Is Microsoft doing all it can to make Dynamics 365 the crown jewel of its enterprise business? Not like it used to, says industry analyst Joshua Greenbaum of Enterprise Applications Consulting. In a recent article he called out the company for what he sees as a reduced investment in marketing the product line to analysts and prospective customers. Less access for analysts to product executives and the product community has been “a damn shame,” he wrote, describing Dynamics as stuck in a “cone of silence” that is “ keeping Dynamics out of a deal flow that by rights it should be deep in the mix of.”

For their part, Microsoft officials have already stated they don't agree with Greenbaum’s assessment and cite new events like the "Business Forward" customer and prospect event series, which is expanding globally and aims to present the big picture on Microsoft's commitment to Dynamics.

But Greenbaum's perspective on the matter, as he explains in this episode of the podcast, accounts for the unique role analysts serve as advisers to software buyers who are thinking not just about features and functions, but about committing to the future performance of a software vendor and its larger technology ecosystem.

In this episode of the podcast, topics include:

• 4:25 – Why Dynamics should be a showcase at Microsoft
• 6:00 – The state of the analyst relations program for Dynamics
• 11:30 – What bets are software buyers making on enterprise software?
• 14:00 – The multi-cloud world that customers are trying to make sense of
• 20:45 – Can Dynamics serve to open up larger Microsoft opportunities?
• 25:30 – Microsoft remains strong as an enterprise tech competitor
• 28:45 – The importance of Microsoft-run conferences among competitors

In this episode of the podcast we welcome Chris Cognetta to discuss last week’s public reveal of the next generation of Dynamics 365 customer engagement apps. You can see our day 1, day 2, and day 3 recaps.

Chris is a Dynamics veteran who attended the executive briefing and documented almost all Microsoft's announcements. He's a Microsoft MVP and a Dynamics 365 evangelist, and he's also the director for the center of excellence and the client field services engineering team at Tribridge.

Show Notes:

• 7:10 – Jason’s top picks from the Microsoft executive briefing
• 8:15 – Chris’s top picks from the briefing. See his blog post for his full top five.
• 9:50 – Importance and implications of the platform plans
• 15:50 – Cloud deployment model plans for Dynamics 365/CRM
• 17:00 – Org Insights app and the implications for partner support of clients
• 21:00 – How many times was “on-premises” discussed at the three day briefing?
• 22:00 – Security and regulatory compliance in the cloud
• 23:50 – On the different approach to the rollout approach for this release compared to past launches
• 27:00 – Hints on the future of Dynamics 365/CRM leadership?

When Steve Endow and Christina Phillips started the Dynamics GP Land blog, they knew it was a time of change in the Microsoft channel. Events were changing, blogs were growing in importance, and Microsoft technology was evolving around them. Nine years later, the blog run by this pair of MVPs has become a rich source of knowledge on GP implementations, coding, upgrades, and a whole lot more. 

Even as their roles have changed, Phillips and Endow have kept the site an active and popular destination for the GP community, full of engaging stories and useful advice on project management, technical challenges, and customer outcomes.

Show Notes:

• 1:00 - Origin story of the Dynamics GP Land blog.
• 8:30 – How to tell a good story about software
• 12:30 – Remembering a formative and complex GP project
• 20:30 – GP Upgrades: Where are things changing today?
• 27:00 – Does lower software ownership cost mean there will be more investment adding value and engagment?
• 31:20 – Learning Dynamics 365 for Financials as a GP veteran