Taking stock of the Microsoft's SMB ERP opportunity after Decisions NA 2019

In this episode we talk with two Dynamics channel veterans who are also relative newcomers to the long-running Directions North America conference and its traditional audience of Dynamics NAV partners. Jonathan Stypula and David Gersten of Dynamic Consulting focused on a broader range of products and clients than just Business Central, but they also see the importance of this product in the future of Microsoft's business apps segment and the channel. We explore their impressions of Microsoft's messaging, parallels to the Finance and Operations world, whether partner M&A will pick up, and what entrepreneurial VARs will do next. Show Notes 4:15 – First impressions of Directions NA from a newcomer 6:30 – Did partners leave the event with marching orders for Business Central? 7:30 – What does it take to get GP partners interested in Business Central? 9:30 – Is Business Central a product with two business models? 13:15 – The challenge of trying to operate in both the 5 seat and the 500 seat ERP markets 18:45 – Are partners going to adapt to be more like Microsoft's ideal for SMB? 21:00 – Does it make sense for a GP partner to acquire a NAV partner? 24:30 – Consolidation in the Dynamics partner space. 30:00 – What is your NAV reseller business really worth? 32:15 – What Microsoft and AX partners learned from the transition to D365FO in the cloud, and how they can avoid the same mistakes with Business Central 34:15 – Why are so few NAV partners talking about competing ERPs? 37:15 – Bringing the GP partner network back into the fold at Microsoft. 45:30 – What companies are better suited for Finance & Operations than Business Central? Does seat count matter much? 49:45 – Are GP partner attitudes changing?