Key Takeaways from Microsoft Inspire 2021

Another Microsoft Inspire is in the books. The focus of this year’s event was the changing workplace dynamics as we move to a Hybrid work world and Windows 365!

Windows 365

Windows 365 is a new way to experience Windows 10 or Windows 11 as a cloud service, streaming the full Windows experience — including apps, data and settings — to any device from the Microsoft Cloud. Windows 365 also creates a new hybrid personal computing category called Cloud PC, which uses both the power of the cloud and the capabilities of the device to provide a full, personalized Windows experience.

Windows 365 is designed to give organizations a new, flexible and secure way to empower distributed workforces, temporary and seasonal employees and workers with a need for specialized workloads.

With either Windows 10 now, or Windows 11 once it is generally available later this calendar year, individual users or information technology personnel can choose the size of the Cloud PC that best meets their needs with predictable per user per month pricing. With instant-on boot to their personal Cloud PC, users can stream their applications, tools, data and settings from the cloud across devices.

Enterprise IT can use Microsoft Endpoint Manager to procure, deploy and manage Cloud PCs for their organization. Small businesses can use a simple, self-service model to procure Cloud PCs for their organizations without a need for IT experience. For all businesses, Windows 365 simplifies Windows updates and leverages the power of the cloud to mitigate security risk.

Learn more about Windows 365…

Microsoft Teams and Hybrid Work

Hybrid work requires a new class of apps that surface in rich ways across all the places people work – within chat, channels, and meetings. These apps are a fusion of people and business process, and we call them simply “collaborative apps.” They also present an incredible opportunity for our partners to connect with the 145 million daily active users in Teams and expand their total addressable market.

Together, Dynamics 365 and Teams offer powerful new ways for everyone across an organization to seamlessly exchange and capture ideas right in the flow of work. Today we announced a new collaborative app that brings together the best of Dynamics 365 and Teams. We’re also eliminating the licensing 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.

No other technology vendor offers this kind of integration and accessibility across the organization without the need to pay for multiple underlying software licenses.

View and edit Dynamics 365 records right within your Teams workflow

Dynamics 365 users can now invite anyone in the organization to view and collaborate on customer records right within the flow of a Teams chat or channel, ensuring the right individuals can take the next best action—faster and more efficiently without needing to switch context across multiple apps and data sources. For sellers, this includes sharing information like details on the sales opportunity, customer history, health of the customer relationship, key contacts, and more. For customer service representatives, this could include sharing the customer case record, sourcing troubleshooting steps, and tracking follow-up tasks.

Add a Teams meeting to appointments and capture notes

Dynamics 365 users can now add a Teams meeting when creating an appointment, enabling access to key customer information during a Teams call. Users can also capture notes directly with the Teams call, which is automatically saved in the timeline of the Dynamics 365 record. Only users with appropriate permissions can access the data, helping to ensure the most appropriate employees are viewing, interacting with, and sharing customer records.