You cannot go to a Microsoft partner event today without hearing about AppSource. It’s not that third-parties haven’t extended Microsoft products, like Dynamics 365, in the past, but those extension/solutions haven’t driven product sales, at least not in the way Microsoft knows they could. Other companies, like Salesforce.com, have proven …
I don’t know about you, but these feel like the most “disruptive” of times that I can recall, and I can guarantee that I am older than most people who read my posts. Companies like Uber are disrupting century-old, facility, asset and people heavy industries, like the Taxi business… with …
When we designed our RapidStart CRM solution for Dynamics 365, we had a pretty specific idea of how it would be used. It turns out, that when you eliminate the complexity of customizing Dynamics 365, customers get pretty creative.
I first heard Microsoft floating the “Industry Focus” concept to partners shortly after Office 365 launched. It seemed pretty clear that this cloud shift was going to eliminate a lot of existing revenue for partners. I felt back then, that the “Industry Focus” concept was something that Microsoft cooked up …
In Microsoft’s continuing quest to make Business Solutions easier, “Configuration over Code” is where they are making the most investment. “Coding” requires skills that most customers, and frankly most partners, do not have, which leads to additional costs for the customer. How is Microsoft doing on lowering this barrier?
My flight home to Tampa from Seattle, following the Worldwide Dynamics Partner Advisory Council meeting, is a relatively short hop compared to that of many of the other partners in the group, but nevertheless, it feels long to me. But it is a perfect time to write up what little …
The most read post of mine was, and still is, this one that I wrote in 2013. It has been viewed more than 100,000 times even though it is so far out-of-date, it is probably completely wrong information today. While I understand that “technical” articles will always draw more views …
This is a continuation of my post “Dynamics 365 – A Partner’s Journey from Salesforce“, if you did not like that one, then you probably won’t like this one either. When we last left off, Microsoft had requested that we consider turning ourselves inside-out
Most of the Microsoft Partners that focus on SMBs, are themselves SMBs. No SMB, whether Customer or Partner, can afford to pay for skilled people who mostly sit on the bench. The new, nimble SMB partner is more like a football coach, calling in Special Teams, or free agents as …
So it’s Christmas morning, gifts have been opened, and family won’t be arriving for several hours yet, so I go to write. As I think about the great year wrapping up for us, and look forward to the even more promising year to come, I find myself reflecting on our …
Microsoft likes to use the term “Hero Offer” for a particular subscription. It’s like the Sears Good, Better, Best approach. Usually the “Hero” offer, means that you are a hero to Microsoft if you sell it, not that is is the best solution for every customer. So, what is the …
Hey, what do you think about that cool new Insights feature in Dynamics 365? Which one? Yes, it seems that the Microsoft cloud team has a new favorite word. On its own, or in conjunction with another word, “Insights” is all the rage, and well on its way to being …
I am returning from a small Dynamics partner conference in Newport Beach. One of the recurring themes at this conference, particularly when a Microsoft representative stood before us, was pelting them with questions similar to: “When will Dynamics 365 be finished?”. I was not one of those asking that question, …
As a traditional Microsoft partner, you can probably remember the good ol’ days. Steady, predictable, the kinds of things you could build a nice business on, in your own time. For customers, you were more like the utility company. Necessary, but unseen. But then the cloud crashed into everything.
If you have been around the Dynamics CRM 365 space for any length of time, you will have encountered the need for a migration. Hopefully, it is migrating to Dynamics 365 and not away from it. There are many potential reasons for a migration, and some are more worthy than …
I am writing this seven days out from the launch of Dynamics 365, and the end of Dynamics CRM Online. We have an ISV solution called RapidStart CRM that is was designed for Dynamics CRM Online. How will it work with Dynamics 365 on November 1st? This is a question …
Noticeably absent from both Scott Guthrie’s launch presentation, and Jujhar Singh’s keynote, was any information on the SMB CRM story, at least between now and Spring. But there is a story, and it’s a pretty good one.
The UG Summit in Tampa last week has seemed like it had been a very long conference. Granted, Microsoft bolted their Dynamics 365 Public Launch onto the front of it… but still. Scott Guthrie took the first shot on Tuesday, and Jujhar Singh followed up with the Wednesday Keynote, and …
One of the new products that will be available in Dynamics 365 is Flow. Think of Flow as a personal mini-workflow engine. The use cases are endless, but there are some caveats that you should know about. I will dive into both sides and tell you what I know, sprinkled …
I was wandering around the ***Summit today at the Tampa Convention Center and noticed a lot more non-red badges than red ones. The red badges are CRM Partners, the others are either GP, NAV or AX. Knowing what is about to be presented here shortly for Dynamics 365, I tried …
