I am sure that many of you will have seen our recent articles on Copilot Cowork reaching general availability and the questions on cost control, security and governance which this is immediately raising for end customers.
For SoftwareOne’s Dynamics 365 solution partners, this moment represents a strong opportunity to take on a more strategic role in customer conversations. I spoke to our expert Jesper Østergaard—a specialist in Dynamics 365—and gained a wealth of insights which partners will be able to put work in building their Dynamics 365 practise.
The first thing to acknowledge is that, for many Dynamics 365 partners, AI is no longer a futuristic topic. It is already part of the customer conversation. Employees use AI to gain insights faster, draft content in seconds, and complete tasks that previously took significantly longer. With the advent of agentic solutions such as Cowork, this trend can only intensify. That is impressive. But there is also a challenge that appears repeatedly in many customer projects.
The AI intelligence is there. But it is still not closely enough connected to the way work actually gets done.
This is exactly where Dynamics 365 partners have a strong opportunity. Many companies already use AI in silos across teams and tools. But when work moves from sales to service, from finance to operations, or from procurement to vendor management, friction reappears. Insights do not automatically flow into the systems that manage contracts, finance, customer conversations, and operations. Too much time is still spent manually connecting processes and systems. It is a story many partners will recognise: the AI component works, but the surrounding system architecture has not kept pace.
Microsoft’s latest Work Trend Index reinforces this picture. The report is based on a survey of 20,000 AI users across 10 countries as well as an analysis of trillions of productivity signals. Today, 49% of all Microsoft 365 Copilot conversations support cognitive work such as analysis, problem solving, and evaluation, and 58% of AI users say they produce work they could not have delivered a year ago.
In short, people are working faster and with greater range than before.
At the same time, 65% feel increasing pressure to accelerate even further, while only about one in four see clear leadership alignment around AI. This makes the topic highly relevant for partner leaders, sellers, and business consultants: customers are ready for the next step, but many organisations still lack an operating model that can turn AI into connected processes and measurable impact.
The paradox is clear: employees are moving faster than their organisations’ processes and system landscapes allow.
This is often due to something very basic: many business systems are designed for a world where people themselves move work from application to application. Every handoff, every tab switch, and every re-entry of data creates friction. When AI is layered on top of fragmented systems, output becomes faster but coordination across the company does not necessarily become faster or better.
That is exactly why Dynamics 365 has become a much more strategic conversation for partners than it was just a year ago.
Microsoft positions Dynamics 365 as a system of action: not only a place where data is stored, but a platform where employees and agents can work together across shared data and processes. For Dynamics 365 solution partners, this is an important shift in the value story. The conversation is no longer only about implementing modules, but about how sales, service, finance, procurement, and supply chain can be more tightly connected through AI-supported workflows.
With Copilot Cowork and Dynamics 365 plug-ins, the connection between these processes changes significantly, giving early customers the opportunity to connect business data and actions directly into the Cowork experience.
Copilot Cowork is designed as a shared workspace where context follows from decision to action. For a business consultant, this could mean that a sourcing process no longer requires manual handoffs between emails, approvals, and ERP data. For a seller, it could mean that customer context, pipeline, open service cases, and the next recommended action are brought together in one place. For a partner leader, it creates a new opportunity to discuss ROI, productivity, and business value across solutions—not just features in a single system.
This also strengthens the partner sales conversation. Instead of selling AI solely as another tool, partners can position Dynamics 365 as the platform that creates coherence between AI, data, and operations. This is especially relevant in ERP and CRM scenarios, where customers often struggle with context switching, duplicate work, and limited visibility across teams.
The Work Trend Index already quoted points out that organisational factors have more than twice the impact on AI outcomes as individual factors. That means it is not enough to give users better tools. Workflows need to be redesigned across people, agents, and systems. This is exactly where the SoftwareOne solution partners can play an advisory role with a focus on business, process, and platform.
That is the value Dynamics 365 and Copilot Cowork can deliver together: connecting data, automating coordination, and freeing up time for the decisions that actually move the business forward.
It also does not stop with Microsoft’s own applications. Plug-ins and connectors can bring data and actions in from partner systems and third-party platforms. Microsoft has stated that Copilot Cowork in Frontier is also being expanded with integrations for the London Stock Exchange, Miro, monday.com, and S&P Global Energy. For partners, this opens up an important conversation about how customers’ existing system landscapes can be connected more tightly around specific work processes.
The direction is clear: partners who help customers see AI as a systems challenge rather than just a user productivity tool will gain a stronger market position. For leaders, it is about shaping a clear AI narrative. For sellers, it is about translating the technology into customer challenges and business outcomes. And for business consultants, it is about identifying the processes where Dynamics 365 and Copilot Cowork can create the most coherence, the least friction, and the fastest value realisation.
The question, therefore, is not only what AI can do for your customers’ employees. It is whether your customers’ systems and processes are ready to turn this new capacity into real business value.
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We’re Microsoft experts. Tell us if you’d like actionable insights on Dynamics 365 and we’ll get right back to you.
We’re Microsoft experts. Tell us if you’d like actionable insights on Dynamics 365 and we’ll get right back to you.
