Promotion of Anne D. Jakobsen to VP of Marketing for QBS group

Customer lifetime value and customer adds have become the new currency in the business application space. So at QBS group we want to strengthen our ability to offer world class marketing to our partners in order to keep them competitive. Promoting our Global Marketing Lead to VP of Marketing, Anne D. Jakobsen, is a natural step in this direction.

Anne has been with QBS group since November 2015, when she joined as the OneBizz Marketing Lead in the Nordics. Before that, Anne had a 15+ year history with Microsoft/Navision, so she’s a long time veteran in the world of Dynamics. She brings in a wealth of marketing experience on numerous disciplines and experience on cross-European activities, latest from her role as Marketing Manager with Microsoft Western Europe team. We are sure that strengthening our marketing organization like this will benefit all partners in the QBS group community.

In her own words: “I’ve spent most of my adult life doing marketing on the Dynamics portfolio – and over the years it has become more and more evident that creating modern marketing activities is what can make or break a company in this industry. So the services of the QBS group marketing teams are vital to the success of the partners in our community”.

Partners with QBS group benefits from marketing services such as strategic consultancy, lead generation, online marketing and marketing automation. Want to know how to join the QBS community? Read here.

Strategic alliance with 1ClickFactory

1ClickFactory and QBS group are delighted to announce a strategic relationship between the two companies. The synergies in such a relationship are apparent: both organisations are partner centric and dedicated to the Microsoft Dynamics products with very different yet complementary services.

Since 2009 1ClickFactory provided partners worldwide with extended development capabilities around Dynamics and packaged services aimed at specific tasks, such as Upgrade Services, code transformation, provisioning on Microsoft Azure, Certification for Microsoft Dynamics and much more.  Today 1ClickFactory does business every year with more than 300 Dynamics partners.

Since its creation 4 years ago, the QBS group network of partners in the Dynamics channel has grown to encompass 400+ partners. The services that QBS group provide partners range from strategic partner advice and management, staff readiness, sales and marketing support through to being the distributor of Microsoft licenses and enhancement plans and a CSP platform for partners.

Søren Fink-Jensen, CEO, 1ClickFactory:
“This will be a great partnership, where both 1ClickFactory and QBS partners, will benefit increasingly from an end-to-end experience, provided by 1ClickFactory and QBS”.

Michael Hartmann – CEO, QBS group:
“We want to be the best provider of services to Dynamics partners, and this alliance is a big step on the way”

Inspire 2017 Business Report available

From 9 to 13 July the Microsoft partner conference Inspire was held in Washington DC. Inspire (aka WPC) is the most important annual Microsoft partner event. QBS group was there with a team of 8 people to hear from firsthand about Microsoft’s plans for FY 18 and beyond. And with that same team we have once again written our unique and well known Inspire/WPC business report.

Microsoft and her Dynamics partners live in exciting times! The switch from the traditional long-lasting, heavily services oriented on-premise projects to a more product oriented, vertical-specific approach based on subscription pricing is a big challenge!

At QBS Group, we understand that informing Dynamics partners well is crucial in that journey for making the right strategic decisions. That’s why we strive every single day to make “QBS Partners the best-informed Microsoft partners.”

We have been writing business reports on the Microsoft WPC/Inspire events since 2004. This year’s report will be our thirteenth annual publication. So we know what we’re doing.

What you can expect
This unique report features broad, insightful and independent business reporting on the happenings at Inspire 2017, especially for Microsoft Dynamics partners. The report, which consists of 54 pages of need-to-know information, is bought by leading Dynamics partners from all over the world.

The report contains no less than 16 pages about everything you need to know about Dynamics 365. It also features exclusive interviews with Marko Perisic(General manager for Microsoft Dynamics SMB) and Jeff Edwards (Director ERP Channel Strategy and Programs).

Index of the report 

What do Dynamics partners say about these reports?

This is what some of your colleague partners said about this report:

  • “We are a loyal purchaser of these WPC/Inspire reports. Where in the world can you find a solid, structured and well-informed second opinion for so little money? We always discuss the report in our board meeting. QBS helps us to stay alert!”
  • “This is a great report service! It contains lots of background information that helps us better understand how to translate Microsoft’s strategies to our daily business.”
  • “I’ve only recently started in the Dynamics channel. Thanks to this report I was up to date in no time of the various Microsoft strategies, her product policies and the trends in the Dynamics partner channel”

The average satisfaction score for this report over the last 5 years was 8,6 on a 1 to 10 scale.

First taste?
To get a good idea of what you can expect from our Inspire 2017 Business Report, you can now download the 2016 edition of our WPC Business report for free. 

Order your copy now!

Partners of QBS group receive this Inspire 2017 report at no additional cost, as it is part of their QBS membership. For non QBS Microsoft partners, the report is available for only € 400,- exclusive of VAT per partner company.

Do you want to know all about Microsoft’s plans for FY 18 and the opportunities these create for your business? Then order your copy today!

As a Microsoft Dynamics professional, can you afford to miss on this important information?

Inspire 2017 – daily business updates

From 9-12 July in Washington D.C. QBS group attended the Inspire 2017 edition.

Are you ready to be Inspired? Watch here the daily business updates back from Guus Krabbenborg during Inspire 2017.

Day 1

Day 2 

Day 3

Exclusive interview with Joe Longo – SBS Group

Day 4

Day 5

QBS group receives prestigious Microsoft 2017/2018 Inner Circle Award

For the fourth year in a row QBS group is awarded Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics

For the fourth consecutive year, Microsoft has awarded QBS group with the prestigious membership of the Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics. The 2017/2018 Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle honours an elite group of <60 of the most strategic Microsoft partners across the globe, showing high commitment to customers reflected in their business performance and high level of sales achievement.

Membership in this elite group is based on sales achievements that rank QBS group in the top echelon of the Microsoft global network of partners. Inner Circle members have performed to a high standard of excellence by delivering valuable solutions that help organizations achieve increased success.

This recognition of Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics came during Microsoft Inspire (formerly Microsoft WPC), the annual premier partner event, which took place July 9-13, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

Maria Garaña, Vicepresident EMEA, Microsoft Business Solutions: “QBS group continues to be a strategic partner for Microsoft across Europe. Not only do they serve more than 400 partners with sales, marketing and technical services, they will also one of our key partners to launch  Dynamics 365 Business Edition. QBS will further grow their impact in Microsoft’s partner ecosystem by enabling partners new to Dynamics to build solutions and serve SMB customers across Europe.”

Frank Holland, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Business Solutions Sales & Partners: “Each year we recognize and honor Microsoft Dynamics partners from around the world for exemplary business performance. These award-winning partners represent the top 1% of Microsoft Dynamics partners in terms of sales performance, but their critical impact on the success of our shared customers is what truly stands out. Microsoft is honored to recognize QBS group for their achievements this past year and for their dedication and support of Microsoft Dynamics solutions.”

Michael Hartmann, CEO QBS group says“I am extremely proud that we have succeeded in receiving this prestigious award for the fourth year in a row. This award means a lot to us and is the result of great achievements by both our partners and our team. It is also a constant reminder to provide services that will help our partners take full advantage of the opportunities that come with Dynamics 365.  Our community counts now more than 400 partners and we will continue to invest heavily to make QBS the most attractive service provider for partners.”

Optimizing your resources as QBS partner with ForNAV

Leusden, 5th May, 2017 – ForNAV, a relatively new company with decades of NAV experience, announced on April 18th a partnership with QBS, to drive more business opportunities within the QBS partner base. With the combined power of the tools of ForNAV and the experience of industry veterans such as Michael Nielsen, Jan Sillemann, Jacob Reinholdt Rasmussen and Mark Brummel, partners can easily overcome obstacles when creating and upgrading reports for Dynamics NAV.

