Today’s blogpost is for all our Dynamics 365 Field Service enthusiasts. Well, it’s actually good information for everybody in the Dynamics community because it is reflective of a continuing trend of deprecating aging apps, versions, and platforms. But if your organization uses the Field Service workload of Dynamics 365, please pay extra special attention because this change will likely have a direct impact on your business.
In this post, we’ll explore what exactly is happening and where to turn for help as you prepare to migrate.
Support for the Field Service Mobile App is Ending June 2022
As you may know, there are currently two mobile app options for technicians using Dynamics 365 Field Service (and bear with us as the naming conventions and similarities tend to cause understandable confusion):
- The recommended option is what Microsoft calls the Field Service (Dynamics 365) mobile app. It is a Power Apps solution built on Power Platform technology. Again, this is the mobile app Microsoft recommends. In fact, by June 2021, all new deployments must use the Field Service (Dynamics 365) mobile app.
- The legacy option is what Microsoft calls Field Service Mobile (Xamarin). Many know it simply as the Resco app because it is built on the Resco technology platform. This mobile app will be reaching end of life in June 2022, after which it will no longer be supported.
To be clear, both apps are currently included with Dynamics 365 Field Service. But Microsoft urges all current users of the Xamarin/Resco version to transition to the Field Service (Dynamics 365) mobile app – the one built on Power Platform – as soon as they are able, but certainly no later than June 2022, when it will be retired and unsupported.
Don’t worry – you aren’t going to lose out on any functionality. There is nothing in the Xamarin/Resco app that isn’t also in the Power Platform-based app. The beauty of the Field Service (Dynamics 365) mobile app is that since it is built on Power Platform, it keeps all your Field Service technology under the Microsoft umbrella. No external connections or integrations required.
Where to Turn for Migration Help
Your first step in managing the migration from Xamarin/Resco to the Field Service (Dynamics 365) mobile app is to reach out to your seller or licensing provider at HCL-PowerObjects to determine the best course of action for your organization, including appropriate timing and specific next steps. Note:
- If you are aligned with a different Microsoft partner, contact your seller there.
- If you’re not currently working with a Microsoft partner, HCL-PowerObjects can help – contact us to get started.
If this upcoming change affects you – in other words, if you are currently using the Xamarin/Resco app known as Field Service Mobile – HCL-PowerObjects will guide your organization through the migration to the new app.
Why HCL-PowerObjects?
Since the addition of Field Service to Microsoft Dynamics 365, we have taken aggressive, proactive steps to build and educate a global Field Service Team. We quickly recognized its potential – integrating with Azure, IoT, and emerging technologies that uniquely address field service challenges – and immediately formed our Field Service Center of Excellence (CoE), which combines technology experts focused exclusively on Field Service and related technologies with peers from the business side who bring deep experience within the channel. The CoE is comprised of SMEs on both mobile apps (Xamarin/Resco and Power Platform), Connected Field Service, data analysis/integration, Dynamics 365 and mobile configurations/customizations, and Azure Cloud.
Conclusion
Like all of Microsoft’s “end of support” and “product/version deprecations,” this is happening, so if you’re using the legacy app you will need to act. Fortunately, you’ve got time to coordinate the migration carefully so that your organization doesn’t miss a beat in the process. And HCL-PowerObjects can help! Simply contact us to get started.
As always, happy Dynamics 365’ing!
