Community Summit 2023: Microsoft Sets Priorities for Dynamics Users and Partners on Cloud Migration, Power Platform, AI

As Dynamics partners and customers work to stay aligned with Microsoft’s FY24 priorities, investments in a few key areas may make the difference.

Microsoft’s near-term plans in the Business Applications space start with getting more Dynamics on-prem customers to the cloud and growing usage of Power Platform, according to Alfredo Ramirez, Microsoft’s GM of go-to-market and strategy for Business Applications, who spoke to both customers and partners at Community Summit NA this week in Charlotte, North Carolina. AI has also become a current priority with Microsoft bringing more options to the Dynamics and Power Platform customer base.

“How [do we] capitalize on momentum in OpenAI and Copilot? How do we drive business outcomes through it,” Ramirez asked a partner audience on Monday. While still relatively new to the role, Ramirez leads and defines overall partner strategy across both Microsoft’s field sellers and partners. The partner opportunity for Power Platform remains a challenge, he acknowledged, given Microsoft’s dual messaging that positions the platform’s app development, process automation, reporting, and other services as both an opportunity for customers’ own employees and for partners’ expert teams.

“We are putting a lot of energy behind [Power Platform] and are incredibly reliant on partners to make customers successful” through the development of solutions, he said, adding that Microsoft wants to find ways to help partners make it a profitable part of their Microsoft practices.

One goal, Ramirez said, is for partners to find ways to make Power Platform a core component of their Dynamics 365 services delivery. He noted his own experience as a Power Platform user at Microsoft, where he and other employees use custom Power Apps to interface with Microsoft’s own SAP system. “Don’t think of Power Platform as another app to sell once and move on, but as an ongoing paradigm change in how organizations do development, both on the citizen and the partner side,” he said.

And cloud migrations remain a priority both for Microsoft’s goal of modernizing Dynamics customer investments and to serve as a baseline from which partners can usher more clients toward next generation technology. Speaking at the Summit keynote, Ramirez explained that Microsoft is encouraging customers to prepare for the arrival of AI tools in the near term.

“To leverage generative AI, you have to get to the cloud,” Ramirez told the audience. He acknowledged that hearing this pitch from Microsoft may not come as a surprise, but he also challenged the audience on how they will help their teams face the challenges of the future, from filling roles to training workers and fostering new skills and organizational competencies. “If you have any desire to leverage AI in the next couple years, think about how to get to the cloud. If you are in the cloud, assess your readiness,” he said.