The Reports ForNAV Converter makes going from classic reports to RDLC fast and easy. It enables reports developed for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 and NAV 2009 (also known as “classic” or C/SIDE reports) to run on newer versions that require the RDLC format.

For creating and modifying reports for Microsoft Dynamics NAV, the Reports ForNAV Designer is an easy-to-use tool. If you are familiar with the C/SIDE reporting tool, you can start working with the Reports ForNAV Designer instantly.

For the partners of QBS, this is another way to focus on delivering high-value services to customers, letting smart tools improve efficiency by automating some of the day-to-day work. This partnership is also another example of the services to help partners with the optimization of their resources. And this is why QBS has negotiated a 50% introduction discount for QBS partners, when combined with the use of the Dynamics Upgrade Services.

The long-term strategic relationship between ForNAV and QBS will focus on driving the use of ForNAV tools by new partners and end-users.

Jan Sillemann – ForNAV
“Working with QBS will help us reach more partners. Faster. And thereby help customers take advantage of the new innovation in Dynamics NAV more efficiently.”

Michael Hartmann – CEO QBS group
“We are glad to offer another solution that helps partners focus on delivering high-level services and support the transition to a repeatable business model.”

For more information, visit www.fornav.com/ and www.qbsgroup.com/marketplace/ForNAV

What is the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program (Microsoft CSP)

Microsoft wants partners to take full advantage of their opportunity in the cloud, so they introduced the Cloud Solution Provider Program (CSP).

The Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program (CSP) enables partners to directly manage their entire Microsoft cloud customer lifecycle. Partners in this program utilize dedicated in-product tools to directly provision, manage, and support their customer subscriptions. Partners can easily package their own tools, products and services, and combine them into one monthly or annual customer bill.

Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program

This program helps Microsoft partners become their customers’ trusted advisors. Because by using CSP, partners are able to own and manage the end-to-end relationship with their customers.

CSP versions; Direct and Indirect

There are two versions of CSP, the Direct (Tier 1) model and the Indirect (Tier 2) model. Partners have to choose at least one model. They can also choose both.

Microsoft Cloud solution provider

The difference between the Direct CSP model and the Indirect CSP model is that the Direct model requires a robust infrastructure to enable end-to-end ownership of the customer relationship. There are a lot of requirements to be met and for most partners this isn’t feasible. The Indirect model however, offers partners (resellers) the opportunity to work with an Indirect CSP partner who can provide the tools and resources necessary to manage their customer relationship. And for most of them, this is the best option.

You need to decide

More and more Microsoft cloud solutions can only be sold through the CSP model, so partners need to decide. Dynamics 365 for example will not become part of the Dynamics pricelist, but will only be available via CSP.

eXtreme 365 EMEA 2017 Business Report

The 2017 edition of eXtreme 365 EMEA is expected to be an interesting edition. Today, the world of a Dynamics CRM partner is changing faster than ever before. Being a Dynamics CRM partner today is like dancing on a volcano – far from boring! And the recent announcements around the Dynamics 365 solution makes this effect even stronger!

The EMEA edition picked Lisbon as their 2017 location. It will be organized from March 13th till 15th for the partner event and on March 16th and 17th for end-users. This last part is new and anticipates to fill the gap that has emerged after Microsoft stopped with Convergence.

Due to the release of Dynamics 365 last year, the eXtreme organization decided to change the name of the event from ‘eXtreme CRM’ into ‘eXtreme 365’

Over 600 partners will attend eXtreme 365 EMEA in Lisbon. That’s an all-time high score! If you’re a visitor yourself, an interesting question is how you will bring all these messages back home. Because it’s crucial that all your team members understand what’s going on. And more important – what that all means to them!

Here’s where QBS group can help you out. We will write a business report on eXtreme 365. With 3 authors we will cover more sessions than a single partner normally can do. The sessions that we will cover go ‘cross content’. This means that we will not only cover the keynotes, but also various technical and functional sessions and of course also the business sessions.

On top of that we will publish exclusive interviews that we will have in Lisbon with these Microsoft executives:

  • Tony de Freitas – Director Dynamics Partner Strategy
  • Param Kahlon – General Manager of Program Management, Dynamics 365
  • Satish Thomas – Group Program Manager, Microsoft Appsource

The report will be published in the English language and will be available by the beginning of April 2017.

At QBS group we’ve been writing business reports for Microsoft Dynamics partners on Microsoft’s WPC and DIRECTIONS since 2004.

QBS group partners will receive this report for free as part of their membership. Partners who sign up as a QBS group partner before April 1st, 2017 will get a FREE copy as their welcome present. Non-QBS partners pay only € 350,- exclusive VAT to receive a copy.

This unique and valuable report is bought by leading Dynamics partners from all over the world.

Can you afford to miss on this important business report?

eXtreme 365 EMEA 2017 Business Report

The 2017 edition of eXtreme 365 EMEA is expected to be an interesting edition. Today, the world of a Dynamics CRM partner is changing faster than ever before. Being a Dynamics CRM partner today is like dancing on a volcano – far from boring! And the recent announcements around the Dynamics 365 solution makes this effect even stronger!

The EMEA edition picked Lisbon as their 2017 location. It will be organized from March 13th till 15th for the partner event and on March 16th and 17th for end-users. This last part is new and anticipates to fill the gap that has emerged after Microsoft stopped with Convergence.

Due to the release of Dynamics 365 last year, the eXtreme organization decided to change the name of the event from ‘eXtreme CRM’ into ‘eXtreme 365’

Over 600 partners will attend eXtreme 365 EMEA in Lisbon. That’s an all-time high score! If you’re a visitor yourself, an interesting question is how you will bring all these messages back home. Because it’s crucial that all your team members understand what’s going on. And more important – what that all means to them!

Here’s where QBS group can help you out. We will write a business report on eXtreme 365. With 3 authors we will cover more sessions than a single partner normally can do. The sessions that we will cover go ‘cross content’. This means that we will not only cover the keynotes, but also various technical and functional sessions and of course also the business sessions.

On top of that we will publish exclusive interviews that we will have in Lisbon with these Microsoft executives:

  • Tony de Freitas – Director Dynamics Partner Strategy
  • Param Kahlon – General Manager of Program Management, Dynamics 365
  • Satish Thomas – Group Program Manager, Microsoft Appsource

The report will be published in the English language and will be available by the beginning of April 2017.

At QBS group we’ve been writing business reports for Microsoft Dynamics partners on Microsoft’s WPC and DIRECTIONS since 2004.

QBS group partners will receive this report for free as part of their membership. Partners who sign up as a QBS group partner before April 1st, 2017 will get a FREE copy as their welcome present. Non-QBS partners pay only € 350,- exclusive VAT to receive a copy.

This unique and valuable report is bought by leading Dynamics partners from all over the world.

Can you afford to miss on this important business report?

ORDER NOW

eXtreme 365 EMEA 2017 Business Report

The 2017 edition of eXtreme 365 EMEA is expected to be an interesting edition. Today, the world of a Dynamics CRM partner is changing faster than ever before. Being a Dynamics CRM partner today is like dancing on a volcano – far from boring! And the recent announcements around the Dynamics 365 solution makes this effect even stronger!

The EMEA edition picked Lisbon as their 2017 location. It will be organized from March 13th till 15th for the partner event and on March 16th and 17th for end-users. This last part is new and anticipates to fill the gap that has emerged after Microsoft stopped with Convergence.

Due to the release of Dynamics 365 last year, the eXtreme organization decided to change the name of the event from ‘eXtreme CRM’ into ‘eXtreme 365’

Over 600 partners will attend eXtreme 365 EMEA in Lisbon. That’s an all-time high score! If you’re a visitor yourself, an interesting question is how you will bring all these messages back home. Because it’s crucial that all your team members understand what’s going on. And more important – what that all means to them!

