Microsoft to introduce two new Dynamics 365 apps: Project Operations, Finance Insights

Microsoft plans to launch Dynamics 365 Project Operations in October 2020 as a replacement for Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation (PSA). That reveal, plus the announcement of a new financial analysis tool and updates to a range of other analytics and AI apps, come from Microsoft's James Phillips in a new blog post.

D365 Project Operations will bring together capabilities from Microsoft Project and existing Dynamics 365 solutions (including PSA), and Microsoft promises to draw on existing expertise and product capabilities across "front and back office, as well as project management" to deliver "the visibility, collaboration, and insight needed" by project teams for better operations, according to Phillips, who now holds the job title of "President, Microsoft Business Applications".

Microsoft began making important updates to PSA in 2019 to use Microsoft Project's project planning capabilities like Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Gantt, and task scheduling. Microsoft MVP Kuldeep Gupta offered a first look at these updates in December. 

D365 PSA customers can continue to use their solution, but a Microsoft spokesperson told MSDW that customers will eventually have to transition from PSA to Project Operations: