Great Microsoft Exams for Azure

Microsoft Azure is now associated with almost all IT projects involving Microsoft technologies. Cloud computing is the only way for enterprise companies to lower their operating costs and get the cutting edge tools and Software services. In-house IT infrastructures have limitations, but with Microsoft Cloud sky is the limit.

There are many Cloud computing certifications available by Microsoft for Azure. The below 10 are must-have for advancing one's career.

70-487: Developing Microsoft Azure and Web Services

Candidates for this certification are professional developers that use Visual Studio 2017 and the Microsoft .NET Core Framework to design and develop Web solutions. Candidates should have a minimum of three to five years of experience developing ASP.NET MVC-based solutions. Additionally, candidates should be able to demonstrate the following:

• Experience designing and developing Web applications that access various (local and remote) data and services including Windows Azure

• Experience with the full software development life cycle of data and service solutions

• Experience developing and deploying to multi-tier environments, including Windows Azure

• Experience designing and developing asynchronous solutions

• Experience creating and consuming HTTP services

Skills measured:

1. Accessing Data (20-25%)
2. Querying and Manipulating Data by Using the Entity Framework (20-25%)
3. Creating and Consuming Web API-based services (20-25%)
4. Designing and Implementing Web Services (15-20%)
5. Deploying Web Applications and Services (15-20%)

70-537: Configuring and Operating a Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack

Candidates for this exam are Azure administrators and Azure Stack operators who use Azure Stack to provide cloud services to their end users or customers from within their own data center. 

Candidates for this exam should have significant experience managing and operating Azure Stack environments. Candidates should have a strong understanding of Azure as well as some knowledge of virtualization, networking, and identity management. Candidates should also understand how Azure Stack enables DevOps processes and the hybrid development model.

Candidates for this exam are expected to demonstrate the ability to plan, deploy, package, update, and maintain the Azure Stack infrastructure. Candidates must also demonstrate the ability to offer hybrid cloud resources and requested services, and to manage infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS). 

Skills measured:

1. Deploying and Integrating an Azure Stack Environment (20-25%)
2. Configuring PaaS and IaaS for an Azure Stack Environment (25-30%)
3. Providing Services to and Enabling DevOps for Azure Stack Tenants (25-30%)
4. Maintaining and Monitoring an Azure Stack Environment (20-25%)

AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

This exam is designed for candidates looking to demonstrate foundational-level knowledge of cloud services and how those services are provided with Microsoft Azure. The exam is intended for candidates with non-technical backgrounds, such as those involved in selling or purchasing cloud based solutions and services, or who have some involvement with cloud based solutions and services, as well as those with a technical background who have a need to validate their foundational-level knowledge around cloud services. Technical IT experience is not required, however, some general IT knowledge or experience would be beneficial. 

This exam can be taken as an optional first step in learning about cloud services and how those concepts are exemplified by Microsoft Azure. It can be taken as a precursor to Microsoft Azure or Microsoft cloud services exams. While it would be a beneficial first step, validating foundational-level knowledge, taking this exam is not a prerequisite before taking any other Azure-based certifications. 

Skills measured: 

1. Understand cloud concepts (15-20%)
2. Understand core Azure services (30-35%)
3. Understand security, privacy, compliance, and trust (25-30%)
4. Understand Azure pricing and support (20-25%)

AZ-103: Microsoft Azure Administrator

Candidates for this exam are Azure Administrators who manage cloud services that span storage, security, networking, and compute cloud capabilities. Candidates have a deep understanding of each service across the full IT lifecycle, and take requests for infrastructure services, applications, and environments. They make recommendations on services to use for optimal performance and scale, as well as provision, size, monitor, and adjust resources as appropriate.

Candidates for this exam should have proficiency in using PowerShell, the Command Line Interface, Azure Portal, ARM templates, operating systems, virtualization, cloud infrastructure, storage structures, and networking.

Skills measured:

1. Manage Azure subscriptions and resources (15-20%)
2. Implement and manage storage (15-20%)
3. Deploy and manage virtual machines (VMs) (15-20%)
4. Configure and manage virtual networks (30-35%)
5. Manage identities (15-20%)

AZ-203: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure

Candidates for this exam are Azure Developers who design and build cloud solutions such as applications and services. They participate in all phases of development, from solution design, to development and deployment, to testing and maintenance. They partner with cloud solution architects, cloud DBAs, cloud administrators, and clients to implement the solution.

Candidates should be proficient in developing apps and services by using Azure tools and technologies, including storage, security, compute, and communications.

Candidates must have at least one year of experience developing scalable solutions through all phases of software development and be skilled in at least one cloud-supported programming language.

Skills measured:

1. Develop Azure Infrastructure as a Service compute solution (10-15%)
2. Develop Azure Platform as a Service compute solution (20-25%)
3. Develop for Azure storage (15-20%)
4. Implement Azure security (10-15%)
5. Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize solutions (10-15%)
6. Connect to and consume Azure and third-party services (20-25%)

AZ-300: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies

Candidates for this exam are Azure Solution Architects who advise stakeholders and translate business requirements into secure, scalable, and reliable solutions. Candidates should have advanced experience and knowledge across various aspects of IT operations, including networking, virtualization, identity, security, business continuity, disaster recovery, data management, budgeting, and governance. This role requires managing how decisions in each area affects an overall solution. Candidates must be proficient in Azure administration, Azure development, and DevOps, and have expert-level skills in at least one of those domains.

Skills measured:

1. Deploy and configure infrastructure (25-30%)
2. Implement workloads and security (20-25%)
3. Create and deploy apps (5-10%)
4. Implement authentication and secure data (5-10%)
5. Develop for the cloud and for Azure storage (20-25%)

AZ-301: Microsoft Azure Architect Design

Candidates for this exam are Azure Solution Architects who advise stakeholders and translate business requirements into secure, scalable, and reliable solutions. Candidates should have advanced experience and knowledge across various aspects of IT operations, including networking, virtualization, identity, security, business continuity, disaster recovery, data management, budgeting, and governance. This role requires managing how decisions in each area affects an overall solution. Candidates must be proficient in Azure administration, Azure development, and DevOps, and have expert-level skills in at least one of those domains.

Skills measured:

1. Determine workload requirements (10-15%)
2. Design for identity and security (20-25%)
3. Design a data platform solution (15-20%)
4. Design a business continuity strategy (15-20%)
5. Design for deployment, migration, and integration (10-15%)
6. Design an infrastructure strategy (15-20%)

AZ-400: Microsoft Azure DevOps Solutions

Candidates for this exam are DevOps professionals who combine people, processes, and technologies to continuously deliver valuable products and services that meet end-user needs and business objectives. DevOps professionals streamline delivery by optimizing practices, improving communications and collaboration, and creating automation. They design and implement strategies for application code and infrastructure that allow for continuous integration, testing, delivery, monitoring, and feedback.

Candidates must be proficient with Agile practices. They must be familiar with both Azure administration and Azure development and experts in at least one of these areas. Azure DevOps professionals must be able to design and implement DevOps practices for version control, compliance, infrastructure as code, configuration management, build, release, and testing by using Azure technologies.

Skills measured:

1. Design a DevOps strategy (20-25%)
2. Implement DevOps development processes (20-25%)
3. Implement continuous integration (10-15%)
4. Implement continuous delivery (10-15%)
5. Implement dependency management (5-10%)
6. Implement application infrastructure (15-20%)
7. Implement continuous feedback (10-15%)

AZ-500: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies

Candidates for this exam are Microsoft Azure security engineers who implement security controls, maintain the security posture, manage identity and access, and protect data, applications, and networks. Candidates identify and remediate vulnerabilities by using a variety of security tools, implement threat protection, and respond to security incident escalations. As a Microsoft Azure security engineer, candidates often serve as part of a larger team dedicated to cloud-based management and security and may also secure hybrid environments as part of an end-to-end infrastructure.

Candidates for this exam should have strong skills in scripting and automation; a deep understanding of networking, virtualization, and cloud N-tier architecture; and a strong familiarity with cloud capabilities, Microsoft Azure products and services, and other Microsoft products and services.

Skills measured:

1. Manage identity and access (20-25%)
2. Implement platform protection (35-40%)
3. Manage security operations (15-20%)
4. Secure data and applications (30-35%)

AZ-120: Planning and Administering Microsoft Azure for SAP Workloads (still in beta)

Candidates for this exam are architects and engineers who are knowledgeable in the SAP Landscape Certification process and industry standards that are specific to the long-term operation of an SAP solution. Candidates make recommendations on services and adjust resources as appropriate for optimal resiliency, performance, scale, provision, size, and monitoring.

Architects of Azure for SAP Workloads should have extensive experience and knowledge of SAP Applications, SAP HANA, S/4HANA, SAP NetWeaver, SAP BW, OS Servers for SAP Applications and Databases, Azure Portal, ARM templates, operating systems, virtualization, cloud infrastructure, storage structures, high availability design, disaster recovery design, data protection concepts, and networking.

It is strongly recommended that candidates for this exam have an Azure Administrator or Azure Architect certification, in addition to SAP HANA and Linux certifications.

Skills measured:

1. Migrate SAP Workloads to Azure (10-15%)
2. Design an Azure Solution to Support SAP Workloads (20-25%)
3. Build and Deploy Azure SAP Workloads (35-40%)
4. Validate Azure Infrastructure for SAP Workloads (10-15%)
5. Operationalize Azure SAP Architecture (10-15%)

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Certifications to look out for in 2019-2020

There are many Microsoft Dynamics 365 certifications which can be explored to validate your skills. To make it easy, I have them broken down at three levels: Beginner Level, Experienced Users, and Expert Level.

Certifications for Beginners

These certifications are for users who have at least a year of experience with Dynamics 365.

• MB-900: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Fundamentals

This exam is designed for candidates looking to demonstrate foundational knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform applications, and the cloud computing model. This exam will cover the considerations and benefits of adopting Dynamics 365, the Power Platform, and cloud services in general. This exam can be taken as a precursor to Dynamics 365 certifications and training.

Candidates for this exam should have general knowledge or relevant working experience in an Information Technology (IT) environment. Candidates should also have a basic understanding of business scenarios and experience in addressing business, legal, and security requirements for IT projects.

Skills measured:

1. Understand Dynamics 365 (40-45%)
2. Understand cloud concepts (25-30%)
3. Understand deployments and releases (20-25%)

• MB-200: Microsoft Power Platform + Dynamics 365 Core

Candidates for this exam are functional consultants who have access to the features and functionality of the enterprise licensed product. As a functional consultant, the candidate is aware of bundled versions of features but does not primarily work with these bundled products.

Candidates are primarily responsible for configuring the system to meet client needs, performing design tasks related to implementing new features and functionality, and implementing and testing system changes.

Candidates plan the functional design for solutions, implement an application lifecycle management (ALM) process, migrate data and objects from legacy and external systems, integrate Power Platform with other systems, and manage the Power Platform environment.

Skills measured:

1. Perform discovery, planning, and analysis (5-10%)
2. Manage user experience design (20-25%)
3. Manage entities and data (15-20%)
4. Implement security (5-10%)
5. Implement integration (15-20%)
6. Perform solutions deployment and testing (25-30%)

Certifications for Experienced Users

These certifications are for users who have experience working on many enterprise level Microsoft Dynamice 365 projects in the areas defined in the certification.

• MB-210: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales

Candidates for this exam are Dynamics 365 functional consultants with sales expertise. Candidates are responsible for implementing solutions that support a sales life cycle to run efficiently and effectively to meet revenue targets, business strategies, and company objectives.

Candidates are responsible for configuring and expanding the core functionality of Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Opportunities and supporting entities to map to the sales processes in place at the company. They identify opportunities to use Power Apps to develop unified experiences for all devices, Power Automate for application integration, business process flows, and other automation tools to construct an application that supports and accelerates the "lead to cash journey."

Candidates must have strong business knowledge and preferably first-person experience in the sales world in one or more sales roles.

Skills measured:

1. Perform configuration (40-45%)
2. Manage core sales entities (20-25%) 
3. Manage sales entities (35-40%)

• MB-220: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing

Candidates for this exam are Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement functional consultants with marketing expertise. Candidates are responsible for implementing solutions that attract and convert leads, build brand awareness, standardize omnichannel messaging, and deliver marketing insights.

