I could not agree with you more. Well put. Bracing for the coming flood of Mc-implementations...which leads to customer frustration...which leads to customer defection...

Mariano, you are completely right. Customers are the big losers on this turn. To be honest I don't understand the real reason why Microsoft did this...

Partners should prepare for and expect bill rates to plummet as they find themselves competing with Bud the server builder for implementation and support services...

Mariano, Instead of doing away with them, I was hoping the core ACE team would take over the exams created by our friends in Fargo. I think available GP training will also fall off. They stopped creating most of the training manuals years ago, and for GP2013, they haven't even written user manuals for 100% of the modules. I haven't seen an HR/Payroll training manual since version 10. This reminds me of the days of old when they were just trying to get warm bodies to support and customize Dynamics. The only good news, is there may be more work fixing other people's mistakes. Gosh knows, that can be half my income in some years. Once clients know what 'bad' looks like, they appreciate 'good'. The bad news, of course, is that the available customer pool will shrink because of the bad reputation GP will get. So many untrained consultants will be making so many mistakes that the software itself will suffer the consequences. Leslie

I just went through an GP 2013 upgrade and re-implementation with a new customer that has been using GP for about 3 years. The initial implementation was badly done, with every piece of GP that was available, installed regardless of the company's requirements. There was no training to speak of and when the GP customer sought support, they were met with a lack of response in general, and very little technical assistance. Just opening GP was taking users at least 5 minutes - and they thought this was normal. And this scenario occurred when certifications were required. Now, with no certification requirements, I fear poor implementation and support will become much more common. This will result in a degradation of the GP's reputation as a valuable ERP solution.

I could not agree more. The customer will suffer tremendously by contracting with low-cost implementers. I also hold my certifications as a thing of accomplishment. Only time will tell how this will play out but it definitely is going to make current partners have to fight harder to justify billing rates. I agree with Leslie ultimately the sales of GP will suffer. Nancy

I was surprised, as were we all, when certifications were discontinued. Fortunately (for cost only) I had held off getting my current certifications renewed for GP 2013. I know the product but now have no way of 'bragging' about it or of including that expertise on my resume. As I write this I am in Denver, CO taking a three-day course for Acumatica's Employee and Project Management course. When I complete this training I will take an official exam to that specific Acumatica badge (cert) and be able to add this accomplishment to my professional skill set. My efforts to learn this competency will be authenticated via a third-party exam (FREE at the Acumatica University) attesting to my competency. And I will be proud of that effort as I was with all my previous GP certifications. Mike Lupro - (Ustacould) GP MCP