Here’s where QBS group can help you out. We will write a business report on eXtreme 365. With 3 authors we will cover more sessions than a single partner normally can do. The sessions that we will cover go ‘cross content’. This means that we will not only cover the keynotes, but also various technical and functional sessions and of course also the business sessions.

On top of that we will publish exclusive interviews that we will have in Lisbon with these Microsoft executives:

  • Tony de Freitas – Director Dynamics Partner Strategy
  • Param Kahlon – General Manager of Program Management, Dynamics 365
  • Satish Thomas – Group Program Manager, Microsoft Appsource

The report will be published in the English language and will be available by the beginning of April 2017.

At QBS group we’ve been writing business reports for Microsoft Dynamics partners on Microsoft’s WPC and DIRECTIONS since 2004.

QBS group partners will receive this report for free as part of their membership. Partners who sign up as a QBS group partner before April 1st, 2017 will get a FREE copy as their welcome present. Non-QBS partners pay only € 350,- exclusive VAT to receive a copy.

This unique and valuable report is bought by leading Dynamics partners from all over the world.

Can you afford to miss on this important business report?

ORDER NOW

Meet QBS group at eXtreme 365 EMEA 2017!

It’s only a few weeks until the start of the most important Dynamics CRM/Dynamics 365 Sales & Marketing partner event in the EMEA region: eXtreme 365 2017. The event will be organized in beautiful Lisbon from March 13th-15th (partner event) and March 16th-17th (end-user event).

Value Add Distributor QBS group is silver sponsor at this event. With over 375 Dynamics NAV partners in 17 countries, QBS group is the biggest partner eco-system in the Dynamics world. In Lisbon, we will present ourselves for the first time to the Dynamics CRM channel where we aim to play this Value Add role as well. We will do this together with our strategic partners Dynasource and MindsUnited. The three of us share a booth on the information market and deliver a series of sessions that might be interesting for you.

Here’s an overview:

We will start with a side-kick role in the session of Microsoft’s WE lead Ingmar Boon on Tuesday afternoon at 2:15 pm, called Building your SMB practice leveraging CSP.

The second presentation will be delivered by Guus Krabbenborg on Wednesday morning at 8:30 am and is about the partner business side of the new Dynamics 365 solution. The title of his session is ‘This is what Dynamics CRM partners need to change to become successful with Dynamics 365!’.

The third session is one delivered by Peter Vach from Dynasource. The title of this session is Why Have 2500 Microsoft Partners Already Signed Up to Collaborate?’.

And the fourth presentation on Wednesday afternoon at 4:45 pm is again a side-kick role in another session of Ingmar Boon, called ‘Dynamics 365 Sales in SMB – Partner Roundtable’.

Lastly, Guus Krabbenborg will lead a session in the Executive Exchange track on Wednesday, named ‘Build your Business Models’

We also have a booth, number 9, where we can answer all your questions about the new CSP program and how we can support the growth of your Dynamics 365 business. We are more than happy to explain why QBS partners perform substantially better than non-QBS partners.

Curious what you can expect from this conference? Same here! That’s why we wrote this pre-view article for you: ‘What Dynamics CRM partners can expect from eXtreme 365 EMEA 2017’.

Finally, we will publish a business report on this event. After publishing these reports on Microsoft’s WPC for the past 12 years, and on DIRECTIONS EMEA last year, this will be the first year that we will write such a document on the eXtreme event. With a team of expert authors, we will cover most of the sessions – both commercial, technical and functional. The result is a great read for you as visitor. But maybe even more important – a fantastic document to inform your colleagues back home! Our mantra is ‘QBS partners are the best-informed Microsoft Partners!’

This report is available for free for all the QBS partners as part of their membership. Non-QBS partners can buy a copy for only EURO 350 excluding VAT. More details at the QBS booth.

See you all in Lisbon in March!

Guus Krabbenborg

QBS group CfMD Service

The “Certified for Microsoft Dynamics NAV” (CfMD) logo is the highest decoration awarded by Microsoft for ERP solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision). Microsoft imposes the most stringent requirements on awarding solutions with this award. Certify your Microsoft Dynamics solution and win more business.

