Steve reads his Blog

I usually avoid discussing my products or services on the blog, people seem to get annoyed. But I was having a chat with an ISV the other day, who said he had found me via this blog. He asked me how much of my ISV opinions were "theoretical", and did I actually have any ISV solutions. So if you don't want to hear about my stuff, stop reading or listening now. AppSource As many of you know, I have...

In this episode of "Steve has a Chat", I catch up again with Alysa Taylor, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft, to get the latest from the Queen of Marketing for Microsoft Business Applications Group. We chat about the success of Virtual Events, Customer Insights, Power Apps vs Power Apps, and touched on SMB.  Enjoy! BTW, don't forget, Mark Smith (@nz365guy) and I do PowerUpLive every Tuesday a...

In this episode of "Steve has a Chat", I catch up again with Steven Guggenheimer "Guggs" to get the latest on the ISV Connect program. It seems that the word is out at Microsoft about calls from me... they all seem ready now. But I still had a few surprises for him.  Enjoy! BTW, don't forget, Mark Smith (@nz365guy) and I do PowerUpLive every Tuesday at 4PM EST, click here to be alerted, and here's...

As I think back to past customers of Dynamics 365, not all of them were successful. The challenges that brought them to Dynamics 365 were real enough, but at the time we only had one solution to try and solve them with. I would love to snap my fingers and take Power Apps back in time. Sledgehammers Dynamics 365, borne out of it's predecessor, Dynamics CRM Online, is a software marvel. I'm talking...

I try and sneak up on Charles Lamanna a third time, but he was ready for it, "fool me once". Recently promoted to CVP, Citizen Application Platform I wanted to check in with Charles, who was working from home, about some of the things that are going on.  We covered a lot of topics, including the post-virus workplace, RPA, API Limits, Multiplexing and Restricted Entities. Enjoy! Full transcript fol...

Most people I am talking to today are starting to think about their businesses in these odd times. Many are naturally concerned about a reduction in revenue. But the counter-part to revenue is cost. Since the revenue side may be out of our control to some degree, the cost side is more critical than ever. Athletic I work with a lot of businesses of all sizes. From my first-hand experience, the smal...

The Conona Virus is having many different effects on the world, most are negative, but there are some that may actually be positive. For example, with workers being asked to work from home at an unprecedented rate, and that will no doubt go higher, one major point of failure will be on-premise based solutions. Let's unpack this. Remote Workers Looking from the balcony of my downtown apartment, my...

You were warned, you panicked, then realized nothing was happening immediately. So the trusty Team Member licenses kept chugging along, continuing to perform well beyond their boundaries. I wrote about this day coming back in May of 2018, and now finally, it's just around the corner.... prepare for the panic. Sum it up In a nutshell, if you bought Team Member licenses after October 1st of 2018, th...

There are a couple of different ways to approach building a Power App... and I am not referring to Canvas vs. Model-Driven here, but rather, the environment type. Today, you can build a Power App on either a "vanilla" CDS environment, or on a Dynamics 365 CDS environment. Why does it matter? Vanilla Let's quickly discuss the Vanilla approach as it is the safest, which I will explain why later. If...

As an ISV I want to be able to take full advantage of everything that Microsoft's Power Platform can offer. Like SI's and customers, I get excited when I see the roadmap of features that are coming... it is mind-boggling. Unfortunately, just because something goes GA, does not mean it is "ISV Ready". ISV Connect Technical Summit I recently attended the least "technical", technical event I have eve...

I know had previously written about Partner business models, but I can't find that post. I recall discussing our "Blocks of Hours" model, and how it was working well for both us and our customers. But I was seeing some cracks in it, and decided to create yet another business model, that we are starting to use now, that shows even better potential. What is a Business Model? At some point in talking...

The IT organization, inside of most enterprise customers, is primarily focused on Security, Governance and Compliance these days. One of the biggest tools in their arsenal is the word "No".  That approach, to requests from various departments for solutions to help them accomplish their goals, planted the seeds for Shadow IT, and that Genie is not going back in the bottle. Shadow IT In every organi...

I know... this is out of left field right? Me doing a review of a Power Platform solution. But I know the team behind it, and I thought hmm... maybe this could be an angle for some new blog content. So, what the hell! BTW, I am not being compensated for this, nor did they offer... cheap bastards. What's wrong with sales today? Sales has always been a black box. Great sellers have their secrets, bu...

As an ISV, with solutions for both Dynamics 365 and Power Apps, I was encouraged about the attention that Business Applications ISVs are getting recently. Unfortunately, I.P. protection is not one of the items coming anytime soon. Managed Solution Myth Many ISVs believe that their managed solutions are safe. Having taken great pains to ensure that their managed solution never gets in the wrong han...

Many of you have probably heard me talk about the new Power Apps Per App Plans. At $10ea, I know a lot of people are inquiring about it from my Save 90% post a while back. It's real, but it's different. Until Jukka writes the definitive post on this, I will give you my thoughts. Licensing One thing that most everyone can agree on, is that licensing for the Power Platform is complicated. It was com...

Okay, I know it has been a while since I wrote a post. It's been a very busy time, and since Mark Smith and I started do a weekly live show , I felt the base was sort of covered. But people have pointed out that my retweeter has run out of fresh content, so I am compelled to write this. Whirlwind Continues So I had a last minute change of plans, and headed over to Ignite for the first few days. Wo...

In this episode of "Steve has a Chat", I catch up again with Steven Guggenheimer "Guggs" to get the latest on the ISV Connect program. I also had a few surprises for him.  Enjoy! BTW, don't forget, Mark Smith (@nz365guy) and I do PowerUpLive every Wednesay at 4PM EST, click here to be alerted, and here's a link to the replays!  

In this episode of "Steve has a Chat", I try and sneak up on Charles Lamanna again, but no dice. Recently promoted to CVP, Citizen Application Platform I wanted to see if I could get Charles to help clear up some of the confusion around licensing and API limits that seem to be the topic of the day. He was more than happy to help me set the record straight. Enjoy! Full transcript follows: Charles L...

The Power Platform is on fire! Lot's of partners, developers and citizens are all creating all kinds of things at a rapid pace, it all seems so easy. Unfortunately many of them will get down the road and realize they should have taken a fork a few miles back. Let's see if we can map out the right path from the jump. Whatcha gonna do? Before thinking about where to start, you should have clear idea...

Recently, our contact on a large multi-year customization effort for a customer left. The new person who came in seemed to be of a mind to change things up. What was a highly effective and collaborative effort, suddenly became a battle over every hour billed. I'm on the verge of kicking them to the curb, but... Screwed by Nature There is an interesting anomaly in our business, that can ultimately...

Typically I am catching Microsoft leaders on my "Steve has a Chat" podcast, this time I thought I would try and pounce on an Enterprise Customer to get some candid feedback on PowerApps. Mona Baset , AVP of Information and Analytics Services for Atrium Health was game for a chat. Atrium Health is comprised of 40 hospitals and 900 locations in the Carolinas and Georgia. Some of the things Mona and...

It seems clear to me from listening to people on social media, comments on my posts, and generally having an ear to the ground, that too many people, including many who should not be, are still confused about PowerApps... and wouldn't they be? A Quick Quiz. What is a PowerApp?  A Mobile Application you built on top of SharePoint  A Mobile Application you built on top of the common data service  A...

I hinted in my last post about possibly being able to reduce your Dynamics 365 license costs by up to 92%. I may have been a little too coy, so I titled this post more overtly. Was I just bullshitting you? Well... not all of you. It Depends Follow me here as there are a lot of "ifs", but many organizations will meet them. IF, you are paying $115/user/month for the Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement...

The Dynamics 365 Web Client is going to be deprecated soon. If you have not transitioned to the Unified Interface, time is running out to be in control of that process for yourself. Maybe there is a reason to look at this "chore" as an "opportunity". Unified Interface The Unified Interface is awesome, a vast improvement over the previous Web Client. Yet a significant number of organizations are st...

The ground is shifting under Microsoft Business Applications ISVs. Only time will tell if it is shifting forward or backward. Regardless, to continue existing, you will need to sign a new document, so let's take a look at it. A room full of Elephants Microsoft's new "Business Applications ISV Connect Program" hopes to be a comprehensive program for ISV success, yet it's most often referred to by p...