2023: Microsoft’s pursuit of new Business Apps opportunities

One of the most interesting moments of 2022 in Microsoft's business applications ecosystem was the revelation that Viva Sales, the company's new CRM-agnostic sales experience

engine, was developed by the same team that creates Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement applications and Power Platform services. Whether or not Viva Sales finds success over the long

term, the approach of blending productivity tools and business processes could serve as a useful lens through which to evaluate Microsoft's broader business applications plans for

2023 and beyond. Dynamics applications remain important, but future generations of business solutions from Microsoft could look noticeably different in a variety of ways. Let's

look at several recent developments at Microsoft that could impact the future of the Dynamics 365 and Power Platform products and ecosystem.A world of Microsoft business

applications, but not always DynamicsMicrosoft could be working on the release of a new portfolio of point solutions built on Power Platform that are aimed at meeting industry or

role-specific needs. Based on reporting by Mary Jo Foley, this so-called "Power House" approach would provide Power Platform licensees with pre-built business applications to serve

a range of specific needs: financial approvals, contract management, or a manufacturing requirement, for example. Microsoft has not confirmed this report, but the concept would

appear to align with what Microsoft has already demonstrated with Viva Sales: an app and process engine focused on the activities of one or a few job roles. Another example is the

company's work to build up the elements of its own invoice approval service, with mixed results so far.From the perspective of a traditional Dynamics 365 partner, the idea of

clients getting access to a slew of pre-built point solutions for Power Platform could be helpful or a new headache. In an optimist's world, it could spark more productive

conversations between partners and clients, thoughtful analysis of functional and process requirements, digital adoption journeys, and long-term technology investment strategy. For

the pessimist, this approach from Microsoft, if true, could serve to slow down decision-making, drive up technology adoption inefficiencies, lead to the accrual new technical debt

as customers try to shoehorn more limited apps into their organizations, and drive down Dynamics 365 licensing.2022 also offered some ominous signs for momentum in the Dynamics 365

product line, in particular the risk that the products are losing out to Power Platform in terms of attention. Microsoft Ignite 2022, one of the company's key global events, served