Candidates are responsible for configuring and expanding the core marketing application to include email marketing, setup, interactive customer journeys, leads nurturing with personalized experiences, LinkedIn integration, Events, Voice of the Customer, Landing Pages, segmentation and scoring, and maintaining General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR) compliance.

Candidates should have some knowledge of marketing principles and the Marketing application's role in relationship to the Microsoft Dynamics 365 suite of applications, including integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Office 365 applications. Candidates should understand industry terminology, priorities, common initiatives, standards, methodologies, and best practices.

Skills measured:

1. Configure marketing applications (5-10%)
2. Manage segments and lists (10-15%)
3. Create and manage marketing forms and pages (10-15%)
4. Manage leads (10-15%)
5. Create and manage marketing emails (10-15%)
6. Manage customer journeys (15-20%)
7. Manage events and webinars (10-15%)
8. Configure and analyze customer responses (10-15%)

• MB-230: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service

Candidates for this exam are Dynamics 365 functional consultants with customer service expertise. Candidates are responsible for implementing omnichannel solutions that focus upon service, quality, reliability, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

Candidates design and implement service management visualizations and reports provided by and in collaboration with the Solution Architect. Candidates collaborate with the Dynamics 365 administrator to implement and upgrade Power platform components, including knowledge base and Forms Pro.

Candidates must have strong applied knowledge meeting user needs through the Dynamics 365 Customer Service, including in-depth understanding of cases, knowledge base, queues, entitlements, Service Level Agreements (SLAs), visualizations, and Unified Service Desk.

Candidates should understand industry terminology, priorities, standards, methodologies, customer service operations, and best practices. Candidates should include a comprehensive understanding of the Customer Service application's role in relationship to the Dynamics 365 suite of applications along with a basic understanding of the solution architecture and quality assurance.

Skills measured:

1. Perform configuration (25-30%)
2. Manage cases and the knowledge base (30-35%)
3. Manage queues, entitlements, and SLAs (25-30%)
4. Configure voice of the customer (15-20%)

• MB-300: Microsoft Dynamics 365: Core Finance and Operations

Candidates for this exam are Functional Consultants who analyze business requirements and translate those requirements into fully-realized business processes and solutions that implement industry best practices. Candidates serve as a key resource in implementing and configuring applications to meet business requirements.

Candidates for this exam have a fundamental understanding of accounting principles and financial operations of businesses, customer service, field service, manufacturing, retail, and supply chain management concepts.

Candidates for this exam typically specialize in one or more feature sets of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, including finance, manufacturing, and supply chain management.

Skills measured:

1. Use common functionality and implementation tools (20-25%)
2. Configure security, processes, and options (45-50%)
3. Perform data migration (15-20%)
4. Validate and support the solution (15-20%)

• MB-310: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance

Candidates for this exam are Functional Consultants who analyze business requirements and translate those requirements into fully-realized business processes and solutions that implement industry best practices. Candidates serve as a key resource in implementing and configuring applications to meet business requirements.

Candidates for this exam have a fundamental understanding of accounting principles and financial operations of businesses, customer service, field service, manufacturing, retail, and supply chain management concepts.

Candidates for this exam typically specialize in one or more feature sets of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, including finance, manufacturing, and supply chain management.

Candidates must have knowledge of basic accounting principles and practices.

Skills measured:

1. Set up and configure financial management (35-40%)
2. Manage and apply common processes (20-25%)
3. Implement and manage accounts payable and receivable (20-25%)
4. Manage budgeting and fixed assets (15-20%)

• MB-330: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management

Candidates for this exam are Functional Consultants who analyze business requirements and translate those requirements into fully-realized business processes and solutions that implement industry best practices. Candidates serve as a key resource in implementing and configuring applications to meet business requirements.

Candidates for this exam have a fundamental understanding of accounting principles and financial operations of businesses, customer service, field service, manufacturing, retail, and supply chain management concepts.

Candidates for this exam typically specialize in one or more feature sets of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, including finance, manufacturing, and supply chain management.

Candidates must have some knowledge of supply chain management practices, including procurement, trade, logistics, warehouse management, and transportation management.

Skills measured:

1. Implement Product information management (25-30%)
2. Implement Inventory management (20-25%)
3. Implement and manage Supply Chain processes (25-30%)
4. Implement Warehouse management and Transportation management and perform business processes (25-30%)

Certifications for Experts

These certifications are for users who have many years of experience with Dynamics 365 in the areas defined in the certification.

• MB-240: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service

Candidates for this exam are Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement functional consultants with Field Service expertise. Candidates are responsible for implementing solutions that manage resources that complete the field service lifecycle.

Candidates implement the field service processes designed in collaboration with internal and external teams. This collaboration includes configuring the default administration areas of the Field Service application, deploying the Connected Field Service (IoT) solution and the mobile application, and implementing any additional needed customizations. Candidates are responsible for the configuration and deployment of the Field Service application in conjunction with the core customer service application.

Candidates must have knowledge of how to configure and customize components of the Field Service application, including configuring services, resources, characteristics, incidents, inventory integration, service agreements, resource scheduling, work orders, service tasks, field service user roles, field service settings, the Connected Field Service (IoT) solution, and configuration of the Field Service Mobile app.

Skills measured:

1. Configure field service applications (20-25%)
2. Manage work orders (15-20%)
3. Schedule and dispatch work orders (20-25%)
4. Manage field service mobility (10-15%)
5. Manage inventory and purchasing (10-15%)
6. Manage assets and agreements (10-15%)

• MB-320: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, Manufacturing

Candidates for this exam are Functional Consultants who analyze business requirements and translate those requirements into fully-realized business processes and solutions that implement industry best practices. Candidates serve as a key resource in implementing and configuring applications to meet business requirements.

Candidates for this exam have a fundamental understanding of accounting principles and financial operations of businesses, customer service, field service, manufacturing, retail, and supply chain management concepts.

Candidates for this exam typically specialize in one or more feature sets of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, including finance, manufacturing, and supply chain management.

Candidates must have knowledge of basic accounting principles and practices.

