For Dynamics MVP Andrew Ly, D365/CRM is an 'addiction'

First-time Microsoft Dynamics MVP Andrew Ly has been involved with Microsoft technologies since 1997, starting with Windows NT deployments then moving to an application development background in the health technology sector developing clinical trial management software.

These days, Ly, who specializes in Microsoft Dynamics 365/CRM, wears two hats: national Microsoft technical pre-sales lead and regional Dynamics 365 and Office 365 practice lead at Perth, Australia-based ASG Group.

"Currently, as a regional practice lead for the South Australian region I look after a team of about 12 Microsoft specialists within the organization," says Ly, who was named an MVP in February. "We help deliver digital transformation projects for our customers, which are typically mid to large enterprises and government agencies."

One of the things Ly and his team are doing centers around design thinking and human-centered design.  For example, the team sits with call center operators to understand exactly what their problems are and figure out how to use Dynamics 365 and Office 365 to help solve those problems.

"It's a fantastic process and we get to sit with our stakeholders and follow them around [to learn about their jobs], and then make it better for them," he says.

As a pre-sales lead, Ly assists with the qualification of the company's opportunities and bringing those opportunities through to fruition.

"I'm more on the technical side of pre-sales, involved in vetting opportunities, establishing the technology architecture, and being able to involve the right resources internally and to present [the ...