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crm & erp

Dynamics 365 set up around how you sell and serve, still working after the next update.

We implement and extend Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service and the finance and operations apps, and wire them into Dataverse and your data platform. Microsoft won't let you skip an update, so we test each one in a sandbox before it reaches your users.

Talk to a Microsoft Dynamics 365 engineerWhat changed recently
platform dossierMicrosoft Dynamics 365CRM & ERP
Vendor
Microsoft
Current release
October 2026 (9.2.26093), North America 23 to 26 Oct
Next deadline
15 Nov 2026: Release Planner retires, new dev and Teams environments stop
On-premises 9.1
Mainstream to 13 Jan 2029, extended to 10 Jan 2031
release watch
  • Release Planner retires, roadmap goes continuous15 Nov 2026
  • Unmanaged developer environments are going away15 Dec 2026
connects with
in short·15-second read

We implement and support Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service and the finance and operations apps on Dataverse.

Updates are mandatory, and the October 2026 release reached North America on 23 to 26 October. Release Planner retires on 15 November 2026, the same day new Dataverse for Teams and unmanaged developer environments stop.

you probably need this if
  • A mandatory update goes in and by next morning a plug-in or a form script has stopped working.
  • Each region configured Dynamics 365 its own way and the reports no longer line up.
  • Security roles have grown until nobody can say who sees which accounts.
terms on this page Dataverse for TeamsdefinitionThe small database Teams sets up for a team the first time someone there builds an app or agent. You get one per team, and it stops at 2 GB.explained in a field note →DataversedefinitionThe full Power Platform database. You get auditing, API access, model-driven apps and the rest, but it eats into your paid storage and needs Power Platform licences.explained in a field note →environmentdefinitionThe thing that holds a set of apps, flows and agents plus their database. Admins see one per team in the list when it's Dataverse for Teams.explained in a field note →sandboxdefinitionA non-production copy of your system that people test and train on. It eats into your storage just like production does.explained in a field note →
Ask an engineer facts checked 2026-11-03
how it runs
  1. 01Environment and customization review
  2. 02Security model from the org chart
  3. 03Early access testing
  4. 04Data and integration
  5. 05Cut-over and handover
you keep
  • An early access test plan for each environment, and the results from every update we ran it against
  • Security role matrix mapped to business units and Entra ID groups
  • A list of every plug-in and flow, who owns it, and how likely the next update is to break it
+ 2 more documents
who does it
Dynamics 365 CE functional consultantDynamics 365 CE developer (plug-ins, PCF)Finance and operations developer who writes X++ extensions Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Customer Service Functional Consultant Associate Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Developer Associate
platforms
proof
8 case studies on this
background
Time to get under Copy, restoreblocked Sandboxadmin-only Sandboxdisabled Day 0 Day 90
field note · 15 minDynamics 365 storage limits start to bite on 9 November: what gets blocked, how to get out
dynamics-365 · release timeline
  1. 23 Oct 2026 October 2026 release deployed The October 2026 release (database version 9.2.26093) reached North America on 23 to 26 October 2026. GCC, DoD and China environments got it on 30 October to 2 November. The update can't be postponed, so the early access sandbox was the only place to catch breaks ahead of it.
  2. 30 Oct 2026 Sales Close Agent and service forecasting retired Microsoft removed the last Sales Close Agent instances on 30 October 2026 and points sellers to the Sales Development agent. Customer Service lost its case and conversation volume forecasting the same day. Whoever planned staffing from those numbers now has to set up forecast scenarios in workforce engagement management.
  3. today · Nov 09, 2026
  4. 15 Nov 2026ahead Release Planner retires, roadmap goes continuous Microsoft stopped publishing twice-yearly release plans in September 2026, and new features now go straight onto the AI at Work roadmap. Release Planner retires on 15 November 2026. Message Center still carries the notices for your own tenant, so check who actually reads them.
  5. 30 Nov 2026ahead Record copresence and AI app descriptions end On 30 November 2026 model-driven apps stop showing who else has a record open, and the button that writes app descriptions with AI goes too. Tell the sales and service teams that edit the same records, because they'll be the ones asking.
  6. 1 Dec 2026ahead Omnichannel dashboards lose support Supervisors still watching the old Omnichannel dashboards in Copilot Service workspace have until 1 December 2026, when support stops. Microsoft wants agents working from the inbox and supervisors on the real-time analytics report. Rebuild the views your leads check every morning before then.
  7. 15 Dec 2026ahead Unmanaged developer environments are going away From 15 November 2026 nobody can create an unmanaged developer environment, and the free Power Apps Developer Plan stops creating one. Existing ones are suspended from 15 December 2026 and deleted from 15 January 2027. Export the solutions your makers built there, or convert the environment to a managed one if their licences allow it.
  8. 15 Sep 2027ahead Dataverse for Teams environments deprecated New Dataverse for Teams environments can't be created after 15 November 2026. Any that haven't been upgraded to full Dataverse are suspended on 15 September 2027 and decommissioned on 30 October 2027, apps and data included. Upgrading moves their storage onto your Dataverse capacity and needs proper Power Platform licences, so put both in next year's budget.
  9. 10 Jan 2031ahead On-premises 9.1 support extended to 2031 Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement on-premises 9.1 now has mainstream support until 13 January 2029 and extended support until 10 January 2031. Version 9.0 lost support on 12 July 2023 and gets no security updates. If a server still runs 9.0, it needs 9.1 and the latest cumulative update before anything else.
the story · microsoft dynamics 365 estate

From the first call to a setup your own team can run.

Here's what usually prompts a call about your Microsoft Dynamics 365 estate, what we do about it and in which order, and where you end up.

  1. chapter 01 · where it hurts

    Why teams reach out

    • A mandatory update goes in and by next morning a plug-in or a form script has stopped working.
    • Each region configured Dynamics 365 its own way and the reports no longer line up.
    • Security roles have grown until nobody can say who sees which accounts.
  2. chapter 02 · what we change

    How we solve it

    • Customer engagement implementation
    • Finance and operations apps
    • Update readiness
    • Dataverse and integration
    • Security roles and identity
    • CRM migration
  3. chapter 03 · how it runs

    Our approach

    • Environment and customization review
    • Security model from the org chart
    • Early access testing
    • Data and integration
    • Cut-over and handover
  4. chapter 04 · where you end up

    What changes

    • Sales and service work online, on a supported version.
    • Each update passes the regression scripts before its weekend.
    • An early access test plan for each environment, and the results from every update we ran it against
    • Security role matrix mapped to business units and Entra ID groups
what we do

Our Microsoft Dynamics 365 work

6 kinds of Microsoft Dynamics 365 work, each run by engineers who have done it on live tenants.

  1. We set up Dynamics 365 Sales and Customer Service around your pipeline stages, queues and service levels. Model-driven app forms are laid out so people can actually work in them.

  2. Configuration and extensions for Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management, with integrations to the systems that feed and consume ledger data.

  3. Early access environments used to test each mandatory update against your plug-ins, flows and integrations, with Message Center notices tracked for each environment.

  4. Data model design in Dataverse, plus integration with Salesforce, Snowflake or Microsoft Fabric through Dataverse APIs, virtual tables or Fabric links.

  5. Business units, security roles and teams designed from your org chart, with users provisioned from Entra ID groups instead of by hand.

