Derik Bormann is president and director of learning at Myrium Technology Solutions, a founding principal and instructor at 365.training, and a Microsoft MVP.
Over the last few years, Derik has been doing a lot of work training and onboarding hundreds of new Microsoft technical specialists who needed the PL-100 and PL-200 skills as well as D365 Customer Service, Field Service, Sales, and Customer Insights. He explained why that particular training had to be tailored to the needs of Microsoft employees as opposed to other styles like classroom training.
But while he has been training others to get their certs some of Derik's own certifications have lapsed. He tells us about his work to prepare to re-certify on PL-200 and PL-600. PL-200 is one of the hardest certifications to get, Julie and Derik say, due to its broad range of knowledge across Power Apps, Power BI, and other services.
We also discuss some of the other Power Platform certifications that people can choose from, how Derik recommends people prepare to pass a cert, how quickly the Microsoft exams change over time, and the benefits of Applied Skills, which Derik says are challenging but offer a good way to prepare by testing understanding in real world scenarios.
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After a few years of relatively little change to certifications in the Business Applications space, Microsoft MVP Joe Griffin says he is encouraged by forward movement from Microsoft in new certs and new approaches.
In this episode, recorded live at DynamicsMinds 2024, Joe tells us about why he likes the Applied Skills approach through Microsoft Learn. He and Julie also share their experiences with the new incremental assessment capabilities of some certs and their opinion of the new D365 Customer Experience Analyst Associate cert that serves as something of a baseline for other more specialized areas.
Joe also offers a few predictions on the importance of Copilot Studio and role-based copilots and he discusses getting a broader and more diverse group of people involved with Power Platform.
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The Biz Apps Classroom travelled to Slovenia last week for DynamicsMinds 2024, the Dynamics and Power Platform community conference in its second year, and we caught up with Microsoft channel expert Joe Corigliano to talk partner training and skills. Joe wears several hats in the Microsoft channel community, helping build connections, plan events like the partner track at DynamicsMinds, and working with firms on their Microsoft strategy via his role at Ciellos.
Joe talks with Julie and Jason about his work, his experiences at DynamicsMinds 2024, and his plans for future events and projects. He explained that partners face a range of challenges today in their Microsoft businesses, from administrative hurdles like optimizing the use of Partner Center to achieving the solution designations needed for maximum channel benefits. Certifications play an important role in those Microsoft designations, along with sales, utilization, and other metrics.
We also discuss other ways that partner firms are findings success with non-traditional business models that don't involve the solution designations and may not align with Microsoft's incentives. Regardless of the strategy, relationships between firms will continue to drive a lot of the success partners achieve, Joe believs.
Julie and Joe also talk about how community connections have evolved in the Microsoft biz apps channel. Developing a richer set of relationships will fall to people who work in this space directly, they believe, and it will require a range of efforts. Joe's outlook for the year includes his own podcast, organizing July's Biz Apps Partner Summit, and Community Summit.
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