Skills measured:

1. Set up and configure manufacturing (30-35%)
2. Create and manage production and lean orders (25-30%)
3. Create, process, and manage production batch orders (40-45%)

• MB-400: Microsoft Power Apps + Dynamics 365 Developer (still in beta)

Candidates for this exam are Developers who work with Microsoft Power Apps model-driven apps in Dynamics 365 to design, develop, secure, and extend a Dynamics 365 implementation. Candidates implement components of a solution that include application enhancements, custom user experience, system integrations, data conversions, custom process automation, and custom visualizations.

Candidates must have strong applied knowledge of Power Apps model-driven apps in Dynamics 365, including in-depth understanding of customization, configuration, integration, and extensibility, as well as boundaries and constraints. Candidates should have a basic understanding of DevOps practices for Power Apps model-driven apps in Dynamics 365. Candidates must expose, store, and report on data.

Candidates should have development experience that includes JavaScript, TypeScript, C#, HTML, .NET, Microsoft Azure, Office 365, RESTful Web Services, ASP.NET, and PowerBI.

Skills measured:

1. Create a Technical Design (10-15%)
2. Configure Common Data Service (CDS) (15-20%)
3. Create and Configure Power Apps (10-15%)
4. Configure business process automation (10-15%)
5. Extend the user experience (15-20%)
6. Extend the platform (15-20%)
7. Develop Integrations (10-15%)

• MB-500: Microsoft Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Developer (still in beta)

Candidates for this exam are Developers who work with Finance and Operations apps in Microsoft Dynamics 365 to implement and extend applications to meet the requirements of the business. Candidates provide fully realized solutions by using standardized application coding patterns, extensible features, and external integrations.

Candidates are responsible for developing business logic by using X++, creating and modifying Finance and Operations reports and workspaces, customizing user interfaces, providing endpoints and APIs to support Power Platform apps and external systems, performing testing, monitoring performance, analyzing and manipulating data, creating technical designs and implementation details, and implementing permission policies and security requirements.

Candidates participate in the migration of data and objects from legacy and external systems, integration of Finance and Operations apps with other systems, implementation of application lifecycle management process, planning the functional design for solutions, and managing Finance and Operations environments by using Lifecycle Services (LCS).

Candidates should have a deep knowledge and experience using the underlying framework, data structures, and objects associated with the Finance and Operations solutions.

Candidates should have experience with products that include Visual Studio, Azure DevOps, LCS tools, or SQL Server Management Studio.

Candidates should have experience in developing code by using object-oriented programming languages, analyzing and manipulating data by using Transact-SQL code, and creating and running Windows PowerShell commands and scripts.

Skills measured:

1. Plan Architecture and Solution Design (10-15%)
2. Apply Developer Tools (10-15%)
3. Design and Develop AOT Elements (20-25%)
4. Develop and Test Code (10-15%)
5. Implement Reporting (10-15%)
6. Integrate and Manage Data Solutions (10-15%)
7. Implement Security and Optimize Performance (10-15%)

Introduction to Azure Stream Analytics

Azure stream analytics are truely real-time analytics, from the cloud to the edge. Azure Stream Analytics is designed to analyze and process high volumes of fast streaming data from multiple sources simultaneously.

The simplicity of Azure Stream Analytics is that it uses familiar SQL syntax and is extensible with JavaScript and C# custom code.

Basics of Azure Stream Analytics

Azure stream analytics solutions will always have input, query, and output.

Basics of Azure Stream Analytics

Advantages of Azure Stream Analytics

• Ease of creating analytics pipelines

• Can be used for complex and large workloads

• As a cloud service, Stream Analytics is optimized for cost

• Can be used on the Edge

• Built-in machine learning (ML) models to shorten time to insights

• Azure Stream Analytics has built-in recovery capabilities in case the delivery of an event fails

• Azure Stream Analytics is a fully managed serverless (PaaS) offering on Azure

• Azure Stream Analytics encrypts all incoming and outgoing communications and supports TLS 1.2

• Stream Analytics can process millions of events every second 

• Stream Analytics can deliver results with ultra-low latencies

IntelliSense in SQL Server 2008 R2 Management Studio stops working (most of the time)

After installing Visual Studio 2010 Service Pack 1, the IntelliSense in SQL Server 2008 R2 Management Studio stops working (most of the time).

The fix is to install SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1.

The fix for this issue was first released in Cumulative Update 7. For more information on Cumulative Update 7  click here.

Because the builds are cumulative, each new fix release contains all the hotfixes and all the security fixes that were included with the previous SQL Server 2008 R2 fix release. I recommend installing SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 3.

I hope this was informative. Please feel free to leave comments, if any.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM - Global Option Sets (Picklists)

CRM 2011 was released with many new features. New features were added in the core application, configuration and extending CRM. One of the most appreciated new feature is Global option sets. The other name given to it is Global picklists.

In Dynamics CRM 4.0 there were local option sets. Let's say the requirement is to have a country option set in 10 different entity forms. In order to have the country list, we need the country option set in all the entities and so we need 10 country option sets. All these 10 country option sets had same items in it. If we change the name of a country or add a new country, then we need to make a change at all 10 places. Dynamics CRM 2011 has improved upon this limitation. We can have one global option set for a country. Then each country list in every entity can derive from this "country Global option set". In case any changes are there, it will be done at one place and all derived lists are updated.

I will show how to create and use a global option set. I will create a global option set for the country. I will add few countries and then create a local option set in the entity "Movie". The local option set on the "Movie" form will be derived from this global option set. For the clarity of this demo, I have marked important sections on the screen shots by a green rectangle.

1) I will go to my unmanaged solution "Movies". I am soon planning to write a blog on Unmanaged Solutions.

Click on the component "Option Sets" from the left navigation. This will open the list of all my option sets in this solution. All the option sets added here will be Global option sets. These global option sets are part of the solution "Movies" which later can be deployed from one environment to another as part of a managed solution. Click on New button.

Click New button to Add a new Global Option Set

2) The new Global option set window opens. "Display name" is the label of this Global option set. "Name" is the unique Schema name and Logical name for this Global option set. Add the countries as options (also called as items in CRM lingo). Each country I add will have a Label and a Value. I suggest to accept the default "Value" assigned by CRM.

New Global Option Set Window

3) I entered few countries to this Global option set. The Global option set window will look like below. Save and close.

