Microsoft MVP Andrew Welch is the founder of the AI-focused consultancy Cloud Lighthouse, where he and his team now help organizations begin or evolve their AI strategies. He joins us to discuss some of the ways organizations are trying to gain confidence with AI today and the challenges they face in terms of strategy, technology, and organizational change management. Andrew shares examples and anecdotes from his team's work, including ways different kinds of companies are building on past progress or fixing bad habits to prepare themselves for success with AI-driven solutions. We also discuss topics including how to measure outcomes for AI investments today, Andrew's community efforts, Cloud Lighthouse's participation in the Center for Trustworthy AI, and the Center's upcoming event in the spring, the Brasov Forum. Show Notes: 3:00 – Founding and growing Cloud Lighthouse 7:45 – Where client conversations start regarding AI investment 11:30 – What help organizations need today in building and executing a strategy for deploying AI-based tools 17:00 – How to understand and prevent AI failures 22:45 – The relationship between AI for personal productivity and for the enterprise 26:30 – What constitutes a customer win in this world? 30:30 – About the Center for Trustworthy AI Links: Andrew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewdwelch Center for Trustworthy AI https://www.centerfortrustworthyai.com/ Brasov Forum: https://www.brasovforum.com/ Cloud Lighthouse https://cloudlight.house/about https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSE_WYZQjbI

This episode is sponsored by Evenica. On this episode, Evenica’s Gustavo Oliveira help us unpack the fundamentals of creating a seamless, secure, and consistent checkout experiences in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Commerce. He explains how a payment connector acts as the communication bridge between POS systems, online stores, and financial institutions to handle the orchestration that makes modern payments work. We also discuss how solutions like Evenica’s e4Payment streamline the “last mile” of the customer journey, reduce friction at checkout, support loyalty and gift card systems, and unlock transaction data inside Dynamics 365. From tokenization and modern tender types to unified data for better decision-making, Gustavo highlights why payment connectors have become essential for retailers looking to modernize, scale, and differentiate. From Evenica: See how e4Payment can transform payment orchestration inside Dynamics 365. Check out the solution on Microsoft’s Azure Marketplace and explore what it can do for your business. https://marketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/product/dynamics-365-for-operations/evenicacorp1582838632446.e4payment?tab=Overview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49T_B216dHA

This episode is sponsored by XPLUS. On this episode we are discussing security and compliance in Dynamics 365 F&O and what advances in these areas could mean for the future of the product. Since we last talked to our guest, Bartosz Szpiech, VP of Product at XPLUS, Microsoft has advanced its support for user security governance, or USG, which means users must adapt to evolving license enforcement policies. Bartosz discusses how understanding licensing policy relates to the broader concept of observability in D365. As roles evolve to conform to security and license requirements, customers have the opportunity to begin achieving better insights, he explains. We explore how new tools that offer better insights into activity within F&O could accelerate the identification of high-value AI scenarios that will evolve ERP. He also provides an update on the latest Executive Automats security training for F&O customers. More from XPLUS Dynamics 365 F&SCM Security Masterclasses – https://www.executiveautomats.com/dynamics-365-fscm-security-masterclasses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0heilf_Y0Y