  6. Moves from Salesforce, older Dynamics CRM on-premises versions or homegrown systems, with data mapping, test loads and a rehearsed cut-over.

capability 01 / 06in production

Customer engagement implementation

We set up Dynamics 365 Sales and Customer Service around your pipeline stages, queues and service levels. Model-driven app forms are laid out so people can actually work in them.

talk to an engineer about this →
capability 02 / 06in production

Finance and operations apps

Configuration and extensions for Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management, with integrations to the systems that feed and consume ledger data.

talk to an engineer about this →
capability 03 / 06in production

Update readiness

Early access environments used to test each mandatory update against your plug-ins, flows and integrations, with Message Center notices tracked for each environment.

talk to an engineer about this →
capability 04 / 06in production

Dataverse and integration

Data model design in Dataverse, plus integration with Salesforce, Snowflake or Microsoft Fabric through Dataverse APIs, virtual tables or Fabric links.

talk to an engineer about this →
capability 05 / 06in production

Security roles and identity

Business units, security roles and teams designed from your org chart, with users provisioned from Entra ID groups instead of by hand.

talk to an engineer about this →
capability 06 / 06in production

CRM migration

Moves from Salesforce, older Dynamics CRM on-premises versions or homegrown systems, with data mapping, test loads and a rehearsed cut-over.

talk to an engineer about this →
typical situations

Microsoft Dynamics 365 situations we walk into

We pieced these together from Microsoft Dynamics 365 situations that come up a lot. They're patterns. You won't find a specific client in them.

case file 01

On-premises CRM with 300 plug-in steps and source nobody can find

composite · not a client story
  1. Beforethe situation

    Sales and service still run on an older Dynamics CRM on-premises version with about 300 registered plug-in steps, some compiled from code nobody can find. The hardware lease ends next year, and the move online keeps slipping.

  2. What we dothe work

    We decompile and inventory the plug-ins, then sort each into keep, replace with Power Automate, or drop. Test loads run into a Dynamics 365 sandbox, security roles are rebuilt from the org chart, and cutover is rehearsed with a timed data load.

  3. Afterwhere you end up

    Sales and service work online, on a supported version. Every plug-in that survived has its source in a repo and someone who answers for it, so a mandatory update now means a test run in the sandbox.

case file 02

Mandatory updates keep hitting the weekend before month-end

composite · not a client story
  1. Beforethe situation

    A Dynamics 365 Customer Service deployment with a dozen integrations has twice taken a mandatory update the weekend before month-end and spent days fixing integrations. No sandbox is on early access, and Message Center notices go to a shared mailbox.

  2. What we dothe work

    We put a sandbox copy on early access and script regression tests for the plug-ins, flows and integrations that broke last time. Message Center notices for each environment go to named owners. Every update needs a test sign-off before its scheduled weekend.

  3. Afterwhere you end up

    Each update passes the regression scripts before its weekend. The Message Center notice now goes straight to the owners. It used to sit in a shared mailbox until someone found it.

case studies

Microsoft Dynamics 365 case studies

All case studies
migration CRM, ITSM and automation

Self-hosted Dynamics CRM to Dynamics 365 online, where Microsoft runs the servers

Hosting Dynamics CRM yourself or with a partner keeps you on the on-premises product and its support dates. We move 9.x orgs to Dynamics 365 online.

read the case study
migration Identity and access

On-premises Active Directory to cloud-first Microsoft Entra ID

We shrink on-premises Active Directory one application at a time, moving groups, users and app authentication to Microsoft Entra ID as each app is ready.

read the case study
upgrade Identity and access

Moving Auth0 Rules and Hooks to Actions before Auth0 switches them off

Moving Auth0 Rules and Hooks to Actions before Hooks stop on 30 April 2027 and Rules on 31 January 2028, with token claims checked before and after each change.

read the case study
migration ERP and HCM

Dynamics AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations

We take AX 2012 R2 or R3 systems to Dynamics 365 finance and operations apps, and the code, data, attachments and integrations come across with them.

read the case study
implementation Identity and access

Homegrown customer login to Auth0 or Okta Customer Identity

We swap homegrown customer login and its user table for Auth0, move users without forcing password resets, and keep the CRM records in sync.

read the case study
migration CRM, ITSM and automation

Replacing a homegrown or Siebel CRM nobody wants to touch with Salesforce or Dynamics 365

Outgrown a homegrown or Siebel CRM? We move its business rules, data and integrations to Salesforce or Dynamics 365, one business unit at a time.

read the case study
approach

How a Microsoft Dynamics 365 engagement runs

We don't start a step until the last one has produced something you can check.

