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The MSDynamicsWorld.com (MSDW) podcast explores news, ideas, and events in the Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM community.
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Now displaying: February, 2024
Feb 16, 2024

The Biz Apps Classroom welcomes its first guest on this episode, Microsoft MVP and partner executive Vlad Sarov joins us to talk about the work he, podcast co-host Julie Yack, and others have been doing on a project to bring Microsoft Business Applications skills to adults in Ukraine through an ongoing series of training cohorts. The program follows Microsoft's prescribed Business Application professional skilling collection, but the team have taken the extra effort to translate the learning materials, adapt the guidance to allow for online interaction, and develop automated translation capabilities to allow trainers who don't speak Ukrainian to still help educate the students.

 

Vlad and Julie share the program's history, the team effort that was required to launch it and keep it running, the outcomes for graduates, and how they hope to expand the training to more cohorts in Ukraine and perhaps in other parts of the world.

 

Show Notes:

  • 1:30 - Vlad's impressions of last year's MVP Summit
  • 3:45 - Hatching a plan to create learning cohorts in Ukraine
  • 6:45 - Translation technology that enables a multi-language program
  • 9:30 - Why a program from Microsoft offered a good starting point for translation and adapting to a Ukrainian cohort
  • 12:30 - Stories of some of the students
  • 14:30 - The typical student experience each week
  • 18:15 - Signups available for spring and summery 2024 cohorts - how to get accepted, what is expected of students, and how the trainers adapt to student needs like difficult circumstances
  • 23:00 - Hiring people who complete these training cohorts - what Microsoft partners can do to help
  • 26:30 - Industries that the students are coming from, and why industry knowledge helps
  • 28:00 - How students are learning about the program and gaining the trust to join it
  • 31:00 - What's next for this training approach - reaching more translations and languages

 

Links & Resources:

Feb 15, 2024

This episode is sponsored by Vertex.

 

Tax engines have a unique role to play in the performance of mid-market businesses. Our guest on this episode, Pete Olanday, Director of Consulting, Vertical Solutions: Retail, Leasing, Telecommunications, at Vertex discusses how implementing a tax engine can help mid-market companies streamline processes, enhance scalability, and ensure compliance in the face of evolving regulations.

 

Pete discusses some of the biggest challenges that mid-market firms face related to sales tax and how those tie into other strategic initiatives like process automation, business expansion, and managing operational costs.

Pete also offers context for how he sees Vertex clients aligning tax automation with their other ERP initiatives. He offers guidance for tax executives and IT decision-makers on what to expect from an investment in a tax engine and make suggestions about how to avoid common pitfalls that companies experience when trying to scale their tax solutions.

 

From Vertex:

Vertex integrates with Dynamics 365 Finance, Supply Chain, Business Central, Sales, and Commerce. To learn more about Vertex’s tax solutions for Dynamics 365, visit https://www.vertexinc.com/partners/microsoft-dynamics-365 or email us at microsoftdynamics@vertexinc.com.

Feb 7, 2024

On this episode, we are talking role-based training: where it works well, what roles tend to benefit, and how the concept has evolved in the Microsoft Dynamics and Power Platform ecosystem.
        
Role-based training in the Biz Apps space coincides with changes in Microsoft certifications, and that that has helped shift the focus of learners away from memorizing facts about software and toward developing skills, says our co-host, Julie Yack. And while Microsoft have their own overall approach to role-based training and certification, it is not the only reference out there. Julie shares some of her experiences training people in a range of roles and settings.
        
Show Notes:

  • 1:00 - How Julie thinks about roles from the perspective of a trainer
  • 2:30 - How to think about the trend toward role-based training in the broader context of jobs, hiring, and certification paths
  • 3:30 - The context and history behind role-based certifications from Microsoft - transition to a focus on outcomes
  • 5:00 - How the emergence of Power Platform and other changes at Microsoft resulted in a shift in training priorities
  • 9:00 - The relevance of Microsoft's core role-based learning paths for Biz Apps professionals
  • 10:00 - Why classroom training remains so effectiv
  • 12:00 - Career goals that align with role-based training
  • 14:00 - More tips from Julie about thinking about role-based opportunities
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