Create a new Global Option Set for Countries

4) I will create a local option set for the entity "Movie". Click on New to create a new field for entity "Movie".

This new option set field for Movie is derived from the Country Global option set. This Movie option set will display all the countries defined in the step above.

New Country field for "Movie" Entity

5) Add the required fields. Pay special attention to the "Type". The Type of this field is "Option Set".
I will select "Yes" to the option of use existing option set.

Select the Country value against the option set. This is where our local field will reference to any Global option set we select.

Leave default value as unassigned. Save and close.

Add this new field on the entity form. I then click on "Publish all Customizations" for my solution. This will publish all the above changes and make the new field available on the form.

Configure the new field as Country Global Option Set

6) Go to any existing record for the entity. I have opened the Movie record "GoldenEye" and find the Country option list. I can select any country from the list. Any changes to the Global option set will be automatically reflected here and at all the places which refers to it.

Use the new field on the "Movie" Entity Form

I hope this blog about CRM 2011 feature of Global Option Sets (Picklists) was informative. Please feel free to leave comments, if any.

Unit Testing for CRM 2011; Plugins, Custom Workflow Activities and Custom .Net Code

Every time we write a plugin and a custom workflow activity, we should make sure it works as desired. The business logic we write within these plugins and custom workflow activities, should accept the business confirmed parameters and should perform the agreed operations.

The above holds true each time we change these plugins and custom workflow activities. Every time we make a change, the plugins and custom workflow activities again need to be tested and verified. Unit testing in Visual Studio 2010 (out of the box) helps us achieve this process. In unit testing we will always need to Mock the CRM contexts and the data.

“Moq” mocking library can help in writing unit tests for CRM 2011 plugins and custom workflow activities, by mocking the CRM context and makes it easier to pass parameters and define the results.

Moq (pronounced “Mock-you” or just “Mock”) is the only mocking library for .NET developed from scratch to take full advantage of .NET 3.5 (i.e. Linq expression trees) and C# 3.0 features (i.e. lambda expressions) that make it the most productive, type-safe and refactoring-friendly mocking library available. And it supports mocking interfaces as well as classes. Its API is extremely simple and straightforward, and doesn’t require any prior knowledge or experience with mocking concepts.

The below screen shot shows the skeleton of how the MOQ can help us in Mocking (the CRM 2011 context). After Mocking, we can unit test by changing input parameters as we do with any other .Net unit testing.

MOQ: Mocking the CRM 2011 Context for Unit Testing in Visual Studio 2010

I hope this was informative. Please feel free to leave comments, if any.

Introduction to Edge Analytics

Edge analytics is the way data is collected and analyzed. It is a way in which automated analytical computation is performed on data at a sensor, network switch or other devices instead of waiting for the data to be sent back to the centralized data store.

The reason why edge analytics is gaining more and more importance and attestation is due to the Internet of Things (IoT) model of connected devices becoming more prevalent. In many organizations, streaming data from manufacturing machines, industrial equipment, pipelines and other remote devices connected to the IoT creates a massive glut of operational data, which can be difficult and very expensive to manage. The decision making process is faster as the data time between data generation and data analysis is decreased due to edge analytics. Due to Edge no time is wasted in sending data to a central location and waiting for the analysis, edge is here and now.

 

 

 

 

Edge analytics offers few key benefits: 

• Reduces Latency and Improves Agility

As data is analyzed closer to the source it makes the analysis far more agile. This is true where data is flowing form IoT sensors like CCTV camera, oil rigs, aircraft and remote manufacturing environments. The decisions can be made faster.

• Decrease in Operation and Storage Costs

Not all data is important and with edge analytics now there is no need to store data in the hope that one day it might be useful. Edge creates a better and more agile process around data collecting and analytics. For example, as long as the self driving car of the future is running fine the data doesn’t need to be collected. This can be achieved by selective processing of the data which is facilitated by Edge Analytics.

• Works in a Low Bandwidth Environment

Some IoT environments like the oil wells and connected vehicles generate significant amount of data that can overwhelm the bandwidth, but by having analytics on the edge the requirements of the bandwidth can be reduced. 

• Cost Effective and Reliable

Edge analysis provide a very cost effective solution. It is also necessary to ensure the economics of IoT makes sense. Should any failure occur in the analytics system the recovery is generally faster even in remote locations.  Equipment failure can be avoided through preventative maintenance undertaken when actually needed, rather than at fixed periods in a predetermined schedule.

• Linear Scalability

Edge Analytics architectures can scale linearly as IOT deployments grow. As IOT applications are inherently distributed, it is logical to process IOT data in a similar fashion. As the number of sensors and network devices grow, the amount of data that they collect also grows exponentially and it increases the strain on the central data analytics resources to process these huge amounts of data.

• Lowers Inventory

Maintenance crews have an earlier and more precise visibility into future failures and breakdowns, making a spares inventory vastly more efficient.

What’s new in Media Platform in Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release - Microsoft Dynamics 365 Update 9.0.2

Microsoft Stream is a service that enables your employees to create, discover, and share videos securely across your organization, right inside the collaboration apps they use most, such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Office 365, and Dynamics 365. Intelligence capabilities provide more ways to find and interact with videos, and help people access relevant content quickly and easily.

Microsoft Stream provides accessible, enterprise-grade security for organizations of any size, and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to convert speech to text, and face identification for smarter search.

Microsoft Stream empowers organizations to:

• Build an easy-to-use video experience that is familiar, appealing, and secure. Microsoft Stream minimizes the learning curve for employees to do more with video at work.
• Integrate tightly into the business applications people use daily. Microsoft Stream takes video to the productivity apps where people spend their time, and delivers a seamless, embedded experience. Additionally, embedded video in business applications brings video directly to apps where people work with customers.
• Create their own content. Content creation tools allow employees create and publish content to Microsoft Stream. For example, videos created via meeting recordings in Microsoft Teams can be published and shared with others. AI techniques extract insights about the content and enable business users to make informed decisions.

