Dynamics Introspective: Six Things To Learn About at UG Summit 2015

This week's Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM user group Summit events will draw over three thousand AX, GP, NAV, and CRM customers and partners to Reno, Nevada. With several Dynamics products now on a rapid release schedule, annual conferences like Summit tend to deliver both timely product updates and a reality check for customers evaluating how their business solutions fit into the larger Microsoft product ecosystem.

Summit has never claimed to be the event for breaking news on Microsoft's future plans for Dynamics. The focus, as the groups' leaders often say, is about education and networking opportunities for users aimed at maximizing their solution investments. Nevertheless, users and partners in attendance want to hear from Microsoft about upcoming product releases and planning, and Summit is known to deliver a perspective that is unique from Convergence, WPC, and other venues.

The four Dynamics products find themselves in different stages of product development today. Here are some of the topics that might (or might not) drive discussion in Reno across the four product communities.

Is it time for AX 7?

Microsoft spoke about AX 7 last year at AXUG Summit 2014. Plenty of planning and product development had already been invested, and its release will complement ongoing development and support for AX 2012 R3. Microsoft is likely be saving any formal announcements on AX 7 for December's Convergence EMEA event. But it seems unlikely that further talk of AX 2012 R3 will satisfy anyone.

And with AX 7 in the on-deck circle for so long at this point, this week would seem to be an excellent time for AX product management to ...