On this episode we welcome back Peter Joeckel of TurnOnDynamics and Karen Riordan of Menlo Technologies for a discussion of the new year's Dynamics GP outlook for customers and partners. Dynamics 365 Business Central is Microsoft's SMB ERP product of the future, so changes still to come are to some extent predictable already starting to play out: incentives for legacy ERP customers to plan for a transition to BC; greater urgency on partners to transact via Microsoft's CSP program, and a GP product roadmap that has shriveled to almost nothing. But given these realities, what is to be done? The economics of ERP are changing along with the rest of IT and enterprise software. We discuss the impact of some of Microsoft's latest moves like new cloud assessments for on-prem customers (not necessarily through their partner of record) and the latest channel sales incentives. These changes, will impact customers not just in terms of whom they consult with, but what types of partners can really serve their needs in the future. Show Notes: 2:30 – Microsoft's interest in getting customers to assess a transition away from Dynamics GP 4:30 – Why aren't GP customers more interest in transitioning to cloud ERP? 7:00 – Pressure on partners to manage their GP customers 10:00 – Finding an optimal way to engage with Microsoft customers: Can a partner talk to both IT and the CFO? 12:00 – What should a customer really expect from their partner in terms of making sense of Microsoft's offerings? 16:30 – How difficult is it for GP customers to do a full assessment of their next steps? 20:15 – The economic challenges of ERP for Microsoft partners 25:00 – What does the subscription-based ERP model mean for Microsoft's goals and partners' challenges? 32:30 – How well has GP served its user base during the pandemic? 36:30 – How many GP to BC transitions are really happening? 39:00 – Who is doing GP to BC transition assessments for Microsoft and what are the outcomes? 44:30 – How will Microsoft's newest incentives shape the partner channel in 2021? 47:30 – Do partners and Microsoft have a responsibility to encourage their clients to evolve enterprise IT? 48:30 – 2021 predictions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8LPpy3fLl4

This episode is sponsered by HCL-PowerObjects. As the Microsoft Power Platform has enjoyed greater adoption, the challenges of managing security, governance, data migration, licensing and other needs have gained greater urgency for customers. John Doris and Jamie Barker of HCL-PowerObjects join us to discuss their experiences working with a wide variety of organizations that have been investing in the Power Platform to modernize their systems and processes. We dive into the most common challenges as well as other considerations that both partners and customers are dealing with like the future of front office and back office applications, the impact of Microsoft Teams, and Jamie and John's experiences helping organizations build a Center of Excellence. Other resources: HCL-PowerObjects webcast: Harnessing the True Potential of Power Platform and How to Build a Centre of Excellence HCL-PowerObjects Podcast Show Notes: 2:45 – Judging and measuring growth of Power Platform in the last year 5:45 – How the pandemic impacted PowerObjects customers' priorities around collaboration and automation 7:15 – Why a Modern Workplace are taking a stronger interest in use of Power Platform and Teams 11:30 – Organizational challenge: finding a balance of front office and back office support 13:00 – The varying approaches to governance and IT fundamentals with Power Platform 16:00 – Challenges that customers should be considering next: onboarding, app evaluation, and more 18:00 – Encouraging app makers to be innovative while also taking advantage of reusable components and following development best practices 22:30 – Center of Excellence: What it takes to plan for creating one properly 24:00 – How do organizations work with a Microsoft service provider for help with Power Platform development? 27:45 – Measuring end users' happiness with the apps and flows they get from a citizen developer corp. 33:00 – Discovery tools: Know when to retire, replace, augment, or keep them 36:00 – Dealing with the end of life of SharePoint 2010 workflows and replacing them with Power Automate flows 41:15 – What can organizations expect in licensing for Power Platform elements? 44:45 – License consumption strategies 48:00 – How to get in touch with Jamie or John https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvz0mWcUdB0

Dynamics 365 Customer Insights is an out-of-the-box machine learning solution, that enables you and your team members to accurately identify trends and integrate customers' feedback to be pro-active with meeting their needs. Enjoy detailed insights on your product and services to create more value and make better business decisions. Driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology powered by Microsoft, you will be able to predict things like churn, next best action and product recommendations. https://www.crmdynamics.com/d365-customer-insights/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSb5NCFPnfs