Microsoft Dynamics Profile: For new MVP, a polymath mindset breeds D365 and Power Platform progress

When it comes to sales reps and customer relationship management systems, it seems the old adage, "the more things change the more they stay the same," still holds true.

Companies have spent decades jumping through hoops trying to get their sales teams to understand and appreciate the value of using CRM systems. And even though Dynamics CRM has been replaced by Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (D365CE), the challenges in driving user adoption remain.

That appears to be the experience of first-time MVP Ed Gonzales, marketing and e-commerce manager at Hampton Products International Corp, a manufacturer of security and architectural hardware as well as lighting and automotive accessory products, in Foothill Ranch, California. He received the award in December 2019.

Gonzales is Hampton's D365CE and Power Platform champion. As such, one facet of his job is administering the CRM system, and that's where that old adage comes into play.

"It's been a great case study of user adoption or the lack of for D365 CE," he says. "So what I've been doing is getting involved with certain aspects of the integration of Power Platform and some other things to try and drive that user engagement."

Advocating for CRM

When the company's sales team didn't immediately jump on to using certain aspects of D365CE, Gonzales found he could get traction by integrating it with the output of marketing activities. He explained: