Goodbye Stephen Elop... whats next?

I sat back this morning, a little shocked as the news rolled in about Microsoft Business Divsion - President, Stephen Elop, let the world know he was leaving Microsoft, to become CEO of Nokia.



While at Microsoft, for the past four years, he has helped oversee Office 2010 rollout, and the Dynamics ERP and CRM business increase at great rates. He was always great to listen too at Convergence every year.

Now he will no longer be with Microsoft, and as of Sept. 21 he will be the CEO of Nokia.

ZDNet has covered this well, including asking some tough questions if Stephen is the right man for the Nokia Chief position. That article can be found here.: Can a Microsoft man fix Nokia? Here are 6 things that have to happen

I don't personally know Stephen, however the past four years working in the Dynamics Ecosystem, through a tough recession, and through new major releases, all-in-all, has been a great four years for Microsoft.

Being the leader of the Business Divison, Stephen has to be given credit, in part, to this success. There are of course many different reasons for the success, including great partners like Sunrise Technologies, Inc., the amazing VAR I am a part of.

So for Stephen and Nokia, I think we all wish him the best and hope he does well while at Nokia.

Now taking a step back, and looking at the bigger moving parts going on in the enterprise and Nokia's current position world wide and in the U.S. They have the top market share in Mobile OS actually, yet hardly exist in the U.S.

Now, lets take my blog post from yesterday.: Tech execs betting on enterprise mobility and look at what Stephen Elop was for Microsoft and is now going to be for Nokia.

For me at least, it has me thinking. Nokia is a big partner of Microsoft actually, believe it or not, and is fast losing share to iOS and Andriod for world wide marketshare.

There is a huge shift to the computing device most people use is a smart phone or tablet / slate based device. This will only continue to grow, and even more so in the Enterprise.

Now take the big focus for next year, Mobile Line of Business Applications. That is, stand alone, and connecting Mobile solutions that extend a customers enterprise investments to the mobile devices, smart phones, slates, tablets, etc.

Could Stephen Elop take Nokia, and revive it, bringing the giant into the U.S. Markets, continue to grow in developing markets, and offer a platform that enterprise swarm to for Mobile LOB applications?

Right now, hard to say. However do I think this will be a top priority for Stephen Elop, bringing Nokia into the US and a focus on the Enterprise? I do!

It will not be his only focus, but a big one. How big of a success he is, will be determined by how Nokia engages the market, if they beef up Mobile LOB app creation ability on their platform (either with Symbian OS or another one), and how he involves Partners.

If Stephen believed anything about what he preached, around the Microsoft Partner Ecosystem, to help drive Dynamics, then I would be willing to bet that this will be an early on project to enable Nokia's push for being a viable mobile LOB platform for enterprise in the U.S. and the world.

So, that's my two cents... trying to tie a bigger picture together here. For me, still will be focusing on Dynamics AX, as well as Windows Phone, Apple iOS and Andriod for devices. If Nokia has a valid push, and it's a great value to enterprises, and can bring value to my customers... then it will be added to the list. Time will tell!

That's all for now, check back soon and have a blessed and wonderful weekend!

"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!

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Interview with Microsoft's Kees Hertogh

While at Convergence 2010 this year, I had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Kees Hertogh, Director, Product Management, Microsoft Dynamics AX, and talk about a lot of different topics around AX that are important to the Customer and Partner level.

The following is the result of that interview.:



Q: In your position Kees, how is Microsoft research and innovation across the rest of the stack evaluated for use to help solve business domain issues in the Dynamics AX product?

Kees: “When we look at the innovation and research being done across the Microsoft stack, as a whole, we look at technologies, to see what makes sense for solving business issues.

Take unified communications for example. If you look at UC separately, the parts that make up UC, like IM, presence, social aspects, etc. These are all interesting technologies, but when some businesses look at these separately they could be considered, or have been considered distractions.

If we bring these technologies, this unified communications umbrella, into the realm of Dynamics AX, then we can start to see how these separate technologies form a valid use for increasing productivity, they become productive elements, for the context of a given users work.

We can see how these technologies then enable true collaboration, in the context of work, and help drive context aware business software.

Moving on to the stack level, let’s look at the SQL Team for example. We, the Dynamics AX team at Microsoft, are an internal customer to the SQL Team. They treat us as such, and therefore we work closely with them to help make SQL Server tuned specifically for the needs of the Dynamics ERP line, including Dynamics AX. Because of this close relationship we have, the leveraged research done on SQL Server is used to help push Dynamics AX to a better product overall.

This is true, as well for the rest of the stack, including .NET Teams, Office Teams., etc. Since we can work this close, all the research that goes into these other stack products, can be leveraged, down to the Windows OS level, and all the way back up the stack.

Something that helps enable this, are people like Microsoft Distinguished Engineer, Mike Ehrenberg. In his role, he helps facilitate and ensure products like Dynamics AX are leveraging and making use of the other Microsoft products, so that customers get the full benefits of what all those other technologies can do to help Dynamics AX continue to be a market leader in the ERP space.”

Q: Continuing on this topic, how does your team stay focused on current AX Technology, while also focusing on the need for ramp up of skills sets for upcoming technology? Also what you recommend for customers and partners to help balance this need as well? For execution, planning and vision?

Kees: “The way our team stays focused is by investing in readiness and documentation for customers and partners. The output of this, is how our team trains, and also will be how customers and partners alike will gain needed information. The medium for delivery of content targeted at the Developer community is the AX Developers center on MSDN. We are investing a lot of time on documentation.

We saw this effort really starting in Dynamics AX 4.0, and now in Dynamics AX 2009, a wealth of information exists on MSDN. With Dynamics AX ‘6’, and beyond, documentation, along with video’s, walk-through’s, etc. will exist and be delivered on a timely manner, targeted in a role specific way.

For example ISV’s need specific access to early documentation that is different than other types of Microsoft Partners. Also, on the role specific focus of training and documentation, there were no longer be a sense of second and first class citizens. Product Information, both functional and technical, will be published to MSDN and CustomerSource. Now, still there will be specific marketing information targeted to Partner Roles that will only be available on PartnerSoruce, that do not apply to customer roles. Again role specific being the focus and target of information, delivered in a timely fashion.

Moving forward with this, and looking at vision, the statement of direction (SOD) for Dynamics AX is the best place to keep current on soon to be released technical aspects, as well as future looking vision. This is not a marketing tool, but a true guideline that we follow. It’s updated every six months, and the six months timeline is the most concrete set of times and delivery around technology, functionality and use. The further out you look with the SOD, the higher the level of focus gets. As time passes, those area’s that were listed with general information, start to get filled in with more and more specifics.”

Q: For Dynamics AX vNext, and beyond what are some important skill sets that customers and partners should be investing in, to best align themselves with Microsoft’s vision for Dynamics AX ?

Kees: “As talked about at Convergence, ‘The Cloud’ is going to be a big focus now and in the not to distant future. Look at the example for product compliance, where our partner Atrion will offer content for global product compliancy in regulated environments through ‘the cloud’ and integrate directly with a customer MS Dynamics AX implementation. In this we show off how the cloud is solving a problem that is hard to solve otherwise, providing compliancy information which is subject to frequent change aggregated through the cloud and delivered in a more timely manner, directly integrated in the customers’ business processes. That’s the point of how the cloud has focus for a skill set that should be invested in by both customers and partners.

The idea of the cloud is not just about the technology, but the business case of why? What business domain problem does it solve, or can it solve? That’s the driving factors for what the current cloud offerings are, and the driving force for the cloud offerings in the future.

For Partners, along with staying up on the latest technology trends, the focus should actually be to have industry focus. Be experts in specific verticals, and do not try to be a generalist. Focusing in on, for example Retail, which is a very vertically focused area. Doing such investments will be of great benefit for partners, and help the Dynamics AX partners fit with the Vision Microsoft has of the future with Dynamics AX.”

