Our journey through the AX to Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations (D365FO) upgrade experience continues with a primer on Microsoft's Fast Track program for D365FO implementations.

Fast Track is a component of every D365FO cloud deployment, whether customers know it or not. It involves multiple stages and activities throughout (and after) an implementation project. The goal, our guests explain, is to improve the likelihood of a successful go-live by ensuring the system is properly designed, built, and ready to operate in a production environment.

Two principal solution architects from Microsoft, Sigita Cepaitiene and Gokul Ramesh, join us to discuss key details of the program, including its origins, how it works today, and ways it might evolve in the future. They also offer insight into what Microsoft is learning, from module usage to project management to One Version, as the company helps customers transition to SaaS ERP.

Show Notes

• 3:10 – Introduction to our guests
• 4:55 – How to think about Fast Track in the context of Office 365 and Dynamics
• 8:45 – What kinds of customers are benefiting from the program, and how?
• 15:15 – How the program combines technical and consultative elements.
• 16:45 – How has partner acceptance of the program been?
• 19:00 – How does a Fast Track project get kicked off?
• 20:00 – The metrics and telemetry data that the Fast Track team monitors leading up to go-live
• 23:55 – Can customers and their partners get more of this information during the analysis phase rather than the implementation?
• 29:30 – What has Microsoft learned from the telemetry data?
• 32:45 – What are the biggest challenges the Fast Track team is seeing in upgrading AX customers, and can Microsoft help guide customers more?
• 38:15 – Why Fast Track is focused on SaaS and not on-premises.
• 40:30 – How do AX customers that aren't ready to upgrade yet get themselves in the best shape today to take on an upgrade in the future?
• 42:45 – How does One Version impact the Fast Track approach?
• 45:45 – Can Fast Track push back on customers that are not ready to go live?
• 48:00 – Do partners align well enough with the specialized skills of the Fast Track team's approach?
• 50:15 – How does Microsoft look at the remaining AX user base and their timeline for upgrading to D365FO?
• 53:10 – Areas of investment for the future, including code upgrade/update estimates.