ERP Migration – the Friendly Hill That One Day May Become a Hostile Mountain

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Cloud computing is probably the most profound IT-innovation of this century so far. The software industry has rapidly embraced the paradigm shift and has introduced Software-as-a-Service solutions paid for as recurring subscriptions.

The market acceptance of the SaaS format has been equally impressive. Customers simply love it, and for good reasons.

They get rid of their IT-infrastructure and the hassle of keeping it up to date. Instead, they get access to a virtually unlimited capacity that can adapt quickly (CPU and storage) to their needs at little additional cost. They no longer have to worry about hardware and software operations, maintenance and updates. They move the bulk of their IT-expenses from the CAPEX to the OPEX section of their budgets. During the current Covid19-pandemic, that fiscal detail proved an advantage to many companies and organisations as they could increase or decrease their spending on the fly.

ERP Migration

According to industry analysts, cloud computing and SaaS have long surpassed the tipping point on the market acceptance curve and are becoming the mainstream delivery format for ERP solutions.

The hill that grows a little higher every day

Despite the attractiveness of the cloud delivery format, a few obstacles block the way to the promised land for a large group of companies.

The names of these obstacles are customisations and partner solutions, and the path around or over them is called migration.

In this context, the popular industry and customised ERP-solution delivered by the Microsoft Dynamics value-added resellers may now sound like an alliance with the devil. Still, they were done for very good reasons. Dynamics NAV Business Central (on-premises) was and is, in many cases, the perfect platform for the SME (small and medium enterprise) with industry-specific or unique individual needs. Not all organisations fit the plain vanilla standard that characterised the SaaS delivery format’s first ERP-solutions.

There will always be organisations with industry-specific or special individual needs to which ISVs and VARs must cater. To enjoy the benefits of the innovations and advances in the information technology and software industry, such companies must move to a cloud-based ERP-platform that supports their business processes.

ERP Migration

The first in line to offer such platforms are you, the Microsoft Dynamics partner that provided the on-premises solutions in the first place. You have the domain insight and are familiar with the customers’ requirements.

Making a replica of your on-premises solutions on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central SaaS requires investments. New skills must be acquired for the development work, and partners must convince the customers to migrate and pay for the customisations. It’s a complicated puzzle for which you need a business case.

Unfortunately, time is not on your side. The longer you wait to migrate your industry solutions and the longer the customers defer their customisation, the more difficult and expensive the jobs may become. The more significant the gap between the versions, the more expensive it is to upgrade. However, SaaS products evolve very fast and technical limitations to upgrades diminish over time as well.

What is a pleasant hill today may grow to become a hostile mountain in the future when Microsoft stops the support for your on-premises software.

Getting started today is much better than waiting.

Any journey consists of one step at a time

The first step you should take is joining the Cloud Solution Provider Program (CSP). It will allow you to offer your customers a series of services and benefits.

As a Cloud Solution Provider partner, you can create and deliver differentiated offers to customers, selling the Microsoft cloud portfolio and third-party solutions from the Microsoft commercial marketplace alongside your own value-added solutions and services. You can manage the entire customer engagement lifecycle and establish your credibility with customers as a trusted advisor.

With perpetual software licenses for on-premises use now available in the CSP program, partners can provide a simplified experience for customers who need licenses and managed services to support their hybrid environments and prefer to transact with a single partner.

[This video explains CSP well: ]

Perpetual software in CSP helps partners provide a one-stop-shop for their customers, selling software licenses and cloud services together. For example, you can offer customers to pay their Business Ready Enhancement Plan (BREP) monthly and give them free access to a Business Central SaaS tenant.

Develop your migration plan and the business case.

Taking time out of your busy schedule to take a helicopter perspective on your situation may seem daunting, especially when you lack experience with the details of what lies ahead of you. You have many questions for which you do not have the answers. What will it take in terms of money, time and skills to reimplement the software? Which type of people and training do you need? Will the new SaaS-solution be fully compatible with your current on-premises version? How soon will the customer buy-in to your new offering, and will they be prepared to co-sponsor the effort? Can you win new customers, and how do you do that?

Microsoft Dynamics value-added resellers are very fortunate because they can tap into the expertise of the QBS group and 1ClickFactory.

As a value-added distributor, the number one priority of the QBS group is to help the Microsoft Dynamics resellers map the road to the cloud. That is Microsoft’s key strategic objective, and QBS is the executive branch driving the effort with the partners.

QBS will help you put together the business case. 1ClickFactory, a specialist in upgrading and migrating NAV and Business Central solutions, can tell you precisely what is technically possible, what it will take, what it will cost, and how soon it can be done. If you lack the resources, they can even do the migration for you.

Time is running out

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central version 14 is the last version that supports the C/AL Add-ons AND can be hosted on Azure. Version 14 is only available to existing NAV customers, and that option ends on 31 October 2021.

If you cannot get your NAV customers to a more recent Business Central version now, you should get them to version 14 and offer them hosting on Azure.

However, Microsoft ISV’s ultimate goal is to migrate their industry solution based on C/AL to Extensions and make these available on AppSource. This is the way forward, and with time many of the individual customisations’ VARs have done over the years will be available as extensions on AppSource.

There may be technical issues around the current version of Business Central SaaS (such as database limitations) that prohibits a full migration now. But as support for old versions of NAV Business Central will eventually terminate, reimplementing C/AL code to Extensions becomes more urgent.

Each situation is different, but the end goal is the same. 1ClickFactory, a dedicated Microsoft Dynamics upgrade and migration company, has performed hundreds of such projects and can assist you. Give them a call.

The era of the dinosaur also came to an end

I guess that 80 per cent of NAV-based industry solutions and customisations have not yet been migrated to Extensions. That is a large number, but experience shows that the tipping point is around 20 per cent, which means that the remaining customers will now adapt much faster.

ERP Migration Cloud

In the not-so-distant future, all organisations will have migrated to the cloud, and most of them will be running on SaaS solutions. The open question is how many of these customers will stay with their current partner and how many will move to someone who can better cater to their needs?

Although the migration challenge indeed represents a heavy anchor to the past, the train of innovation will eventually overtake old software. The vendors, such as Microsoft and their partners, invest heavily in making their cloud offerings capable of also embracing industry and individual requirement and are scouting for new market opportunities. Someday someone will open a tunnel offering your customers a bypass through the stony mountain and getting to their destination even during a snowstorm. It will require a new vehicle, which they may accept.

QBS Bernhard migration cloud

What is Microsoft Cloud Business Applications SMB Option?

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If you were not already aware, Microsoft has created the new Cloud Business Applications SMB Option as part of the Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions competency.

The new Cloud Business Applications SMB option caters for Silver and Gold partner status. A maximum Partner Contribution Indicator (PCI) score of 100 points can be achieved, with the PCI score divided into the three areas of Performance, Customer Success and Capability (max. 35 points).

Achieving competency status seems tough at first glance. However, as a QBS partner, we will support you in all required PCI areas to help you achieve your desired certification goal. Below you will find a breakdown by PCI area of initial support services that you can take advantage of as part of your QBS partnership.

There are also two important items of news around the ERP Competency (for on-premise NAV/Business Central):

– Due to COVID Microsoft has extended the grace period around renewal dates. The competency can still be extended until 30/06/2022 if a partner’s renewal is due between now and 30/06/2021.
– No retirement date for the ERP Competency has been announced

Read the latest news from our Partner care team on Yammer

 

Cloud Business Applications SMB Option

If you have any questions about the Cloud Business Applications SMB option or specific questions about support options, please do not hesitate to contact our QBS Partner Care team!

The new Cloud Business Applications SMB Option

The new Cloud Business Applications SMB option caters for Silver and Gold partner status. Partners seeking certification must demonstrate a Partner Contribution Indicator (PCI) of at least 60+ points for Silver status and 80+ points for Gold status. A maximum PCI score of 100 points can be achieved, with the PCI divided into three areas: Performance (max. 20 points), Customer Success (max. 45 points) and Capability (max. 35 points). More information on the Microsoft website

QBS Webcast: SMB Cloud Solutions Competency

Maitane Muñoz de los Santos, Power Platform Partner Marketing Manager at Microsoft gave some insights in a webcast in January. She provides a detailed explanation and more background information on the new Cloud Business Applications SMB competency options. Watch here on our QBS Group YouTube Channel

Factsheet: Cloud Business Applications SMB Competency

The factsheet in Partner Portal summarizes all relevant information on the Cloud Business Applications SMB competence option and a step by step through the specific requirements.

PCI: PERFORMANCE

The Performance area revolves around the acquisition of new cloud customers and the generation of new cloud revenue. A maximum of 20 points can be scored in this area: 10 points for new cloud customers (1 point per new customer) and 10 points for newly generated cloud revenue.

For new customer acquisition in the area of SaaS deployment option, we can support you with the following service:

Take The Lead Program
With the Take The Lead program, which you can obtain through your QBS service funds, we generate new cloud prospects for you each month that fit exactly into your portfolio.

PCI: CUSTOMER SUCCESS

Within the PCI Customer Success section, you will receive a maximum of 25 points for a growing number of users (baseline of 50+ active users per month and additional 35 percent growth) and 20 points for ten new deployments in the past 12 months.

It is not mandatory that the cloud users have to come from a single offering, i.e. only Business Central or only Finance & Operations. All users from the Cloud Business Applications SMB Option area are added together. This means that if you add more Dynamics 365 Sales users to your Business Central users, for example, you will also increase your active user base.

In the PCI area Customer Success you can access the following services and offers within your QBS membership:

  1. Learning Path for Business Central SaaS Getting customers to the cloud requires, as a first step, getting your own team cloud-ready. At QBS Academy, you will find a multi-part learning path for Business Central that summarizes all the details on all deployment options – including SaaS. This on-demand learning path is available free of charge as part of your QBS membership.
  2. Service: QBS Upgrade Services for Dynamics NAV / Business Central Migrations of existing customers to SaaS can be a challenge for partners who do not handle this on a regular basis for various reasons. The QBS Upgrade Services provided by 1ClickFactory supports you competently and professionally in the technical execution of SaaS migrations.

PCI: CAPABILITY

The QBS Academy currently offers the following online courses to prepare you for the respective certification:

  • MB-800 Certification Preparation: Dynamics 365 Business Central
    This online course optimally prepares your consultants for the certification exam, which is also conducted in English. Essentially, the course was developed by our course partner Plataan, who also played a key role in the development of the MB-800 certification exam. Training overview
  • MB-210 Certification Preparation: Dynamics 365 Sales
    The two-day online course optimally prepares you and your employees for the certification exam for Dynamics 365 Sales. The already proven course is suitable for consultants and sales employees. Training overview

Why is Application Insights so important with Dynamics 365 Business Central?

