Michiel Toppers
The tailored workspaces in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations are one of the most powerful additions in this version of Microsoft Dynamics. Often, they are compared to the previous role centers that where available in the previous version. However, these new workspaces offer much more flexibility and ease, as well as continuous updates of available functionality.
The latest addition to the spring release of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations are the Dynamics 365 Analytical Workspaces. Which contain advanced, embedded Power BI widgets. In addition, adding them is easy.
Business intelligence for every role within your organization, right on their lap when their working day starts.
Image 1: An overview of the standard roles that come with Dynamics 365
How STAEDEAN plays an important role for customers
For STAEDEAN’s customers, extended roles are very important. Especially with powerful industry-specific information that provides the necessary current BI data to make decisions at the right time, anytime.
Some examples for a typical rental manager include how many:
- pending deliveries per depot need to be assigned and scheduled before the end of the day?
- returns are expected, and what is available to be assigned/moved?
- sub-rentals do we have right now, and can we reduce this?
This is just an impression of the important information that is available out-of-the-box with our DynaRent Dynamics 365 analytical workspaces for rental and services. You can see, for example an out-of-the-box workspace for a rental manager below.
Image 2: Another example of DynaRent Dynamics 365 analytical workspaces for rental
As you can see, it shows a strong combination of data in actual tiles and graphical Power BI widgets which you can consequently embed in your or your team’s workspace. In addition you can have all the information in front of you with this workspace, and can directly and proactively:
- Jump into the details of a Power BI report
- Jump to the query behind the tiles to directly start performing actions
- Use quick links for pages that you use often.
It is important to emphasize here that you can easily modify these workspaces without any technical modifications or implications. Furthermore, you can use the standard out-of-the-box workspaces delivered by Microsoft and/or HiGH Software as a foundation and tailor them to your own company’s equipment rental and service needs.
Below is a list of frequently asked questions about the Dynamics 365 analytical workspaces.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Q: Is it possible to customize the Power BI embedded reports?
A: Yes, simply install Power BI Desktop onto a 1Box to start, using the steps described here.
Q: Do customers need to purchase a separate Power BI license to use the new embedded analytics?
A: No. However, you require a Power BI Pro license to connect to the Entity Store using Direct Query from PowerBI.com.
Q: Can I perform data mashups using external data in the embedded reports?
A: Not at this time. Data mashups are authored on PowerBI.com that include data sourced from the Entity Store.
Q: Is it possible to secure data to only those companies that I have access to?
A: Yes, the single company view prevents users from accessing data from companies they don't have access to. For more information on securing custom solutions, follow the guidance provided here.
Q: How is currency displayed across multiple companies?
A: As a system currency (System administration > Setup > System parameters).
Q: Is drilling down on summary balances and back up into Dynamics 365 a possibility?
A: You can drill into the details within a Power BI report. With limited support for drill-down into Dynamics 365.
Q: What languages are currently supported?
A: Only English currently. However, the PBI team is planning to add additional languages.
Q: Can I access Analytical Workspaces & Reports in Local Business Data?
A: Not at this time. Systems of intelligence services available on cloud-hosted solutions.
Source FAQ: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/dynamicsaxbi/2017/07/24/introducing-analytical-workspaces-in-dynamics-365/
Image 3: DynaRent Dynamics 365 analytical workspaces for service
Curious about our DynaRent Solution Suite? We’re more than happy to provide you with a tailored demonstration.
Michiel Toppers