Q: How much of an impact will model driven development, with SQL Server Modeling and WF Designer, have on future releases of Microsoft Dynamics AX?

Kees: “ When we speak in terms of models, for Dynamics AX there will be two focuses. One the aspect of Model Driven Development, in which SQL Server Modeling will serve a key role in enabling. This is focused around the development of custom code, and modules, and therefore focused more at the technical side of things.

The second area of model development, is business process models. This is driven with WF, and the WF designer within Dynamics AX of the future. This is a quest a lot of people have been at for years. For business software, like Dynamics AX, it’s never really been successfully deployed. The way we are going about model driven development, we realize that you can’t ever get rid of the need for code creation.

The idea is going to be, for empowering businesses, partners and users to map the workflows of their business process, and in the creation of those maps, actually build out the execution of the processes themselves.

Therefore, model driven development and business process modeling, are not an end points we are trying to reach. It is a continuum that will grow and grow as more and more releases of Dynamics AX take place. Also, this is not going to be a big flip of the switch either. The next versions of Dynamics AX will be planned steps into enabling model driven development & business process modeling, for allowing businesses to speak in their own domain specific languages, to address their business domain problems.

The focus for the upcoming versions of AX, in the business process modeling area will be around putting methodology into business workflows, and mapping workflows to actual business processes. For sure I want to make it should be clearly understood that this is a gradual move, with the idea of enabling flexibility, to increase the speed of go lives, to decrease upgrade headaches, and to help enable our customers to be truly dynamic.”

Q: If you could talk with customers and partners about one trend with technology that will offer a vast improvement in AX of the future, what would that be?

Kees: “There are many great things taking place for the future of Dynamics AX, but one area I think will help really improve productivity, therefore offer a vast improvement in the sense of the question, will be around context aware BI.

When you think about traditional BI, what we have seen is a handful of people at a given company having access to BI base data and reporting. With context aware BI, we will enable the software to become more task aware, in the context of the user and their role in the system. That means, for the purchaser, or shop floor manager, the information that they need, will start coming to them, instead of them having to find it.

You can take the example done during the keynote speech for Convergence this year, showing off how UC, works with Dynamics ERP. In that demo, we saw a quality control issue. A company purchaser was made aware of the quality issue, saw through presence that the vendor for that given issue was online. He then started a video chat session from within Dynamics, to find out more information. While looking at the options for that vendor the most common functions done typically for that vendor, by the given user showed up. The top function, or creating a return order was highlighted and used."

This is a good example of context aware being used to help productivity, and context aware data, or BI focuses for the future.”

Closing Statement from Kees Hertogh.:
"Microsoft will continue to invest in delivering innovation for our customers and partners through the execution of our roadmap. However, since the launch of MS Dynamics AX 2009, I’ve seen a slew of examples where customers implementing this release where able to achieve concrete business benefit by increasing their ERP footprint in their organization and dramatic growth in productivity. I would urge our customers to continue to look at opportunities available today with MS Dynamics AX2009 to help them achieve their business goals."

I would like to thank Mr. Kees Hertogh for taking the time to sit down and talk about Dynamics AX, including Dynamics AX of the future. I look forward to future interviews with Kees, and the rest of his team at Microsoft!

That's all for now, and I will leave you with Kees' bio.:

Kees Hertogh is a director for Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS). He leads the Microsoft Dynamics AX Global Product Management team. In his current role, Hertogh is responsible for developing and driving global product strategy for Microsoft Dynamics AX.

In 1999, Hertogh joined Navision a/s, which was later acquired by Microsoft Corp. Before leading the product management for Microsoft Dynamics AX, he worked in the Microsoft Business Solutions marketing strategy group as director of the group’s competitive strategy, and before that he was a group product manager on Project Green. Before joining Microsoft, he held the position of product director on the MBS management team at Microsoft Netherlands, and was responsible for local product strategy and the local product management and development teams.

Hertogh has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a focus on management accounting from Haarlem Business School in the Netherlands. He also achieved Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) status from the Association for Operations Management (APICS).

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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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