A view from afar: Microsoft Dynamics messaging, deal flow, and analyst relations (Podcast transcript)

Editor's Note: This article is based on a transcription of a recent MSDW Podcast episode.

Is Microsoft doing all it can to make Dynamics 365 the crown jewel of its enterprise business?

Not like it used to, says industry analyst Joshua Greenbaum of Enterprise Applications Consulting. In a recent article he called out Microsoft for a lack of marketing Dynamics to analysts and prospects. He called withering access for analysts to product executives "a damn shame," and described Dynamics as stuck in a "cone of silence" that keeps it out of deal flow "that by rights it should be deep in the mix of."

Microsoft officials don't agree with Greenbaum and point to new events like the Business Forward customer and prospect series, which is expanding globally and aims to present that big picture on Microsoft's commitment to Dynamics as a key part of the enterprise strategy.

But Greenbaum illustrates the unique role analysts play as advisers to software buyers who consider not just features and functions, but also committing to the future performance of a software vendor. 

MSDW: Can you tell us about your work with Microsoft, or watching Microsoft? 

Josh Greenbaum: I go back 30 years with Microsoft. I was around when Windows first came out, I've followed the rise of SQL Server, I was there when the acquisitions that led to the Dynamics brand occurred. I was a journalist before I was an analyst, and you can't cover tech without Microsoft.

I've been watching this movie for a long, ...