Lipi Sarkar joins us to talk about the new book Building a Digital Future: The Transformational Blueprint for Innovating with Microsoft Dynamics 365. Lipi and co-author Vinnie Bansal wanted to investigate how organizations have invested in Dynamics 365 solutions to meet strategic goals and what others can learn from those experiences. Unlike a lot of books in the Microsoft technology space, this one is written for executives, not developers or IT professionals, though anyone with an interest in management and strategic planning could benefit from its findings. The book is available on May 25, and you can order it with a 10% discount from Book Depository or from your local Amazon site (without a discount). Show Notes: 1:30 – Why write a new book focused on Dynamics 365? 3:30 – Is the term "digital transformation" still valid in today's landscape? 5:00 – What inspired the authors to write the book, and how the pandemic has influenced the findings 8:45 – What customers told the authors about projects that were executed while the pandemic was unfolding 10:30 – The dilemmas faced by of those seeking a transformative change 13:30 – Has conventional wisdom on transformative technology evolved? 18:00 – More findings from Dynamics 365 case studies featured in the book 20:00 – How Power Platform is changing the nature of business application investments 22:00 – Thoughts on deciding to take on the challenge of authoring this book https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZh7kVSPI68

Alithya is a North American leader in strategy and digital technology, with 2,200 professionals in Canada, the US and Europe. Our integrated offerings position us as a leading digital technology partner, highly skilled in designing and building innovative and efficient digital solutions for complex business challenges. Our clients cover a large spectrum of sectors including banking, investment and insurance, energy, manufacturing, retail and distribution, telecommunications, transportation, professional services, healthcare and government. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndcu2yRIzAQ

Priyesh Wagh's current work in the Microsoft channel focuses on both Dynamics 365 Project Operations and various elements of the Power Platform. In this episode, Priyesh discusses the types of projects he has worked on recently, his community efforts and experiences as a new Microsoft MVP, and how Dynamics 365 project delivery has changed since he joined the Microsoft channel with CloudFronts in 2014. Show Notes: 2:00 – How Priyesh started his career and what tech he is focused on today 4:30 – How standardized (or not) are Project Operations or Project Service Automation deployments? 6:30 – How customization has changed in the era of Power Platform 8:15 – Understanding the change from PSA to Project Operations 9:30 – What kinds of organizations need project service capabilities? 14:15 – Discovering new Project Operations capabilities like Project Buckets 16:00 – How to understand Project Operations deployment options – Lite vs full (integrated with F&O) 19:45 – Priyesh's experience as an MVP 22:30 – What will Priyesh be exploring next? 27:00 – Life in Mumbai during the pandemic Links: Blog: D365Demystified LinkedIn Scottish Summit presentation – "Approval process using Adaptive Cards with Dataverse connector in Power Automate" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JydWk3vpzQI