Day: September 5, 2023

This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2.

The first of the new functionality in the Reporting and data analysis section is analyze, group, and pivot data on queries using multiple tabs.

End users and data analysts can analyse data from queries directly in the client without the need to open the page in Excel or run a report.

The ability to analyse data directly on queries raises the bar for what you can do without having to switch applications, while still allowing customers and partners to do more in report objects, Excel, Power BI, or other data analysis applications.

Enabled for: Users by admins, makers, or analysts
Public Preview: Sep 2023
General Availability: Oct 2023

Feature Details

Analysis mode was introduced as a public preview feature in 2023 release Wave 1 as a new way of interacting with data on list pages. Instead of running reports using different options and filters, you can simply add multiple tabs that represent different tasks or views on the data. Examples could be "My customers," "Follow-up items," "Recently added vendors," "Sales statistics," or any other view you want.

In this release, Microsoft take this concept even further:

• It’s possible to analyse data from any query the same way as on a list page.
• From any analysis tab, you can share a link to the tab with co-workers.
• Shared links can also be used as a click-once installation of good out-of-the-box analysis.

My Opinion

I’ve not seen the analysis mode introduced in 2023 Wave 1 yet, so I think I need to explore that in advance of this new feature becoming available.

This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2.

The first of the new functionality in the Productive with Microsoft 365 section is enhancements to Excel add-in.

Bulk editing, co-authoring, and analysing data in Excel are common tasks for many back-office users. Microsoft say their research shows that workers often rely on Excel for mission-critical activities and therefore expect a high degree of reliability as they edit in Excel, refresh data, and push changes back to Business Central. In this wave, Microsoft address feedback about the reliability of the add-in in specific use cases.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Sep 2023
General Availability: Oct 2023

Feature Details

This release wave includes the following enhancements to the Business Central add-in for Excel:

• Dimensions are included on more pages when using the Edit in Excel feature.
• Increased accuracy of filters when they’re transferred from Business Central to Excel.
• Improved reliability and performance of data refresh and publish through the latest OData V4 technology.
• The add-in now supports on-premises deployments that have a dedicated server instance specifically for OData feeds.

My Opinion

Making dimensions available in more pages sounds like a good addition, as everyone I’ve worked with using Business Central uses dimensions. Improved reliability and accuracy also sounds like a really good thing.