Welcome to the MSDW Podcast, I'm Jason Gumpert, editor at MSDynamicsWorld.com. On this episode I talk with Eric Kimberling of Third Stage Consulting. As an independent advisor, Eric keeps his eye on multiple ERP solutions and vendors, so he sees the ERP selection and deployment process from a unique angle. We discuss the competitiveness of Dynamics 365 solutions compared to other vendors' cloud solutions, trends in project planning, and how buyers are dealing with their legacy IT investments in today's marketplace.

Show notes:

• How do customers figure out whether they are ready for a cloud solution?
• How is the marketplace taking to the Dynamics 365 cloud value prop?
• Why are companies taking an incremental approach to cloud ERP, rather than lift-and-shift?
• Is Microsoft's pursuit of new ERP business vs upgrading existing customer base similar to its competitors?
• Choosing between SAP S4/HANA and D365FO – risk, scope, flexibility, speed, and more.
• Navigating multi-cloud and hybrid IT ecosystems.
• Why Eric has been cautious on jumping on the cloud bandwagon.

On this episode we welcome back Jeff Bacon and Elliot Fishman of Catapult ERP. Elliot recently published a two part piece on MSDW that explains how his firm will adapt its business model to serve clients in a SaaS era that no longer aligns with older time and materials or fixed price models for services delivery. Cloud adoption, a preference for subscription pricing, and a trend away from customization in favor of packaged add-on solutions all lead Fishman and Bacon to the conclusion that services firms that want to survive in this era must rethink their engagement model from the ground up.

Show notes:

• 2:00 - The changing tendencies of the customer engagement model – from upfront investment to consumption
• 5:45 – Software deployment as a risky enterprise for customers (historically)
• 10:00 – Where's the risk today?
• 12:45 – Are Dynamics 365/CRM and NAV customers trending toward standard ISV solutions?
• 17:30 – How digital engagement is driving decisions.
• 22:15 – The challenge of creating meaningful career paths with the right skills but accessible to more people.
• 25:40 - How does a partner help clients understand the difference between older and newer engagement models.
• 27:45 – What a SaaS model ought to mean for a reallocation of resources
• 32:00 – Highlights of the eight point plan – the executive level
• 36:00 – Can a new model empower customers and service providers?

On this episode we talk with Kyle McKie and Iain Wicks of RocketCRM. They co-founded the company less than a year ago to deliver Dynamics 365 CRM consulting services, but they both have years of experience with both CRM and education of various sorts.

Iain recently published a two part article series on MSDW featuring 22 tips for delivering CRM training, and if you've ever had to plan software training, you'll relate. We discuss enterprise software training in general, what Dynamics 365 CRM user adoption and training looks like today, and where they are focusing their own consultancy's efforts.

On this episode we chat with two veteran Dynamics developers for some more perspective on the impact of Microsoft's decision to buy GitHub last week. The deal, for 7.5 billion dollars in stock, updates Microsoft's overall profile in the software development landscape, but it also promises to keep the status quo in many ways.

Our Guests:

• Erik Hougaard is a Microsoft MVP and popular blogger in the Dynamics NAV community. He is the VP of software development at E Foqus and is based in Vancouver.
• Nicholas Hayduk is the founder and lead developer at Dynamics 365 and CRM consulting firm Engineered Code Consulting, based in Regina, Saskatchewan. He's also an MSDW contributor.

Nicholas and Eric talk about their own experience with git the technology, GitHub the service and platform, Microsoft's image in the developer community, including with Dynamics NAV, CRM, and 365, why the deal matters to Dynamics product-focused developers, and why you need source control.

The MSDynamicsWorld.com editorial team brings back the Dynamics community news roundup on this episode, with a little of everything, from Dynamics 365 product plans to partner challenges to leading edge tech and community profiles. And we introduce MSDW assistant editor Eamon Mcarthy Earls to the podcast.

Show Notes:

• 00:45 – The evolving standards and costs of CSP Tier 1, and what it could mean for Tier 2, too
• 04:10 – A small update on the Dynamics 365 Business Central product and rollout update
• 06:15 – Work less, do more with D365FO using Flow and PowerApps
• 08:35 – The challenges of growing a Dynamics practice
• 10:50 – More thoughts on the merger of 360 Vertical Solutions and SAGlobal
• 13:20 – Affinio's audience analysis solution launching in AppSource
• 14:30 – The role of AI in ERP complexity; And service industry considerations
• 15:30 – Community profiles:
  • Microsoft Dynamics Profile: For new Australian MVP, love of the D365 / CRM platform drove professional growth
  • Microsoft Dynamics Profile: Investing in emerging tech around Dynamics 365 / CRM

This joint episode of the MSDW Podcast and the Dynamics Podcast was recorded at Summit EMEA 2018 in Dublin with Tommy Skaue and Fredrik Sætre. As the event wrapped up, we grabbed a quiet spot at the convention center to look back at some of the event highlights. Upgrades and cloud deployments were top of mind, as were some of the recent announcements like the acquisition of new D365FO IP and the nearing end-of-life of AX 2009.

Stay tuned for an extended version of this episode going up on the Dynamics Podcast YouTube channel soon, too. Many thanks to Fredrik and Tommy for helping make this one happen!

