This episode is sponsored by Stratos Cloud Alliance, Velosio’s Microsoft partner program. Visit www.dynamics365partner.com to learn more about their partner offerings. Microsoft has been moving the Power Platform forward steadily over the last few years, both by expanding the platform and by deepening the tools and capabilities in each of the services. At the same time, the messaging from Microsoft about the suite has evolved, with encouragement for citizen developers and promises that professional developers and partners have a place in this ecosystem. Those dynamics of customer self-service and partner guidance may seem at odds, but the reality is that, like the rest of the Microsoft business applications stack, expertise comes from investments in skills development and from the time and experience gained from real world projects. While users may be able to get started themselves with Power Platform by building small scale apps or flows, the reality, say my guests Scott May and Rod Donovan of Stratos Cloud, is that partners are already becoming the trusted resource for most customers in more advanced scenarios. And, they believe, that opportunity will only grow, making Power Platform one of the best opportunities for new client engagements going forward. Show Notes: 2:00 – What's the reality of the Power Platform's value today? 4:30 – Rod's experience helping Microsoft customers and partners to ramp up on Power Platform expertise and usage 8:00 – Ways Stratos Cloud is getting partners interested in Power Platform opportunities like App in a Day or Dashboard in a Day 11:30 – Observing Microsoft partner reactions to Power Platform around the world 15:30 – Different models partners can use to engage with customers on the latest technology 20:00 – The difference between being a Power Platform dev shop vs a well-rounded business apps service provider 22: 00 – Microsoft's role in supporting Power Platform projects and deployments 28:00 – Business apps growth in Microsoft earnings, and how Power Platform elements is becoming more closely tied to Dynamics 365 products 32:00 – The most exciting new opportunities with Power Platform around licensing updates, RPA, and more 33:30 – What partners can do next to ramp up engage with clients About: Stratos Cloud Alliance is the Microsoft CSP Indirect Provider that provides all the sales support, enablement, and services a partner needs to build a profitable cloud solutions business with Microsoft Dynamics 365. With over 33 years’ experience implementing Dynamics business management solutions, Stratos Cloud offers partners a comprehensive portfolio of Microsoft Cloud Business and Productivity Solutions, ISV Products and Tools, Customer Services, and flexible Partner Programs supporting transformation at the pace and investment level that is right for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciSF_ghTB5g

Transformez vos données en actions et en résultats commerciaux https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QIauGUklos

This episode is sponsored by BI4Dynamics. Microsoft offers its Dynamics ERP customers a variety of ways to get started with analyzing their business data, but the BI and analytics landscape continues to evolve as data growth accelerates and industry demands change. Our guest on this episode, Dr. Vijay Jog, the founder of CRGroup and president of Global Business Applications for CRGroup’s parent company, Quisitive, joins us to discuss the BI and reporting themes influencing Dynamics space today. Expectations are changing for many roles, Vijay believes. Accounting teams must provide better insight that leads to a proactive outlook. IT departments must gaining new skills in areas like data lakes, analytics, storage, and security. And teams continue to struggle with the perennial problem of data islands, Vijay says. BI and analytics options vary by Dynamics product, and Vijay shares his views on some of the most interesting new and upcoming capabilities, including the transition from BYOD to BYOL for Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations and advances with Power BI. Show Notes: 2:15 – What is unique about today's data challenges? 4:30 – What do Dynamics customers get out of the box for BI and reporting? 7:00 – BYOL and the other important competencies of BI 10:00 – Building a great BI team around business systems like a Dynamics ERP 14:00 – Metrics that customers are analyzing more carefully due to the pandemic 16:00 – What makes an organization a top performer on BI and analytics practices 18:00 – Microsoft technology to watch in the analytics and data management space 21:30 – Optimism on the BYOL model for Dynamics 365 F&O You can start a free 30 day trial of BI4Dynamics, just visit bi4dyamics.com/trial to learn more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIoxfPmmqRY