On this episode we talk with Lisa Craig, director of channel marketing at CafeX. The company has become a close partner of Microsoft when it comes to the Dynamics omnichannel customer service story and they are a serious participant in the bot story that Microsoft wants to tell around business apps. Craig also explains how the company has embraced Microsoft’s One Commercial Partner (OCP) strategy, and what that will mean for their own business and Dynamics partners who align with CafeX.

Show Notes:

• 1:30 – Where’s the CafeX relationship with Microsoft today?
• 3:00 – Lisa’s outlook on One Commercial Partner (OCP)
• 5:15 – On building out the CafeX relationship with Dynamics partners
• 6:30 – New features and product priorities of Live Assist with Dynamics 365
• 9:20 – The BYOB (bring your own bot ) trend
• 11:15 – Enabling features like escalation from bot to human agent
• 13:30 – Who best benefits from a multi-channel customer service solution?
• 16:00 – What tech do customer service teams really need to deliver better experience?
• 17:20 – What’s the impact of Dynamics AI plans from Microsoft?
• 19:45 – How do Dynamics partners grow their role in CafeX programs and deal opportunities
• 23:00 – More on what vendors should do to fit Microsoft’s OCP plans.

We sit down with Joe Corigliano of the eXtreme365 team to talk about last week’s partner-focused event. While product news was part of the conference, changes around how Microsoft plans to go to market with partners in the future was the prevailing theme. Joe gives some early impressions of the week, including highlights that included the Executive Exchange program and Ron Huddelston’s keynote session that kicked off the event.

Show Notes:

• 3:30 – Why the Dynamics channel is thinking so hard about change in 2017
• 6:00 – Do partners have addictive behaviors as it relates to running a Microsoft channel business?
• 6:40 – Why Microsoft’s partner re-org could be one of the most significant of modern business history
• 9:30 – Why partners need to hear what Ron Huddleston spoke about at the event (check out the eXtreme365 site for access to the recording).
• 12:45 – How to map your business model to complexity of Microsoft’s landscape and ecosystem
• 13:40 – The eXtreme365 Executive Exchange – take-aways from the two day partner-to-partner exchange of ideas and experiences.

Show Notes:

• 3:30 – Why the Dynamics channel is thinking so hard about change in 2017
• 6:00 – Do partners have addictive behaviors as it relates to running a Microsoft channel business?
• 6:40 – Why Microsoft’s partner re-org could be one of the most significant of modern business history
• 9:30 – Why partners need to hear what Ron Huddleston spoke about at the event (check out the eXtreme365 site for access to the recording).
• 12:45 – How to map your business model to complexity of Microsoft’s landscape and ecosystem
• 13:40 – The eXtreme365 Executive Exchange – take-aways from the two day partner-to-partner exchange of ideas and experiences.

As eXtreme365 US 2017 wraps up, we sit down with Microsoft MVP and Dynamics channel veteran Rick McCutcheon to talk about what we learned and where partners will go from here as Dynamic 365 and One Commercial Partner continue to ramp up.

Show Notes:

• 1:15 – High level takeaways from eXtreme365: Partner feedback and
• 3:00 – Evaluating the OCP formula – Can partners work with it?
• 6:00 – How OCP will begin to touch the typical Dynamics 365 partner.
• 8:30 – The managed services model appears to be drifting away, and partners who live on revenue source that may need to find new options
• 9:45 – Why AppSource will gain in importance
• 12:45 – What does MIcrosoft really expect from AppSource in influencing deals?
• 16:00 – Changes to the Dynamics product team and what happens now that they have embraced cloud solutions
• 21:00 – The challenge of supporting Dynamics on-prem solutions in a cloud-first world, and ways Microsoft might push back.
•  23:30 – Rick’s work advising startup tech companies, including some that work with Microsoft AI
• 24:00 – How major CRM projects absorb professional talent
• 26:00 – Is Microsoft ramping up sales and technical support staff for Dynamics as part of One Cmmercial Partner?
• 28:15 – Final thoughts on eXtreme365