Guide to Provisioning Omnichannel for Dynamics 365

Omnichannel for Dynamics 365 Customer Service is the “Digital Contact Center as a Platform” service from Microsoft. It allows organizations to provide

Omnichannel for Dynamics 365 Customer Service is the “Digital Contact Center as a Platform” service from Microsoft. It allows organizations to provide consistent customer experiences whether the customer reaches out via phone, email, chat, or social media.

This guide will walk you through how to provision Omnichannel for your Dynamics 365 organization, from the initial setup to configuring channels for your team.

Understanding Omnichannel for Dynamics 365

First, let us understand what Omnichannel for Dynamics 365 Customer Service brings to your organization. It integrates various communication channels into a single platform, enabling your team to have a unified view of customer interactions. This integration improves the efficiency of your customer service team and enhances the overall customer experience by ensuring consistent service across all touchpoints.

Step 1: Check Your Prerequisites

Before provisioning Omnichannel, ensure your Dynamics 365 organization meets the necessary prerequisites:

Availability: Check availability of the offering in your geography here.
License Prerequisites: Your organization needs to have Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise or Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Plan. You need to then acquire “Dynamics 365 Customer Service Digitial Messaging Addin” or “Dynamics 365 Customer Service Digitial Voice Addin”. There is also a combined “Dynamics 365 Customer Service Digitial Messaging and Voice Addin”, which you can buy if you need both Messaging and Voice.
Environment: Omnichannel can be deployed in both Production and Sandbox environments. However, testing in a Sandbox environment is recommended before going live.

Step 2: Provisioning Omnichannel

Provisioning Omnichannel involves several steps, outlined below:

1. Navigate to the Power Platform Admin Center
Log in to the Power Platform Admin Center. You can use the link https://aka.ms/ppac.

2. Provision Omnichannel:
Navigate to “Resource” -> “Dynamics 365 apps”. Select “Omnichannel for Customer Service” and click on “Manage”. This takes you to the Omnichannel Provisioning Portal.

Tip: You can bookmark this URL for next time.

You'll need to select the environment you wish to provision Omnichannel for.
Agree to the terms and conditions and click ‘Provision'. Do make sure you have ‘System Administrator” role in the root business unit of this organization. This is because the Provisioning process involves solution installation.

If you see this error, “Selected environment must be a CRM environment with ‘Customer Service Hub' solution installed”, make sure you select an organization with Customer Service app deployed.

If you get this error, “To add this channel, you must have an active subscription to Dynamics 365 for Customer Service Chat or Digital Messaging”, check if you have the right licences. We have noticed that if you just bought the licence it takes few hours for the system to pull your latest license information. So you might want to try again later.

Step 3: Configure Channels

After provisioning Omnichannel, the next step is to configure the channels you want to use (e.g., chat, email, SMS). Here's how to get started:

1. Set Up Channels:
Go to the Omnichannel Administration app within your Dynamics 365 instance.
Choose the channels you wish to set up and follow the guided process to configure each one according to your needs.

2. Configure Work Streams:
Work streams dictate how different types of customer inquiries are routed to agents.
Create and configure work streams for each channel to ensure inquiries are routed based on priority, skill, or other criteria.

3. Define Agent Experience:
Customize the agent dashboard to ensure agents have the necessary information and tools at their fingertips.
Configure templates and scripts to help agents provide consistent and efficient service.

Step 4: Train Your Team

With Omnichannel provisioned and configured, it's essential to train your customer service team on how to use the platform effectively. This training should cover how to navigate the agent dashboard, manage conversations across different channels, and utilize any scripts or templates you've set up.

Conclusion

If you need someone with deep expertise in setting up Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise and Omnichannel, we have the right team for you!