  1. step 01

    Environment and customization review

    We go environment by environment, listing solutions, plug-ins, JavaScript, Power Automate flows and integrations, and flag whatever is unmanaged or unowned.

  2. step 02

    Security model from the org chart

    We design business units and security roles together with Entra ID group teams, so that group membership decides access, where tickets used to.

  3. step 03

    Early access testing

    Each mandatory update goes on a sandbox through early access first. We run your plug-ins, flows and integrations against it and fix what breaks, before Microsoft reaches production.

  4. step 04

    Data and integration

    Dataverse tables get linked to Fabric or your warehouse. For the finance and operations apps we use dual-write or the Dataverse APIs, whichever suits the data flow.

  5. step 05

    Cut-over and handover

    We rehearse migrations as test loads before the real thing. Admins are left with a saved roadmap filter and a monthly change review, and runbooks for common fixes.

ai on microsoft dynamics 365

Where AI fits on Microsoft Dynamics 365, and where it needs guardrails.

Copilot is Microsoft's AI in Dynamics 365, built into Sales and Customer Service, and the Sales agent in Microsoft Copilot is taking over as the main seller experience. Dataverse can act as an MCP server too. Copilot can't see a record the signed-in user can't open, so the engineering work is security roles, licensing and Copilot credit costs.

AI agentasks for data or an action
Scoped identityonly the access it needs
MCP serverthe one door into the platform
Logged, approveda person signs off on writes
Microsoft Dynamics 365does the work

Microsoft publishes a Dataverse MCP server for Dynamics 365 data. Admins turn it on per environment and allow clients such as Copilot Studio, GitHub Copilot or Claude. Agents act with the user's Dataverse security roles. Delete tools need explicit approval. For us the extra work is dedicated identities for autonomous agents, and tracking credit use.

Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales

Copilot summarizes leads, opportunities and accounts. It preps sellers for meetings, drafts emails and answers from SharePoint documents, using only records the signed-in user can already open. Licensing depends on the Sales plan. For us the first job is reviewing security roles before rollout, since Copilot will surface whatever a role allows.

Sales agent in Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft calls the Sales agent the evolution of Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales and says it'll become the preferred way to get Copilot help in the app. For us that means planning the switch with sellers and admins, then testing on the same records and roles as before.

Dataverse MCP server

Dataverse serves MCP at your org's /api/mcp URL. Its tools search and query records, and can create or update them. Admins turn it on per environment and pick the clients allowed to connect. For us the thing to watch is billing. Since 15 December 2025, agents built outside Copilot Studio are charged Copilot credits unless users hold Dynamics 365 Premium or Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses.

Copilot changes on the AI at Work roadmap

New Dynamics 365 capabilities, Copilot features included, don't arrive in release waves anymore. They're published continuously on the AI at Work roadmap. We keep a filtered view of it per app and test every mandatory update in an early access sandbox first.

architecture

Where Dynamics 365 sits: Entra ID on one side, Fabric on the other

Nobody gets into Dynamics 365 unless an Entra ID group says so, and Exchange syncs their email and appointments. Records live in Dataverse. Fabric pulls them for reports, and when something needs follow-up, a Power Automate flow picks it up.

