Microsoft is continuously evolving its Dynamics 365 suite to improve performance, security, and user experience. As part of these efforts, several Power platform deprecations and removals are planned for 2023 and early 2024. In this article, we’ll dive into these changes and their impacts on users and organizations.
Model-Driven App Controls Deprecation: April 2023
Why is this needed? Microsoft is introducing new Fluent controls for better usability, accessibility, and dark mode support.
Impact: Starting April 2023, deprecated controls cannot be added to forms. Existing instances will work until April 2024.
Action Required: Evaluate and replace deprecated controls on existing forms.
The following controls for model-driven apps are deprecated as of January 2023:
- Auto-complete
- Input mask
- Multimedia player
- Number input
- Option set
- Star rating
These controls are being replaced by new Fluent UI controls that have better usability, accessibility, and dark mode support. Some of the new controls are Toggle, Calendar Control V2, and Power Apps grid control (preview). The deprecated controls will continue to work in existing forms and views, but they will not be available for new forms and views.
Customer Service Workspace Legacy Layout Deprecation: April-October 2023
Impact: The legacy layout will no longer be supported after October 2023.
Action Required: Migrate to newer layouts.
The Customer Service Workspace Legacy Layout is being deprecated as of April 2023, and won’t be supported after October 20231. The new Enhanced Multisession Layout has some significant differences from the old layout, such as:
- The new layout has different sessions open in different tabs at the top, while the old layout had a single session with a drop-down list to switch between sessions.
- The new layout has different tabs inside each session to show the case details, timeline, knowledge articles, and related records, while the old layout had a single tab with a navigation pane to access these features.
- The new layout has a navigation bar on the left that shows the app name, the app switcher, and the sitemap, while the old layout had a navigation bar on the top that showed the app name, the app switcher, and the global search.
Omnichannel for Customer Service Agent-Facing App Deprecation: April 2023
Impact: Support until June 2024. Migrate to Customer Service workspace.
This app was used by agents to handle customer interactions across multiple channels, such as chat, SMS, email, and social media.
It is replaced by the Customer Service Workspace app, which provides a similar experience along with new features, such as enhanced multisession layout, dark mode support, and voice channel.
Intraday Insights Reports in Omnichannel for Customer Service Deprecation: May 2023 – April 2024
Impact: Support until October 31, 2023. No new functionalities. Reports won’t be available after April 30, 2024, for existing organizations.
Action Required: Plan for alternative reporting solutions.
These reports provided real-time data on agent performance, queue health, and customer satisfaction. They are replaced by Real-Time Analytics reports, which offer more comprehensive and customizable insights on omnichannel operations.
jQuery 2.1.1 Removal: October 2023
Why? Improved security.
Impact: Custom code dependent on jQuery 2.1.1 will stop working.
Action Required: Replace with a newer jQuery version.
Exchange-Based Cards Deprecation: October 2023
Impact: Existing Exchange-based cards will be unavailable. Create custom cards using Power Automate.
Rank Optimization of Insight Cards was a feature that allowed you to customize the order in which the insight cards were displayed in the assistant. Insight cards are personalized and actionable suggestions that help you with various sales scenarios, such as following up with leads, closing opportunities, or engaging with customers
The Rank Optimization feature was deprecated as of October 1, 2023 and is no longer available. The assistant now uses a default ranking algorithm that considers various factors, such as card type, card age, card urgency, and user feedback to display the most relevant cards for each user. You can still customize some aspects of the insight cards, such as turning them on or off, assigning them to different roles, or editing their flows.
Rank Optimization of Insight Cards Deprecation: October 2023
Impact: Existing ranking rules for insight cards will not apply.
Action Required: Turn off unused cards to prioritize.
Dynamics 365 for Phones and Tablets Deprecation: January 2024
Impact: Online users must migrate to the Power Apps mobile app.
Action Required: Prepare for the transition for a modern user experience.
This app was used to access mobile workspaces for various finance and operations scenarios, such as expense management, inventory on hand, asset management, invoice approval, and purchase order approval. It is deprecated as of October 1, 2023, and will be removed from app stores by April 1, 2024. It is replaced by new mobile experiences that are planned to be released in 2023 for each of the mobile workspaces.
Dynamics 365 Connector Deprecation TBD: August 2023
Impact: Timeline to be announced for the final shutdown of the connector.
Action Required: Prepare for the transition to the replacement connector, Microsoft Dataverse.
Effective May 5, 2020 the Dynamics 365 connector used for data integrations, flows, Azure Logic Apps, and canvas apps in Power Platform is officially deprecated. We recommend that you don’t create new connections using this connector. From April 29, 2022, this connection cannot be used for data integrations, flows, logic apps, and canvas apps.
Is it replaced by the Common Data Service (current environment) connector or the Dataverse connector which should be used instead.
In Conclusion: Staying up-to-date with these deprecations and removals is crucial for organizations using Microsoft Dynamics 365. It ensures continued functionality, security, and access to the latest features. Be proactive in assessing the impact on your systems and take necessary actions to adapt to these changes. Microsoft’s commitment to improving its products guarantees a more robust and efficient platform for your business needs. Stay tuned for further updates and announcements regarding these changes.
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