/low-code solution from Microsoft is able to rapidly train machine learning models with all types of datasets from any source—such as CRM, SQL, Blog storage and more.

So, the real question is, why is this solution so appealing? And, why should my business use Azure Automated Machine Learning to manage and analyze our datasets? It’s simple. Machine learning can actually detect and see connections between data that humans can’t. Discovering these data relationships can result in a better overall customer experience and can improve the way customers interact with your business as well. Machine learning can even help you to better understand your business, and that’s pretty huge!

Putting Machine Learning to the Test

Traditionally, machine learning has been both costly and time consuming to implement. Microsoft delivered an answer to these hurdles with the Azure Automated Machine Learning application. In fact, if your company is concerned with benefits vs. cost, you can use their free calculator to help you estimate and manage the expenses associated with Azure Automated Machine Learning. This solution isn’t free, but it is included with Microsoft Azure and it is a very reasonable investment.

To show you just how easy it is to implement a machine learning model, I’ve put together an easy to follow machine learning implementation guide using the *** Cancer Wisconsin (Diagnostic) Data Set. Within only an hour, I was able to transition this dataset into a fully trained machine learning model that predicts if a *** cancer tumor is malignant or benign (binary classification). See how I took 569 digitized images of *** cancer tumors and the Azure Automated Machine Learning solution to accurately predict if a tumor is malignant or benign 98.7% of the time.

21 simple steps and a coffee break are all you need to create a fully trained machine learning model:

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL BLOG WITH STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

The Azure Automated Machine Learning model isn’t limited to the healthcare industry--just imagine what it can do for your business! Take your unused ERP data and empower your company to make more informed, proactive decisions. Want to learn more about what your ERP data can do? Read more about Azure Automated Machine Learning from Microsoft. Or, contact the Azure experts at AKA today to go to the next level with your data.

ABOUT AKA ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS
AKA specializes in making it easier to do business, simplifying processes and reducing risks. With agility, expertise, and original industry solutions, we embrace projects other technology firms avoid—regardless of their complexity. As a true strategic partner, we help organizations slay the dragons that are keeping them from innovating their way to greatness. Call us at 212-502-3900!

Article by: Nick Castro | 212-502-3900

Nick Castro is an Associate Technical Consultant at AKA Enterprise Solutions. With a strong background in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, and multiple Dynamics 365 certifications, he is able develop innovative and unique CRM solutions.

I see a lot of MS Dynamics 365 implementations where the BPM in Lifecycle Services (LCS) is not used. They are  running fine (at least that is what the clients are telling me). But in general, their implementation partner did not tell them all the benefits LCS has in store for them. Why should a partner  bother to mention all the benefits   Improvements on testing and user help experience does not result in more billable hours? So is your Business Process Modeler updated?

Using the BPM in combination with DevOps supports more streamlined and efficient implementation projects. By defining the processes in the BPM library; there is a generic structure for tracking the project requirements / user stories / tasks. The BPM hierarchy can be synchronized with DevOps – as a result the DevOps backlog and boards are populated with structured work items ready to be used by the project team.

In addition to tracking the progress of a project, the BPM and DevOps processes and work items can be used for automated testing (RSAT) and user documentation (online help recordings). Read more on these topics in our other blogs!

When defining the processes and work items it is important to understand how LCS and DevOps share the information. There are various approaches one can take regarding the level of detail to track in BPM vs DevOps.

Business Process Modeler

The BPM is a necessary evil – I must admit, it is a strange thing. Currently it is the only way to bring business processes, task recordings, automatic testing, and user documentation of Dynamics 365 together and re-use the information between the different areas. At the same time, it is not extremely user friendly when compared to for example DevOps.

recommendations

• The model name must be short, the name is reused everywhere later-on in DevOps, I always call it simply BPM, so later the titles of my epics, features and tasks start with [BPM]
• The existing BPM models from MS are too big and complex, no key user will ever be able to put the task recording on the correct place.
• Create your own BPM
  • 2 layers
  • The 3 layer is in additional point for adding the task recording. A BPM could be like below picture, the customer has 2 tasks recording on how to create a customer

The BPM can then be synchronized with DevOps – the above hierarchy will generate DevOps work items with type “Epic” and/or “Feature” based on the synchronization parameters.

Once the epics and features have been synchronized, it is possible to add Requirements per process node via the button “Add requirement” – the work item type of a requirement in DevOps is also defined in the synchronization settings of LCS and depend on the DevOps project process template.

All links to DevOps are visible in LCM on the BPM nodes, including the test cases. The below considerations are important when making the decisions regarding what type of work items to track in which application.

