Kevin Machayya is a 15-year veteran of Microsoft and Great Plains Software. He has held various roles in technical support, customer service, and sales operations. For the last 11 years, Kevin has focused on the Microsoft Dynamics partner channel through partner account management, readiness, marketing, resourcing/staffing and development programs.
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Our Industry Architect team shares information regarding an upcoming web seminar.
In this web seminar, we will provide an overview of the new starter kit available for building Windows 8 Store apps powered by Microsoft Dynamics AX. Discover what the starter kit offers to help developers build beautiful touch first applications for Windows 8 that build upon the agility of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Take a walk through a day in the life of a developer building a Windows 8 companion app for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Learn best practice design patterns focused around usability, integration, and security.
This web seminar will be held Friday, March 8 at 8:00AM PT. Please register to attend via the Partner Learning Center.
--Kevin
By attending any of a 6-part series of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 webcasts, you have the opportunity to win a prize through the Technology-On-The-Go Sweepstakes. The courses in this training focus on new features associated with: services, financial budgeting, tech domain and development, payroll, human resources, and reporting and BI.
Visit PartnerSource to access these activities and review the Official Rules.
In case you missed the news earlier this week, please navigate to the CRM Connection blog for the latest release announcement regarding the Microsoft Dynamics CRM December 2012 Service Update.
Bob Stutz, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, shares guidance on new features and functionality your customers and prospects can expect.
So don’t wait, register now.
Convergence 2013 is taking place in New Orleans, LA, March 18–21, and discounted pricing is only available through tomorrow, January 25. Take advantage of the early registration discount and encourage your customers to do the same.
See you in New Orleans!
A Blog Series for Microsoft Dynamics Partners by Kati Hvidtfeldt, US Microsoft Dynamics ERP Cloud Lead.
Our last several posts have focused on the partner’s role in ensuring win-win ERP implementations by effectively guiding customers to make the right decisions. In the last Kati Unplugged blog post we looked at the issues customers should consider when selecting a deployment model for their ERP solutions.
This week, Matt Woodward, President of Microsoft Dynamics partner SMB Suite, explains how his company positions the cloud in a sales scenario.
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At NextCorp/SMB Suite we provide Financial Accounting and ERP solutions, technologies that are critical to running our customers’ businesses. And as trusted advisors we must support them through waves of technology innovation.
The market move to the cloud has been steadily growing across categories, including managed service, infrastructure, CRM, and HR technologies. Now the wave is extending to reach the mission-critical back office through cloud-based ERP. If you believe your customers aren’t evaluating a move to the cloud, then it’s likely you simply aren’t at the table for the discussion.
It’s not enough to just take a seat at the table. To ensure your customer lands on the right Cloud/SaaS solution you need to actively drive the agenda and discussion.
We recently worked with a new client running QuickBooks. The client was seeking a solution that would increase reporting intelligence, offer multi-company/multi-currency support, provide a CRM solution, and allow them to to scale their home grown e-commerce solution. We walked them through a number of considerations, comparing our Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and SMB eCommerce solution to other competitive solutions, both on premise and in the cloud.
By anchoring the discussion on three core pillars—economic, business, and technology—we responded to the client’s key pains and closed the sale on our SMB Suite Integrated Cloud Solution.
Economic:
· SMB Suite provided a simple subscription pricing plan.
· The solution is flexible and scalable for their business.
· We were able to provide business continuity.
Business:
· The solution aligns with their current business processes.
· We provided a fully integrated cloud platform.
· The Microsoft platform gives their users an easy and familiar user interface.
· The cloud deployment provides ubiquitous availability anywhere.
Technology:
· The solution is extensible to other systems, such as billing and manufacturing.
· The solution is safe and secure, with reliable recovery.
· The managed operational environment is backed by experience.
In evaluating the alternatives the customer found many ERP solutions were missing one or more of these attributes.
Because we presented the vision of how the client’s economic, business, and technology issues directly align with our ability to meet the rigorous demands of their business – today and into the future—we guided the customer to our cloud solution.
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NextCorp/SMB Suite provides extensive TCO evaluation tools and resources to customers and partners to aid in the evaluation process. For more information on Cloud ERP/ SaaS ERP TCO evaluations, and on partnering with SMB Suite as a Cloud provider for your customers, please reach out to Matthew.
To learn more about how to incorporate cloud-based solutions into your business plans visit the Microsoft Dynamics Countdown to the Cloud page on PartnerSource. Go to www.microsoft.com/dynamics/growyourbusiness for resources that demonstrate to customers how Microsoft Dynamics ERP cloud, hybrid and on-premise solutions can benefit their businesses.
The future of retail has arrived today with Microsoft Dynamics for Retail.
NEW YORK — Jan. 14, 2013 — At the National Retail Federation’s annual conference today, Microsoft announced the latest release of Microsoft Dynamics for Retail with new capabilities and next-generation innovation to help retailers deliver a complete shopping experience through end-to-end, search-based e-commerce; next-generation point of sale (POS); and a true omnichannel commerce engine. Building on Microsoft’s commitment to retail and delivering a widely available, end-to-end, omnichannel solution, adopted in more than 38 countries, these capabilities further enhance the unique value proposition of Microsoft Dynamics for Retail, helping leading retailers worldwide deliver the connected, personal and relevant experiences their customers expect.
For more information access the complete press release on the Microsoft News Center.
This announcement was posted to PartnerSource last month right before the holidays so I’m sharing it here in case you missed it.
Microsoft Dynamics is proud to announce that we are ready to begin taking registrations from all partners who wish to have their solution Certified for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013. Solutions that are Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CfMD) have demonstrated development quality and compatibility with the Microsoft Dynamics product on which they run. This certification represents a significant step in elevating the standard for partner-developed software solutions for industry-specific business applications. For the past five years, there has been a single set of requirements for partners to certify their solutions; however, with the evolution of partner solutions from being primarily on-premise to a mix of on-premise and cloud solutions, we realized that a single set of requirements does not fit for all partners. With the launch of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, Microsoft is announcing the availability of two separate tracks for partners to certify their solutions.
Microsoft Dynamics is proud to announce that we are ready to begin taking registrations from all partners who wish to have their solution Certified for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013.
Solutions that are Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CfMD) have demonstrated development quality and compatibility with the Microsoft Dynamics product on which they run. This certification represents a significant step in elevating the standard for partner-developed software solutions for industry-specific business applications.
For the past five years, there has been a single set of requirements for partners to certify their solutions; however, with the evolution of partner solutions from being primarily on-premise to a mix of on-premise and cloud solutions, we realized that a single set of requirements does not fit for all partners. With the launch of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, Microsoft is announcing the availability of two separate tracks for partners to certify their solutions.
For more information and details access the complete announcement on PartnerSource.
A quick reminder as the registration offer for the 2013 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC 2013) is set to expire soon. WPC 2013 will be in Houston, Texas from July 7–11.
WPC 2012 was the biggest and best WPC yet. Now, we’re focused on bringing you a conference experience that delivers you the information, insights, and connections that will help your business win big.
Through January 30, you can pre-register for WPC 2013 at a significant discount of $300 on the price of an all-access pass, and pay just $1,695 (full price is $1,995). There is also a Group Registration Discount for companies that send four or more people. Pre-registration and group registration discount details and instructions are found here.
We hope you will plan to join us in Houston this year for a great event!
The new Microsoft Dynamics Advertising Campaign can help you create awareness, drive desirable actions, and pull customers through to learn more about your service offering. The campaign materials target C-level executives and line-of-business decision makers who seek to improve decision-making via business management solutions.
The campaign materials, available on the Partner Marketing Center, include a marketing execution guide, email templates, print ad, digital banners, and more. With new releases of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, Microsoft Dynamics GP, and Microsoft Dynamics NAV, and the service update for Microsoft Dynamics CRM online, it’s a great time to consider incorporating these advertising assets into your marketing plans.
Advertising Campaign assets and an execution guide are now available for partners on the Ready-to-Go Marketing website.
Convergence 2013 is coming to New Orleans, LA, March 18–21, and discounted pricing is only available through January 25, 2013. Take advantage of the early registration discount and encourage your customers to do the same. Then plan ahead and come a day early to attend the partner only event on Sunday, March 17.
Register early to:
New for 2013!
This year we're reinventing networking by introducing the Convergence 2013 Live Wall, which aggregates social media postings about #CONV13 into one spot, a Microsoft technology experience that includes a Skype bar where you can connect with family and teams back home, and an enhanced mobile experience, putting event tools at your fingertips and connecting you with folks who matter. Plus, you don't want to miss the Closing Keynote featuring Kofi Annan, and the exciting Closing Celebration on March 21 —highlighted by a performance from Matchbox Twenty! Register today, and save! Remember, the early registration discount is only available through January 25, 2013, so don't wait. Register today, and encourage your customers to do the same.