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I can understand why some people would still refrain from recommending Business Central SaaS to their prospects or customers simply because they feel as though they could lose the ability to service them once deployed in a Public Cloud. They feel that they are handing control to the “Dark Side”. If you compare SaaS with on-premise, from a “want to be in control” standpoint, I would regrettably agree with some people’s concerns: as soon as your customer is deployed into the “unknown”, you may start to feel an element of immediate loss. You can no longer nurture that deployment as if it was “yours”! Well, I disagree! I am equally aware of the lack of knowledge regarding new tooling available to partners to effectively monitor the wellbeing of customers’ deployments, either in SaaS, hybrid cloud, or completely on-premise. Application Insights is there to support Business Central, regardless of which deployment option is recommended to customers!

What does Application Insights do?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a solution that in ever-larger numbers is deployed in the cloud. Whilst having the advantage of less systems administration, it also has the disadvantage of less easily available server performance metrics. Microsoft delivers application performance metrics of cloud Business Central environments to Application Insights.

More regarding Application Insights

Dynamics 365 Business Central emits telemetry data for various activities and operations on tenants and extensions. Whether running Business Central Online or On-premises, you can set up your tenants to send telemetry to Application Insights. Application Insights is a service hosted within Azure that gathers telemetry data for analysis and presentation.

What is the advantage here, then?

Application Insights can be enabled on two different levels: tenant and extension. When enabled on the tenant, either for a Business Central online tenant or on-premises Business Central Server instance, telemetry is emitted to a single Application Insights resource for gathering data on tenant-wide operations.

With Business Central 2020 release wave 2 and later, Application Insights can also be enabled on a per-extension basis. An Application Insights key is set in the extension’s manifest (app.json file). At runtime, certain events related to the extension are emitted to the Application Insights resource. This feature targets publishers of per-tenant extensions to give them insight into issues in their extension before partners and customers report them.

Where do I learn more about Application Insights Storage for Business Central and does QBS Group run any courses on this?

Of course, we do! We have our in-house expert, Jan Veenendaal, who is delivering this course uniquely to QBS Group Partners. Here you can find the full details of the course:

Application Insights for Business Central
In this workshop, you will learn how to find these metrics, and how you can add new metrics from your own apps.
Also, Application Insights is not only limited to cloud deployments. You will learn how you can use it for monitoring your customer’s on-premises environment.
Cost: €450 or 1 QBS Training Voucher.

More info or sign up, click on QBS Group Training course overview

Dynamics 365 Update Webcast 10 December 2020

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This series of webcasts is intended to share the latest information on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and related ISV solutions, both from a technical, functional and business perspective.
And along the year we will keep you informed about the latest news from Microsoft biggest events like Inspire, Directions ASIA, North America and EMEA.

Topics – 10 December 2020

Part 1: InsightSoftware
InsightSoftware (20 Minutes)

Part 2: Dynamics 365 Business Central Update
Dynamics 365 Business Central Update (10 Minutes)

Part 3: PowerPlatform and CRM update
PowerPlatform and CRM update (10 Minutes)

Part 4: Gotham Technologies
Gotham (12 Minutes)

Dynamics 365 Update Webcast

Dynamics 365 Update Webcast

QBS Group and MindsUnited Join Forces

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In 2017 Quattro Business Solutions (QBS) the world’s largest Value Add SMB Distributor for Microsoft Dynamics announced a strategic partnership.  Due to the continued success of both companies, from September 2020, an agreement was made to enable QBS to become the majority shareholder, fully integrating MindsUnited into the QBS Group of companies.

This partnership combines the distribution capabilities and ERP expertise from QBS with leading Power Platform and CRM knowledge from MindsUnited.  Through 15+ years of experience in building and operating Microsoft practices of all sizes, MindsUnited can now bring the deep focus and knowledge that they have on the most innovative cloud business applications platform, Dynamics 365 and Power Apps, to all QBS partners.

“We believe that QBS have unprecedented levels of service available to the partner channel, combining tools for operational excellence, core technical services and outsourced development and delivery for all Microsoft business applications products.  For QBS partners, this means that the breadth of service and CSP licensing requirements that they have can be catered for from one single supplier” says Chris Parkes, Power Platform Channel Development Manager at QBS.

“Combining the strength of both companies allows QBS to help partners expand and grow beyond Business Central into business applications bringing the deep knowledge of traditional Microsoft CRM products and a core skill-set around Dynamics 365 and Power Platform to services provided.  QBS are now perfectly placed to help partners fully embrace the cloud-based future of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Applications platform in its entirety.”

With offerings such as the Cloud Partner Panel (CPP) and pre-built Power Apps solutions, QBS and MindsUnited have created a package that enables partners to manage implementations in a scalable way, monitor customers tenants at scale and get insights into usage and performance.  The CPP also supports pushing changes and updates to solution packages in an easy and secure way whilst providing a mechanism to protect the monetization of intellectual property (IP) that is deployed to customer tenants.

“We provide a pro-active way to manage all Dynamics 365 implementations and Power Apps in one place,” says Michel van den Brink, Dynamics 365 & Power Platform architect and owner of MindsUnited.  “The Cloud Partner Panel brings continual deployment and monitoring to Dynamics 365 and Power Apps together, in one central portal, so that partners can focus on their core business whilst minimising the need to deal with routine operations, administration and maintenance.  These tools are now readily available to partners through their membership with QBS.”

Sana Commerce and QBS group take their partnership to the next level with QBS Navigator

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Sana Commerce and QBS group progress their 5-year partnership with the implementation of QBS Navigator, the company’s latest marketplace. As an e-commerce provider for integrated e-commerce solutions with Microsoft Dynamics, Sana Commerce is a perfect match for QBS Group, a long-time support company for Microsoft Dynamics partners worldwide.

QBS Group supports Microsoft’s Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) with marketplaces to promote and leverage their solutions. On November 12, Sana Commerce delivered their latest marketplace, QBS Navigator, a tool for resellers within the QBS community to find proper solutions for their specific business needs. Until QBS Navigator, there were no tools or platforms designed to help resellers easily find solutions based on customer needs.

“If partners want to have a hassle-free buying journey to search and find digital solutions for your customers then sign up for the QBS marketplace.”

Herman van Leeuwen, driving innovation at QBS Group

Exceeding partner expectations

QBS Navigator also now offers ISVs, like Sana Commerce, a place for Microsoft Dynamics resellers to transact licenses for their solutions. This was a bonus for Sana Commerce, as ERP resellers can now order their Sana licenses for Microsoft Dynamics 365 directly from Navigator. Partners also benefit from exposure to QBS Group’s vast network. “QBS Group offers us an expansive network. Sana Commerce is a scaleup, so we love the scalability of having partners we can reach out to, who have partners around the globe,” says Robert Verkade, Vice President of New Business Development at Sana Commerce.

“ISVs working with QBS Group have access to a partner eco-system of over 800 partners. We have people on the ground with the cultural understanding, we can filter the interest and have this continuous dialogue with our partners. We recommend partners, and this helps our partners out. Our partnership with Sana Commerce is all about selling and working together and we’ve been doing this successfully for over 5 years.”

Nelson Tavares da Silva, driving ISV success at QBS Group

Dynamics 365 Update Webcast 12 November 2020

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This series of webcasts is intended to share the latest information on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and related ISV solutions, both from a technical, functional and business perspective.
And along the year we will keep you informed about the latest news from Microsoft biggest events like Inspire, Directions ASIA, North America and EMEA.

Topics – 15 October 2020

Part 1: Dynamics 365 Business Central Update
Dynamics 365 Business Central Update (30 Minutes)

Part 2: QBS Navigator
Dynamics 365 Update (10 Minutes)

Part 3: Improving the Business Central ecosystem of your customers with integrated e-commerce.
Sana E-commerce(12 Minutes)

Dynamics 365 Update Webcast

Dynamics 365 Update Webcast

Dynamics 365 CRM Update Webcast 6 November 2020

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Get the latest insights from Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM

This series of webcasts is intended to share the latest information on Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM, both from a technical, functional and business perspective.

In this webcast, we present in just 45 minutes the most important updates around Customer Voice.

Dynamics 365 CRM Update Webcast

Dynamics 365 Update Webcast

Get the latest insights at the Directions EMEA 2020

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Directions4Partners Virtual 2020 is focusing on bringing state-of-the-art keynotes and sessions about how the SMB market can unlock their full technological potential with ERP, CRM and Cloud solutions in the form of the Microsoft Power Platform, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, and Azure.

QBS Group will be at this event as a Silver Sponsor. Our booth number is Silver05, we would be happy if you could pass by.

Day 1 – 3 November 2020

Day 2 – 4 November 2020

Day 3 – 5 November 2020

Why is Azure SQL so important for Dynamics 365 Business Central?

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Let us start with a common question:

“When a customer is not considering going with Business Central SaaS, what are the options to move to the cloud?”

Dynamics 365 Business Central has a clear advantage against competitor ERP solutions that do not offer and on-premises or hybrid solution. When we talk about deployment choices, we are really referring to two elements:

  1. Business Central Service Tier(s)
  2. SQL Server database

Most non-SaaS deployments are often split into three configurations:

  1. Fully on-premises
  2. Azure VM hosted (Service Tiers) & tenanted SQL database (PaaS)
  3. Azure VM hosted (Service Tiers & SQL Server)

Each of these common configurations has its own advantages and disadvantages. There is clearly not a right or wrong configuration here. It is ultimately all down to what requirements customers have.

Whilst the three options above are the snapshot of a complete Business Central deployment, we need to pay particular attention to the database and where it is hosted!

When deciding on where the database should reside, the options are:

  1. Install SQL Server on-premises
  2. Install SQL Server on an Azure VM
  3. Use Azure SQL Database (PaaS)

When you decide to adopt options 1 and 2, there is a high level of maintenance involved. This often falls entirely or partially with the Dynamics partner, certainly with many SMB customers deployments, where they do not have a dedicated IT department.

Option 3, on the other hand, offers the capabilities of SQL Server in a PaaS configuration. This means that the maintenance (patching, security, etc.) fall entirely on the service provider, in this case, Microsoft Operations.

Contrary to general belief, SQL Server (on-premises/Azure-hosted version) and Azure SQL, differ in design. The latter is specifically architected for cloud computing, performance, and scalability. Some additional features such as geo-replication and geo-redundancy, are only available with Azure SQL.

What’s the difference between Azure SQL and SQL Server?

When comparing the performance of Azure SQL database and a SQL Server deployed to a virtual machine, we need to consider a few intrinsic “differences”:

  • Azure SQL Database is a high-availability database.
  • Azure SQL Database is a scalable and intelligent service that includes features such as high-availability, backups, automatic index tuning, security vulnerability assessment, and advanced threat detection. When choosing a pricing tier for running your production database, make sure that you compare this to a similar setup for SQL Server on a virtual machine (including the cost of administration and maintenance).
  • The performance of an Azure SQL database is correlated to the price you pay for usage, and new pricing models evolve over time. Use the scalability options within the service to change the database performance tier for your installation as your workload changes over time.

So why is it recommended for Business Central?

You can deploy a Business Central database to Azure SQL Database. Azure SQL Database is a cloud service that provides data storage as a part of the Azure Services Platform.

To optimize performance, Microsoft recommends that the Business Central Server instance that connects to the database is also deployed on a virtual machine in Azure. Additionally, the virtual machine and SQL Database must be in the same Azure region.

