Microsoft Corp. today announced a new program to assist customers in migrating their on-premises enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management apps into the cloud with artificial intelligence-powered insights.

During the company’s Inspire 2023 conference, Microsoft revealed AIM, or “Accelerate, Innovate, Move,” a new program designed to help get businesses into the cloud and embrace powerful artificial intelligence tools such as Dynamics 365 Copilot.

Dynamics 365 Copilot is an AI-powered assistant that uses OpenAI LP’s ChatGPT “generative AI” capability, which can understand natural speech written by users to generate new content on the fly based on business data. By adding the powerful AI Copilot to Dynamics 365, business users gained access to an assistant that can use their own data to give them the ability to summarize information, draft product details, produce charts and more.

With AIM, organizations will have a path to bring their on-premises processes into the cloud so that they can take advantage of AI-powered software such as Dynamics 365 Copilot in the cloud and more. With this solution, Microsoft said they will get access to migration advisers, expert assessments of their business, investment offers, tools and support.

“Organizations relying on on-premises applications will struggle to compete with peers embracing these AI-powered technologies in the cloud,” said Giovanni Mezgec, vice president of modern work and business applications at Microsoft. “It is paramount for companies to migrate their critical business processes to the cloud now.”

Businesses engaging with Microsoft’s on-premises businesses applications can quickly spin up into the cloud using AIM’s program. Its coverage includes a large range of Dynamic’s on-premises software such as Dynamics AX, Dynamics CRM, Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV, Dynamics SL and Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises.

Customers can begin with AIM assessments to set the groundwork for their migration into the cloud to adopt AI-powered technology. These assessments bring in partners and experts to help business customers understand the business value, expected outcomes and key steps needed to bring their on-premises applications into the cloud. This helps minimize the risks when the final stages of migration by providing a stable path forward.

When it comes time to make the migration into the cloud, AIM provides partners access to tools such as the Dynamics 365 Implementation Portal, which assists with the creation of the management and creation of cloud-based projects based on these recommendations and expert guidance.

Microsoft Sales Copilot brings generative AI assistant for sellers

Microsoft today also announced Sales Copilot, a new AI-based assistant designed to empower sellers to provide them the tools needed to increase their productivity and tailor their responses for every customer interaction to allow them to more easily close deals with relevant details.

With access to business data, Sales Copilot spans every tool a seller uses including Outlook, Teams and Dynamics 365. It also connects to CRM systems such as Salesforce. It’s designed to save sellers time by allowing them to ask questions about what previous interactions they’ve had with a customer, summarize product insights, automate email or meeting summaries, produce charts, generate consumer research and more.

Using this AI assistant, the company says, sellers can feel more prepared and confident when with real-time insights when they are making deals.

Microsoft launched Viva Sales in June 2022. It received its own AI assistant upgrade in February this year, and the company said that it has incorporated its capabilities into Sales Copilot. Microsoft’s internal teams have been using the AI assistant on sales. Early results have revealed that 85% of surveyed sellers that completing one or more tasks is faster and 70% stated that Sales Copilot helped them improve productivity.

The Copilot has access to data and insights from across an organization’s sales graph and can provide auto-generated summaries including status, progress and highlights of key changes inside Dynamics 365 Sales. A salesperson could use the Copilot to learn more about an opportunity such as the LinkedIn details of a key decision maker.

It could also be used to produce or refine emails quickly based on Dynamics 365 Sales data and Microsoft 365 graph. Because the assistant understands customers, products and current trends, it can provide details and research that is up to date and insightful, directly inside Dynamics 365 Sales where it’s most useful.

Users can also ask it to prepare for customer meetings with a summary view, including account information, recent notes, highlights of any issues or concerns and customer news from the web. With access to Outlook, Teams and Dynamics 365 Sales, it can also deliver additional context for the meeting to give superior tips on what may come up during the meeting given recent information.

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