I just got back from the 2024 Community Summit in San Antonio, TX and I wanted to share my thoughts on my experience attending the event this year.

I discuss what I liked, what I didn't like, and what I think would make the event much better next year and going forward.

Topics discussed:

• The "vibe"
• Where's the value?
• Session levels
• Expertise Alignment
• Expo Floor Experience
• Copilot Overload
• The need for a shift of focus
• What the conference lacked and how it can be improved for next year

Link: https://www.summitna.com/

Here's what I learned as the Microsoft Business Applications Program Director for over 2 years.

In this episode we will talk about:

• Where have I been?
• How did I end up at Microsoft?
• What did I learn?
• Microsoft's bets over the years
• Copilot
• The change I wish to see at Microsoft

Shoutout to Neil Benson for his recommendation of https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/microsoft

Dani and James host this episode of the podcast and they share stories from projects in the past where things didn't work as expected from the get go.

Hosted by:

Dani Kahil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danikahil/

James Abraham: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesrossabraham/

This episode focuses on API calls and the entitlements that Microsoft expects customers to follow based on their licenses.

Gustaf Westerlund joins me to share everything you need to know about API calls.

P.S. If you are On-Prem this show is not for you. :)

Last week we attended the UG Summit 2021 in Houston, TX...many people were concerned about having an event in person and a large number of attendees decided to attend virtually instead.

In this episode, Microsoft MVPs Sarah Jelinek, Nicholas Hayduk, and Gus Gonzalez sit down and discuss their experience attending the event in person and whether they will be attending the event in 2022.

I'm never really excited to see announcements around licensing for Dynamics 365 and Power Apps, but I've been looking forward to this announcement for months!

But first, as usual, I went into a tangent about something else, this time I discuss July 1st, and how important of a date it is for me personally.

Link:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/news/pricing_and_licensing_updates_coming_to_power_apps

There's someone who works at Microsoft who has been involved in the release of Microsoft Dynamics 365 (previously known by different names) since its Beta version.

He led the creation of the first version of the product, then the creation and release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0, 4.0, and then responsible for taking it Online!

And I believe that understanding this person's role in the history of Microsoft Dynamics 365 is important if we are trying to see where the product is going in the future.

Links shared during this episode:

A Brief History of Microsoft Dynamics: https://www.nigelfrank.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-microsoft-dynamics/

Release waves of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Online: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/released-versions/dynamics-365ce

Microsoft Dynamics 365 On-Prem (v9.X) Lifecycle: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/dynamics-365-for-customer-engagement-apps-version-9-onpremises-update

Microsoft Launches Dynamics CRM Online: https://www.crn.com/news/applications-os/207401175/microsoft-launches-dynamics-crm-online.htm

Microsoft appoints Nadella to lead Microsoft Business Solutions: https://news.microsoft.com/2006/09/12/microsoft-appoints-nadella-to-lead-microsoft-business-solutions/

Reinventing Business Processes: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/reinventing-business-processes-satya-nadella/

Solution audits are a great way to work around challenges with your current implementation, whether it is because you are curious about the effort to fix an issue, complete a migration, or improve user adoption, an audit can make a huge difference in terms of effectiveness of a Dynamics 365 Solution for any organization.

This is our 4th Anniversary Episode!

Thank you everyone who have been listening since May 2017. This one is for you!

I found some interesting data about the Lifecycle of Dynamics 365 On-Prem. Listen to this episode and tell me what you think.

Also, this episode is available on video through our YouTube channel: http://crmmvpmedia.com/

In this podcast Microsoft MVPs Hamish Shield and Dani Kahil dive into the concept of ‘requirement curveballs’, sharing their experience in challenging projects with complex , misunderstood or ambiguous requirements. They talk about how to get everyone on a project to that sweet spot, where there is a shared understanding of the requirements. 

Links to some of the materials we discussed during the show:

Design Thinking

• Tools and Templates
• • Design Kit
  • Ideo Design Thinking
  • Stanford d.school
  • IBM Enterprise Design Thinking
• Training
• • Ideo U
• Microsoft Catalyst
• • Microsoft Learn

Design Sprints

• The Design Sprint (thesprintbook.com)
• Design Sprint Masterclass by AJ&Smart. (ajsmart.com)

Share and engage with the Design Sprint Community (designsprintkit.withgoogle.com)

Hosted by:

Hamish Shield: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamishsheild

Dani Kahil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danikahil

In this episode of the podcast I talk to Andrew Ly, who on top of being one of my favorite MVPs in the world he just became a FastTrack Recognized Solution Architect.

Andrew discusses the process he went through to receive the recognition and how it is different from a Certified Power Platform Solution Architect.

My Guest:

Andrew Ly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewlyadelaide/

Links:

FastTrack Recognized Solution Architects - Power Platform: https://powerplatform.microsoft.com/en-us/fasttrack/recognized-solution-architects/

FastTrack Recognized Solution Architects - Dynamics 365: https://dynamics.microsoft.com/en-us/fasttrack/recognized-solution-architects/