CRM MVP Podcast

Episode 37 caused quite a stir because I publicly announced my refusal to ever use Managed Solutions for any purpose other than to deliver IP or Solutions created by an Independent Software Vendor (ISV). CRM MVP Jonas Rapp "closed this case" by publishing an article attempting to put this issue to rest where he basically claimed that you are either using Managed Solutions, or you are doing it wron...

The title says it all. This is an episode about the "things" I never do or use in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and why. Just like the "Top 20 Best Practices I disagree with" episode, you will probably go through a rollercoaster of emotions listening to this episode, as you find yourself agreeing, disagreeing, happy, sad, angry, proud, disappointed, and ready to unfollow me on Twitter and unfriend me on...

Paul Slade is CEO at The CRM Team, a world-class Microsoft Dynamics 365 Gold Partner in South Africa. I've known Paul for several years and this episode is long overdue. Paul is an excellent speaker, and understands how organizations can accomplish a Digital Transformation successfully by leveraging Microsoft Business Applications, including Dynamics 365. On this episode we discuss: Paul's past ex...

I've been thinking about this episode for a while. I wanted to take some time and talk about those confrontational situations that happen once in a while during Dynamics 365 Implementations and what is the best way to manage them or diffuse them. Years ago when I was a "young Solution Architect" I was lucky enough to be mentored by someone who had been working with Dynamics CRM since its Beta days...

In the past, whenever we approached a Dynamics 365 Solution we never really thought about the client/medium the user would use to access the functionality and data. We led entire implementations from the perspective of the Web Client and other available clients were always an afterthought. With the improvements on the Mobile clients and the introduction of new mediums to access the information ove...

One of the reasons why I enjoy attending Microsoft Inspire (previously known as World Partner Conference) each year is that I have the opportunity to interact with partners that are not solely focused in Dynamics 365. Sometimes, we find opportunities to partner with these organizations and offer each other's solutions to our customers. For example, we have partners who focus 100% on the Finance an...

The conversation we started on Episode 31 with CRM MVPs Ulrik Carlsson, Chris Cognetta, and Steve Mordue continues now with Sean Tabor joining the party. These guys were visiting Atlanta for D365 Saturday so I invited them to the CRM MVP Podcast studio to talk all things Dynamics 365 and Microsoft MVP. Follow us: Ulrik:  https://twitter.com/crmchartguy Chris:  https://twitter.com/ccognetta Steve: ...

CRM MVPs Ulrik Carlsson, Chris Cognetta, and Steve Mordue were visiting Atlanta for D365 Saturday so I invited them to the CRM MVP Podcast studio to talk all things Dynamics 365 and Microsoft MVP. Follow us: Ulrik:  https://twitter.com/crmchartguy Chris:  https://twitter.com/ccognetta Steve:  https://twitter.com/stevemordue Gus:  https://twitter.com/gusgonzalez2 Podcast:  https://twitter.com/crmmv...

This episode is inspired by Scott Sewell and his obsession with Antiques Roadshow . CRM MVP Ulrik Carlsson was visiting Atlanta so I invited him over to the CRM MVP Podcast studio to collaborate on our list of Top 10 Pro Tips regarding how to take your Dynamics 365 Implementation to the next level. These tips are all about "the finish" high level professionals put on their Dynamics 365 Implementat...

We are taking a break from the "Dynamics 365 Content" to discuss a very important non-technical topic. Back on Episode 22 , when asked "Which non-MVP community leader do you want to see here at the Microsoft MVP Summit next year and why?", CRM MVP Neil Benson said: "I'd like to see more women, I'd like to see more people who speak Arabic, and Korean, and Chinese, and Spanish, and Portuguese --- th...

Times like these remind me of why I travel with so much equipment, you never know who you'll have the opportunity to talk to. For this episode, I was in New Jersey for some customer meetings and after those meetings I stopped by the Microsoft Office at Times Square and talked to my friend Scott Sewell. Scott is a former CRM MVP and currently a Global Black Belt for Microsoft, so he has tons of rea...

With the release of the new Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing App , I wanted to explore its capabilities and how it compares with ClickDimensions and the Adobe Marketing Cloud . I didn't want to tackle this topic by myself, so I invited someone who has spent a lot of time working with the new marketing app, fellow CRM MVP Steve Mordue. I also wanted to explore how the new app compares with well...

