MSDW Podcast: What Dynamics GP customers will hear from Microsoft in 2021

On this episode we welcome back Peter Joeckel of TurnOnDynamics and Karen Riordan of Menlo Technologies for a discussion of the new year’s Dynamics GP outlook for customers and partners.

Dynamics 365 Business Central is Microsoft’s SMB ERP product of the future, so changes still to come are to some extent predictable already starting to play out: incentives for legacy ERP customers to plan for a transition to BC; greater urgency on partners to transact via Microsoft’s CSP program, and a GP product roadmap that has shriveled to almost nothing.

But given these realities, what is to be done? The economics of ERP are changing along with the rest of IT and enterprise software. We discuss the impact of some of Microsoft’s latest moves like new cloud assessments for on-prem customers (not necessarily through their partner of record) and the latest channel sales incentives. These changes, will impact customers not just in terms of whom they consult with, but what types of partners can really serve their needs in the future.

Show Notes:

• 2:30 – Microsoft’s interest in getting customers to assess a transition away from Dynamics GP
• 4:30 – Why aren’t GP customers more interest in transitioning to cloud ERP?
• 7:00 – Pressure on partners to manage their GP customers
• 10:00 – Finding an optimal way to engage with Microsoft customers: Can a partner talk to both IT and the CFO?
• 12:00 – What should a customer really expect from their partner in terms of making sense of Microsoft’s offerings?
• 16:30 – How difficult is it for GP customers to do a full assessment of their next steps?
• 20:15 – The economic challenges of ERP for Microsoft partners
• 25:00 – What does the subscription-based ERP model mean for Microsoft’s goals and partners’ challenges?
• 32:30 – How well has GP served its user base during the pandemic?
• 36:30 – How many GP to BC transitions are really happening?
• 39:00 – Who is doing GP to BC transition assessments for Microsoft and what are the outcomes?
• 44:30 – How will Microsoft’s  newest incentives shape the partner channel in 2021?
• 47:30 – Do partners and Microsoft have a responsibility to encourage their clients to evolve enterprise IT?
• 48:30 – 2021 predictions