Dynamics 365 Solution Architect, Olena Grischenko, talks about Power Platform and OpenAI

Data has become an indispensable part of every business operation in the digital age. With businesses relying heavily on data-driven insights, it has become crucial to have data visualization and analysis tools to provide accurate insights. Thanks to its user-friendly interface and powerful features, Power Platform has become a popular choice for many businesses.

To help you get on with the most accurate information on Microsoft Business Solutions, we invite experts from the industry to our section "Influencer Insights."

Today, we have an extremely talented Dynamics 365 consultant, Olena Grischenko, to shed light on the Cloud's capabilities and the Power Platform's applications.

Let Us Quickly Get To Our Expert’s Point Of View.

Question 1- What, according to you, are some of the top Microsoft technology trends to watch out for in 2023?

You know, I can't avoid saying Open AI. I'm not sure if it's a terrible thing or a good thing, but it's a trend. It is important to use it to solve problems like any other technology. I mean, generating digital is not the kind of problem we want to solve as a priority. For me, as my focus is mainly around these topics, it's about job opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds, gender equality, career change, and career start. How can it be solved with the help of AI?

Low code speeding up development and citizen development-boosting personal productivity are two of my favorite topics. So, Power Platform is the answer to both. I believe it stays trendy and, most importantly, helps solve or improve the situation in the abovementioned areas. Watching people get excited about automating their day-to-day business processes makes me want to spend more time helping them start and support their work by setting up the foundation and safe and stable workspace. Taking care of Admin and Governance for low-code platforms will become a priority for organizations choosing Power Platform for pro- and citizen development.

Despite hearing "people are turning back to on-premises," I don't see it's happening. Azure is the backbone of the Power Platform for data, integrations, identity, security, and DevOps. Combining low code with Azure services allows us to design and build any solution of any level of complexity to satisfy customer requirements. We can build faster, for less cost engaging more people in the process for better outcomes.

Question 2: What opportunities would you be looking at this year?

My business focuses on supporting people willing to use Microsoft technologies for good. On-premises mindsets need to upskill. People need to breathe Cloud and think Cloud. My role is to help them to start. Power Platform has enormous potential.

We need a better foundation and better support for makers. I am focusing on helping organizations to implement a Center of Excellence, Microsoft framework for Power Platform adoption. I work on the same with my community; helping people start and re-start their careers around Microsoft technologies is a significant and challenging task, but I am not afraid of challenges.

Question 3: Would you like to share some tips on Power BI implementation?

As much as we all like colorful visuals, the biggest challenge with Power BI in larger organizations is developing a data strategy that satisfies all parties. How do we label data, who owns it, and how do we control and guarantee data privacy and security? Even though they are all complex topics, I am afraid there are no shortcuts.

Question 4: What is the potential for Microsoft Partners in Australia?

I understand it's a sensitive topic now and always. I wish Microsoft would give smaller partners more opportunities to be recognized for the effort and value supplied. Even mid-size partners need help to get recognition for Power Platform implementations. For example, you need 200+ user licenses for Dynamics 365 F&O. We have less than that, but that doesn't mean it's unimportant.

For government projects, my area of expertise could be a small implementation but not insignificant. Here I am talking about working with mid-size partners for my company, which is small, and I am not even trying. It looks like more work is to be done here. I appreciate Microsoft's willingness to discuss and improve the situation.

Question 5: How can we leverage Microsoft 365 and Power Apps for improved collaboration?

First, we enable the existing platform capabilities and let people use what's already available to them. They quickly pick up and do what we need to do. For this, we need IT (Information Technology) and Operations on board to ensure they feel comfortable supporting the platform. Making sure customers understand the platform capabilities and benefits available to them via purchased licenses and add-ons.

We have issues here, especially in larger organizations. Multiple licenses with overlapping capabilities paralyzed the IT department struggling to keep up with changes. The only way to handle it as they see it is to restrict platform usage. To stop this from happening, we need to make sure we put governance in place, we put monitoring and alerts, and we set up all the support processes automating it where we can.

Get to Know Our Influencer

What is the best event that you attended recently? What were your key takeaways?

To be honest, I don't have much time for events these days except for the one I present on. We've got an awesome user group in Sydney for Power Platform CoE (Centre of Excellence).

From global events, my favorites are Microsoft Build and Microsoft Ignite. Looking forward to attending both events virtually if it's allowed this year.

What's your success mantra?

"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." - Confucius