Podcast Transcript: Joe Corigliano on Microsoft ISV strategy and building community

The following transcript is taken from our recent podcast episode with ISV strategist and Microsoft veteran Joe Corigiliano on the complex and strategic relationship between Microsoft and its ISV partners.

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JASON GUMPERT  00:01

Welcome to the MSDW Podcast. I'm Jason Gumpert, Editor at MSDynamicsWorld.com. On this episode, I'm talking with Joe Corigliano. He's a Microsoft Dynamics channel veteran who's held multiple roles both at Microsoft and in the Partner Community. If you're a Microsoft Partner, especially if you're an ISV or work with ISVs often, there's a lot of great insight coming up. Joe explains what the role of a PDM at Microsoft really looks like, what he did to support partners in his time in that role, and what those unmanaged or less manage partners need to be doing to get the best possible results in the Microsoft channel. We discussed the skills and practices that any vendor that sells into the Microsoft's space can focus on to get the most out of their Microsoft relationship. Then we dig into the theme of the Microsoft community a little more broadly, something Joe's really passionate about, and has some very candid views on, in areas like the future of Microsoft's role in business application conferences. There's a lot to discuss. So, let's get started. All right, well, Joe Corigliano, welcome to the podcast.

JOE CORIGLIANO  01:01

Jason Gumpert, happy to be here.

JASON GUMPERT  01:03

You had been at Microsoft, you are now doing other things in the Microsoft channel. Can you give us just a brief update on-- well, if there's people who don't know who you are, what you're doing, and where you came from?

JOE CORIGLIANO  01:18

Jason, thank you for the context question. I like to consider myself a Dynamics 1.0 employee, because I've been part of the journey of Microsoft into business applications. Even before Microsoft bought Great Plains, I managed the Great Plains and solid and relationships with Microsoft as a vendor. Always joked with my mother, when my mother's like, "When is Microsoft going to buy your company?" I'm like, "No, Mom, Microsoft doesn't do business applications. We're a partner." And I'll never forget the call on December 24th, Christmas Eve, when I was apprised of the pending sale that was going to be announced, it was actually December 23. And thus, Microsoft bought Great Plains, when the deal was finalized, I became a Microsoft employee, and was part of the initial business applications team, which was then run by Satya in something called bCentral. And so, that started my journey into Microsoft. I had two different stints there, one until 2013, and then another from 2018 to just recently 2021 and have done lots and lots of interesting things in between those 25 years.

JASON GUMPERT  02:45

Yeah, I think we first met after your first stint at Microsoft, when you were in the events business with the eXtreme 365 team, in that event. Fortunately, we've been able to stay in touch through your years at Microsoft, and now you're doing new things. I mean, we're very, very closely related, I would say. You're still watching the Partner channel, right? You're still working directly with, with partners. Can you tell me sort of what you are seeing now that you have this perspective of knowing where Microsoft's been and seeing where they are now and what partners they're dealing with?

JOE CORIGLIANO  03:22