With the tools and services of the Power Platform evolving so rapidly, Microsoft and community leaders face a complex challenge in engaging with the experienced users and subject matter experts from around the world while also fostering an ecosystem that welcomes newcomers.

The Global Power Platform Bootcamp, taking place live (virtually) on February 19 and 20, offers one indication that users around the world still want to learn from each other when it comes to Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI. Last year's event consisted of 40+ local in-person meetings around the world. And though this year's event will be virtual, the organizers are expecting an even bigger set of meetings.

As people grow their own Power Platform skills, they can add value to the community by adopting a "show and tell" attitude, says Microsoft Power Platform senior evangelist Jon Levesque, who joined this episode along with Kent Weare of Microsoft's Power CAT team and two of the event's organizers, Kunal Tripathy and Vivek Patel. The group discussed the event's evolution, what attendees can expect to hear from Microsoft, and what it means to promote community as virtual communication persists.

Show Notes:

• 5:30 - How this year's event will be different from 2020
• 7:00 - Finding a balance between the local and global interests of Power Platform communities
• 8:15 - Building more awareness of Microsoft's RPA and Power Virtual Agents work
• 9:30 - How do local groups blend their direct interests and discovering the latest product updates?
• 11:00 - What messages from Microsoft speakers will resonate at the event?
• 15:15 - How is the mix of people joining Power Platform events changing?
• 23:00 - Observations on the most innovative companies adopting Power Platform, including use of the Center of Excellence
• 25:30 - What it takes to bring a global event together, and what attendees can expect
• 30:10 - How to get involved in the Global Power Platform Bootcamp

This episode of the MSDW Podcast is sponsored by Stratos Cloud Alliance.

Microsoft continues to forecast significant growth in Dynamics 365 business, but to achieve it more partners will have to get involved. But building a practice focused on business solutions is quite different from cloud, productivity, or other specialties.

Our guests are Len DiCostanzo, Principal Consultant at MSP Toolkit, and Scott May, Director of Channel Development Stratos Cloud Alliance. We discuss Dynamics 365 as an opportunity for partner growth in the Microsoft channel. They lay out research on the market opportunity, the options partners have when it comes to building a D365 practice, and some of the factors that firms should look for in a prospective distribution partner.