Using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Within Microsoft Teams

In my SCRIBE Online blog, I wrote about how we can use SCRIBE Online in Microsoft Teams.  In this post I am going to talk about how we can use Microsoft Dynamics 365 in Microsoft Teams.  For those that might not be familiar with Microsoft Teams, it was released by Microsoft in 2017 to help increase communication and productivity within Teams.  The best part about Microsoft Teams is it is 100% FREE.  Click here to download Microsoft Teams.  Since it's release there have be many updates and added connectors, that increase its functionality and usability.

To leverage Microsoft Dynamics 365 within Microsoft Teams we can use either the Website Tab or the Dynamics 365 Connector.  First we will start with how to add the Website Tab.

1. In you team, choose the channel you want to add the tab too.
2. Click the "+" in the channel you have chosen and you will get a pop-up
3. Click on "Website"
4. There will be a pop-up asking to input the tab name and URL.  At this point you need to decide if you are going to have the website launch to the default landing page for  Dynamics 365 or to a specific record in  Dynamics 365.
5. Leave the "Post to the channel about this tab" checked.  This will create a thread in the "Conversations" tab.  This way any communication around the  Dynamics 365 record can be kept in one place.
6. Click "Save".

Now, that we know how to add Dynamics 365 in the website tab, you might be asking; "How can I get notifications if there is an update to the record in Dynamics 365 without logging into Dynamics 365?"  That is a really good question and one that the Dynamics 365 connector solves.  At the top of the Teams UI you will see the "Breadcrumbs" of where you are.  This will be the team name followed by the channel.  After the channel name you will see three dots.  See below image.

To add the connector we want, click on the three dots.  This will bring up a menu.  In the menu click on "Connectors" (If you don't see connectors, wait a few minutes as this means you just created the team and it hasn't fully setup yet.).  In the pop up, you will see a list of connectors.  To filter these, click on CRM under "CATEGORY".

Next click on configure next to Dynamics 365.  Wait a few seconds and you will see a screen that will ask you to pick the Dynamics 365 environment and then choose a record.  Once you see this, pick the Dynamics 365 instance you want to connect too.   Once Teams connects to the instance, you will see the instance URL appear.  Now we can search for the record we want in CRM, typically these will be leads, accounts or contacts.  Since almost all other records are linked to these ones in some fashion.  Once we find the record we want in the search results, click on save.  You will see a new thread start in the "Conversations" tab.  Now when any activities are updated for this record, there will be notifications within Microsoft Teams.

I hope this helps you with Microsoft Dynamics 365 within Microsoft Teams.  Stay tuned for any updates to Microsoft Teams and the Dynamics 365 connector for Microsoft Teams.