Forum Widgets
Latest Discussions
Microsoft is Title Sponsor of TechCon 365, PWRCON, & DATACON
I wanted to make sure everyone is aware of this great 3-in-1 conference, which will be held in Seattle from June 23 to 27, 2025. At this Microsoft technology event, three powerhouse conferences unite to create an unmatched experience in learning, networking, and innovation. Whether you're driving collaboration with Microsoft 365, building solutions with Power Platform, or transforming insights into action with Microsoft Data & AI, https://techcon365.com/Seattle, https://pwrcon.com, and https://datacon.us bring it all together—one venue, endless learning possibilities.Copilot- Tips, Tricks and Lessons Learned from Customers
First off, let me say Copilot is a game changer. It has really helped me to focus on tasks that leverage my skillsets and reduce time consuming or repetitive tasks. As I continue to help customers ramp up on Copilot, I keep seeing similar trends (below). Would love to know if you all see/hear the same as well as what else your seeing/hearing? Good Teams Usage = Good Copilot Usage- Customers not using Teams as a collaboration tool (but rather just for chat and calling) are far more difficult to to drive adoption with than those that are. Customers turning off transcription- I have several customers refusing to turn on transcription over possible legal retention issues and complaining that too many recap features are reliant upon it. Customer with E5 not turning on labeling because they feel that the effort is greater than the value. End users wanting more prompts to help them understand how and when to engage with Copilot. What are you seeing/hearing from your orgs/customers around Copilot? StephenWho's Coming to the 2025 Power Platform Community Conference?
Want to sharpen your Power Platform skills, meet the Microsoft product team, and connect with a community that’s building the future? Check out the 2025 Power Platform Community Conference 2025! Early Bird pricing ends on June 30th—don't miss your chance to save even more! Plus, here's an additional tip to save $100 off your registration: use the discount code MVPVLAD during checkout! 💰 Join me and fellow experts to explore the latest in Microsoft Power Platform, including Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Copilot Studio, and more. Secure your spot today before prices go up! 👉 Register here: https://powerplatformconf.com/#!/register?utm_term=MVPVLADUsing Puzzle Logic Like Letter Boxed to Improve Problem Solving in Microsoft 365
Hi everyone. I have been thinking a lot lately about how we approach problem solving in the Microsoft 365 environment, and I realized that there’s a great analogy in a word puzzle I have been enjoying called Letter Boxed. In Letter Boxed you are given a set of letters arranged around a box. Your task is to form a chain of words that uses all the letters at least once where each word starts with the last letter of the previous word and no word repeats any letter. At first it seems simple but as you dig deeper it becomes a challenge of strategy, pattern recognition, and efficient sequencing all skills that directly apply to how we approach solutions in Microsoft technologies. Here is how I see the connection: Mapping Dependencies Just like linking words without breaking the chain, when designing solutions in Power Automate, Azure Logic Apps, or Teams workflows we must map dependencies so each step flows logically into the next. Avoiding Dead Ends In the puzzle some letter combinations make you hit a dead end. In real projects, poorly designed conditions, loops or API calls can lead to the same. Thinking ahead helps avoid those blocks. Maximizing Resources The puzzle forces you to use every letter at least once. Similarly, we should strive to leverage built‑in capabilities Graph API, connectors and templates before building custom code. I have found that using puzzles like this even casually helps sharpen the way I break down and solve complex configuration or integration challenges. Question for the community: Do you use any games, puzzles or outside the box activities to improve your technical thinking? How do you train your brain for better logic and sequencing when working with Microsoft 365 tools? Looking forward to your ideas and experiences! Thanks.
Language Issues with Autopilot (Intune)
We install our HP and Lenovo notebooks using Autopilot. The image (Win11 24H2, 25H2) and settings are on a bootable USB drive. The language (German - Switzerland) is set as the default and integrated. However, since April 2025, the language is not being correctly assigned; it always defaults to German (DE - Germany). Since the user has to enter their email address after installation, the @ symbol is not detected. According to Microsoft, this is a known issue (see article from April 2025). Does anyone have a workaround? Scripts and similar solutions don't work because the system always defaults to German (DE - Germany) after the initial installation. Has anyone else experienced this problem?Resource utilization
Hi Team, I have developed a PowerShell-based approach to optimize system performance by dynamically reducing resource usage of background applications such as Microsoft Teams, Edge, and Outlook. The solution works as follows: - Detects when applications are not actively used - Reduces CPU priority (light sleep mode) - Trims memory usage without closing applications - Restores full performance when the application becomes active This helps in: - Improving overall system responsiveness - Reducing unnecessary CPU usage - Lowering memory pressure - Maintaining application availability without termination I believe similar optimization logic can be integrated at the OS or application level to improve performance and efficiency.
did the Jun 9 Security Update remove trusted (amazon) certs?