Main features and enhancements in Media Platform for Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release:

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) investments address requirements imposed by the European privacy law. 
• Public anonymous playback – In Dynamics 365 for Marketing, users can watch videos without needing access credentials on websites.
• Tier-C compliance – Microsoft Stream is a certified Tier-C service for compliance standards such as ISO and SOC2.
• Spotlight videos on the Stream home page and groups pages – Admins and group owners can highlight (or spotlight) videos to make them more visible to employees.
• Cloud recording for meetings in Microsoft Teams – Record and share meetings in Microsoft Teams.
• Seamless single sign-on with Microsoft Teams and Yammer – Single sign-on for users of Stream videos, and channels is embedded in Microsoft Teams and Yammer.
• Edit transcripts and curate people timelines – Edit automatically generated transcripts, and curate people timelines.

What’s new in Data Integration in Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release - Microsoft Dynamics 365 Update 9.0.2

Data Integration provides the connectors and gateways that make it possible to bring any external data into the Common Data Service and store the data in Common Data Model (CDM) form. This makes it easier for customers to integrate their data in a single place for business applications and analytics. Data Integration is based on Power Query, the same technology millions of people use daily in Power BI and Excel.

Data Integration provides direct connectivity to hundreds of business-critical data sources, including:

• Hybrid connectivity via the On-premises data gateway.
• Integration into Power BI, PowerApps, Logic Apps, Flow, Azure Analysis Services, and Office 365 (Power Query in Excel).

Main features and enhancements in Data Integration for Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release:

• Enhancements to major connectors, such as SQL, SAP BW, and SAP HANA.
• Improved capability for partners to create and distribute their own connectors.
• Extensibility enhancements that enable lightweight connectors to be deployed to Power BI.
• Gateway improvements on the desktop and in the cloud, including DirectQuery support.

What’s new in Business Intelligence Platform in Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release - Microsoft Dynamics 365 Update 9.0.2

Organizations can use Power BI to translate a wealth of data into actionable insights.

Main features and enhancements in Business Intelligence Platform for Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release:

• Analytics and exploration experiences. Features include an improved SAP HANA connector that treats SAP HANA as a multi-dimensional source, and capabilities for analysts to improve productivity with unique ways to visualize data. For example, users can use canvas tooltips to express more detail in context. Excel users who use the matrix visual receive measure-driven conditional formatting, and the ability to expand or collapse sections of the visual.
• Natural language analytics for everyone. Authors can use some of the improvements to Q&A natural language experiences to add domain-specific language and phrasing tailored for their domain. Users can ask questions in the context of their workflow, which includes Cortana and reports in Dynamics 365. Users can identify trends or changes in their data using Smart alerts and enhanced Quick Insights.
• Enterprise-grade trusted platform. Governance improvements include additional administrative controls, access to user content, and reporting. With Power BI Premium, you get improved scalability support with larger node sizes, incremental refresh for faster data loads, and deployments that span multiple geographic regions worldwide.

What’s new in Microsoft Flow in Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release - Microsoft Dynamics 365 Update 9.0.2

Microsoft is modernizing business processes across productivity, CRM, and ERP applications, which makes it easier for every business to transform how people work. Microsoft Flow, the Microsoft workflow and business process management platform, is core to the success of this mission. It's the connective glue that’s used by users and app developers alike for digital transformation, no matter what application they’re using. Flow, together with PowerApps and Power BI, makes up the Business application platform.

Main features and enhancements in Microsoft Flow for Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release:

• Create a business process flow. A business process flow is a new type of stateful, human-interactive flow based on the Common Data Service for Apps. Use these new flows to define a set of stages and steps for people to follow. They can move forward and backward as needed.
• Business process flow entity customization. Business process flow entities can appear in the system, so that entity record data can be made available in grids, views, charts, and dashboards.
• Add an action to a business process flow. In a business process flow, add a button that triggers an action or workflow that runs processes on your data.
• Repair recommendations sent in email for failed flows. If a flow fails, have detailed repair recommendations sent right to your inbox. These step-by-step recommendations are linked directly to the information you need to fix the most common failures.
• Request for sign-off flow built into SharePoint. When you select a file or item in SharePoint, you’ll see a new Request for sign-off flow. This flow, which doesn't require any configuration or setup, sends a sign-off request with a single click.
• Customize SharePoint content approvals with Flow. For SharePoint page libraries, site administrators can take advantage of Flow for content approval workflows.
• Flows “owned by” SharePoint lists and libraries. Flows that work with SharePoint lists (and libraries) can be shared with those lists, so instead of being shared with individuals or groups, they’re shared with everyone who has access to the list. As membership of the list or library changes, users are automatically given access to the flow.
• Test your flow by using sample data. Creating a flow might require some trial and error during the development process. Use sample data to test your flow as you build it, so you know that the flow will run as expected.
• Build and run flows from Excel. With the new Flow button (accessed from the ribbon’s Data tab), you can create and trigger automations from Flow on your table data in Excel. Automate data processing or the copying/importing of data.
• Create a flow for Microsoft To-Do in Outlook Web App. If someone is @mentioned in Outlook Web App, they’ll see a shortcut to create a flow. This flow automatically creates tasks for the @mentioned person in Microsoft To-Do, based on the content of the email.
• Return data to PowerApps from a flow. Build flows that can be called from an app built with PowerApps, and return data back to the app. Use the visual drag-and-drop flow designer to build the logic you need for the app.
• Quick access to help and support. Open support tickets in the context of an issue encountered in Flow, such as when your workflow is failing. Automatically provide Microsoft support engineers with failure details for quicker resolution.
• GDPR compliance. To support the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), administrators can now submit a request to export or delete all of the data about Flow users.
• Access modern approvals in the Common Data Service for Apps. Modern approvals data in Flow is built on the latest version of the Common Data Service for Apps. This means that you can build flows that are triggered by or read the status of the approvals you send or receive.

What’s new in Common Data Service for Apps in Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release - Microsoft Dynamics 365 Update 9.0.2

The Common Data Service for Apps is how PowerApps, Office, and the Dynamics suite of products integrate with a single system of record for business data. The Common Data Service for Apps is the native system of record for:

• Dynamics 365 for Sales.
• Dynamics 365 for Service.
• Dynamics 365 for Field Service.
• Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation.
• Dynamics 365 for Marketing.
• The Dynamics 365 for Talent family of applications.
• Standalone IT business apps.

