New in Dynamics 365 v9.0 - Multi-select option set, Virtual entities & Flow

This blog is the part of a multi-series blog on the latest updates in Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement v9.0. The Part-1 on User Experience enhancement is here and Part-2 on Apps enhancements is here.

This blog is about the following new features in v9.0 –

1

•        Multi-select Option sets
•        Virtual entities 
•        Microsoft Flow integration

1.      Multi-select Option set – This was one of the most requested and long awaited features which customers asked for in Microsoft Dynamics 365.

When you are creating a new custom field for an entity. there is a new field type – Multi-select option set.  For example, I am creating a new field for Contact – Hobbies. This is a multi-select option set as each contact can have more than 1 hobby.

Multi-Select Option Set

After creating the new field I can add a list (options) of Hobbies for the Contact.

Hobbies - Multi-select

Now add the custom field to the Contact form and you have a multiple choice for Hobbies to select for a contact.

Add multiple Hobbies for a Contact

And once you select all Hobbies for the contact the data looks great. Thank you Microsoft Dynamics 365 product team!!

Nice work!!

Some of the things to know about Multi-select option sets –

1.         You can enter upto 150 options max in the list
2.            Multi-select option set can also be a Global Option set (I recommend all Option sets should be  Global Option sets) so it can be used across the board with Multiple entities - For example Hobbies for Leads and Contacts
3.           You can also add the multi-select option set to a view as shown below

Multiple Hobbies in a Contact View

    

Now it is time to plan for the data transformation - Moving data from custom entities created before multi-select was available, to the new multi-select option set.

2. Virtual Entities –

      Clients have data stored in multiple external systems, applications and databases. It is useful to show the data from external systems in Dynamics 365 and not to import or replicate the data. This is where the new feature of Virtual entities will be beneficial.

      For example Virtual entities provide the ability to connect to an ERP database and show the necessary information for Customer Order status or Account status, payments and receivables information.

Steps to create a Virtual entity –

1. Create a Data Source – Settings > Administration > Virtual Entity Data Sources

2. Enter the necessary information – Note – Currently this support Odata v4.0 only

Data source for Virtual Entity

Once the data source is created you can create the custom Virtual entity and refer the above Data Source.

New Virtual Entity - checkbox

The Virtual entity now can be used in Dynamics 365. Some points to consider about Virtual Entities –

1. -        Virtual entities are read only
2. -        Currently it supports OData v4.0 service
3. -        You cannot trigger workflows or plugins with the data retrieved from Virtual entities, as the data is not stored
4. -        Only organization owned entities are supported
5. -        Field level security is not supported with Virtual entities
6. -        The external data source entities must have a GUID primary key

3.  Microsoft Flow  – A user can now create or edit a flow from within Dynamics.

The flow button is available from a list view or record form – For example on the active Account list view the following flow options are available.

Flow in Dynamics 365

It requires the user to have an account and login to Flow. Once logged into Flow, they can create a new flow, manage all the created flows and see the run history of the flows.

I have few concerns with the Flow integration –

1.      Flow is useful for a system admin to create integrations between Dynamics 365 and 1 or more external application. For any internal to Dynamics 365 processes I would prefer to use Workflows or Actions within Dynamics 365

2.      There is no Global setting or configuration in security role within Dynamics 365 to control which user/s can use Flow. I think this is a security flaw and it may require admins to disable the flow button for all users except the few who can and should be allowed to create flow

3.      There is a cost to the Flow runs and it needs to be compared with other options

I hope the above is useful for you and let me know your observations on the above.

Thanks for reading.

Mihir Shah
365WithoutCode