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The MSDW Podcast

The MSDynamicsWorld.com (MSDW) podcast explores news, ideas, and events in the Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM community.
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Now displaying: November, 2019
Nov 21, 2019

This episode of the MSDW Podcast is sponsored by Nomad eCommerce.

Ramin Marghi of Catapult ERP wrote recently about the challenges of on-premises ERP today, and why Dynamics 365 Business Central in the public cloud addresses those challenges – if not directly, then through a change of approach that will help set organizations on a new course for the future.

On this episode of the podcast, Ramin discusses some of the issues that define today's SMB ERP climate in the Microsoft channel. You can't discuss this topic without examining the history of Dynamics NAV and what the product's evolution has done to move organizations forward (or not) over the years. Broadening the outlook even further is the accelerating pace at which Microsoft has prioritized ERP-adjacent technology like the Power Platform tools. Those advances may be even more interesting to an owner of a legacy ERP, Ramin believes, as those peripheral capabilities could offer a more realistic way to bring improvements to an organization's processes and data than an ERP upgrade.

Show Notes

  • 1:00 – Making the professional transition from accounting to ERP delivery
  • 2:30 – Why is now the time to shift focus to Business Central in the cloud
  • 5:30 – What risks does a company face when they have been "living with" an on-prem ERP for too long?
  • 7:30 – How do clients react to the cloud-first argument today?
  • 8:45 – How to explain the tension between cloud skeptics and cloud progressives
  • 10:30 – Is it a partner's role to build excitement about Business Central to an on-prem ERP client?
  • 15:00 – Companies who could choose either a lower mid-market solution like BC or an upper-mid to enterprise solution like D365 Finance and Operations
  • 17:00 – The long-term promise of the Common Data Model as it relates to ERP
  • 20:00 – NAV vs BC parity, and why it's not always the right argument
  • 21:30 – What else in the Microsoft cloud is worth paying attention to?
  • 24:00 – Why NAV customers are paying attention to Power Platform, even if they're not ready to upgrade.
  • 25:00 – What else can an organization do to invest for the future other than upgrading their ERP?
  • 31:00 – When should you develop an extension for Business Central vs a Power Platform-based solution?
  • 34:30 – Why great Power Platform demos and working solutions are gold for partners on the front lines of the channel.
  • 36:00 – Mix of new and upgrading Business Central customers
Nov 18, 2019

Priefert Manufacturing is a Microsoft Dynamics AX customer that operates in a rural location in the US that still loses internet connectivity to the outside world from time to time. The company maintains its own data center and IT expertise, ensuring that its critical systems are never lost due to failures beyond its control, like when all three of its ISPs fail at the same time.

Darren Goebel, VP of Technology at Priefert, joins our upgrade podcast series to share his experience looking into the company's path forward from Dynamics AX 2009 to something new. While Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations would seem to be the obvious choice, Goebel explained that, after lengthy discussions with Microsoft, his team is nearing the conclusion that the company will likely migrate to another vendor.

He speaks frankly about his observations, research, and skepticism about moving to the public cloud. He recounts conversations with Microsoft representative and he explains why he most likely does not see Microsoft's ERP priorities as the best match for his organization's future plans.

Show Notes

  • 2:30 – Priefert's history with Microsoft Dynamics, and how the company's evolution has impacted its ERP usage.
  • 7:00 – challenges of transitioning the business model to process manufacturing
  • 15:30 – Assessing capabilities and cost of moving to D365FO – why stay on maintenance for an out of support product, and what the cost comparison looks like
  • 19:30 – How their license transition to D365FO might look.
  • 20:30 – Using AX on forklifts, kiosks, and other devices, and what it means for a cloud vs hybrid vs on-prem architecture for a business in a rural location that loses its internet connection.
  • 23:15 – Conversation with Microsoft reps about assessing total cost of ownership
  • 26:30 – What Priefert was told about hybrid D365FO, and why they can't afford manufacturing to lose connectivity for an hour.
  • 36:30 – Considering alternatives like private cloud or other ERP vendors
  • 39:30 – Recounting support calls to Microsoft – two in the last ten years.
  • 44:00 – How other vendors compare to D365FO for Priefert's needs
  • 45:45 – Is D365FO an ERP product or a development platform? And what is reasonable for customers to expect from Microsoft in weighing cloud vs on-prem?
  • 51:30 – How another ERP vendor's on-prem to cloud mix compares to Microsoft's
  • 53:30 – What does the next year hold for Priefert's ERP plans?
Nov 15, 2019
Nov 11, 2019

This episode of the MSDW Podcast is sponsored by Sana Commerce.

Alex Meyer of FastPath is closing out 2019 on a high note. He released a new edition of his book Microsoft Dynamics 365 Security and Audit Field Manual along with co-authors Andy Snook and Mark Polino. And was recently named a Microsoft MVP for the first time.

We talk with Alex about the new edition of the book and how his own views around Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations (D365FO) are evolving as the product undergoes changes to licensing and adds more Power Platform touch points. The book has a technical side and an audit side, he says. It explores both how to set up security in a conceptual way, then how to implement it. And, he explains that while core concepts remain mostly unchanged amid product updates, fast moving updates around areas like the Power Platform do deserve a closer examination.

Show Notes

  • 1:00 – Product updates that warranted a new look at security
  • 2:00 – What the One Version approach means for managing security
  • 5:00 – Guiding principles of security in D365FO
  • 7:15 – Why use task recordings for least privilege security
  • 9:00 – How to approach field level security
  • 10:30 – Implications of the change from a single "Finance and Operations" license to "Finance" and "Supply Chain Management" licenses.
  • 12:00 – GDPR today.
  • 16:00 – Managing security around solutions that incorporate the Power Platform tools
  • 18:30 – The security considerations for data outside of the transactional database
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