EMEA Dynamics Partners Voice Concern Over Regional Impact of Envision's Global Aim

While Microsoft says it is thinking globally with its plans for April's Envision 2016 conference, Dynamics partners outside North America have been voicing concern about the impact of losing Microsoft's regional event presence.

"It is a real pity that EMEA Convergence will not take place anymore," one Dynamics partner based in Europe wrote recently in a recent private forum discussion with Microsoft.

"There has been some rationalization right across the Microsoft event spectrum, but this leaves the wider EMEA Dynamics community right out in the cold," wrote another partner.

For its part, Microsoft has laid out its Envision vision, as it were, quite consistently from the beginning: to create a single event that will be a global draw for executives and decision makers and will bring a focus to topics of business leadership, industry trends, and technology.

The problem, according to an executive at one large Dynamics partner firm, is that Microsoft's description of the event and stated goals leave European partners confused. They "really don't understand this decision," the person says.

As a new event, it remains to be seen just how well Envision will meet Microsoft's goals, and whether the company will remain committed to this model beyond 2016. As one partner asked, "Why, for example, do you not plan to alternate between Europe and USA?"

Partners in the US have said privately that there was uncertainty after the surprise announcement of Envision about what kinds of companies Microsoft wanted attending the event, and whether partners should be encouraging current clients - including Dynamics customers - to attend. But Microsoft has since clarified ...