Microsoft Innovation Podcast

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/434 A brief introduction about Mats Necter’s life – family, interests and hobbies Talks about Mats’ Hackaton experience Mats also discuss the challenges of working in the tech industry and how to stay motivated and focused. How Power Platform can help organizations automate processes and workflows, streamline data collection and analysis, and build custom applications.  SharePoint is a powerful tool for collaboration and document management and can be customized to fit the specific needs of a team or organization.  How Dynamics 365 can help organizations manage customer relationships and interactions and can be used to improve customer engagement and customer experience. The importance of understanding the needs of customers and finding the right solutions for their specific challenges. A discussion about the role of technology in driving customer engagement and how it can be used to create better experiences for users.  The challenges of working in the tech industry and how to stay motivated and focused. Mats shared his insights on how these technologies can be used to drive customer engagement and improve business outcomes.   What changed since becoming a Microsoft MVP Mats’ advice to people wanting to become a Microsoft MVP OTHER RESOURCES Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ Mats’ Github: https://github.com/mnecker Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/432 Laura Roger talks about her family and love of food and shares a fun story about her recent trip to Universal Studios for Halloween Horror Nights. Laura shares her journey into the tech industry and how she ended up as a SharePoint and Microsoft 365 expert. Laura discusses the ever-changing world of technology and the importance of staying current in the tech field. A conversation with Laura about the process of writing a SharePoint book, including research and planning, outlining, writing, and editing. Laura’s valuable advice for those interested in writing their technical book. Laura’s involvement in the community and how she became a SharePoint trainer and expert speaker. How Laura’s company IW Mentor SharePoint training started Laura offers free training sessions on YouTube and constantly records new content for her training company. Laura’s knowledge and expertise on the Power Platform and how it can be used to benefit businesses and organizations. How does Microsoft certification fit into what Laura is doing right now? Laura shares her own experience as an MVP, including the projects and initiatives she has worked on as an MVP.  OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/431 Introduction to Chris Huntingford's background as the Low Code Leader at ANS. Talks about Chris’ passion for using digital building blocks to create innovative solutions and his dedication to solving real problems through this process. Recap of Chris’ thoughts on the importance of good content and community engagement. Emphasize his commitment to creating quality content and building strong relationships with his audience. Discussion about Chris’ experience participating in hackathons, including any notable projects or successes he has had.  Chris talks about the challenges he has faced and how he has overcome them. Overview of Canvas Apps and Model Driven Apps, two types of low code platforms offered by Microsoft.  Chris explains the key differences between Canvas Apps and Model Driven Apps and how they can be used in software development. The importance of hackathons for the tech community and the value of bringing together diverse perspectives and skill sets to tackle complex problems and generate new ideas. OTHER RESOURCES Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/430 Abhi Rathinavelu shares his journey to Microsoft and his work with the Power CAT team, specializing in Power Virtual Agents (PVA) for the past two years. Find out in this episode all the details on Power Virtual Agents and how they can benefit your business. Learn more about Power Virtual Agents and their real-world applications. The various ways Power Virtual Agents can be used, including customer service, employee training and onboarding, and more. How does PVA help the customers, and how does context awareness work in PVA? Check out the role of chatbots in the business world.  The benefits and uses of chatbots in business. What options are available for integration into other data sets the organization has?  How does AI fit into what you can do with PVA? Abhi talks about the differences between public-facing and internal chatbots. A discussion about building low-code chatbots with Power Virtual Agents How to use the Power Virtual Agents chatbot successfully for Financial Industry? Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/429 A brief Introduction to Rory Neary’s life – food, interest and what he does outside Power Platform. Rory shares his expertise in various Microsoft technologies including Excel, SharePoint, Power BI, and the Power Platform. Discusses the role of the Power Platform in helping organizations become more efficient and agile, utilizing tools such as Excel, SharePoint, and Power BI. Talks about the courses Rory offers on his website, which focuses on teaching kids how to use these technologies. Check out this episode to learn more information on how to utilize these powerful tools in your organization. Rory discusses his background as a developer and how he became interested in the Power Platform. Rory shares some of his favourite resources for staying up to date on the latest Power Platform developments. Find out the things you need to know and consider as a designer  Rory’s YouTube channel and the courses he has written on Power Apps Talks about Rory’s YouTube channel content creation and learning experiences OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ Power Apps Course: https://www.powerplatformlearn.academy/courses/power-apps Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/428 Ashley Steiner’s background as an independent consultant specializing in Dynamics 365 Sales and Dataverse integration. Talks about Ashley’s podcasting - the Dynamics Hotdish! Ashley’s involvement and journey into technology – how did it start and how did she land in this space  Ashley’s Microsoft technology background – business apps, power platform and dynamics  A conversation with Ashley about her involvement with Dynamics 365 SalesFind out more about Ashley's journey to becoming a Microsoft MVP Ashley shares her journey as a woman in tech and her experiences as an MVP. The role of Dataverse in empowering businesses to make data-driven decisions and drive growth. Ashley talks about the importance of data integration and management in the modern business world and how Dynamics 365 Sales and Dataverse can work together to enhance sales processes. Ashley shares her expertise on integrating Dataverse with other platforms and tools and the value it brings to businesses in terms of efficiency and productivity.  OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/427 Sree Chandana Yeggina shares her background in the technology industry and her journey to her current role at Microsoft, including her work with Dynamics 365 and enabling partners and field sellers to understand the value and accelerate their opportunities. What is Dynamics 365 and how does it fit into Microsoft’s overall strategy? Sree shares her thoughts on the future of the Digital Contact Center Platform and the importance of understanding customer needs and pain points in order to provide effective solutions. Sree talks about the thinking around calling it a platform rather than just a product Sree explores how the DCCP has affected the call center sector The greatest difference between the agent interface and the actual interface was addressed by Sree Sree discusses the digital contact center platform and how it is becoming increasingly important in the service space. What are the importance and benefits of call recordings for businesses? Will it be possible now to stand up a call center on Microsoft’s platform? Sree discusses the Nuance acquisition and how it enhances the digital contact center platform by adding artificial intelligence capabilities to improve customer experiences. RESOURCES MENTIONED: Microsoft Dynamics Blogs: https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/dynamics365/bdm/2022/08/08/the-ai-powered-contact-center-part-1-create-engaging-digital-experiences/ https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/dynamics365/bdm/2022/08/08/the-ai-powered-contact-center-part-1-create-engaging-digital-experiences/ https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/dynamics365/bdm/2022/08/24/the-ai-powered-contact-center-part-3-build-powerful-conversational-ai-solutions/ Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/426 Introduction to Anna Jhaveri’s life – country of origin, family and her passion for painting and cooking. Anna’s valuable advice for those looking to enter the tech field, including the importance of staying current with new technologies and building a strong network. Discussion about Anna’s journey in the IT industry and her experience with Microsoft technologies. Anna shares her story of starting her own consulting company after working at another firm for several years. Talks about Anna’s experience working with SharePoint, including using InfoPath, workflows, and web parts and her insights on branding and how it can impact a career in the tech industry. Anna discusses her role as a Power Platform super user and how she helps businesses make the most of technology. She shares her thoughts on automation and the future of IT. Listen to Anna’s story – transition from SharePoint to PowerApps Working and the use of Cloudflows and Desktop flows Anna’s journey into becoming a Microsoft MVP and the benefits of becoming part of the MVP program. OTHER RESOURCES  Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP 90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/  Power Community: https://events.powercommunity.com/speaker/anna_jhaveri/ Anna’s GitHub: https://github.com/annajhaveri Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/425 Prashant G Bhoyar shares his background and experience in the IT industry and how he enjoys spending time with his family and participating in outdoor activities. Talks about Prashant’s outstanding service in Antarctica - Antarctic Service Medal for the United States of America. A conversation about Prashant’s expertise in using SharePoint and Power Automate to streamline workflows and improve efficiency.   The various ways in which SharePoint and Power Automate can be used together, including creating custom triggers and actions for Power Automate flows.   Explore the benefits of using the Power Platform, including its low-code-no-code approach and the ability to build and customize business solutions easily.   Tips and best practices for using SharePoint and Power Automate effectively in an organization.   Discussions about working with ISVs  Find out more about K2 and Index in Power Platform Prashant’s advice to people planning to switch careers to get into this space Talks about Prashant’s journey to becoming a Microsoft MVP – the impact and involvement in the community. OTHER RESOURCES  Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP 90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ Prashant’s Personal Blog: https://about.me/pgbhoyar Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/424 Discussions about Matt's background – what he enjoys spending his free time, the benefits of working from home and closeness to family A conversation about Dataverse Connector: an essential tool that allows businesses to integrate data from various sources and use it to make informed decisions and improve processes. The versatility of the Dataverse connector The importance of data connectors in the world of business and organizations. Matt shared his expertise and experience with the Dataverse connector and discussed the latest updates and developments in the field. What is Microsoft Dataverse connector and what is it commonly used for? Matt shares his views about the usage of legacy connectors today. What does Matt think about moving Dataverse from Pro code to low code? Matt shares his thoughts about optimizing Microsoft Dataverse usage.Questions Matt sees the most from the community around Data Connector.  OTHER RESOURCES  XrmToolBox - https://www.xrmtoolbox.com/plugins/Cinteros.Xrm.FetchXmlBuilder/ Level up for Dynamics 365/Power Apps - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/level-up-for-dynamics-365/bjnkkhimoaclnddigpphpgkfgeggokam?hl=en Power Automate – Dataverse Cheatsheet - https://danikahil.com/2022/04/power-automate-dataverse-cheatsheet.html Create and use Custom APIs - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/developer/data-platform/custom-api Microsoft Dataverse business events - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/developer/data-platform/business-events Matt’s GitHub - https://github.com/radioblazer Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith