Considering an Alternative to Email Notifications in Dynamics CRM Using Microsoft Flow

One of the most common requirements that I’ve encountered across all of my CRM implementations is the need for automatic e-mail notifications. That is, upon the trigger of various events, such as creation, status change, or deletion of an Account, Contact, or Opportunity, appropriate users in the organization need to receive an automatic e-mail notification.

With all the emails already sent back and forth cluttering up the Inbox, I know I personally could do without the extra ones generated by a Dynamics CRM System.

But what if you could just receive a push notification on your phone instead? Well, using Microsoft Flow—Microsoft’s new cloud-based workflow engine—you can! Not only that, you can do it quickly, and simply without a single line of code.

Microsoft Flow

Just released to the public on November 1^st, using Microsoft Flow’s connection to Dynamics CRM Online is easy as pie. The authentication is automatically handled via Office 365, meaning once you log into Office 365, Flow, and CRM Online, Flow will automatically recognize your available CRM Organizations.

The Drag and Drop Workflow designer allows events such as Create, Read, and Update to be set up as triggers. Similar to the CRM Out of the Box Workflow Designer, there are conditions that can be set up as well.

However, while CRM’s workflow designer only allows for actions to occur in CRM, Flow currently supports 50+ services and many different actions for each service.

Triggering a Push Notification

Here’s a simple example: if an Opportunity is created with estimated revenue of over $200,000, Flow can send a push notification with some the details of that Opportunity.

To do this, all that needs to be done is the following:

1. Set up the workflow in the designer (as seen below)
   
2. Publish
3. Install the flow app on your phone, and you’re ready to rock! Create an opportunity in CRM to see the magic happen!

Conclusions

Microsoft Flow has certainly left a positive impression on me. It’s a workflow engine that connects previously disparate systems and devices and employs a codeless designer to implement business logic. It’s a great application by Microsoft that illustrates Microsoft’s cloud first and mobile first strategy. I’m really looking forward to seeing some more creative implementations in the future.

If your organization’s lagging behind on premise, it may be time to seriously consider taking the steps to move to O365 and the cloud. Contact FMT today!