Main features and enhancements in Common Data Service for Apps for Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release:

• Support for additional data types. Additional data types support more complex entity definitions and provide richer experiences. (Applies to canvas and model-driven apps)
• Improved entity creation and customization. Create and customize entities in the Common Data Service for Apps right from PowerApps.com. The refreshed experience includes improved performance, a more user-friendly UI, and helpful features such as in-line option set creation. (Applies to canvas and model-driven apps)
• Server-side logic for validation. Create server-side business rules for validating data entered into the Common Data Service for Apps. (Applies to canvas and model-driven apps)
• Calculated and rollup fields. Create calculated and rollup fields in Common Data Service for Apps entities directly from PowerApps.com. (Applies to canvas and model-driven apps)
• Improved Excel add-in for the Common Data Service for Apps. The Common Data Service for Apps Excel add-in now supports the upgraded Common Data Service for Apps features.
• Software Development Kit (SDK). Developers can use the Common Data Service for Apps Software Development Kit (SDK) to create code-based customizations for the Common Data Service for Apps.
• Application Lifecycle Management (ALM). Solutions in the Common Data Service for Apps allow customizations to be organized, exported, and imported between environments to support Application Lifecycle Management scenarios within organizations, and between ISVs and their customers. (Applies to model-driven apps)
• Common Data Service OData Web API. Advanced users can access data stored in the Common Data Service for Apps through a new OData Web API.
• Import data into Common Data Service for Apps with Power Query. Use Power Query on the web to directly import data into the Common Data Service for Apps from multiple sources.

What’s new in PowerApps in Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release - Microsoft Dynamics 365 Update 9.0.2

PowerApps is the high-productivity application development platform from Microsoft. In this release, we’re combining the richness of Dynamics 365 with the agility of PowerApps to create a single unified platform. The PowerApps platform is now the platform that the Dynamics 365 for Sales, Service, Marketing, and Talent applications are natively built on. This release also includes major advancements to the Common Data Service for Apps (the data platform that comes with PowerApps) and client UX creation tools. These new capabilities are backward-compatible with the Dynamics 365 platform (frequently called the xRM platform), which means that Dynamics 365 customizers and partners can use already-acquired skills to create apps with PowerApps.

PowerApps is also tightly integrated with Office 365. You can use the same set of tools to customize and extend an increasing number of Office 365 apps, and also build standalone business applications connected to more than 200 data sources.

Main features and enhancements in PowerApps for Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release:

Model-driven apps

You can build a new type of application with PowerApps: model-driven apps. Create and customize model-driven apps directly from PowerApps.com by using the app designer. Bring together entities, forms, views, dashboards, charts, and business processes to automatically generate powerful line-of-business applications. It's easy to get started building model-driven apps. Switch to model-driven mode, learn the basics, and then explore one of our great sample apps.

• Entity forms. Create and customize sophisticated forms for Common Data Service for Apps entities directly from model-driven mode on PowerApps.com. Create forms with visual drag-and-drop designers by using a host of custom controls that are available from a rich control library.
• Entity views. Create and customize views for Common Data Service for Apps entities directly from model-driven mode on PowerApps.com. Use point-and-click tools to create filters, set the sort order, and choose which columns to display.
• Business process flows. Associate one or more business process flows with your model-driven app to focus your users' experience through a specific set of guided steps.
• Dashboards. Build and use custom interactive dashboards with rich chart controls that use data from Common Data Service for Apps entities. Embed Power BI dashboards in model-driven application dashboards for deeper cross-system data analysis directly from the application.
• Metadata-driven responsive user experiences. Model-driven application user experiences are automatically generated upon entity creation. A navigation model, basic forms, and a subset of views are available for customization. User experiences are responsive and metadata-driven. Applications provide consistent functionality across all surfaces, including web and mobile and support for right-to-left (RTL) languages.
• Accessible apps out of the box. Model-driven apps built using the Unified Interface infrastructure meet Microsoft accessibility standards (go to the Trust Center to learn about our industry-leading accessibility standards). The applications enable users, including keyboard-only users and touch-only users, to perform key tasks. The apps work well with screen readers and won’t block other accessibility tools, such as one-click devices.
• Mobile player. Run model-driven apps on mobile devices. For tablets and phones, applications are automatically optimized for the device.

Canvas apps

You can now build two types of applications with PowerApps: canvas apps and model-driven apps. The term “canvas apps” refers to apps built through the WYSIWYG screen design that provides complete control over the interface. With a canvas app, you start with a blank canvas to create a very tailored user interface. Then you connect that user interface to your choice of 200 data sources. You can build canvas apps for web, mobile, and tablet applications. With a model-driven app, you start with your data model. Build from your core business data and processes in the Common Data Service for Apps to model forms, views, and other components. Model-driven apps automatically generate a great user interface that’s responsive across devices.

• Controllable delegation limits. Control delegation limits for non-delegable data sources that have up to a maximum of 2,000 records. This allows client-side operations to work on larger datasets.
• SQL views. To avoid performance issues, use SQL views to combine data in SQL Server before bringing it into PowerApps.
• Simplified access to entities through foreign key relationships. Intuitive access to entities included in a relationship (foreign key) in entities that are stored in the Common Data Service for Apps makes it significantly easier to use related entities in canvas apps.

Improved app sharing experience 

The improved experience for canvas apps makes it easier to view the data sources used by an app and easier to set up user permissions to access that data. For model-driven apps, share apps by assigning appropriate security roles that provide user access to the entities and data in the Common Data Service for Apps.

Apps connected to SharePoint lists can include attachments

Apps connected to SharePoint Online can now be used to view and upload attachments, including images and documents.

Improved support ticketing for admins

Request help from a Microsoft support representative from the new Business platform admin center.

GDPR compliance 

To support the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), administrators can support data subject rights requests for PowerApps users.

Automate governance with PowerShell

The administrative capabilities of the Admin Center are now available programmatically to admins through the release of the PowerApps PowerShell cmdlets.

What’s new in Business Central in Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release - Microsoft Dynamics 365 Update 9.0.2

With the Spring ’18 release, Dynamics 365 Business Central brings the full power of Dynamics NAV to the cloud in 14 countries or regions and replaces Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Business edition. Existing Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Business edition customers will be automatically upgraded to Dynamics 365 Business Central at the next upgrade of their service.

