What Dynamics NAV Partners can expect from Directions EMEA

In the first week of October you can find the European Microsoft Dynamics NAV partners heading North East. They’ll travel to the city of Poznan in Poland – this year’s location for the DIRECTIONS EMEA event.

DIRECTIONS is an event for Dynamics NAV partners, organized by Dynamics NAV partners. Traditionally this event was focused on the technical and functional roles in a partner organization. Over the last few years however this focus shifted to cover also the more business related topics and roles.

There are two editions of DIRECTIONS: one for the US and one for Europe, Middle-East and Africa (EMEA). The US edition took place in San Diego in the second week of September.

This year the organization committee expects a large attendance at the EMEA edition. May be even an all-time high! For that reason they picked a much larger location. Last year’s edition in Vienna was sold out quite fast and a number of partners ended up on the waiting list.

What can Microsoft Dynamics NAV partners expect from this year’s event?

• The introduction of Dynamics NAV 2015. DIRECTIONS is the platform where Microsoft releases the new version of Dynamics NAV, called Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015. Of course partners can expect a large number of deep dive session regarding new functionalities, the availability on new devices and upgrade strategies.
• IN and ON. At DIRECTIONS 2013 Microsoft announced the slogan IN and ON. IN Office365 and ON Azure. This new slogan was and still is a nice reminder for partners that Dynamics NAV is not a stand-alone solution anymore! Over time Microsoft wants her partners to sell and deliver integrated solutions, rather than point solutions. After all the famous Microsoft stack is the most compelling reason for prospects to choose Microsoft over any other competitor.
• A Business Solution from Microsoft. As the next step after IN and ON we can expect the introduction of BSfM. That’s the new acronym for a Business Solution from Microsoft. This expression was announced at the Worldwide Partner Conference last July in Washington. BSfM goes beyond IN and ON since it also includes solutions like Dynamics CRM and Power BI. It will be interesting to hear Microsoft’s strategies on the transformation of her partner channel from just Dynamics NAV to BSfM solutions.
• R2R, GR2R and RAMP. Two years ago Microsoft started a new project in her NAV and GP channels called Road to Repeatability (R2R). This project focuses on methodologies of selling and delivering high volumes of new customers in a very efficient way. Last year the company designed a short edition of this program called R2R RAMP. But again, only meant for a selected group of partners. This autumn however the RAMP program will be offered to the NAV partners all over the world at four main NAV events in the US, EMEA and Asia Pacific. In short the R2R approach is a shift from Projects to Products. From complex, expensive and long lasting customized projects to a standardized approach based on a standard solution, a faster sales cycle and a short delivery process. Could be cloud based, could be on premise.
• The RAMP Leadership track in Poznan. At this DIRECTIONS event NAV partners can attend the Leadership track of the RAMP program. It’ll give them insights in the changing buying behaviour of modern prospects and the most efficient way for a partner to react. On top of that comes a high-level overview of the impact on the different domains in a partner company, such as Sales and Marketing but also Delivery and Support. The separate in-depth Sales and Marketing tracks can be attended after DIRECTIONS since Microsoft is busy offering these courses in many countries throughout Europe.
• New growth aspirations for Dynamics NAV. Earlier this year Microsoft disclosed that Dynamics NAV crossed the magic barrier of 100.000 midsized NAV customers worldwide. The official number was an impressive 102.000 with a growth of 8.000 customers over the last 12 months! We expect Microsoft to announce the next milestone in this growth path. But also when this milestone should be achieved. And what partners can do to contribute to this ongoing growth. We expect that the R2R way of thinking needs to contribute to the ongoing (and even faster) growth of Dynamics NAV in the worldwide marketplace.

Partner Master Class, a sister company of QBS group, is a Microsoft certified R2R training company. PMC delivers these training courses throughout Europe since the start of the program two years ago.

Your benefits?

Only RAMP certified partners get access to the Microsoft Dynamics subscription pricelist and get an interesting discount on Azure pricing. That’s interesting of course. But much more important is probably the fact that this program prepares partners to be successful in the new era of subscription pricing, packaged solutions, faster delivery and growth in volume.

Interested?

Are you interested in joining these programs? Feel free to contact us and/or schedule a meeting with us in Poznan. You can contact us at info@qbsgroup.com

See you in Poznan!