Microsoft is holding its Worldwide Partner Conference this
week in muggy Houston. It's a gathering of more than 7,000 partners from 145
countries.
Partners are Microsoft's main business marketing vehicle, for Dynamics as well as other product areas like servers, so the
WPC serves as an opportunity to introduce partners to new products, update them
on existing products, and motivate them to increase sales. Thus, it
will impact what users experience from partners, as well as new product
options from ISVs. Based on the major events scheduled, here are some things to
look for out of the WPC:
- New
add-ons for Dynamics products. One popular area promises to be tools related to
Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and its CRM Online application, as one blog points out
in highlighting upcoming products. In advance of the show, Microsoft announced
an alliance with TenDigits Software Inc. "to deliver full-featured mobile
access to both Windows Mobile phones and BlackBerry mobile phones for Microsoft
Dynamics CRM."
- Training
programs. Dynamics partners will have access to sessions about how best to
integrate Dynamics with other applications, as well as how to carry out
upgrades--for example, sessions on "Ease Customer Pain over Systems Integration"
and "Microsoft Software-plus-Services: Offer Customers Choices".
- Sales
sessions. Dynamics partners will also have the opportunity to participate in
sessions on...