Over the last couple of months I had the opportunity to speak at two universities here in the United States. I delivered a presentation to students graduating soon and looking to start a career. There are two things I noticed during my research for these presentations and while delivering the sessions: There is a huge need for talent in the Microsoft Business Application industry All these student...

On average, people spend over 4 hours a day on their phones, so it makes sense for organizations to think about Mobility when it comes to their Dynamics 365 implementations. But often, Mobility falls to an afterthought on implementations, functionality relegated to Phase 2 or 3. Organizations focus on the overall solution and just want to make sure that this solution is available on the users' pho...

During the Microsoft MVP Summit 2018, Gustaf Westerlund asked if I had some time to talk about Episode 20 where he thought there were a few  "Best Practices" I was incorrect for disagreeing with them, and that there were other "Best Practices" that he didn't even think they were actual Best Practices at all. So instead of missing all the great details and insight from Gustaf by having the conversa...

Many Dynamics 365 Consultants and experts today have thoughts about becoming an Independent Consultant. Typically these thoughts boil down to simple math, the thoughts go something like this: "If my company gets X amount of dollars per hour for my work, I could make that X amount times 40 per week and keep all of it if I was Independent!". But is it really that easy? Listen to  5 CRM MVPs at diffe...

As you know, I attend several conferences and events each year and I do record content for this podcast at those events but I have never really debriefed after an event. This one was different, it was my 7th eXtreme 365 conference and it has been my favorite conference so far, so I wanted to bring Ulrik Carlsson on the show so we could share why we believe this was their best event ever. Follow eX...

There is one week every year where the largest concentration of CRM MVPs is recorded, and that is the Microsoft MVP Summit. During the MVP Summit 2018, I asked 10 CRM MVPs to answer the 22 tough questions you see below and I recorded their answers for all to enjoy, discuss, and learn from. Questions : Should Microsoft get rid off Dynamics 365 On-Premise? Why or Why not? How do you think the new Dy...

There are many things you can do to increase your chances of success on a Dynamics 365 Implementation, there are also many things you can do to increase the chances of failure. In this episode, I'm joined by CRM MVP Neil Benson to discuss the Top 10 things organizations do that increases the risk of Dynamics 365 Implementation failure. We also walk through a few real personal stories of projects t...

Being a CRM MVP gives me the opportunity to interact with Dynamics 365 professionals of diverse backgrounds, whether they work as independent contractors, work for a large global systems integrator, or working for a customer as a CRM Admin, we all have something in common. We are all trying to learn from each other and improve our skills over time. And sometimes is tough to add value from my side...

On this episode I dive into all the steps and best practices I follow when setting up Security for every Microsoft Dynamics 365/CRM Implementation I lead as a Solution Architect. I will discuss my approach to: Licensing Admin Roles Business Units Security Roles Teams Hierarchy Security Field Security Security Performance Follow us:  https://twitter.com/CRMMVPPodcast

Back on Episode 15, fellow CRM MVPs Chris Cognetta and Joel Lindstrom walked through the best practices and details behind preparing for and migrating to Dynamics 365 Online. Unfortunately, Chris and Joel ran out of time and could not cover what happens once the Migration has been completed. This episode closes the series as we dive into the best practices and details behind a completed Migration....

On this episode, Customer Service world-class experts and Community Leaders Sarah Jelinek and Ulrik Carlsson stop by the show to discuss whether Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the right Customer Service solution for all organizations out there. We discuss: Reasoning behind managing customer service on a separate stand-alone solution. Why Dynamics 365 makes sense as a Customer Service solution What can...

Here at the CRM MVP Podcast, we like to focus on topics that are rarely discussed out there, and sometimes we like to be the first podcast out there covering a topic in particular. In this case, we managed to accomplish both conditions, we decided to dedicate an episode to the best practices and techniques you can leverage to become a "better customer", perhaps even "the perfect customer". Let me...

On this episode, Chris Cognetta and Joel Lindstrom dive deep into Migrating to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Online. They will tackle areas regarding preparation, data, customizations, tools, Microsoft FastTrack, and readiness, to name a few. CRMUG Q3 2017 Magazine:  https://goo.gl/B4pgiQ Microsoft FastTrack info:  https://technet.microsoft.com/library/mt812191.aspx Follow us:  https://twitter.com/CRMMVP...