For development and maintenance work on Business Central applications. If the Dynamics NAV Development Environment is installed on the same virtual machine in Azure as the Business Central Server, then you can connect to the Azure SQL database from the development environment.

Does QBS Group offer any training for my technical resources on this specific topic?

Of course, we do! Our very own Jan Veenendaal, Partner Technical Strategist, has developed a unique “hands-on” workshop only available from QBS Group to educate our Partners about this topic. Here you will find the full details of the workshop: Learn more about Workshop Azure SQL on our Training page.

Look back at the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2020 Release Wave 2 Launch Event

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Microsoft has arranged an absolutely splendid launch event for the 2nd Release Wave this year of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Although I must say that having registered for the event and eagerly anticipating it, I was a little shocked when the opening live keynote event was over a mere 15 minutes. You expect the opening act to set the stage, get the crowd warmed up for what’s to come. Not that they disappointed in 15 minutes, a quick introduction led into a quick, what have we done, what were the ideas behind what we did, followed by different speakers giving you a rundown of what is covered in what sessions… and my goodness are there a lot of sessions to choose from.

So don’t despair if you missed the live event on the date it was launched, you can still register, and all the sessions are pre-recorded and ready for you to consume (Including the Welcome session ).

There are 32 on-demand sessions to choose from, and from the ones that I have seen so far, they are all delivering awesome content. The sessions range from updates to the Modern Client, the server, the development environment, the platform, to integration, performance, technology deep dive, etc. I encourage you to register and to view all these valuable sessions.

Then there are round table sessions made for 6 people at a time, and at first, I wasn’t sure why they would do such small round tables, but after attending 4 round table sessions today it was clear that the smaller group made for a much more intimate environment, and easier to discuss topics openly without the stage fright of a larger audience. It also gave a perfect opportunity to meet the other attendees as opposed to a larger audience where the speaker, and maybe one or two attendees get to talk, and no one gets to meet one another. I was able to get very valuable information about questions and issues that our partners have asked over time that I just didn’t have the right answer to, and able to openly discuss topics and issues that partners face on a daily basis. There are many repeats being scheduled by Microsoft, you may be able to attend some of the round table sessions on the repeats.

Make sure you register by following this link if you have not already.

So what are the highlights of sessions that I have been able to attend so far? Let’s start by the first session I attended, the first one on the list was “What’s new: A modernized approach to email communications in Dynamics 365 Business Central”. I just hit play on the first session, and as immediately launched into solutions to problems that customers have been facing since the first version of Business Central. New email connectors, not just SMTP, being able to set up multiple email accounts, even send as current user, outbox, sent items, and wait for it… Yes, a rich text editor in Business Central. And of course, it wouldn’t be Business Central if the whole thing wasn’t extensible now, would it? Something for both developers and consultants in this session, and a must to attend.

I attended some sessions on What’s new in the Server and Database, which covered web services, reporting, new features and improvements, but also the pitfalls they create, what developers should look out for when coding with all the new changes, performance improvements on how data is read and loaded, configurable report limits and request page changes… Probably the biggest change here is the request page changes, or shall I rather say the change that the users will notice the most. The requested page will not close every time you run the report, which means that if you need to run the report multiple times to get the filtering just right, you don’t need to re-open the report every single time. Also some useful information for developers in this session.

Then, one of the new features that was added in the 1st wave release earlier this year, the Telemetry features has had quite a bit of improvements. I attended both the session as well as the round table on this, and there was information regarding changes in telemetry scattered in other sessions too. A really nice new feature now allows developers to log their own telemetry data to Application Insights right from their extensions. There was also some previews of what is planned for future releases, and in the round table, feedback from partners about what they would like to see in future was taken note of.

New Administration features were added to the Business Central Admin Centre, and the UI got a bit of a refresh, so if you’re used to working in the Admin Center, you will notice the changes immediately. But also a lot of new features were added, with off course the ability to do a point in time restore of your Production and Sandbox databases being the most notable and probably one of the most anticipated changes. There is a brilliant session on this showing off course how you would go about doing a restore, and the procedures you should follow. Pay attention to the pitfalls you should avoid when using the new features makes attending this session an absolute must.

The changes to the Docker environment and everything that goes along with that with the new Artifacts was a brilliant session in its own right. In Freddy’s own words the news that Microsoft is not going to be releasing new Docker images was a shock to those partners that use the containers in their development processes. Ci/CD pipelines built by partners depend on these Docker containers, but of course, the bad news was offset by the brilliant solution that has replaced the old images. Even this has been in place for a short while already and is not really a wave 2 release, it was a good session to attend to get some insight into the thought processes behind the developments, as well as get some behind the scenes information. There was also a Docker round table that I attended with a lot of very useful information and details was shared during this session.

Off course the session on Microsoft Teams is a must-attend session as well, as this is a brilliant new feature that has been added in this release. The collaboration features and the continued integration to the Information Worker space makes the Business Central story so much more appealing to prospective customers. At first, I thought that the decision by Microsoft to make this a feature for the SAAS version only was to motivate customers to move to SAAS, but a review of the architecture of the feature reveals the true reason behind why this is not released in the on-premise version (yet?). Off course once again being Business Central, the entire Teams feature is extensible, and you can add the ability to your extension with minimal to no additional coding and even extend existing Business Central pages to show information from your extension in the Teams feature as well.