Where Dynamics 365 sits: Entra ID on one side, Fabric on the other Nobody gets into Dynamics 365 unless an Entra ID group says so, and Exchange syncs their email and appointments. Records live in Dataverse. Fabric pulls them for reports, and when something needs follow-up, a Power Automate flow picks it up. 01 · IDENTITY AND MICROSOFT 365 02 · DYNAMICS 365 03 · ANALYTICS AND AUTOMATION group teams server-side sync records dual-write Link to Fabric row triggers Ex Entra ID security groups · SSO Exchange Online email · appointments D365 Sales and CustomerService model-driven apps ·plug-ins Finance and Supply Chain ledger · inventory Dataverse tables · security roles Fb Microsoft Fabric OneLake · Power BI PP Power Automate approvals ·notifications © Cohash · cohash.com
01 · IDENTITY AND MICROSOFT 36502 · DYNAMICS 36503 · ANALYTICS AND AUTOMATION Entra ID: security groups · SSO Entra ID security groups ·SSO Exchange Online: email · appointments Exchange Online email ·appointments Sales and Customer Service: model-driven apps · plug-ins Sales andCustomerService model-drivenapps · plug-ins Finance and Supply Chain: ledger · inventory Finance andSupply Chain ledger ·inventory Dataverse: tables · security roles Dataverse tables ·security roles Microsoft Fabric: OneLake · Power BI MicrosoftFabric OneLake · Power BI Power Automate: approvals · notifications Power Automate approvals ·notifications group teams server-side sync Link to Fabric row triggers © Cohash · cohash.com
use cases

Typical Microsoft Dynamics 365 projects

The work teams usually bring us, and the platforms Microsoft Dynamics 365 has to talk to while we do it.

  1. DYN-01 Mandatory updates go in and a plug-in or form script breaks the next morning common request
  2. DYN-02 Sales and service teams in each region use Dynamics their own way, so the reports don't match common request
  3. DYN-03 Security roles have grown until no one knows who can see what common request
  4. DYN-04 The old on-premises Dynamics CRM server needs replacing, and nobody wants to buy new hardware common request
  5. DYN-05 Dynamics data has to reach Fabric or Snowflake, and someone exports it by hand every week common request
  6. DYN-06 Makers built apps in Dataverse for Teams or a developer environment, and those are being retired common request
Microsoft Dynamics 365 · connected platforms
Microsoft Power PlatformMicrosoft FabricMicrosoft Entra IDSalesforceSnowflake
you keep

What a Microsoft Dynamics 365 engagement leaves behind

These are working documents, written against your configuration, so your team can run them without us.

  • tests01

    An early access test plan for each environment, and the results from every update we ran it against

    yours to keep
  • document02

    Security role matrix mapped to business units and Entra ID groups

    yours to keep
  • inventory03

    A list of every plug-in and flow, who owns it, and how likely the next update is to break it

    yours to keep
  • tests04

    Data migration mapping with reconciliation reports from each test load

    yours to keep
  • plan05

    One saved roadmap view per app you license, which your admins go through with us every month

    yours to keep
talent and delivery · microsoft dynamics 365

Certified engineers, wherever you need them.

Some clients want a project team, some want a couple of engineers on theirs. Either works. Onsite, nearshore or offshore, with handovers across time zones that keep things moving.

Onsite

Engineers at your sites in the US

Nearshore

Overlapping hours with US teams

Offshore

Overnight progress on your backlog

All time zones

Coverage handed over across time zones

24-hour coverage · US Central time
OnsiteUS business hours
Nearshoreoverlapping US hours
Offshoreovernight progress
Combinedhandover, not hand-off
certifications our engineers hold
  • Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Customer Service Functional Consultant AssociateMicrosoft
  • Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Developer AssociateMicrosoft
roles we staff
  • Dynamics 365 CE functional consultant
  • Dynamics 365 CE developer (plug-ins, PCF)
  • Finance and operations developer who writes X++ extensions
  • Dataverse integration developer
  • Dynamics 365 solution architect
  • Dynamics 365 data migration specialist
due diligence · microsoft dynamics 365

Questions to ask any partner, including us.

Put these to anyone bidding on your Microsoft Dynamics 365 work. The ones who've done it answer differently from the ones who've read about it.