Availability
From February 1st, 2017 for all QBS group-Partners

Why should you buy this?
Earning the CfMD logo is a time-consuming process which needs a lot of experience – we have the experience and can help you to speed up the process, pass the SoftwareSolutionTest (SST) and get certified for Microsoft Dynamics.

Who is it for?
All partners who want to acquire or renew a CfMD certification

Description
For a successful certification your solution has to meet a lot of requirements. The QBS group CfMD Service will help you to prepare your solution. We will check all the requirements and manage the contact to Lionbridge and 1ClickFactory. We’ll assist in creating the documentation, help-files and many more tasks to prepare for the SST. Furthermore we’ll escort you through the SST to get the CfMD logo and – of course – we will do the yearly recertification process with you.

Engagement Format
The QBS group CfMD Service will have the following format:

  • Requirement call
  • Check available documentations against the requirements
  • Onboarding the CfMD process
  • Guidance on Software Solution Test
  • Re-Certification

The service will be delivered online in English or German.

Price

  • SST at 1ClickFactory € 800
  • 30 Quattro’s/hour (expected 5 to 10 hours – depending on solution)

Next step
For more information and registration email: tneusser@qbsgroup.com

The IT Channel Company and MindsUnited sign strategic agreement

Leusden and Amsterdam, February 7th, 2017 – The IT Channel Company (TICC) – via it’s division Quattro Business Solutions (QBS) world largest Value Add SMB Distributor for Microsoft Dynamics – today announced a new strategic partnership. The partnership will combine QBS’ distribution capabilities and ERP expertise with MindsUnited’s leading CRM knowledge, tools and services to be the first mover in delivering Microsoft Dynamics 365 cloud solutions. In addition QBS has acquired a stake in MindsUnited under this strategic collaboration agreement.

“We are very proud of the cooperation we have agreed on with QBS. As a business-to-business software company with a focus on Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM solutions for partners and SMB customers, this strategic partnership allows us to unite our innovative CRM services with the marketing and distribution capabilities and ERP expertise of QBS. Together we will create an even better proposition for our partners and SMB customers. In this way we will be well positioned to lead the “Digitalisation of SMEs” and drive forward our market leadership in the Dynamics 365 area” says Arjen Jansen, CEO at MindsUnited.

MindsUnited is a leading international ISV in the Dynamics CRM channel, best known for its two offerings, both aimed at improving “customer activation” and ease of use of Dynamics CRM/365:

  • JumpStart 365 – easy activation of CRM including process design & user setup
  • CloudChains 365 – tool to connect Dynamics CRM to third-party software

“Our next step is to make our valuable services portfolio CRM ready and then open that portfolio to the Dynamics CRM channel,” said QBS Group partner Guus Krabbenborg in a statement.

Louis Rustenhoven, CEO at TICC, also emphasises the importance attached to the digitalisation of small to medium sized businesses and the leading role of the Microsoft partner community in this respect: “With this collaboration we once again underline our commitment to our QBS partners in driving forward digitalisation in the SME sector. MindsUnited is an innovative Independent Software Vendor specialised in CRM with whom we will work very closely together to provide benefit to our partners. The combined service offering will be further developed within the framework of this strategic agreement and make us the leading Dynamics 365 distributor for Europe.”

And  as part of their partner recruiting effort QBS has also hired former Microsoft Dynamics lead in The Netherland Richard de Goederen as their new Partner Recruit Lead.

Together with her partners MindsUnited and Dynasource QBS group will be present at eXtreme 365 EMEA in Lisbon in March.

QBS group next phase of growth.

As we go in to Dynamics 365 we have learned from the Microsoft Strategy that NAV and CRM are no longer two distinguished workloads. Bringing together ERP and CRM into Dynamics 365

We are convinced that Microsoft has a very strong agenda for Business Applications in the cloud that is unique. The Dynamics 365 strategy is superior to competitive platforms integrating not only business applications, but also connecting them to the data cloud with Azure and productivity cloud with Office 365.

