Microsoft offers several ticketing and support systems for reporting issues, requesting help, and managing tasks. The main ticketing systems used by Microsoft are Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Microsoft Azure DevOps.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform that allows organizations to track customer cases and service tickets. Within Dynamics 365 Customer Service, users can create, monitor, escalate, and resolve cases or tickets from a centralized system.
Some key features of Dynamics 365 Customer Service include:
– Case management – Track, prioritize, and manage customer support tickets.
– Knowledge base – Create a searchable database of support articles and resolution steps that agents can leverage.
– Customer profiling – Maintain complete customer records with details like contact info, communications, case history, and more.
– Reporting and analytics – Gain insights into case metrics like case volume, resolution times, agent workload, and more.
– Omnichannel engagement – Support customers across multiple channels like phone, email, chat, social media, and self-service.
– Automation – Streamline case management with rules-based automation and AI.
– Integration – Connect with other business systems like CRM, ERP, and productivity tools.
As a core component of Microsoft’s Power Platform, Dynamics 365 Customer Service tightly integrates with other Microsoft cloud services like Azure, Office 365, and Power BI. This allows organizations to connect Customer Service with their existing Microsoft solutions.
Microsoft Azure DevOps
Azure DevOps Services provides developer services including high-performance build/release pipelines, free private Git repositories, configurable Kanban boards, and extensive automated and cloud-based load testing.
Within Azure DevOps, issues, bugs, tasks, and action items can be tracked using the Work Items system. Work items allow development teams to track the lifecycle of work from ideation to completion. Common uses for work items include:
– Tracking development tasks and features
– Reporting application bugs or defects
– Managing support tickets and requests
– Capturing operational/process issues or improvements
Key features of Azure DevOps work items include:
– Customizable work item types – Track different types of work like bugs, tasks, user stories, features, etc.
– Kanban boards – Visualize work on Kanban boards and move items through defined workflows.
– Reporting and automation – Create reports and dashboards and set up triggers or events based on work item changes.
– Integration – Connect work items to Git repositories, builds, tests cases, and other ALM components.
– APIs and extensibility – Integrate with external systems programmatically using REST APIs.
– Agile support – Built-in Scrum and Agile tools to plan and track sprints and backlogs.
In summary, Dynamics 365 Customer Service provides a dedicated customer support ticketing system, while Azure DevOps provides a flexible work item tracking system for development teams to track tickets alongside other types of work.
Key Differences Between Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Azure DevOps Work Items
While Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Azure DevOps can both be used for ticketing, there are some key differences between the two platforms:
Purpose
– Dynamics 365 is primarily a customer service and CRM platform optimized for managing customer support cases.
– Azure DevOps is focused on application lifecycle management for development teams, with work items being one of many integrated tools.
User Experience
– Dynamics 365 provides an intuitive, customizable portal for agents to manage customer tickets.
– Azure DevOps provides a flexible system of boards and backlogs focused on development workflows. The interface is more technical compared to Dynamics 365.
Customization
– Dynamics 365 allows for easier customization of fields, forms, and views for customer service scenarios.
– Azure DevOps provides more customization for software development processes out of the box. Customizing for customer support requires more configuration.
Integration and Extensibility
– Dynamics 365 seamlessly integrates CRM data with support tickets. Extending functionality requires learning Dynamics 365 APIs.
– Azure DevOps offers deeper integration with developer tools and APIs for customization. Integrating CRM data requires more upfront work.
Reporting and Analytics
– Dynamics 365 has built-in customer service analytics and dashboards for KPI monitoring.
– Azure DevOps analytics are focused on development metrics. Customer service reporting requires customization.
Cost
– Dynamics 365 is sold as a monthly subscription with higher pricing tiers.
– Azure DevOps has a free tier with unlimited private repos for up to 5 users. Paid tiers provide additional features.
In general, Dynamics 365 Customer Service is oriented for customer support scenarios, while Azure DevOps provides greater out-of-the-box capabilities for software development teams.
Using Dynamics 365 Customer Service for Ticketing
For organizations focused purely on customer support ticketing within the Microsoft ecosystem, Dynamics 365 Customer Service is likely the best choice. Here are some best practices for using Dynamics 365 for managing support tickets:
Set up support roles and security
Configure proper security roles like Support Agent, Supervisor, Manager, etc. with appropriate access levels. Define groups, assign roles, and set hierarchical security.
Customize ticket record fields
Determine the key fields needed to track ticket details. Customize the main Case form with appropriate text boxes, choice fields, check boxes, and lookups.
Create business process flows
Use business process flows to define the stages of your support process like New, Active, Waiting, Resolved, Closed, etc. Configure conditional logic when moving between stages.
Leverage automation and AI
Automate repetitive tasks like ticket assignment and probabilistically route cases using AI. This improves efficiency and consistency.
Offer self-service options
Provide a Knowledge Base, communities, and chatbots to deflect common inquiries from agents. Integrate Power Virtual Agents to enable natural language interactions.
