Setting course for Tenerife: Are Microsoft Dynamics partners ready to go?

Two days into the Directions North America 2017 conference, partners understand that Dynamics 365 "Tenerife", the successor to Dynamics NAV, will require them to make choices.

Putting aside for now the early go to market guidance, which seems likely to evolve further, reaction to the product roadmap update and approach to packaging Dynamics 365 apps revealed much about what the different channel stakeholders expect in the future.

Dynamics NAV partners seem genuinely encouraged by the decision to build out Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations Business edition as "full NAV". The mantra-like use of that term over the last six months and at this event seems to have convinced NAV veterans that they will have a viable Microsoft cloud solution to sell.

For NAV outsiders, the "full NAV" battle cry doesn't have the same ring. GP and CRM partners, after all, don't know full NAV from two-thirds NAV. They do know what it takes to win deals, and will assess Tenerife based on their industry knowledge and software expertise.

So NAV and non-NAV partners may see it differently. Let's look at a few factors already up for discussion.

Vertical leap

Tenerife is meant to be extended for all manner of vertical and micro-vertical segments. Veteran NAV partners must now consider if and how to modernize their IP for the Dynamics 365 world. At least some older NAV  customization methods will remain viable, though perhaps with some trade-offs in terms of architecture, technical support, and financial costs imposed ...