Microsoft Innovation Podcast

FULL SHOW NOTEShttps://podcast.nz365guy.com/90Personal background – moving back to Galicia, Spain, from London, practicing the queimada, seafood in Galicia Changing jobs Becoming a Microsoft MVP, then a Microsoft employee, and then again an MVP, continuing to participate in the Dynamics community Roles handled when he was still working for Microsoft Overview of some highlights around how the core technology has changed since he’s been involved with it Changes around Dynamics 365 and Power Platform internal to Microsoft or observation about the matter being in the community How Microsoft compares to competitors like Salesforce and SAP Views around Microsoft leadership and how the company has transformed over the years Advice to people who are new to the Dynamics platform and want to build a career in the Dynamics space Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTEShttps://podcast.nz365guy.com/89Personal background – living in Brussels, family, hobbies, etc. Background of  SAGlobal – role, being chairman,  Decision-making process at getting in and building a Dynamics based business Thoughts about Microsoft not pushing Dynamics GP to the market Thoughts on Dynamics 365 Business Central as a product vs Dynamics 365 for Finance and OperationsThoughts on recent big company acquisitions and the possible cycle of boutique startups coming to market Importance and the value of awards (Dynamics 365 Global ERP Partner of the Year for 2017, and Global Talent Partner of the Year for 2018 ) and is seen as world leaders in the Dynamics market space  Key ingredients to growing a successful Dynamics practice Potential revenue streams for an SI Business opportunities around AI to market Activities within the ISV space, being one of 12 global ISVs Thoughts on the Microsoft 20% tax to ISVs Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTEShttps://podcast.nz365guy.com/88Personal background – places she’s lived Growing up in Pittsburgh and top things to do in the City The turning point for when Sandy decided to live a nomadic lifestyle, living off of a carry-on and a laptop bag How PowerApps and Flow changed what’s traditionally being done from a strictly SharePoint and using workflow tools that used to be available in SharePoint Working on PowerApps and Flow, and being nominated as Microsoft MVP for business appsHow the change to Power Platform affects what Sandy does Tips for people renting an Airbnb Best Airbnb experience – hosting experience, location, etc. Differences between the Power Platform, CDS, SharePoint How Power Platform has landed in the community environment, from the Summit perspective over things like User Group, finance and operations, etc. Books & Other Resources Mentioned  Lightning ToolsMicrosoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTEShttps://podcast.nz365guy.com/87Personal background – living in Seattle, family Professional background – studying at MIT, teaching, and working on Bing Predicts at Microsoft  Transitioning to Microsoft Business Applications team from Bing Predicts Career highlights and achievements – Bing Predicts, training elementary students for Math competitions Dynamics 365 AI for Market Insights – what it is and Walter’s involvement with the technology Use cases around Dynamics 365 AI for Market Insights Understanding how people say, seek and feel about market products AI advancements in how nuances of language are picked up How to ask an effective question to Market Insights Focusing on the use case around understanding the market (marketing/brands) Examples of industries that Dynamics 365 AI for Market Insights is landing effectively in Looking at data sources (IE and Edge) in aggregate and anonymizing themWhat part machine learning plays in what the product team is doing in Dynamics 365 Ai for Market Insights Difference between machine learning and deep learning What’s exciting about where machine learning and deep learning are going Dynamics 365 AI for Market Insights integration with Common Data Services for Apps Resources MentionedWalter Sun’s Complete BioDynamics 365 AI for Market Insights Bing PredictsLeveraging Search Algorithms for Bing Predicts How does Bing predict the future?Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTEShttps://podcast.nz365guy.com/86New feature release for FetchXML Builder on XrmToolBox Market reception to the FetchXML Builder tool Road map of things that Jonas wants to add to the tools he creates Background on other tools created by Jonas: Plugin Trace Viewer, Auto Number Manager, Bulk Data Updater, Latebound Constants Generator, Related Records Analyzer Family life living in Sweden Journey to becoming an MVP How consultants change the way they learn in the era of constantly new content that is very targeted around the technology The story behind his passion for American footballMicrosoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTEShttps://podcast.nz365guy.com/85Building applications and getting them on AppSource, company background How CloudFronts pick up new business and clientele Staffing and resources of CloudFronts global offices Handling a marketing story and ensuring the company consistently picks up their next engagement/projects What inbound marketing looks for CloudFronts Handling customers who need consultants to work on-site Importance of Microsoft events and key events that CloudFronts make sure to attend Challenges CloudFronts faced as an ISV as well as how Microsoft engages with ISVs and managing their relationship with Microsoft CloudFronts’ experience with AppSource and their journey since AppSource came to market Creating an ISV