There is a session on the Business Central Web Client, and that covers all the new styling and performance changes that have been released. Some of the main points being that apps are being brought in line with other Microsoft apps for a consistent look and feel, from font changes to pixel changes on forms, adding up to make the Web Client a truly great experience. Some of these changes you would not notice unless you attend a session like this. But in order to know why certain changes were made, and the reasoning behind changes, this session should not be skipped. There are even tips, tricks and recommendations for developers in these sessions.

That is what I have been able to attend in the last day, and there are still sessions on the mobile clients, Application Features, VS Code and AL, virtual entities and the CDS, Power BI, Managing Storage… Just too many to mention… However…

There is a session on the Business Central Performance Toolkit that deserves an honourable mention, which promises to cover what the Performance Toolkit is, the benefits it provides, and how you should use it. I think I may try to get this session done before calling it a night tonight… and then the session on the Azure Key Vault that enables AppSource extensions to read secrets from the publisher’s own Azure Key Vault. Here you can learn how this feature can help increase security and control over keys and passwords and ultimately, how this can help better protect data in the cloud.

Then just as you thought I was done, there’s more… Even more, sessions will become available on the 27th of October, and there will be live Q&A sessions on the 28th and 29th of October for you to attend. Now I’m done. Truly a brilliant event and well worth attending, hope to see you all online at the event soon.

Dynamics 365 CRM Update Webcast 16 October 2020

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Get the latest insights from Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM

This series of webcasts is intended to share the latest information on Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM, both from a technical, functional and business perspective.

In this webcast, we present in just 45 minutes the most important updates around Dynamics 365 2020 Wave 2 Release.

Dynamics 365 CRM Update Webcast

Dynamics 365 Update Webcast

Dynamics 365 Update Webcast 15 October 2020

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This series of webcasts is intended to share the latest information on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and related ISV solutions, both from a technical, functional and business perspective.
And along the year we will keep you informed about the latest news from Microsoft biggest events like Inspire, Directions ASIA, North America and EMEA.

Topics – 15 October 2020

Part 1: Dynamics 365 Business Central Update
Dynamics 365 Business Central Update (14 Minutes)

Part 2: Dynamics 365 Update
Dynamics 365 Update (14 Minutes)

Part 3: Meet LS Express, the online Point of Sale (POS) of LS Retail, a Dynamics 365 Business Central extension to address the largest vertical in Europe.
LS Express (12 Minutes)

Dynamics 365 Update Webcast

Dynamics 365 Update Webcast

What is the MB-800 Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Exam and why does it matter?

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Microsoft has launched a brand-new certification exam for Dynamics 365 Business Central SaaS. This is the first certification in a long time since Microsoft decided to drop the exams for the legacy product, Dynamics NAV, back in July 2014. Microsoft Dynamics resellers have disliked the lack of certification in the last six years, as it made it all too easy for anyone to enter the implementation market without any proven “badge”. As they say, differentiation in key!

The MB-800 certification exam entered Beta phase on 6th October 2020. Only a very limited number of participants worldwide can book this exam. This is intentional as Microsoft evaluates feedback on the Beta and incorporates any changes into the final version of the exam when it goes live.

The MB 800 Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Exam is focused entirely on Business Central SaaS and requires a consultant to demonstrate theoretical knowledge around implementing Business Central. This means that you cannot just rely on your legacy experience as a Dynamics NAV/Business Central consultant. If we want to use an analogy here, we could describe sitting this exam, as if you were to retake your practical driving test many decades after having developed bad habits! It is that type of theoretical exam when you really need to think back on the theory rather than the hands-on way of implementing  Business Central.

The exam is made up of many dozens of questions that can range from multiple choice to sequences and drag and drop options. Also, you will be required to look at a customer case study and answer with advice based on the scenario.

The general advice from our side is to ensure you make the most of the autumn time prepping for the exam when it goes live in the new year. This ensures you get the best possible exam experience and will also receive immediate pass or fail scores at the end of the exam. This is not the case with the Beta, whereby you are not told if you passed or failed, let alone the percentage scored!

How do I get my company ready for the MB-800 Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Exam?

It is wise to start planning your team’s readiness as attaining and maintaining the certification will become a regular feature of the Business Central Channel. Your competitors will also use MB-800 certifications to prove they have a variety of resources certified. You need to think about how you respond to a prospect who demands evidence that your whole consulting troops are in possession of this “badge”! You can find more information here on the Microsoft Learn site.

How can I prepare my consultants for this MB 800 Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Exam?

For Microsoft resellers, we have designed a special program to prepare your team for this exam: the MB-800 Core Specialist Program – Exam Preparation Pack (1 student) . You find more info here on our training overview. 

To give your consulting team a head start and to allow them to make use of this time to prepare, we have arranged a special promo: MB-800 Core Specialist Program – Exam Preparation Pack (5 students). This special offer is ideal for those with bigger consulting teams, allowing you to prepare 5 consultants with a special discount of 33.33% on RRP. This promo is active until 31 December 2020.

More information on how you can prepare for this exam, you can watch in our video on our YouTube channel:

 

Get the latest insights at the Directions EMEA 2020 and get inspired by QBS Group.

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Directions4Partners Virtual 2020 is focusing on bringing state-of-the-art keynotes and sessions about how the SMB market can unlock their full technological potential with ERP, CRM and Cloud solutions in the form of the Microsoft Power Platform, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, and Azure.

QBS Group will be at this event as a Silver Sponsor. Our booth number is Silver05, we would be happy if you could pass by.

We have a main QBS presentation and are in four expertise sessions present.

WHAT ARE THE BLOCKERS SLOWING DOWN MIGRATIONS TO BUSINESS CENTRAL SAAS?