  1. Q1

    Release Planner retires on 15 November 2026. How will we track Dynamics 365 changes after that?

    New capabilities now go on the AI at Work roadmap, and Microsoft says tenant notices stay in Message Center. Somebody needs to own a filtered view per app and run a review every month.

  2. Q2

    Which plug-ins and flows do you retest in early access before each update, and why those?

    Mandatory updates can't be postponed. The test list should come from what broke last time and what touches money or customers, not from the whole solution.

  3. Q3

    How do security roles end up following Entra ID groups, so nobody assigns them by hand?

    Roles assigned by hand drift every time someone changes teams. With group teams in Dataverse, membership follows Entra ID, and access reviews and leavers get a lot easier.

  4. Q4

    What's the test-load plan for the data migration, and how will we reconcile the counts?

    Migration problems show up as missing activities, broken ownership and duplicate accounts. Reconciliation reports per entity on every test load catch them before cutover.

  5. Q5

    Which of our integrations could be Fabric links or virtual tables, and save us maintaining custom code?

    Fewer custom integrations means less code for someone to babysit after each update. Fabric links and virtual tables have their own limits on latency and write-back, though, so decide one data flow at a time.

01How do we keep track of Dynamics 365 changes now that release plans are going away?

Microsoft is moving new features to the AI at Work roadmap, and says Message Center stays the source for tenant-specific change notices. We save a roadmap filter for the apps you license and go over it with your admins every month. We still test each mandatory update in an early access environment.

02Can we postpone a Dynamics 365 update?

No. Microsoft won't let you postpone the April and October releases. You can put a sandbox on early access and run your tests before your region's weekend, and we'd do that every time.

03Is Dynamics 365 on-premises still supported?

Version 9.1 is. Microsoft extended mainstream support to 13 January 2029 and extended support to 10 January 2031. Version 9.0 has been out of support since 12 July 2023, so a 9.0 server needs the 9.1 upgrade and the latest cumulative update first. After that the decision to move online is about cost and features, not a support deadline.

04We have apps in Dataverse for Teams and developer environments. Will we lose them?

New ones stop on 15 November 2026. Unmanaged developer environments are suspended from 15 December 2026 and deleted from 15 January 2027, while Dataverse for Teams environments last until suspension on 15 September 2027. We list them in the admin center, ask owners which ones matter, and either upgrade them or move their solutions to a sandbox.

05Should we choose Dynamics 365 or Salesforce?

Both work. It mostly comes down to how much of Microsoft 365, Azure and Entra ID you already run, what finance and ERP need, and which skills your team has. We set those against your requirements before recommending one.

06What drives the cost of a Dynamics 365 project?

Mostly the number of apps in scope, the amount of custom code, how many integrations you need and how much data you migrate. We estimate after a short discovery rather than quoting before we've seen your process.

07Can you integrate Dynamics 365 with Salesforce if we run both?

Yes. Which records move, and how often, decides the design. Common patterns are an integration platform that syncs accounts and contacts, or both systems publishing to a shared data platform. Before anything else we agree a system of record per entity, so updates don't loop.

services

Related services

Projects on Microsoft Dynamics 365 usually end up touching one of these, so they're worth a look.

you are hereMicrosoft Dynamics 365
fact-checked Checked against vendor and official documentation last checked 2026-11-03 content fingerprint e0677bb1
  1. 01Book a 30-minute working sessionsenior engineer
  2. 02Talk to an engineer about your setupreply within 24 hours
  3. 03See how similar projects wentcase studies
Reviewed by the Cohash team Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a trademark of its owner, used here to identify the platform. how we handle facts and data →
next step

Tell us what you're running. We'll tell you what we'd do first.

A 30-minute working session with a senior engineer. No slides.

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useful to bring
  • The platform and the version you're on
  • Where you need to get to, and by when
  • What's custom: rules, plugins, integrations
  • Any audit finding or deadline driving it