BPM and DEVOPS

How does it integrate

• The synchronization between LCS and DevOps is one-directional from LCS BPM to DevOps, as a result:
  • Any updates made in DevOps will not be reflected in the BPM library
  • All work items that need to be available in the BPM need to be created via BPM and synchronized to DevOps
  • Business processes (epics, features) need to be created in BPM, not in DevOps
• The mapping between BPM and DevOps is done in LCS and the options available depend on the project template type used for the DevOps project:
  • when “Agile”, a BPM requirement type will generate a work item with type “User story” in DevOps
  • when “Scrum”, a BPM requirement type will generate a work items with the type “Task” in DevOps
  • If the DevOps template is “Custom” – including when it is derived from Agile – a BPM requirement type will generate a work items with the type “Task” in DevOps
• Test cases are linked to BPM process nodes (epic/feature in DevOps), not the requirements (user story/task in DevOps), maximum one test case can be linked to one process
  • The one-directional synchronization rule applies also here
  • If the test case should have a link to the requirement / user story / task, this can be added manually in DevOps

The DevOps process templates can be defined via DevOps Organization setup screen. The standard process templates are pre-created (Basic, Agile, Scrum, CMMI) and can be extended (KANBAN below).

The process template must be linked to the DevOps project via project settings screen:

The synchronization settings between LCS and DevOps are configured via LCS project settings tab “Visual Studio Team Services”. The options available in this screen depend on the process template used for the selected project.

In case of Agile process template, it is possible to select “User story” in the column “VSTS work item type” for LCS work item sub-type “Requirement”:

In case of Custom process template, it is not possible to select “User story” in the column “VSTS work item type” for LCS work item sub-type “Requirement”. The only available options are “Task” and “Bug”:

For additional details regarding the different DevOps process templates and how these are intended to be uses please refer to the Microsoft documentation

Conclusion

Considering the usability of LCS BPM and DevOps and the synchronization limitations our recommendation is to use BPM for 2-3 levels of processes and use DevOps for tracking the user stories / requirements / tasks. With this approach, the end users and key users can add new user stories / requirements via DevOps and link them to the proper BPM nodes (features / epics) inside DevOps.

When a new process is added, this must first be created via LCS BPM and synchronized to DevOps to make it available as a parent on new user stories / requirements.

Good luck on your improved user experience!

Het bericht Is your Business Process Modeler updated? verscheen eerst op Kaya Consulting.

Benign or Malignant? How AKA Used Azure Automated Machine Learning to Predict a Tumor—Without ANY Coding

Taking data and making it work for your company isn’t always an easy feat. As a Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM technical consultant at AKA Enterprise Solutions, I’m constantly working with large databases of CRM data and it got me to thinking—what are the best solutions available for putting massive amounts of data to work? After a bit of research, I was introduced to Azure Automated Machine Learning from Microsoft. This solution was especially interesting to me because it was designed to be a no code (or low code) solution, compatible with datasets from an array of sources—including CRM, SQL, Blog storage and so on.

Why Choose Microsoft’s Azure Automated Machine Learning

Azure Automated Machine Learning takes a given dataset and swiftly trains machine learning models to discover relationships in this data. The key to Automated Machine Learning is its ability to see relationships that even experienced humans can’t. This technology enables businesses to gain a deeper understanding of their business as a whole and how clients interact with their company. Automated Machine Learning allows companies to take data and ultimately turn it into a better experience for their customers. This solution from Microsoft can also be deployed as a web service, so it can be used in other applications like Power BI, etc.

In the past machine learning was a new technology—both expensive and time consuming to implement. Microsoft was able to push past these barriers with the Azure Automated Machine Learning application, which is included with Azure. Although the CRM data analysis solution isn’t free, it is reasonably priced for what it delivers. Microsoft even provides users access to their project cost calculator to manage and plan costs before you jump in with both feet.

The time investment from start to finish varies, but I took a raw dataset from *** Cancer Wisconsin (Diagnostic) and turned it into a fully trained machine learning model that can predict whether a tumor is benign or malignant in just one hour. It’s pretty amazing that this tool could take 569 digitized *** cancer tumor images and deliver their binary classification so quickly!

See just how I used Azure’s Automated Machine Learning Application to classify *** cancers tumors from a dataset in only 21 steps:

READ THE FULL BLOG HERE

These types of results aren’t limited to healthcare—just imagine the possibilities for your industry. If your business wants more from your data, Microsoft’s Azure Automated Machine Learning may be the next step. You can learn more about this CRM data solution by reading Microsoft’s Azure Automated Machine Learning documentation. Or, contact AKA’s Azure experts and we will can help you get started or answer your questions.

ABOUT AKA ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS
AKA specializes in making it easier to do business, simplifying processes and reducing risks. With agility, expertise, and original industry solutions, we embrace projects other technology firms avoid—regardless of their complexity. As a true strategic partner, we help organizations slay the dragons that are keeping them from innovating their way to greatness. Call us at 212-502-3900!

Article by: Nick Castro | 212-502-3900

Nick Castro is an Associate Technical Consultant at AKA Enterprise Solutions. With a strong background in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, and multiple Dynamics 365 certifications, he is able develop innovative and unique CRM solutions.

The post Analyze Data with Azure Machine Learning: No Coding Needed appeared first on CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365.