Thursday, November 05
11:30 – 12.15


Will McIntee

Join Will to discuss one of the biggest challenges all NAV and Business Central partners are facing today: Cloud Migrations. This is not a technical discussion – it’s a focus on the commercial challenges we are dealing with! We are going to specifically describe the key three blockers that a lot of partners are encountering. We are then going to have a CONVERSATION about ways to address the blockers, but also use it as an opportunity to capture the NAV and BC partner community feedback to ensure that we can provide the right help to the channel!

 

DYNAMICS 365 FOR MARKETING – THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE HEROES

Tuesday, November 3
10.45 – 11.30

   
Ursula Koller               Victoria Danek

As Microsoft Business Application Distributer, we mainly use Microsoft technology and therefore we decided in beginning 2020 to leave our old Microsoft CRM with 3rd party marketing add-ons behind and move on with the all including Dynamics 365 Marketing as one of the early adopters worldwide. This was a tough decision with a high impact on our core processes.

In this session, we will not only share our learnings from this transition project, but we will also share how we achieve our main marketing targets like avoiding data silos, providing relevant decision-making basis for everyone within QBS or to simplify you own Marketing procedures with Dynamics 365 Marketing.

 

MIGRATING TO DYNAMICS 365 BUSINESS CENTRAL  SAAS – TIPS FOR THIS ‘TOUGH JOURNEY’ BASED ON EXPERIENCES

Tuesday, November 3
14.30 – 15.15 


William van Voorthuijsen

“Migrating to BC SaaS – Prioritization is king. When it comes to protecting your installed base it’s crucial that you have the ability to support customers in whatever direction they choose. The days when customers relied solely on their partners informing them of their options are long gone – and competition is banging away hard on the doors of your clients. Some customers are ripe for a migration here and now – either as rip-and-replace or a true migration. Others have complicated implementation scenarios that will take a while to untangle. But don’t be mistaken – these customers also at some point will need assistance to move to the next solution – so better you than the competition! But – you can’t migrate all customers at once – so how do you go about creating a plan for all customers in your installed base – so that this fits your business and your pace? Get guidance and toolkit.”

 

HOW TO ACTIVATE AND ACCELERATE YOUR IP BUSINESS; APPSOURCE, CO-SELL, REVENUE, DIY OR BUILD A CHANNEL

Tuesday, November 3
14.30 – 15.30


Nelson Tavares da Silva

Having IP, your first focus is on developing and delivering the best possible solution to your customers. Keeping up with the innovations of Microsoft and the associated life cycles is your main priority. The second focus is selling your products in a direct or indirect sales motion. Doing both in a timely, cost-effective and highly professional matter is a huge challenge for most companies.

Learn from our (1CF and QBS) ISV joint GoToMarket experiences. What is the commercial truth of working with Microsoft AppSource and how are they living up to the BC extension expectations? During this session, we will give you our insights, deliverables, experiences and open feedback of our IP GTM journey with ISV’s.”

 

POWERAPPS – THE PAINS AND GAINS

Thursday, November 5
13.00-13.45 


Herman van Leeuwen

PowerApps are here to stay. Microsoft is continuously developing new capabilities within the Power Platform to enable the digital transformation of your customer. It enables end-users of varying skills sets to build apps efficiently with investments in modern experiences, reusable custom controls, and best practices. What are the consequences for your Business Central Value proposition? Herman explains how you can incorporate PowerApps successfully.”

Check also the website of our sister company 1 Click Factory https://www.1clickfactory.com/directions4partners 

Dynamics 365 CRM Update Webcast 4 September 2020

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Get the latest insights from Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM

This series of webcasts is intended to share the latest information on Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM, both from a technical, functional and business perspective.

In this webcast, we present in just 45 minutes the most important updates around Dynamics 365 Customer Service
1. Customer Service Hub, Case Management and Queues
2. Managing Knowledgebase and use articles in Case Management
3. Updated Automatic Case creation in the Unified Interface (with Power Automate)
4. Updated SLAs in the Unified Interface (with Power Automate)

Dynamics 365 CRM Update Webcast

Dynamics 365 Update Webcast

 

Why use Azure BLOB Storage with Business Central?

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What is Azure BLOB Storage and why is this a game-changer for Dynamics 365 Business Central SaaS?

Let us start with a common scenario that we hear a lot about lately from Business Central Partners:

Many people are refraining from suggesting Business Central SaaS to their prospects or customers simply because of the limitation on 80 Gb free storage for a given Business Central tenant database. Azure Storage is not cheap and customers with extensive documents (binary data) to be stored can easily fill up their free storage allowance, are then forced to buy additional storage as the database increases in size. This can really be a deal-breaker if Partners don’t know how to mitigate this scenario.

Having covered the high-level “commercial” scenario, let’s take care of the technical bits first so that you can understand more about Azure BLOB Storage and how advantageous it can be, not only on the “pocket” but equally on performance. Of course, feel free to skip this part if you are a “guru” already (are you?) or if this is all “Double Dutch” to you but you have been enticed to read the rest of the article to find out why this topic is now top of the agenda for both Dynamics Business Central Partners and Customers and what we have in store at QBS Group to assist you with learning this…

{ THE TECHIE BIT! 😊

What is a BLOB?

BLOB is a technical term for “Binary Large Objects”, and it is a way of storing information in databases. A BLOB is a data type that can store binary data. This data type differs from other data types used in databases, such as integers, floating-point numbers, characters, and strings, which store letters and numbers. As BLOBs can store binary data, they can be used to store images or other multimedia files.

