Article

What Microsoft Dynamics SMB partners can expect from Directions 2017 events

by Guus Krabbenborg
Owner of Dynamics and More, Dynamics and More
September 14 2017
Crystal ball

Being a Dynamics SMB partner in todays' market is like dancing on a volcano. And the various Microsoft announcements that partners can expect in the upcoming conference season ought to entice them to pick up a few new moves!

For many years, Directions was the annual event for Microsoft Dynamics NAV partners. Driven by partners - organized for partners. This year, however, the event makes a shift from ‘NAV only' towards embracing the full Microsoft stack, including CRM SMB partners. The 13th US edition will take place next week, September 17th to 20th in Orlando, Florida. Organizers have advised this week that both the venue for the event and the Orlando international airport have survived hurricane Irma, so everything is good to go. The EMEA edition picked Madrid as the 2017 location for their tenth anniversary event, taking place October 4th till 6th.

This article aims to give you an overview of what Dynamics NAV and Dynamics CRM partners can expect of these events. And where they should put their focus regarding the sessions.

  • The position of Dynamics NAV is under pressure. The announcement of the Dynamics 365 concept at WPC 2016, combined with today's limited geographic availability of the D365 Finance and Operations Business edition (D365FOB) SMB solution has put Dynamics NAV in an uncomfortable position. Competitors have successfully sowed confusion in the market about NAV's future determination. Microsoft now has the challenge, together with her partners, to recover the positioning ...

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Business Central Customer Engagement Directions EMEA 2017 Directions NA 2017 Dynamics 365 Dynamics CRM Dynamics GP Dynamics NAV Dynamics SL
About Guus Krabbenborg

Guus Krabbenborg has been active in the world of business software for more than 30 years. He has held various sales and management positions at Philips, Digital Equipment, DBS Business Solutions and Navision Software successively.

From 2007, Guus was co-founder and partner in Partner Master Class, the Dutch Partner Development Center.

In 2012 Guus was co-founder and co-owner in QBS Group – today known as Companial. He left the company in 2021. Companial operates as a Value Added Distributor in the Microsoft Dynamics channel with currently over 1.000 partners in 75+ countries all over the world. This makes Companial the largest eco-system in the Dynamics 365 partner channel worldwide.

In 2018, Guus started a new venture, called Dynamics and More. In this company he focuses on helping both Microsoft partners and Microsoft customers in their business transformation and digital transformation processes. He also delivers inspirational Masterclasses for software selection and Organisational Change.

In addition, Guus is a much-praised writer and presenter. His blogs and articles are valued by both end-users and partners. He is also a frequent speaker at international conferences and seminars - both from Microsoft and Microsoft partners. Guus has published several books on Project Success with CRM and ERP solutions.

Guus can be contacted by e-mail at gk@dynamicsandmore.com and by phone on +31 622 496 073. 

More about Guus Krabbenborg
Linda
Submitted by LindaRose on Tue, 09/19/2017 - 10:54 Permalink
It will be interesting to see how partners embrace this messaging. These transitions are easier said than done!
Guus
Submitted by Guus Krabbenborg on Tue, 09/19/2017 - 18:11 Permalink
Hi 'Great recap!' - thanks for your reaction. I fully agree with you that these type of transitions are far from easy! But that would also give partners lots of reasons to start timely and give this 'transition project' all the focus, energy and resources it deserves. But unfortunately, that's not really what the majority of partners do today.