Show notes:

• 2:00 – Favorite sessions at Summit – more interest in D365FO
• 4:00 – Migration from AX 2009 – Customer experiences and the state of Microsoft's migration tools
• 5:45 – Nearing the end of life for AX 2009. How customers will adapt.
• 8:00 – The latest IP additions to D365FO
• 10:45 – Why companies are choosing public cloud – or not
• 16:00 – The status of D365FO Retail
• 18:30 – The "big brains" from Microsoft and the MVP community at the event.

Microsoft's spring wave of new Dynamics 365 customer experience apps includes both the long-awaited Marketing app and the lighter featured and lower priced sales app known as Sales Professional. For partners focused on the SMB, the arrival of these products is a welcome relief after more than a year of forecasts and updates. But, as is typical with brand new Microsoft business solutions, there are a lot of important details for customers and partners dissect to really understand how to turn the stock solution into something of value to a user base.

Perhaps no one has explored the possibilities and limitations of these new apps more so far than Microsoft MVP and Forceworks founder Steve Mordue. His recent blog posts on the Marketing app and Sales Professional have been tough on Microsoft at times, but they've proved popular within the community for their constructive criticism. We catch up with Steve on this episode of the MSDW Podcast to talk first impressions of the products, licensing, and how firms like Forceworks are working to take advantage of the new Microsoft offerings.

Show notes:

• 6:00 – First impressions of the D365 for Marketing launch – pricing and other early decisions
• 10:00 – What kind of partners will be selling D365 for Marketing?
• 13:00 – How to resolve the logical definitions of leads and contacts in Marketing and Sales apps
• 17:00 – What's been Microsoft's reaction to partner feedback so far?
• 19:00 – Licensing schemes – why are they so difficult?
• 23:00 – How do partners make sense of D365 licensing?
• 27:00 – The importance of the Sales Professional app for Forceworks and other SMB-focused vendors
• 28:30 – Stepping up from the Sales Profession to Sales Enterpise app
• 30:00 – Will Microsoft lock down licensing rules or wait and see?
• 34:14 – Do pricing and licensing updates change anything for the biggest competitive deals where pricing and discounts get huge?
• 37:10 – Why CDS will change everything for D365 Customer Experience partners

Coming on the heels of general availability for Dynamics 365 Business Central, Dynamics ERP veterans and Microsoft MVPs AJ Ansari of InterDyn BMI, Rod O'Connor of BriWare Solutions, and Mark Polino of FastPath, joined us to discuss the details and reaction thus far.

After the initial announcement of the new brand name for the previously code-named Tenerife, the Dynamics community lit up with heated debate and candid opinions. Our panel discusses topics including the end of the NAV name and the quest for brand stability in the future, dischord among SMB ERP veterans, the updated roadmap, and the very real challenges Dynamics SMB partners will face in building a business model around an increasingly SaaS-based product suite.

Related articles:

• Microsoft Dynamics has a Ford Truck problem
• Getting prepared for the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central subscription eruption
• Are Microsoft Dynamics SMB partners ready for life in the SaaS era?
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central: What's in a name?
• How ERP buyers will approach Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central - and what it means for resellers

Editor's Note: This episode is the third and final segment of our mini-series with Catapult ERP exploring Dynamics 365 cloud services and strategy.

Dan Ditomaso and Jeff Bacon join Elliot Fishman to discuss Microsoft Azure. What is it, how is it different from other cloud offerings, and what are the opportunities to use it in context of Dynamics solutions.

Show notes:

• 2:00 – Azure – Who’s it for?
• 5:00 – Cloud terminology basics
• 8:00 – Is Azure relevant for on-prem NAV customers?
• 11:30 – Are there differentiating benefits of Azure vs public cloud competitors?
• 13:45 – Is Azure going to save me money in the long run? Should that matter?
• 16:15 – Infrastructure security and scalability in the cloud
• 18:15 – Microsoft’s uptime stats and SLAs for Azure
• 22:30 – Do customers really enjoy the results of an Azure-based solution?

Editor's note: This is part 2 in a 3 part series exploring the presenta nd future of Dynamics 365 cloud services.

Going beyond the high level vision for Dynamics in the cloud, the crew digs into a finer level of granularity to look at Dynamics 365’s origins, its capabilities, and how the solutions differ from the legacy Dynamics products.

Show notes:

• 1:20 – The move to brand Dynamics 365 and its impact.
• 4:00 – Breaking down the product line – ERP, CRM and more.
• 5:45 – Given NAV’s popularity with customization, can D365 Tenerife deliver the same flexibility?
• 7:00 – Making sense of Dynamics 365 Customer Experience products and licenses
• 10:00 – Is partner involvement a positive step in D365 rollouts moving forward?
• 13:00 – What does the roadmap mean for on-prem Dynamics product customers?
• 16:30 – License transition options for existing customers
• 17:30 – Migration path and deployment activities Dynamics CRM on-premises to D365 for Sales, Service
• 20:30 – Elements of the D365 customer experience apps’ user experience enhancements
• 22:45 – Can Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations serve workers who aren’t behind a desk?