This is a big opportunity to bring partners currently focusing on the competitive platforms to the Dynamics platforms. We received positive feedback around services from our partners to grow their business, that’s why we are inviting CRM and Office 365 partners to join our network and take advantage of our services.

To provide the right services to these partners we are happy to announce that Richard de Goederen is joining QBS group as our new European Partner Recruitment Lead of QBS group. In this role, de Goederen will play an important role for QBS group in its next phase of growth. Before beginning at QBS group, he was the Dynamics Lead in Microsoft Netherlands.

We are extremely pleased that in his new role with his experience and vision he will make an important contribution to our future plans.

Richard de Goederen: “With the introduction of Dynamics 365 I see great momentum for partners to capitalize on the by Microsoft long foreseen evolution of integrating back- and front office applications, as well as blending unstructured and structured data in one holistic user experience. Building an eco-system around this value proposition and enabling partners through QBS services is definitely something I look forward to”.

QBS group will join eXtreme 365 in Lisbon from the 13th till the 17th of March.

Phillip Vandervoort (Proximus) appointed as Chairman of the Supervisory Board TICC

The IT Channel Company (TICC) appoints Phillip Vandervoort as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board. With the appointment of Vandervoort (55), TICC, value-added distributor of ICT solutions for the SME segment, expects to take the company to a new growth level.

In addition to his position as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of TICC, Vandervoort is the Chief Consumer Market Officer for Proximus (formerly Belgacom), one of the largest telecom and ICT providers in Belgium. He previously gained extensive experience as Microsoft’s General Manager. ‘Vandervoort’s international experience with Microsoft and his broad range of knowledge relating to cloud applications inspires our trust to have found an eminently suitable candidate as an independent and advisory Chairman,’ says Louis Rustenhoven, Chairman of the Executive Board of The IT Channel Company.

‘We see a clear trend emerging that companies are starting to use cloud services to anticipate quickly changing business models. The IT needs of SMEs in particular are expanding at a fast pace. Service providers need help to cash in on this development,’ says Vandervoort.

The new Chairman sees TICC as a powerful potential international player in this market evolution. ‘TICC proved to have sufficient in-house dynamics to achieve further short-term growth. I am looking forward to becoming a powerful sparring partner to TICC’s shareholders and management and help realise this ambition’.

The IT Channel Company modifies management structure to match rapid growth

Leusden, 6 December 2016 – The IT Channel Company (TICC) has appointed Michael Hartmann as the new CEO of QBS group. In this role, Hartmann will lead QBS group in its next phase of growth. Before beginning at QBS group, he was responsible for Microsoft’s SMB business in EMEA, and he was the global leader of the Dynamics SMB Partners within Microsoft. Hartmann joined QBS as CCO earlier this year.

Simultaneously, Board member and former CEO Joop van Voorthuijsen becomes Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and will focus on the Dynamics 365 / OneBizz strategy and the Microsoft Indirect CSP (Cloud Services Provider) programme. Louis Rustenhoven, Chairman of the Board at The IT Channel Company: “We highly appreciate what Joop has done for The IT Channel Company. QBS group was launched under his leadership, and has grown rapidly to more than 375 partners in 15 countries. We are extremely pleased that in his new role as CSO with his experience and vision he will make an important contribution to our future plans.”

Hartmann will be responsible for the distribution of the Microsoft Dynamics portfolio. QBS group expects stable growth in the years ahead, both in terms of portfolio and footprint.“The IT Channel Company has grown over the past three years from 6 million Euros in sales to 55 million,” notes Louis Rusthoven. “We decided to adapt the company to match this growth, and to take the next step towards professionalising The IT Channel Company. This way we can continue the upward trend. The new augmentation to our management readies us for the future.”

Microsoft Dynamics 2017 is here!

We’ve come a long way with Microsoft Dynamics NAV since the old Navigator days. On Thursday, November 24. the next version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV (2017) launches, with enhancements like.

At QBS group we’re committed to make you get up to speed with the latest version as fast as possible. That’s why we offer strategy sessions such as the QBS Talk Why you should care about Extensions in Dynamics NAV. and NAV update webinars NAV update webinar about NAV 2017. Giving you the information you need to get ready to deliver Dynamics NAV 2017.

See also

QBS group Service: Dynamics Upgrade Service

Order Directions EMEA 2016 Business Report now

Being a Dynamics NAV partner in todays market is like dancing on a volcano. The recent announcements around Dynamics 365 will make this effect even stronger! These days, Dynamics NAV partners face the biggest challenges ever in their companies history.

The combination of cloud, subscription pricing, new types of competitors, continuous innovation and the changing buying behavior invite business owners and their shareholders to explicitly step out of their comfort zones.

These trends call for new entrepreneurship, new business models and ongoing change. The question however is whether the current partner channel is ready, able, and willing to do so. If you want to read and learn more about this, order the Directions EMEA Busniess report now.

In this Business Report we have covered not only the keynotes at Directions EMEA 2016, but also various technical, functional and business sessions:

  • The business strategies around NAV 2017 and Dynamics 365
  • Dynamics 365 – Product, Positioning and Pre-sales
  • Dynamics NAV 2017 – core messages
  • Dynamics NAV 2017 – miscellaneous
  • Extensions

On top of that exclusive interviews with:

  • Paul White, worldwide Dynamics SMB Lead
  • Marko Perisic, R&D manager for NAV 2017 and Dynamics 365
  • Lotte Cordt Ihlemann and Jennifer Dorsey, Senior Marketing managers for Dynamics NAV

This unique and valuable report is bought by leading Dynamics partners from all over the world.

Can you afford to miss on this important business report?  Order now

Directions EMEA: it’s almost here!

This year QBS group is a Gold Sponsor of Directions EMEA, the biggest event for the NAV Community, taking place in Prague from 12 to 14 October.

We are there with our QBS team to inform Dynamics NAV partners about our services and added value. Please visit our booth at G1.

We will also deliver a number of presentations on Directions EMEA, you can find more information here. Afterwards, Guus Krabbenborg will write a Directions EMEA report. We will inform you about that through our newsletter.
Are you going to Directions EMEA and do you want to know what to expect? Read Guus Krabbenborg’s preview blog for all the highlights.

To Guus Krabbenborg’s Directions EMEA 2016 preview blog

QBS group appoints former Microsoft SMB global partner sales lead Michael Hartmann as CCO

QBS group (“QBS”), part of The IT Channel Company (“TICC”), in Leusden appoints Michael Hartmann as Chief Commercial Officer per October 1st 2016.

For the coming years QBS expects a strong growth, both in footprint and services portfolio in which Michael’s experience and background will be of great value. Michael Hartmann (54) has extensive experience in the ICT sector and had several leading management positons at Microsoft. Prior to joining TICC Michael was the European Middle East and Africa Timezone Lead for Microsoft’s SMB business as well as the Global Lead for Dynamics SMB Partners within Microsoft, recently. In this role his objective was to double the channel sales capacity for CRM Online in SMB, activate the commercial distribution and indirect CSP channel for Business Applications and building the Dynamics SMB teams.

About The IT Channel Company

The IT Channel Company was founded in 2012 as the result from the merger between ICT service providers Conceptsales and Partner Master Class. Since the start in 2012 TICC has experienced a stormy development and will reach a revenue of € 55 million in 2016. Within TICC QBS takes care of the distribution of the Microsoft Dynamics product range in Western Europe. QBS operates in 15 countries in Western Europe, serving more than 350 partners. For the coming years a solid growth is expected. QBS supports its partners with services in areas such as marketing, lead generation, sales support and consultancy, partner and customer care, hosting solutions, training and coaching. Last year QBS introduced the OneBizz proposition; a modular cloud application for SMEs with amongst others Office365 (Outlook, SharePoint, Yammer, Skype for Business), Microsoft Dynamics CRM and ERP.