We have a product that runs on Windows and uses AWS IoT to connect and transmit info. We noticed yesterday that many - roughly 2/3 of our fleet went silent - no connections. We have some of our own PCs that experienced this as well. Investigation yielded issues with TLS. The client (which is just using the default windows cert checking) actively terminated the connected. It didn't like the cert from the AWS IoT endpoint. All of these PCs were happily connected on Jun 8. Investigation seemed to indicate that some combination of Amazon Root CA (1-4) and some Starfield certs were not in the device cert mgr. Also - when we manually added AmazonRootCA1.pem to the cert mgr, our service connected again. So the evidence seems to strongly support that the security update removed trusted amazon root certs from the cert store. I'm guessing some/many won't notice since they are making regular TCP connections and maybe the certs get auto-added if they are not there? But we are doing MQTT over the AWS port 8883. So perhaps Windows did not detect this and seek to refresh its cert store? Can anyone confirm if they have seen the same?Should CRM Users Be Measured on Data Quality KPIs?
Most Organisations agree that high-quality data is essential for getting value from Dynamics 365. Accurate customer information supports better reporting, improved customer experiences, more reliable forecasting, and increasingly more effective AI-driven insights. Yet many Organisations continue to struggle with incomplete records, duplicate data, missing activities, and inconsistent data entry practices. This raises an interesting question: Should CRM users be measured on data quality KPIs? Consider a situation many Organisations have experienced. A sales team is expected to maintain customer records, update opportunities, and log key customer interactions in Dynamics 365. However, users are primarily measured on revenue, pipeline growth, and sales performance. As a result, CRM updates are often treated as a secondary task. During a quarterly sales review, leadership discovers that several opportunities forecasted as active were closed weeks earlier, while others had not been updated since the previous reporting cycle. Customer records are missing key information, activities have not been logged consistently, and reporting accuracy begins to suffer. The issue is often viewed as a reporting problem, but in reality, it starts with the quality and consistency of the data being maintained in Dynamics 365. To address these challenges, some Organisations introduce data quality metrics such as: Record completeness Duplicate record reduction Activity logging compliance Opportunity update accuracy Customer data validation rates Supporters argue that what gets measured gets managed, and that data quality should be considered part of everyone's responsibility. Others believe that introducing data quality KPIs may create an additional administrative burden, reduce user adoption, and shift focus away from core business objectives. There is also the question of whether users should carry the full responsibility. Modern Dynamics 365 environments include validation rules, duplicate detection, business process flows, Power Automate workflows, and governance frameworks that can help improve data quality. Some Organisations, therefore, argue that technology and governance should do more of the heavy lifting rather than relying solely on user behaviour. From your experience: Should CRM users be measured on data quality KPIs? Have data quality metrics improved CRM adoption or data accuracy in your Organisation? What KPIs have been most effective? Is data quality primarily a user responsibility, or should technology and governance frameworks carry most of the burden? Have you found a balance that improves data quality without creating additional friction for users? I'm interested in hearing how different Organisations balance user accountability, adoption, and data quality within Dynamics 365 environments.Is Power Automate Becoming the New Technical Debt in Dynamics 365 Projects?
Power Automate has transformed how organisations build automation within Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. Teams can automate processes quickly, reduce manual effort, and deliver business value without extensive custom development. At the same time, I have noticed an interesting challenge in some organizations as Power Platform adoption matures. Over time, hundreds of flows can be created by different teams, often with varying levels of governance, documentation, and ownership. Business logic may become distributed across multiple automations, making troubleshooting, maintenance, and long-term support more complex. On the other hand, many organisations have successfully scaled Power Automate by implementing strong governance practices and automation standards. I'm interested in hearing different perspectives from the community. Have you seen Power Automate become difficult to manage at scale, or has it reduced technical debt in your organization? What governance, architecture, or operational practices have worked best for balancing innovation with maintainability?
