New Dynamics 365 integration in Microsoft Teams, Project Orland, and more: What’s new in Microsoft 365 at Inspire

Microsoft is holding its Inspire 2021 digital conference this morning where Microsoft 365 CVP Jared Spataro announced some important updates for Dynamics 365, Teams, and Viva. The company is launching a new Dynamics 365 integration in Microsoft Teams that will be available for Microsoft 365 customers at no additional cost.

“Together, Teams and Dynamics 365 offer powerful new ways for everyone across an organization to seamlessly exchange and capture ideas in right in the flow of work. We’re also eliminating the tax that has historically held organizations back from this kind of integration, making these experiences available within Teams to any user, at no additional cost,” explained Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365.

Microsoft Teams users will now be able to access Dynamics 365 data within the app. This feature will let them view and collaborate on projects directly from the Microsoft Teams chats or channels. Dynamics 365 is also launching a feature that brings the ability to add Teams meetings to appointments and capture notes directly with the calls. Automated notifications are also in the works, which will make it easier to push alerts and adaptive cards through specific chats and channels.

Microsoft also announced new and enhanced collaborative apps from its partners that are coming soon to its Teams collaboration service. This will primarily allow for “real-time and asynchronous collaboration” for chats, meetings, and more. The company is also making it easier for ISVs to manage their purchases by selling the apps directly within Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Viva updates

Later this Fall, Microsoft Viva, a new employee experience platform integrated into Team, is getting better with a bunch of new partner integrations that should enhance the employee experience. These integrations will make it easier for customers to provide employees with insights and tools tailored to their specific needs.

Some new APIs will also be available soon, such as Viva Connections APIs that will let partners integrate their apps with the Viva Connections dashboard. Coming soon, new Viva Learning APIs will also allow apps to integrate data from third-party learning providers in order to access content in Microsoft 365 services, including Office.com, Microsoft Search, Teams, and SharePoint.

In addition to this, there are a bunch of new benefits for partners to help them build and market Microsoft Teams and Viva apps, and the list includes 1:1 consultation services with Microsoft experts, access to technology, marketing resources, and more.

Microsoft 365 Lighthouse and Project Orland

Last but not least, Microsoft has announced the availability of its two new security offerings called Project “Orland” and Microsoft 365 Lighthouse. Microsoft says that these tools will make it easier for its partners to provide “managed security services and identify new growth opportunities.”

First of all, Microsoft 365 Lighthouse, which has been available in private preview since last year, is launching in public preview today. The unified portal helps to ensure that the data, devices, and users of all Microsoft 365 Business Premium customers are secure by providing access to standard security configuration templates.

Project “Orland” is another new security tool that is now available in private preview for Microsoft 365 subscribers. The new experience has been designed to empower CSP partners to develop a more holistic approach for driving customer engagement. It uses machine learning techniques to help organizations retain and increase their Microsoft 365 customers.

If you’re interested, you can sign up for the Project “Orland” private preview program on this page. Microsoft has also announced a new PC cloud service which will be generally available in August this year, and you can learn more about it in our separate post.