Dynamics 365 Business Central is the next generation of Dynamics NAV, one of the leading Microsoft business application products, which has served 140,000 customers and millions of users worldwide. Dynamics 365 Business Central is an extremely flexible solution, easily adaptable to the needs of geographies, industries, and individual customers.

Main features and enhancements in Business Central for Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release:

Broad regional availability

• 14 markets - Dynamics 365 Business Central is available in 14 markets.

Full suite of application functionality

• Essential - Includes a broad range of functionality that most businesses need to run their business.
• Premium - Adds Service management and Manufacturing.

Look and feel

• Modern user experience - A refreshed and modern user experience, optimized for insights and productivity.

Easy to extend

• App Source - Customize your experience with apps from App Source.
• Power BI, PowerApps, and Flow - Combine with PowerApps and Microsoft Flow to compose new applications and extend existing business processes. Integrate with Power BI for custom dashboards and configurable reports.
• Extensions - Many improvements have been made to the extensions technology, so that you can extend, customize, and build solutions in an upgradable fashion, decoupled from the base application.
• Individual customizations - As a user, you can personalize your experience. As a partner, you can apply customizations to one or more customers' experiences.
• Business API - Integrate with external systems and services by using the robust API.
• Modern developer experience - File-based development environment and a new development language.

Compliance

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - Investments address the European privacy law’s requirements. Go to the Trust Center to learn more and find resources to help you comply.
• Accessibility enhancements - Go to the Trust Center to learn about our industry-leading accessibility standards.
• ISO and SOC compliance.

What’s new in Talent – Onboard in Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release - Microsoft Dynamics 365 Update 9.0.2

The focus for Spring '18 updates has been to streamline onboarding at the department level through more robust templates, reporting, and automation. Based on customer feedback, Onboard has been enhanced with collaborative capabilities to allow more individuals to create and implement onboarding experiences. Onboard now also includes template authoring workflows to enable template updates to be rolled out to all instances instantiated from the template.

Main features and enhancements in Talent – Onboard for Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release:

• Customizable welcome emails

Managers can personalize the welcome email sent to their new hires when it’s time to onboard. This creates a personal touch and improves email response rate.

• Due date placeholders

Managers can insert due date placeholders as an offset from a new hire’s start date, such as two weeks after the start date or three days before. Due dates are updated automatically if the new hire’s start date is changed.

• Export to Excel

Hiring managers can export all the guides they create or contribute to an Excel file that can be used for reporting and Power BI.

• Import (Public Preview)

Hiring managers can import content from other guides or templates to ensure that the latest content is always reflected. This helps them get started quickly and makes it easier to include the latest content from their manager or department leader. 

What’s new in Talent – Attract in Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release - Microsoft Dynamics 365 Update 9.0.2

The Spring ‘18 releases expand recruiting management capabilities to include support for career websites and for posting multiple jobs at the same time to simplify the job posting process.

Main features and enhancements in Talent – Attract for Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release:

• Configurable hiring process - Customers can define the hiring process on a job-by-job basis.
• Advanced interview scheduling - Enhanced scheduling of multi-day interviews, last-minute interviewer replacement, and improved communication throughout the scheduling process.
• Candidate notes - Ability for the hiring team to keep notes on candidate applications. 
• Assessment activity with Koru integration - Third-party candidate assessment from Koru (www.joinkoru.com).
• Company Career site - Quickly post jobs to a company career site to kick off the application process.

Candidate apply - Candidates can apply for open positions directly from the career site. 

LinkedIn integrations - Apply with LinkedIn, and post openings to LinkedIn. 

• Assessment activity with Gauge integration - Gauge is a tool for creating assessments for efficient hiring or employee assessment surveys.
• Configurable hiring process – templates - Create custom templates to guide the hiring process.
• Offer management - Offer creation and management through templates and workflows.
• Prospect tracking - Manages all prospective candidates before formal application.
• LinkedIn Recruiter system connect - Quickly push candidates into Attract from LinkedIn Recruiter.

What’s new in Talent – Core HR in Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release - Microsoft Dynamics 365 Update 9.0.2

The Spring ‘18 release of Talent - Core HR focuses on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance, enabling integrations, and adding key capabilities based on customer feedback.

To support best-of-breed payroll functionality and increase the portfolio of customers we can support, we have added payroll integration capabilities, including support for Ceridian Dayforce. In addition, we provide support for open enrollment processing and streamlined processing for employees to initiate qualified life event changes. These updates provide configuration and processing of all changes, together with a workflow to ensure accurate data across Talent for compliance and eligibility, and the ability to export elections to benefits providers.

Enhanced manager self-service capabilities mean that managers can initiate compensation change processes within their organizations. Integrated review and workflow approval processes ensure that changes are accurate and within budget.

Main features and enhancements in Talent – Core HR for Dynamics 365 Spring 18 Release:

• Manager self-service promotion requests/workflow - Expanded manager self-service capabilities.
• Attachments - Attachments from the hiring process can be transferred to new hires’ employee records.
• Contextual filtering of reason codes - Reason codes can be configured for hire, transfer, termination, and compensation processes.
• Custom fields - This functionality has been enabled across Talent.
• Streamlined transfer process - When transferring an employee, the job is automatically added to the transfer request.
• Updated Power BI visuals - The visuals have been refreshed in Power BI reports. Mean and median gender pay metrics have also been added.
• Default dates - Dates are no longer completed by default for hire, transfer, and termination processes.
• Rehire flag – A flag for the worker's eligibility for rehire is set as part of the termination process.
• Integration with Finance and Operations 7.2 and 7.3 (Public Preview) - Integration provides an initial data load into Talent, with ongoing integration to maintain Finance and Operations workflows and HR transactions.
• Payroll integration - Connect Talent to your payroll system by using out-of-box integration with Ceridian, or connect manually to other payroll providers.
• Benefits enhancements - Open enrollment and qualified life event changes.
• Absence management

Working days calendars – Supports the creation of calendars that reflect company holidays.

Submit time off in days – More flexible increments for entering time off.

Custom absence accrual dates – Customize time carry-over and time-off accrual capabilities.

• Position and employee management updates - Provide additional information related to positions and employees, allowing HR professionals and managers to streamline the hiring process.