Because BLOBs are used to store objects such as images, audio files, and video clips, they often require significantly more space than other data types. The amount of data a BLOB can store varies depending on the database type, but some databases allow BLOB sizes of several gigabytes. SQL Server allows huge amounts of binary data to be stored and very often what happens is that customers could store too much binary data in transactional tables. Imagine the scenario with Items: you can store details of an item, such as description, unit price and other details, but you could also store images related to the same item and these, if stored within a transactional table, can cause performance issues when loading big documents to display. So, imagine if you could simply “call up” the binary data from another storage facility hence keeping your footprint on the database to a bare minimum…well you can!

Using Azure BLOB Storage instead

Azure BLOB storage allows you to store all your files in Azure, which in turn can be accessed from other solutions, such as D365 Sales or Power Platform. Whilst Azure BLOB Storage acts very much like a simplified SharePoint, it also provides a very simple file storage container. To create a BLOB storage container, you simply head over to your Azure portal and create one, and the BLOB storage also provides a simple REST interface that you can use to access your files. [RESTful API is an application program interface (API) that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data. A RESTful API — also referred to as a RESTful web service or REST API — is based on representational state transfer (REST) technology, an architectural style and approach to communications often used in web services development.]

What is the advantage here, then?

Well, you can control access to said binary data by creating your own Azure Function(s) that control how you access the storage and the binary data within it. What more, you can grant and restrict access via said Function(s) as a further security/access filter to this data. You, in other words, are in full control.

} END OF TECHIE BIT 😊

Where do I learn more about Azure BLOB Storage with Business Central? Does QBS run any courses on this?

Of course, we do! We have teamed up with Gunnar Gestsson (MVP for Business Central), who is delivering this course uniquely through QBS Group to educate our Partners about this topic. Here you will find the full details of the course:

Azure BLOB Storage for Business Central | Online

Learn how to use Microsoft Azure Blob storage to store business attachments and to give your Business Central access to external files

This training course is hosted by Gunnar Gestsson, who has a wealth of experience with Dynamics NAV/BC and has been awarded eight times by Microsoft MVP program.

This online course is a session about attachment storage Business Central and how to utilize Microsoft Azure Blob storage to move binary objects out of the Business Central database and into Azure Blob. The Database Storage for the Business Central database is one of the most expensive storage media available Moving the binary objects out of the database and into Azure Blob is one of the best methods to limit the database size, increase the manageability and create smaller backups.

More info on QBS Academy

Closer Cooperation between QBS Group and 1Click Factory

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As of September, Soren Fink Jensen, CEO of 1ClickFactory will join the Board of The IT Channel Company. This is a further strengthening of the already well-established collaboration between QBS Group and 1ClickFactory.

The cooperation between QBS and 1ClickFactory combines unique service offerings to the Dynamics partner channel. The joined goal is to support partners in their transformation to the Cloud and therefore enabling them to grow their Microsoft Dynamics business. This combination is unique within the Microsoft Dynamics Channel and offers invincible added value of Dynamics Expertise to make a difference in the market.

“I am very excited that Soren will join the TICC Board as he brings a lot of Dynamics experience, expertise and insights gained from his leadership at 1ClickFactory, Microsoft and Navision to the Board table”, says Louis Rustenhoven, CEO at The IT Channel Company.

QBS Group is announced by Microsoft for Inner Circle for Microsoft Business Applications 2020/21

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QBS Group has achieved the prestigious 2020/2021 Inner Circle status for Microsoft Business Applications for the 7th time in a row. Since starting up, QBS Group has received this outstanding honorable award every year. Inner Circle members have performed to a high standard of excellence by delivering valuable solutions that help organizations achieve increased success.

“I am happy to inform you earned membership in the 2020/2021 Inner Circle for Microsoft Business Applications. Your outstanding performance has placed you in an elite group of our most strategic Microsoft Business Applications partners from across the globe. I want to thank you for your deep commitment and devotion to your customers, as well as your commitment to business excellence. We are extremely excited to have you a part of this group!”

Cecilia Flombaum, Sr Director Ecosystem Lead for Microsoft Business Applications

This recognition of Inner Circle for Microsoft Business Applications came during virtual Microsoft Inspire, the annual premier partner event, which took place July 21-23.

Michael Hartmann, CEO of QBS Group says: “We are proud that QBS was again able to be nominated for this exclusive Inner Circle members club in 2020/21. QBS has achieved this award for the seventh time in a row. As in previous years, we will make optimal use of this membership to work for the QBS partner community. Our deep dedication to the Microsoft Dynamics world and our position in such a great partner community gives us a unique position that I know Microsoft appreciates and our partners can benefit from.”

QBS Summer School 2020

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Even with the new normal, summer remains the perfect time of year to reflect on your business effectiveness and to steer your (professional) interest towards key topics that should be prioritized when the summer holidays are over.

As we are Dynamics Fanatics, we have decided to put together a program of webinars and training around topics that are not that common in your day-to-day offerings (as yet) and that will pave the way for successful Business Central Partners in the immediate future. These topics have been carefully selected by working together with highly respected Business Central MVPs, who are very adamant that these are areas for careful consideration and investment moving forward. We think you should listen to their advice very attentively!

You are invited to participate in our QBS Summer School offerings, whether you are locked down in your home office, left behind in your corporate building or stretching your legs on a beach house terrace!

Training courses:

ForNav Consultant Training – 21 and 28 August 2020

ForNav Developer Training – 21 and 28 August 2020

Power Platform Basic Bootcamp (Level 100-200) – 30 September 2020

Opplus – Introduction to the banking solution – Recording

FREE Webinars:

Let Azure Application Insights work for you – 12 August 2020

Boost your IP migration – 5 August 2020

The relevance of Azure in combination with Dynamics 365 Business Central – 19 August 2020