Set up reporting and analytics
Track KPIs like case volume, first contact resolution, workload, sentiment, and CSAT. Build dashboards and dig deeper into the data.
Enable omnichannel engagement
Meet customers on their preferred channels by integrating email, live chat, SMS, and social media with Dynamics 365. Unify data across channels.
Integrate with other business systems
Connect Dynamics 365 to other Microsoft apps like Office 365, SharePoint, Power BI, and Azure. Leverage Power Automate to integrate with other core business systems.
Continuously optimize
Keep improving the customer experience by gathering feedback, monitoring data trends, streamlining processes, and investing in tools like gamification, coaching, and quality management.
By following these best practices, organizations can realize the full potential of Dynamics 365 Customer Service for streamlining support operations and providing exceptional customer experiences.
Using Azure DevOps Work Items for Ticketing
For technology and development teams using Azure DevOps that also need to track customer tickets, leveraging the flexible work item system is a solid option. Here are some tips for using Azure DevOps work items for customer support ticketing:
Create a “Support Ticket” work item type
Start by creating a custom work item type for support tickets. Add key fields like ticket number, title, customer name, status, priority, description, affected product version, etc.
Create a dedicated “Support” team
To isolate support tickets from development work items, set up a separate team in Azure DevOps called “Support” and configure permissions.
Build support workflows
Use the boards functionality to create Kanban boards for support processes like New, Active, Waiting, Resolved, Closed. Map the workflow states to work item fields.
Configure quick actions
Speed up common tasks by setting up quick actions to quickly change fields, assign tickets, move columns, and more with one click.
Customize support forms
Tailor the default form layouts by highlighting key fields, removing unnecessary fields, and optimizing for support agents.
Create ticket views
Build custom work item queries to filter ticket lists for new tickets, active tickets, resolved tickets, tickets by product, and other views as needed.
Use @mentions for assignments
When assigning tickets, @mention agents to notify them and add details through threaded comments.
Set up reports and dashboards
Build reports using the Analytics service to track support KPIs and performance metrics. Display trends on dashboards.
Integrate with other systems
Use REST APIs to connect support tickets with CRM systems, knowledge bases, and other data sources to enrich tickets.
Leverage extensions and customization
Take advantage of Azure DevOps extensibility to integrate with other apps. Develop custom extensions specific to your support workflow needs.
With some strategic configuration, Azure DevOps provides a free and scalable option for managing customer support tickets within a centralized ALM platform.
Key Considerations When Choosing a Ticketing System
When evaluating Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Azure DevOps work items, or any other ticketing systems, some key factors to consider include:
Ease of use
The system should have an intuitive, user-friendly interface that allows agents to quickly manage tickets.
Ticket lifecycle management
The system should provide the ability to easily track tickets from initial creation to final resolution.
Customization and workflows
The tool should enable custom fields, forms, views, automation rules, and business process workflows.
Reporting and analytics
Robust reporting functionality is needed to extract key ticket metrics and identify trends.
Omnichannel support
The system should allow managing and tracking tickets from multiple channels like email, chat, voice, self-service, mobile, etc.
Integration capabilities
APIs and integration tools should be provided to connect with CRM, ITSM, and other enterprise systems.
Self-service options
Capabilities like knowledge bases, communities, and chatbots can help deflect common cases from agents.
Security and compliance
The system should meet key organizational governance, security, and compliance standards.
Evaluating these key criteria will help identify the right ticketing platform based on the specific needs and use cases of your support organization.
Comparing Key Features of Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Azure DevOps Work Items
Dynamics 365 Customer Service | Azure DevOps Work Items | |
---|---|---|
Purpose | Customer support and ticketing | Application development lifecycle management |
Interface and experience | Intuitive portal customized for agents | Highly customizable boards and backlogs |
Ticket management | Robust case management capabilities | Flexible work tracking with custom workflows |
Reporting and analytics | Built-in CSAT, KPIs, and dashboards | Highly customizable using Analytics service |
Omnichannel support | Native omnichannel engagement tools | Requires integration with external channels |
Self-service options | Knowledge base, chatbots, and communities | Limited native self-service capabilities |
Integration and extensibility | CRM integration out of the box. APIs for customization. | Deep integration across ALM. APIs and extensions. |
Cost | Subscription model with pricing tiers | Free tier plus paid upgrades |
Conclusion
In summary, Dynamics 365 Customer Service provides an purpose-built customer support ticketing solution with capabilities like case management, knowledge base, omnichannel engagement, and built-in reporting. Azure DevOps provides a more flexible work tracking system that can be customized for ticketing use cases, with deeper integration with developer tools.
When evaluating these two options, organizations should consider their primary use case, customization needs, out-of-the-box features, licensing costs, and existing infrastructure. For dedicated customer service teams, Dynamics 365 is likely the best choice. But for organizations using Azure DevOps for application development, leveraging work items for ticketing can be a convenient integrated option.
With the right configuration, both platforms can provide robust ticketing and support management capabilities. Assessing the specific needs of the organization and support processes will determine which solution is the optimal choice.