Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service - 2021

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to evaluate Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Voice. I must say it is pretty impressive because it just works. While I love building cloud solutions, it is a breath of fresh air to see all the pieces working together in unison via configuration. No software developers were harmed or needed in the making of this film. As part of Dynamics 365, you will now get the Customer Service Hub, the Customer Service Workspace, The Omnichannel Admin Center, and the Enhanced Omnichannel for Customer Service, which serves as the unified agent portal where all inbound and outbound interactions are handled. Let me walk you through the building blocks which have been fully integrated by Microsoft as part of their Contact Center as a Service offering, starting with its deep integration with Office 365, Teams, and Azure. Immediately after signing up for the trial, you will be able to launch a fully configured omnichannel experience powered by a self-service text and voice-enabled chatbot capable of escalating to a live agent who in turn can escalate to a full-blown Teams video conference. This is achieved by integrating the voice and chat channels in a work stream and routing those to a queue. Capabilities which are further enabled by the ease of procuring phone numbers directly from Dynamics 365 or from Azure Communication Services.

Communication services.

The user experience is the same in both environments, and synchronization can be forced to occur in real time from within Microsoft Dynamics 365. It is here where you can further associate a phone number to a work stream, create an outbound profile, or assign it directly to a user. The chatbot comes preconfigured with a couple natural language processing and understanding-powered intents or topics, and a demo website where to try out the user interface. Additionally, you can integrate customer surveys as part of your overall experience For Microsoft Teams, you can now further configure voice and issue telephone numbers that route to a queue or to a direct agent. These numbers can come from Microsoft or from third-party providers like T-Mobile or British Telecom. You can even integrate the newly added Dynamics 365 capabilities into the overall Teams experience or into a specific channel. Take voice, for example, the phone number that was issued via Azure as part of its communication services capabilities, which can be deployed programmatically via ARM templates. You can also build a custom user interface for handling omnichannel communications leveraging the same underlying Azure cloud scaffolding used in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Teams. I have included links to the associated GitHub repos and associated automated deployments to enable bespoke omnichannel customer experiences in Azure Communication Services. Pricing is pretty straightforward, and depending on the capabilities you want, you might need a service professional or an enterprise license. Without further ado, let's go through the demo.

Hi, I'm a virtual agent. I can help with your questions such as information about our stores or product issues. If you'd like to speak to a human agent, let me know at any time. So what can I help you with today?

Store hours.

Product issues. Store hours. Talk to H. I'm happy to help with store hours. The store hours are Monday to Friday 9 AM to 6 PM, Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM, Sunday closed.

Did it help? Yes.

Can I help with anything else?

Yes.

The choices are yes, no, thanks. Go ahead.

I'm listening.

Speak to an agent.

We are escalating this conversation to an agent. Note, in this demo, you play the part of customer and agent. When you see a notification on your computer, accept the request.

Hello?

Can you help me? I would like to know if you are open on Sunday. Clearly, the transcription is working perfectly.