solution for other companies How Art and Anil came to work together Working with Anil and how they’ve built the synergies to come to market with a product Sales Opportunities Snapshot (SOS) – what it is, its methodology, history Why extend Dynamics 365 with SOS rather than go into Sales or any other apps  How AppSource affected customer interest How to get the SOS training – the soft-skill parts of using the app, rather than just how to technically use the app Neil Benson and Scrum for Dynamics – Check out this past Episode: Dynamics 365 Implementation Methodologies with Neil BensonBooks MentionedThe Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness: How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life in Ten Minutes a DayResourcesCloudFrontsSOS for D365Neil Benson Scrum for DynamicsTechnical Sales Development Sales Opportunity Snapshot for Dynamics 365Blue Designs Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTEShttps://podcast.nz365guy.com/84• Personal background – origins, living in Prague and Slovakia• Career journey to becoming a CRM professional and specializing in Dynamics 365• Being an MCT and activities around being a certified trainer• Activities done within the user group• Working on Power platform and day-to-day activities around Dynamics 365• Thoughts on the market size for Dynamics 365 in the Czech Republic• Microsoft data center being used for Microsoft in the Czech Republic• Recommendations for places to see in Prague• Technology areas focused on for the rest of 2019• Being nominated as a Microsoft MVP• Biggest value in becoming a business apps MVP• Thoughts on Forms Pro vs Voice of the Customer• Things to look forward to in the April release• What motivates him to keep engaging with the communitySupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTEShttps://podcast.nz365guy.com/83Brief background about Solgari and how the company came about Professional background – from corporate finance to IT, career highlights Setting a company on the right footing in the ISV industry Voice as a channel – what it is and the sophistication around what it is, and security level Choosing Microsoft over other big companies in the ISV industry Chat as a channel – tackling third-party solutions, working in the Asian market Go-to-market services – Microsoft’s involvement, segmenting your market, engaging with Microsoft partners and/or customer, Channel Integration Framework, Dynamics 365 integration Engaging with Microsoft – Should you engage with a Microsoft subsidiary or the head office? Engaging with the right partners Nature of AppSource listing – inquiry, trial version, etc. Ensuring good support for a trial user on AppSource – human touch + digital experience Perspective on where the future is going, specifically around AI Advice on somebody considering wanting to become an ISV with Microsoft RESOURCESSolgari FinTech Microsoft Go-To-Market Services Channel Integration FrameworkMicrosoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTEShttps://podcast.nz365guy.com/82Being multilingual and learning languages, living in different countries to work, and family work Living in Italy, Italian food, favourite dish Recommended attractions for people visiting Southeast Italy Running his newsletter Dynamics Weekly Involvement in the Dynamics 365 community Speaking engagements in Milan and London Career background, working for a Nordic company eCraft and working remotely Staying productive and motivated when working remotely Overcoming motivation problems Interests outside of work Journey to becoming an MVP Why it’s essential to participate in forums  The most challenging thing to do in Dynamics from a developer perspective Possible changes in the plugin arena and what Microsoft is changing in the Power Platform Future learning pursuits as regards the Power PlatformBooks & Other Resources Mentioned Dynamics WeeklyMicrosoft Dynamics Forum Microsoft Field ServiceMicrosoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTEShttps://podcast.nz365guy.com/81Professional and career background, working in Dynamics and the field of business applications. Personal background – family, interests outside of work What has kept Shane in the industry for 20+ years Experience – building IP over the traditional SI type business What constitutes a successful team and the key roles for a strong SI type business to start within the Dynamics or Power Platform space Key resources at the bid process Key ingredients in building winning teams How to create a winning culture in the team and achieve the next level of game or goal in the practice Engaging with Microsoft as the vendor  The value that accolades/awards play in winning new business Process in validating whether an opportunity is legitimate or not and whether it’s one you can pursue Working and engaging with staff and ensuring that the right voice has come through at the right point — constructing a team, so people know when to say nothing or when to jump in Key roles in sales engagement and what makes a successful sale Role of presales in winning an opportunity; presales vs BDM/sales role Changes in the past 10 years – buying behaviours, engaging in sales How change management is critical in the successful implementation of projects Keeping a team up to speed on the cutting edge of learning skills in Dynamics Thoughts on competing with Salesforce and creating an appetite for adopting Microsoft business apps suite among clients ResourcesPresales Technical Specialist Accreditation Microsoft Public Sector: Public Safety and National Security Partner of the Year 2016 Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith