As you recall from when we launched our public preview last May, this release is themed around creating compelling “Fan Engagement” solutions for the Media & Entertainment industries. It includes:
- A brand new Media-specific extension to the Common Data Model with over 65 new entities, each with enough rich attributes and relationships for quickly building powerful and flexible new business and consumer applications
- We have built 3 sample model-driven applications that help showcase specific workflows for Guest Management (Loyalty Programs, Fan Interests and Favorites, Categories, etc. ), Event and Venue Management (Facilities, Seat Maps, Concessions, Speakers, etc) and Sports Data Management (Leagues, Teams, Conferences, Players, etc)
- We have 2 additional model-driven applications that extend the power of Dynamics 365 Sales by adding the ability to create and drive sales of media industry products such as tickets, video/audio/data subscriptions, memberships, sponsorships, facility rentals, and advertising.
- A sample Power Portal app that showcases the ability for event producers to automatically create a registration website for each of their Media events and then for potential attendees of those events to browse what’s coming up, read descriptions and details of dates and locations, and then securely Self-Register with their own guest attendee information. The data then gets stored as new Guest and Registration entities within the Common Data Model for event producers to see and react to.
- One additional item worth mentioning: With a nod to the challenges faced by Media organizations during this COVID-19 crisis, we added an entity called “Dispenser” in the Event Management solution to help physical venues with their focus on Guest Cleanliness, Safety, and Hygiene. The new entity enables the easy tracking and management of the fill and battery levels of hand sanitizers, soap and paper towel dispensers across their facilities. The Media Accelerator when combined with appropriate IOT tech can be use to build an application to optimize in more efficient operations and maintenance.
Some Valuable links for you:
- Media Accelerator AppSource listing - https://appsource.microsoft.com/en-us/product/dynamics-365/msftmedia.mediaindustrysolutions?tab=Overview
- GitHub listing - https://github.com/microsoft/Industry-Accelerator-Media/releases
- DocsPage listing - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/common-data-model/media-accelerator
- Blog post from June - https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/industry-blog/media/2020/06/10/create-fan-connections-and-win-with-the-media-and-communications-accelerator/
- A bunch of videos on the Media Accelerator - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP-7VBIz04J4s9dJ0NLTUWQ/
- Sample Media Event Registration Portal application - https://trmediaeventregportal.powerappsportals.com/
As always, your questions, ideas and feedback are always welcome.
Happy App Building!
Martin
Martin Wahl, Principal Program Manager, Media & Communications Industry Accelerator