Interview with Microsoft's Doug Kennedy & Kees Hertogh

Well, as part of the new blog launch, I saved an interview that I recently did with Microsoft's Doug Kennedy and Kees Hertogh, just for today!

In this interview, I talk with both of them, about Microsoft Dynamics AX, the Dynamics Ecosystem, Cloud Computing and of Course Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012!

This is actually my yearly interview with Doug Kennedy, in which you can view last years, here.: Interview with Microsoft's Doug Kennedy (2010)

Without any further delay, here is the result of that interview.:

Doug this year truly is turning into the year of the Dynamics ERP Cloud. I had a chance, while at Convergence 2011, to attend the 'Count Down to the Cloud' event with my company President John Pence. With the information we gathered there, as well as the rest of Convergence it seems that truly Microsoft is going 'All-in' for Dynamics in the Cloud. Can you talk about the vision for Dynamics and Cloud, according to Microsoft's point of view, and how it benefits both Partners and Customers?

Doug K: "The computing deployment models that are being widely discussed in the market today are Public Cloud, Private Cloud and Virtual Machines. All of these deployment paradigms offer advantages for the customer, the partner and the software manufacturer. Virtual Machines have been around for well over two decades and the hardware and software advantages to incorporate technology such as Microsoft’s Hyper-V are well understood in the marketplace.

Technology that enables Private Cloud and Public Cloud deployments is relatively new and the associated workloads that can utilize these two types of Cloud deployments must be better understood by partners and customers. Productivity products such as Microsoft Office 365 and isolated workloads such as CRM can more easily be adopted in Private and Public Clouds. Highly integrated workloads, such as ERP, that can typically tie to legacy and home grown business solutions must involve more planning to shift to the Cloud.

Across Microsoft, we are spending a great deal of time working with customers and partners to ensure they understand the benefits and can incorporate the advantages Cloud computing enables. One example of these efforts is the Microsoft Dynamics Cloud Partner Profitability Guide that is available on PartnerSource. This guide was primarily designed to help CRM on-premise partners understand the business impacts of shifting to a CRM online business model but is also includes ERP examples.

Public Cloud should offer customers the ability to lower infrastructure costs and free up IT resources. This will enable CIOs to address their backlog of projects, which should help their company be more competitive and efficient, execute cloud base Proof of Concepts more quickly prior to introducing new business solutions into the company, scale computing power without the latency of asset acquisition and installation, and the give them the ability to rely on third party experts to manage their computing infrastructure.

As ERP adoption for Private and Public Cloud deployments increase, it is critical that the partner who performs the implementation is also the partner that maintains the application’s environment and provides key services such as upgrades, configuration modifications and integrations with adjacent or complementary business solutions.

Also, these partners continue to play the critical role of managing the customer accounts and being the trusted advisor for computing solutions for each customer. These roles are identical to the functions performed today by the Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM partners and partners should not be concerned that Cloud will disrupt these vital partner roles."

Another huge topic, and one dear to my heart, is the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 into public beta, and also target timeframe of August for GA. Can you talk about the impact this will have as a game changing ERP platform, how it fits into the cloud, and also how it's very much still targeted to be an on-premise install base as well?

Kess H.: "We believe the cloud can provide strong customer benefits, however, customers should not get forced to choose how they provision their ERP solution. They should be able to choose the model that best fits their own IT governance model. This continues to be true with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, which will be made generally available in August of this year. We’ve made great advances across the application lifecycle in this release, making the solution easier to deploy and manage for both the customer’s IT organization as well as service providers if customers choose to use these.

In order to provide a true generational shift in ERP, based on increased customer benefits, we focused on providing a powerfully simple ERP solution. With Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 we intend to provide a powerful ERP solution that can bring more value faster to our customers, provide a rich set of ERP capabilities across different industries, and financial administrative function, like HRM, Financial Management and Supplier Relationship Management, into one common ERP solution.

Secondly, a solution that enables agility within the organization, allowing customers to more easily pursue new business opportunities while reducing the risk of doing so. We want ERP to be an asset in the face of change for customers, not a liability! We continue to invest in the core architecture, for example through Unified Natural Models and our Model Drive Layered Architecture. And lastly, a focus on providing a simple solution that drives adoption of ERP and provides ‘ease of use’ for all roles in the organization and throughout the application lifecycle of the ERP deployment.

Bringing all this customer innovation together in one ERP product we believe allows us to provide this game changing solution you’re referring to."

With Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you now have five industry sectors that Microsoft is offering. With the past few years of focus for partners to specialize and go vertical, can you talk about those efforts and the build up to AX 2012 in regard to this, as well as beyond AX 2012?

Kees H: "Yes, the connection between our vertical focused partner strategy and our product strategy has been very deliberate. We started to address common industry requirements in our product strategy for Microsoft Dynamics AX about three years ago. By Microsoft full-filling the common requirements in a given industry, partners can spend their time and investments in meeting the unique requirements within a given vertical in that industry. This will allow partners to build more complete, higher quality standardized solutions for each vertical and provide more value to the customer.

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is the next iteration in this strategy, where we’ve introduced public sector as a new focus industry and brought together separate industry solution, for example process industry and lean manufacturing, into one common architecture. Our focus now is to bring these capabilities to market with our partners and enabling them to build compelling vertical solutions on this release."

Doug, could you sum up your teams focus for FY12, starting this July, and maybe give some advice to partners in helping them better align themselves with Microsoft vision and changes with the new MPN?

Doug K: "In FY12, the partnering strategy is to ensure partners qualify for the appropriate MPN levels by discipline: ERP or CRM. Additionally, the partner incentives pay for performance model that was announced in October 2011 will take effect on January 1, 2012. It is very important for all partners to understand how we are rewarding partners for new license growth, customer adds, and achieving high BREP revenue recapture.

Both the MPN changes and the new partner incentives are aimed at delineating and rewarding partners for aligning with our objectives to grow the Microsoft Dynamics business. We are certain all partners are striving for the same outcome; to capitalize on ERP and CRM opportunities in the marketplace to grow their business."

I also asked Doug to give some closing thoughts, to help bring everything into focus.:
"Microsoft continues to be committed to enabling our Microsoft Dynamics partners to be successful. We will continue to invest in technical and non-technical trainings, including cloud-readiness training, which we believe are essential to helping partners succeed. We will continue to invest deeply in R&D to provide what we consider to be the best ERP and CRM products in the marketplace. We will continue to invest in the caliber of the Microsoft Dynamics field resources and we will also continue to invest in field and partner tools that are required to enable our partners to succeed.

We know that we will not be successful without well trained and highly motivated partners that are focused on driving growth for themselves and for Microsoft. Microsoft’s investments, and the changes we have made to the MPN program and partner incentives, reflect our goal of being jointly successful with our partners."

I would like to thank both Doug and Kees for taking the time to sit down, virtually be that, and hash out with me some questions I had floating around in my head. I hope, that maybe some of the questions and answers helps you, and helps place together the vision, thoughts, and information from such Executives as Doug and Kees.

I find this information very valuable and I'm glad they are both always willing, when time permits, to sit and talk about this great passion of ours called "Microsoft Dynamics."

That's all for now, but check back soon and often as I have so much more to come!



"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

PartnerSource: Microsoft Dynamics ERP - Count Down to the Cloud

Well as the title of this post states, the Dynamics Ecosystem as a whole is getting ready and counting down to the cloud. This officially kicks off on Tuesday, during Convergence in Atlanta, with Microsoft VP Doug Kennedy, who has been interviewed on this blog several times.

Direct link to this event information can be found here.: Microsoft Dynamics ERP - Count down to the cloud

You do need PartnerSource Access to view this event, and have to be a partner to attend. From the post.:

"Join us for this exclusive opportunity to hear the latest update on the Microsoft Dynamics cloud business from Doug Kennedy, VP, Microsoft Dynamics Partners, and then network with up to ten selected Microsoft Dynamics Hosting Partners who can help take your business to the cloud."

Back in Oct 2010, Microsoft published an online learning course, in the MPN called: Microsoft Dynamics ERP Cloud Strategy

You need to be a Partner in order to review this course as well, but it helps set the stage for the details in which Doug will be diving into.

So quick take aways from that published course, is that Microsoft's ERP Cloud play will be in full steam in 2014, and building up to that full on Microsoft ERP in the Cloud, Microsoft also highlights two ways for Partners to use the cloud with AX today.:

• Extend Microosft Dynamics ERP with the cloud. Being that on-premise, or partner hosted, through Azure hosted composite apps and services.
• Partner Hosted Dynamics ERP

This applies for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 and Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Microsoft does plan to have a total SaaS offering in the future for Microsoft Dynamics AX, hearing that 2014 timeframe for that. Until then, Microsoft Dynamics AX will exist in the Cloud as sitting on top of IaaS, or in a Hybrid cloud mode were AX lives on-premise, while other LOB, Composite Apps / Services live in the Cloud, on Azure's PaaS offering to complete a customers overall solution.

It's great to continue and see Microsoft addressing the cloud question, with current possibilities and also future plans, and so if you can attend this session it will be worth it.

That's all for now, getting back into the swing of things after some vacation. Check back soon as a WHOLE lot more to come. Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

App-V and AX, Sunrise Apparel in Italy, LexisNexisLegalAX-el & Hello 6th year of posting!

Alright,

So I am have been super busy! It's always good to be busy, and have work to do, but it also leaves little time to talk about all the great things going on sometimes.

There has been a lot since I last wrote on this blog, which will be a week ago tomorrow. So I will cover all the hot Dynamics AX topics in this one post, and hope I can get a couple more in this week.

With that, lets get started!

App-V and AX

Now this is something really cool. So if your not that too familiar with App-V, or App Virtualization, check out the following.: Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V)



Some of the highlights of Microsoft App-V:

• Centralized Management, Scalable Infrastructure -
  Publish, deploy, and manage your virtual applications while leveraging your existing technology investments and software distribution processes.


• Readily Accessible Applications -
  Deliver applications that meet the needs of your users regardless of whether they are in the office, on the road, in a remote site, or holding a meeting at the local coffee shop.


• Simplify Application Deployment, Reduce End User Interruptions -
  Give your staff time back for other projects by reducing test cycles and delivering applications more quickly to your end users while providing seamless application updates that don’t require reboots.


• Dynamic Application Virtualization -
  Turn physical applications into virtual applications that are never installed but can seamlessly communicate with the local operating system, middleware, plug-ins, and other applications.

Now take this setup, and think Dynamics AX 2009 client! That's right Dynamics AX 2009 client has been certified to run as a virtually App-V published application. Check this out.: Dynamics AX Sustained Engineering Team is pleased to announce the compatibility of Microsoft Application Virtualization with Dynamics AX 2009 Client

Now it's very important to note that the server can not be done in this fashion, however the client can. This is HUGE! For global deployment options, for geographically seperated locations and need access to Rich Client of AX for processes!

This opens a whole new realm, a better option really, than using TS or Citrix for RDP sessions to use the Rich Client of Dynamics AX with.

Next..

Sunrise Apparel in Italy

Here a little gem of news that is a great move if I may say so myself. Sunrise's CFMD Apparel & Footwear Solution for Microsoft Dynamics AX will now be offered to companies based in Italy, through a partnership with MHT!

Here is the press release.: Sunrise Technologies and MHT partner to offer the Sunrise Technologies’ Apparel & Footwear Template in Italy

From the PR:
"Sunrise Technologies and MHT, both Microsoft Gold Certified Partners and leading providers of Microsoft Dynamics AX, today announced a partnership to offer the Certified for Microsoft Dynamics Sunrise Technologies’ Apparel & Footwear template to Microsoft Dynamics AX customers in Italy... ...“We are extremely excited to be bringing our industry leading solution for the apparel and footwear industries to the Italian market through our partnership with MHT,” states John Pence, President and Founder of Sunrise Technologies. “Both Sunrise and MHT are leaders in our respective markets, and we are extremely excited by the potential of our solution offered to the Italian Fashion Industry.”"

Sunrise's website.: www.SunriseConsult.com and MHT website.: www.MHTNet.it

Why is this important? Why does this matter? This is exactly the Vision that Doug K. from Microsoft laid out of the purpose of CFMD solutions, and making use of the partner ecosystem. (ie: Interview with Doug K. - Read about IMDM)

This is a proven, CFMD Solution for Apparel & Footwear being exported to Italy, to be implemented by a powerful, knowledgable Italian local partner in MHT. Exactly what Doug's and Microsoft vision for CFMD and IMDM position was design for!

Next...

LexisNexisLegalAX-el

Ok... so I could not help myself on the title of this section. This is in reference to the company LexisNexis choosing Microsoft Dynamics AX to develop their Legal ISV / Industry solution for.

I tried several different version to name this section, and landed on what you see. So the meat of this, is the fact that their will now be a solution that is sought to getting CFMD, focused on taking Dynamics AX core great offerings, and adding to them the vertical needs of the legal vertical.

To find out more about this, go to here.: LexisNexis Announces Development of Next-Generation Practice and Financial Management Solution for the Legal Industry

From the PR.:
"We are pleased to be working with LexisNexis to deliver enterprise solutions to meet the needs of customers in the legal industry. The new LexisNexis offering, built on Microsoft Dynamics AX, will deliver firms a single financial and business management platform that can evolve with their individual business requirements,” said Doug Kennedy, vice president, Microsoft Dynamics Partners. He added, “By bringing together the in-depth legal knowledge and solutions of LexisNexis and Microsoft’s technology expertise and products, we are confident that this offering will challenge the status quo prevalent in the UK practice management market.”"

Also, read more details from Microsoft's own Guy Weismantel - Director, Microsoft Dynamics ERP Product Marketing.: LexisNexis chooses Microsoft Dynamics AX as platform for newest solution

LexisNexis is a UK based company, and you can find out more about them, by visiting their website here.: www.LexisNexis.co.uk

Finally....

Hello 6th year of posting!

That's right... as of October, I am entering my 6th year of writing about Microsoft Dynamics AX. That means for six years you all have allowed me to ramble on about Dynamics AX, and everything else in, and around Dynamics AX.

It's hard to believe it's already been that long. So much has taking place in the Dynamics Ecosystem since then, and we have so much more moving forward. 2010 is looking like it will close out with a bang, and then comes 2011 and AX 6!

Just for good-ole times, here is a link to one of my first post on this blog, about the Axapta COM Connector.: Axapta 3.0 Business Connector (COM+) It so funny, I think my first sentence sums up how a lot of people felt with dealing with the early days of the COM Connector in AX 3.0.:
"Oh, Let me count the ways, how I lothe the - flaky Axapta Business Connector!"

I would like to thank all you readers, who care enough to continue and read about the passion of mine. I love the fact that sometimes people take the time, not just to comment, but to also really push the limits of my knowledge of AX and of what AX can do. So please keep those coming!

Well, I am out of virtual breathe from all that! Here's to many more year of Microsoft Dynamics... and if the community at large can stand me, maybe I will be allowed to continue to post and actually have someone read it.

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Interview with Microsoft's Doug Kennedy

Well Convergence has come and gone, and WPC 2010 is now behind us, along with Microsoft's FY2010. With that, it's time for another interview with Microsoft's own Doug Kennedy, Vice President, Microsoft Dynamics Partners.

For reference, last years interview can be found here.: Interview with Microsoft's Doug Kennedy, including comments from Crispin Read

Recently I virtually sat down with Doug, and posed a few questions about the Dynamics Partner Ecosystem, work Microsoft is doing to help Partners, and his advice for Partners for FY2011. The following is the result of that interview.:

1.) Doug, last year's interview opened up with us focusing around Microsoft's drive to vertically and geographically align partners and solutions. In that topic, you mentioned that Microsoft had created a new role to help identify the 'white space', called 'Industry Market Development Manager (IMDM)'. How successful has this move been? What other developments have taken place over the past year in this area and what new focuses will be done for Fiscal Year 2011?

"The creation of the IMDM role within the Microsoft Dynamics field teams has been very successful. The IMDMs have provided a crucial connection between our corporate team in Redmond and our partners and field teams throughout the world. Based on that success, we are continuing to realign our resources to help our partners focus and win in Industry.

Going into FY11, we are creating a separate Industry team to drive the Industry message deeper into our product development and field engagement. The Industry Teams are led by another new role, Global Industry Directors. These Industry Directors work with R&D, Product Mgmt, Sector Industry Leads (EPG, SMSP), Partners, Sales, Marketing, IMDMs and Field to align and drive our WW Go-To-Market strategy and execution for Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM. The Industry team works closely with our R&D team to make sure our development is focused on the industries and verticals where our partners can compete and win.

The Global Industry Directors also link Redmond with the IMDMs to provide clear information and direction to our partners and the field.

Also in FY11, we are helping our partners focus their business by Industry and Vertical with three industry specific programs:

1. The Vertical Solution Prioritization (VSP) process. This field process identifies, verifies and catalogs our proven and repeatable industry solutions. These solutions include Microsoft Dynamics IP at their core along with ISV IP, proven Partners, and integration to other Microsoft products such as SharePoint, SQL, PinPoint, etc. These VSPs must have a minimum number of customer references and be on track to become Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CfMD).

2. Our AMR Industry Certification Program provides our implementing Partners with independent, third-party certification of their industry-specific expertise. AMR (a division of Gartner) conducts the certification process. The process is largely based on customer satisfaction and willingness to recommend surveys. This certification provides our customers with the assurance that the Partner they are working with has a strong track record in that customer’s specific industry.

3. The Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) Industry Badge will be made available later this year. To attain this Badge the Partner must first attain the AMR Industry Certification (demonstrating their proven industry capabilities with customers). Additionally, the Partner must attain several Microsoft competencies. In combination we are certifying the Partner based on proven technical capability AND Industry expertise."

2.) Another topic from last year’s interview was around the Microsoft Dynamics Ecosystem and issues that Partners faced. The economy is improving and sales of Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions have risen. With this said and with the economy improved, though still weak, what are some top issues you see partners facing for fiscal year 2011 and what is Microsoft doing to try to help these areas?

"The economy is definitely improving and both customers and prospects are ready to invest again which translates into increasing pipeline and improved partner growth and profitability.

Having said that, the underlying issues we are trying to address still exist and our efforts to improve partner productivity and develop bigger, stronger and more specialized partners are as relevant as ever.

The good news is that we see more and more partners take our “Go Vertical” and “Play to Win” messages to heart. The changes we are driving through the Microsoft Partner Network such as higher certification requirements and the introduction of an “Industry Badge” are aimed at better differentiating and recognizing partners who support our strategy, and partners are taking it very seriously and working hard to meet the new higher bar.

We understand that this is not an easy transition for many partners and that we have to support them in getting to the next level. Over the last seven months we have introduced a number of programs aimed at driving strategic change and execution excellence in the channel. Even though we have only recently introduced these programs, we have already received great feedback.

Some examples of the positive feedback from partners are tied to the following deliverables:

• The Marketing Services Bureaus, 3rd party marketing agencies that understand Microsoft’s go-to-market strategy and can help partners design and execute more effective campaigns that drive higher ROI

• The Microsoft Dynamics Partner Academy which provides a rich role-based multi-year training and certification curriculum across 7 key business, sales and technical roles within the partner’s organization .

• The Partner Business System - an integrated business solution spanning CRM, ERP and BI specifically designed for Microsoft Dynamics partners – which helps partners improve insight into and oversight over their business, increasingly important as their operations grow.

• The Partner Business Consulting program which provides partners with tools, KPIs and performance benchmark data as well as access to a network of 3rd party business management consultants with channel experience and expertise who – through deep 1-to-1 engagements – can help partners identify and address growth and profitability issues."

3.) With Microsoft Azure in full production and solutions being developed, the 'Cloud' is for sure here and rolling. It's easy to see how an ISV can make money with the cloud, building solutions that are built for Microsoft Azure or embed Azure into their solutions. What about VAR's though?

I realize service dollars can be made by VAR's with creating solutions that interact and extend a customer’s Microsoft Dynamics investment, but what about revenue from sales of Azure accounts? Does Microsoft plan to address this with VAR's? Also what advice would you give Microsoft Dynamics Partners in regard for taking advantage of the Cloud for themselves and their customers at the ISV, and VAR level?

"The cloud provides a variety of business opportunities for the Microsoft Dynamics Partners. We are highlighting these opportunities and providing programs to assist partners with embracing the cloud. Some of our guidance and programs included the following:

• We are reminding the Microsoft Dynamics Partners that they can offer Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM to customers as on-premise or hosted solutions. Having these options offer customers more flexibility in how they consume software and can reduce the partner’s cost of a sale and shorten sales cycles.

• We are telling the Microsoft Dynamics VARs to leverage Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and provision new accounts for their customers in seconds, all backed by a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Partners can leverage Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online to quickly set-up proof of concepts and rapidly prototype new capabilities to increase opportunity success. The flexibility of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online ensures that it can be leveraged within any organization in any number of groups and in different ways to manage any type of relationship, not just customers.

• The business focus for VARs should be centered on the services revenue opportunities available to them that span proof of concepts through to implementing production systems."

4.) Doug, for Fiscal Year 2011, what are some key areas you would like Microsoft Dynamics Partners to focus on to help? Also what are some possible new projects, tools, etc. that maybe have not gotten enough attention that Microsoft Dynamics Partners can really make use of to help their business grow and better align with Microsoft's vision for FY2011?

"Embracing the cloud.

o Partners should plan to be ready for the rollout of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online/2011 is very important for Microsoft Dynamics CRM partners in FY11. We have provided tools on partnersource that helps partners self-assess their cloud readiness which will help them take full advantage of the rollout of CRM 2011 Online.

o Microsoft Dynamics ERP partners should work with the Microsoft Dynamics field teams to understand the options for moving to their customers to the cloud. There are many third party hosters that partner with the Dynamics ERP channel to address the growing demand for cloud deployment. Additionally, as we continue into FY11 we will help partners understand how they can utilize Azure to support partner managed cloud based ERP deployments.

MPN qualifications are published and partner must meet these qualifications early next calendar year. Extensive training across technical and non-technical skills are available through the CPLS’ and the Partner Development Centers throughout the world. Partners should not wait until the last minute to meet the qualifications required to attain the new MPN levels.

All managed partners should have a multi-year plan in place with Microsoft. Microsoft’s PAM’s should be working with their partners to develop multi-year business plans that cover all aspects of the partnership, including education, marketing and sales. Partners should contact their PAM if they have not already spent time developing multi-year partner business plans.

Partners should understand the go to market scenarios for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics ERP which Dynamics will be using in FY11 and beyond. These go to market scenarios were presented and discussed at the Worldwide Partner Conference and are now posted on available on partnersource. Every managed partner’s PAM should be able to explain the Microsoft Dynamics ERP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM go to market scenarios to their partners."

I also asked Doug to give me a closing statement, below is that statement.:

"We are in the middle of a four year journey to modify the Microsoft Dynamics Partnering model to drive higher revenue, profit and marketshare for our partners and Microsoft.

I believe we have remained on plan and are slightly ahead of where I believed we would be in the Summer of 2010. Being on plan is a reflection of the fact that these changes were not only necessary to achieve a higher level of partnering success but the changes were expected and requested by many of the Microsoft Dynamics partners.

There is still a ways to go but we believe the strong partnerships we have with the Microsoft Dynamics partner ecosystem will lead to continued rapid adoption of the partnering changes and move us to a much higher level of mutual success.

As always, I want to thank the partners for their ongoing commitment and dedication to Microsoft and to the Microsoft Dynamics’ business and wish them all a very successful FY11."

I would like to thank Doug once again for doing this annual interview we have been doing now for three years. I hope that you have found the information helpful and useful.

Also a special thanks to Katie, whom without having a third year of Doug's insight on this blog would not be possible!

Till next time!

"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Microsoft trying to help Sage customers and partners

Over at MSDynamicsWorld.com, a great write up has been done, about Microsoft's recent move on the Largest Sage Partner failing and shutting down.

From the post:
"Microsoft has reacted quickly and publicly to the failure earlier this month of the largest Sage partner by encouraging Sage users to migrate to Dynamics products, and prospective customers to select Dynamics.

In a press release, Microsoft said it "invites customers and partners concerned with the stability of the Sage Software Inc. channel to consider available alternatives from Microsoft, including Microsoft Dynamics enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions. "On July 6, Sage's largest partner in 2007 and 2008, MIS Group, suddenly shut down."

And Doug Kennedy, VP from the Microsoft Dynamics Team that has been on this blog several times now had this to say about it:
"Microsoft is using the failure of the Sage partner to encourage Sage partners to move to the Dynamics ERP channel. "In times of economic turbulence, customers have high expectations of their ERP providers, demanding innovation, investment and long-term financial stability," Doug Kennedy, vice president of the Microsoft Dynamics Partner team, said. "There has never been a better time to join the Microsoft Dynamics community.""

The full write up over at MSDynamicsWorld.com can be found here: Microsoft to Sage Users: You Have a Friend, and Opportunity, with Dynamics

This is very interesting, and I am glad to see Microsoft step in and offer a path for those customers that are in turmoil over the Sage failure. I myself totally believe in Dynamics AX, and believe it's the best choice out there.

There is proof, beyond my words, of success after success of Dynamics AX wins.

Thanks MSDynamicsWorld.com for the coverage, and check back soon as more great post are coming. See you then!




"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

Interview with Microsoft's Doug Kennedy, including comments from Crispin Read

Recently, I virtually met with Doug Kennedy, vice president of the Microsoft Dynamics Partners team.

This is the second year in a row I spoke with Doug about the state of the Microsoft Dynamics community and partner ecosystem. (Link to: Interview with Microsoft Dynamics Executives - 2008)

The focus of this interview was to revisit some of the points and goals from last year as well as to get Doug’s thoughts on the current economic climate and his advice to partners in the year ahead.

The following is that interview:

Brandon George: "Last year you stated that your 12-18 month goal was to expand on the work that was in progress for aligning verticals by country and region. You also wanted to make sure that ISVs and VARs were making it to market with Certified for Microsoft Dynamics Solutions. How do you feel that goal is doing? What are the next steps for focusing partners in on specific verticals and regions?"

Doug Kennedy: "A lot of good progress has been made on the vertical focus by geography. Not just for VARs, but also for those partners listed as ISVs.

Microsoft started a new role called 'Industry Market Development Manager' (IMDM) that has people within Microsoft focusing on creating cross-border vertical reach. Beginning in FY10, you’ll see this role being used to help bridge the gaps of existing expertise, and make use of the expertise where needed.

The focus here was the 'white space'. We took inventory of the types of vertically focused partners we have in different states, countries and regions across the world. Now that we have this inventory, and are actively building it, we can fill in the white space as needed.

For example, say you have an ISV based in northern Italy that has a great vertical focus in retail, and there comes a need for that specific retail expertise in Switzerland. This should now show up quickly, and the IMDM roles should step in and help 'import' that good partner from northern Italy to Switzerland to address the need.

As for Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CFMD), those solutions that are certified will get top choice and priority ranking for doing such things as helping to move across borders (importing) into other geographies. As I stated before, this will become an even heavier focus in the coming fiscal year.

In addition, those solutions that are, or will soon be CFMD, will get the focus in this new approach for direct and indirect marketing support in FY10. This way, those that are certified and ranked highest by vertical, country, or region will be at the top of the list, and first looked at for being recommended for inclusion for go to market activities.

As you can see, Certified for Microsoft Dynamics, along with the new Industry Market Development Manager role have come together and will be an important part of our business and execution model."

Brandon George: "Last year it was mentioned that one of the biggest problems partners face is hiring and training Dynamics Professionals. Has the efforts of the last year helped to address this issue? Has the economic downturn changed Microsoft's game plan for helping partners with this area?"

Doug Kennedy: "The economic downturn has actually helped solve this, because partners have had to sub-contract out due to the downturn. This is not the solution everyone wanted, but it did help relieve pressure there.

What we are seeing now is more 'talent on demand'. Contracting and sub-contracting out, per project and need has really been the focus. As companies turn from full-time employees that they have let go, they land projects and hire these same employees back on a contract-by-contract basis."

Brandon George: "This could be a negative thing, because nothing would stop that employee from going to another partner, which could be directly competing with the company that wants to contract them back."

Doug Kennedy: "There is nothing stopping partner employees from doing this today but it is a small enough community that this will be self policed. Once the economy picks up we will see most of this on demand consulting capacity be pulled back into the partners as full time employees.

Brandon George: "The VAR I am a part of, Sunrise Technologies, Inc. We focus solely on Dynamics AX, and the rest of the Microsoft stack that comes with that. We strive to keep our consultants, as that is what makes up our company."

Doug Kennedy: "Yes, so the VARs that have Microsoft Dynamics AX as a second or third choice in their lineup of offerings or those that say only 15-20% of their profit coming from Microsoft Dynamics AX. These are the ones that are making use of the talent on demand approach, and would even make use of a company like yours who’s primary focus is Dynamics AX."

Brandon George: "Doug, if you were told you could only tell partners three things, what would be those three things during these rough times?"

Doug Kennedy: "First, I would tell them to commit to marketing. Do not back down from marketing and sales during this downturn. Now is the time to be larger than life. Backing down at this point, is for sure a quick death to your business.

Changing out an ERP system for a company is like having the choice to get heart surgery. It's not if, but when, the change will take place. Because of the economic downturn the change is being delayed, but it still needs to take place, and still will take place. Unlike some nice-to-have system, ERP is a have-to-have, especially in tough economic times like we are facing today. Worse case it’s delayed, but it's still coming. Therefore, the partners should continue to focus on finding ERP AX opportunities and working these through the sales cycle.

The last thing I would point out to partners would be to have open, honest communication with Microsoft. Ask the hard questions; talk with your PAM’s. Communication is now, more than ever, the key to how Microsoft can help partners. We are asking partners to do their part in asking us the questions that can get them the help needed.

Finally, I would like to close with the statement that Microsoft believes that our Dynamics partners, will come out of this downturn in a very strong position."

Brandon George: "Thanks Doug for taking the time, to do this interview."

Also there was another question I had, focused around the feedback Microsoft is seeing, since its release of Dynamics AX 2009, SP1 and also what are some of the highlights they are looking forward to for AX 6.0. Microsoft's new General Manager of Microsoft Dynamics ERP Crispin Read sent me the following statement:

"We are receiving excellent feedback from customers experiencing benefits from the new capabilities presented in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. We recently released new capabilities for our customers around Project Time and environmental sustainability, and are looking forward to expanding the capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics AX to help customer be more efficient, improve productivity, and lower total cost of ownership. You’ll see that the next version of Microsoft Dynamics AX will continue to build on RoleTailored user experience, expand Microsoft Dynamics AX functionalities across key industries, and deliver enhanced support for multinational customers.” - Crispin Read, General Manager, Microsoft Dynamics ERP

I would like to thank everyone involved that help put this together, Doug, Crispin and also Katie and Beret! Thanks you so much.

I look forward to doing a follow up with Doug next year, and also look for more discussion with Mr. Crispin Read in the near future.

Check back soon!

Doug Kennedy
Vice President, Microsoft Dynamics Partners
Microsoft Corp.


Doug Kennedy joined Microsoft Corp. in March 2008 as vice president of the Microsoft Dynamics Partners team. In this role, Kennedy is responsible for managing the overall business relationship between Microsoft and Microsoft Dynamics partners.

Before joining Microsoft, Kennedy worked for Oracle Corp. for 17 years, holding various positions within Alliances and Channels, Field Sales, On Demand, and Enterprise Support. Most recently, Kennedy was Oracle’s senior vice president of Worldwide Alliances and Channels. In this role, he reported to Oracle’s president, Charles Phillips, and led the organization that was responsible for the ongoing development and execution of Oracle’s Alliances and Channel strategies and programs, partner revenue-generating initiatives, Oracle’s PartnerNetwork program, and the models for managing all of Oracle’s 20,000-plus Alliance and Channel partners. Kennedy also held technical and sales positions at IBM Corp., where he worked before joining Oracle.

Kennedy graduated with a bachelor of science degree in computing science and business administration from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. He also holds a diploma of technology in broadcast communications from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Crispin Read
General Manager, Microsoft Dynamics ERP
Microsoft Corp.

Crispin Read leads product management and marketing for Microsoft Corp.’s portfolio of enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications. In this role he is responsible for ERP strategy and execution worldwide.

Read has over 20 years of experience in the software industry in engineering, sales and marketing positions. Before joining Microsoft, he was chief marketing officer at Cartesis SA, a venture-backed financial applications company that is now part of SAP AG. Previous positions include vice president of product management and product marketing at Business Objects, and senior positions in systems integrators and software companies.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from King’s College, University of London.






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Interview with Microsoft Dynamics Executives

Recently I sat down and had a phone interview with both Klaus Andersen, CVP for Dynamics Sales & Operations and Doug Kennedy, VP of Dynamics Partners Organization. Let me start off, by saying thanks to both Klaus and Doug for taking the time out of their busy schedules to field questions from a Humble Technical Architect.

Below are the questions, and answers from the session:

[Key: KA = Klaus Andersen, DK = Doug Kennedy, Brandon = Me!]

i. Over the next 12-18 months, what are some big goals both of you want to accomplish within the Microsoft Dynamics partner space, and how do you plan to achieve those goals?

DK: We want to expand some of the work that was already started, aligning around verticals by countries and regions for both the ISV and VAR partners. The goals are to align the solutions and services with customer needs for focused verticals and make sure that ISVs and VARs are making it to market with a Certified for Microsoft Dynamics solution. Meaning the vertical solutions have been tested and are clearly ready to address the specific vertical needs of the customer. Microsoft is trying to sit in the customer’s seat, to better understand what, how and why they purchase and then align ISVs and VARs with solutions that that complement the Microsoft Dynamics applications to meet those needs.

KA: The vertical piece is very important. Customers want to feel confident that ISVs and VARs know and understand their business and that they really know how to operate effectively in the customers’ space. So our goal is making sure that the partners know their verticals, and have a clear implementation process that is predictable and repeatable, such as our SureStep methodology.

Brandon: Great points guys! At Sunrise we call what Klaus just mentioned the 'Execution Layer' that is a very important aspect for happy customers. Making sure we can deliver and have a successful go live.

DK: Every customer wants to get to production ASAP. What’s also key beyond the “go live” is making sure that robust and complex implementations are easy to maintain. This is also a focus of the Certified for Microsoft Dynamics program - making sure that offerings from the vertical ISVs complement the ERP offerings and that the integration is tested. (Certified For Microsoft Dynamics is the certification process for ISV solutions that sits on top of the Microsoft Dynamics ERP software.)

ii. What impact do you think these goals will have on the diverse partner space that exists in the Dynamics Community? Will there be a different impact based on the size of the partner?

DK: If you look at the partners today, they come in all sizes. By promoting their unique vertical expertise, the partners can work well together to meet the needs of customers in their vertical in their given region. With the focus on vertical expertise, partners of all sizes have plenty of opportunities because the customer is looking exactly for that specific vertical expertise.

Brandon: Doug, you said a key word there, 'Region'. By 'Region' what do you mean?

DK: A region could be a smaller, focused area of a country, or some other geographical area, but this is more the specific space in which the given VAR operates. What you typically find is vertical expertise and knowledge and localization going hand-in-hand. So for partners, when talking in terms of pivoting around a given vertical, it's more about the depth of the vertical knowledge than it is the size of the partner. You don't have to be the biggest to compete, but having the deepest vertical knowledge for your region is critical.

KA: The vertical guy who understands some form of manufacturing in Ohio is different than the one who understands it on a national level, and even from the one that understands it on the global level. The customer usually dictates what type of partner relationship they want, be that local, national or global level.


iii. Speaking in terms of partners, across all the Microsoft Dynamics brands, what is the most common threaded problem that you see partners facing today? Do you think there is anything Microsoft can / could / should do to help address that said issue?

KA: About a year ago, Microsoft commissioned a study of more than 200 partners to understand what makes a partner more profitable than another partner. What we have seen is that with the Microsoft Dynamics channel, which in itself is very profitable, the more profitable partners focus on their existing customers, making sure they get upgrades, new modules, etc. while still also making new sales. The partners who allowed existing customers to fall off the radar, ended up being not as profitable. So a partner that is balanced on both new and current customers ended up doing the best in terms of being profitable. Another interesting bit, that the survey revealed, was that partners who invested more heavily in marketing versus good sales did worse. Heavy marketing would be spending 10%+ of a given partners’ revenue. The study also revealed that partners who specialize are more profitable that those who do not specialize. Finally we saw that the smaller partners - between 30-40 employees - are more profitable than those that go into 40-100 employees, because of the growth pains associated with getting into bigger and more complex deals, larger projects, etc.

Brandon: So then would you say that the biggest single threaded problem for partners is the lack of focus on existing customers?

KA: There isn’t one specific thing that is a common problem for all partners. The biggest challenge is finding enough trained and certified resources. Microsoft will be churning out another 6,000 to 7,000 certified professionals this year, but even that is not enough.

Brandon: Interesting point, as training focus was lacking, going back 3 years or so, and you can see it picking up. What is Microsoft doing then in terms of working with Colleges and Universities to get them on board for the Microsoft Dynamics products as they are for products like Visual Studio?

DK: We just reviewed our budget for the coming year. As part of our investments, Microsoft will make sure there is appropriate funding for and focus on getting the Microsoft Dynamics products included in what universities and colleges can offer.

KA: Actually three years ago, we [Microsoft] started to focus on this fact and have been working with the Microsoft Dynamics Academic Alliance of more than 1,000 universities worldwide that will be integrating Microsoft Dynamics products into their curriculums or academic research. Ultimately, this helps produce more resources for the Microsoft Dynamics partner space. This team is now under Doug's organization, as a part of our commitment to enabling partners .

iv. What are both of you most excited about for partners and the Dynamics community in general for the next set of Microsoft product releases?

KA: Clearly integration with the stack is very important. I have traveled through the US and European markets meeting with customers, and it's been interesting to hear about customers wanting to follow the stack from the OS all the way to our ERP products. For mid market it's all about the stack, and because of what Microsoft has been doing, partners now have a bigger opportunity with a broader message.

DK: The stack ties back to paying attention to customers; partners need to do that in order to continue being profitable.

KA: What’s interesting is if you go back 3-4 years, all ERP decisions were driven by the CFO or the manufacturing organization of a company. But now the CIO or the IT manager is having a much bigger say in the ERP selection, because they are the ones managing the resources that support the IT infrastructure, which can be complex and often look like “spaghetti”. Because Microsoft offers a full scope of IT solutions, we see IT managers going to the CFOs, etc. and saying ‘take a look at the Microsoft ERP platform, based on the stack integration and because they have the right resources to make it work.’

DK: Basically we stopped turning our customers into systems integrators. Before, the poor customer ended up being the integrator, trying to integrate and connect the “spaghetti” (applications and products from a variety of vendors using a variety of technologies), and that is not the business they are in. By adopting more of the Microsoft stack, the customer is less likely to take on a systems integrator role.

Brandon: So lower TCO / overall stack integration is something to be excited about for the next product releases for both customers and partners. Very good.

v. What are your favorite sports?

KA: I would love to say my favorite sports are team based, but mine are more individual sports like: long distance running, golf and Alpine skiing.

DK: Typically, I am a team sport guy. I like baseball, soccer, hockey, really anything that is team sports. That also reflects that way I like to manage my business organization, as a team.

Closing Comments:

DK: I would just like to say that I am really excited about being here at Microsoft. I had been at Oracle for more than 17 years, and I can say that Microsoft Dynamics is really about to explode... there is enormous market potential for our partners and Microsoft and we are really optimizing on that.


I would like to thank both Klaus and Doug again for taking the time to sit down and have this phone interview. Keep and eye on this blog and my column at MSDynamicsWorld.com for more exciting Dyanmics AX news and information.

Check back soon!



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