Choosing ISVs: How Microsoft Dynamics Partners Aim to Simplify Client Choices and Standardize Deals

Microsoft Dynamics partners are always looking for ways to offer solutions to help meet their customers' needs.  And for all the capabilities of the latest Dynamics products, often partners need a little help from their ISV friends meet all the requirements.

The add-on solutions marketplace for the Dynamics product line is filled with thousands of products offered by hundreds of ISVs.  And while many of them are strong products created by teams with deep expertise, Dynamics value-added resellers (VARs), especially the veteran firms, express the need for caution when it comes to adopting and bundling third party applications into their deals.

Do ISVs have the right stuff?

A lot of thought goes into selecting the right ISVs to work with, said Greg Pierce, Managing Director, Cloud Computing, Infrastructure and Security, Tribridge.

"The primary thing we look at is if the ISVs' solutions can meet the customers' business needs," he said. "And we want to make sure the ISVs' solutions integrate properly with Tribridge solutions. And we pull together lists of ISVs that fit for specific implementations we would do, then we take those and package them as a unified offering."

Scott Mangelson, senior manager in charge of Microsoft Dynamics CRM practice at Armanino Consulting, said because his company focuses on certain core industry verticals-software, high tech manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, consumer goods, and real estate-it only works with ISVs that have proven technologies in those industry verticals.

"They also have to have deep, good references in those industries so together we can sell and implement ...