How to “Do More With Less” with Microsoft
In 2022 Microsoft launched a new campaign theme, “Do More With Less“, in response to global economic challenges. These are the same four words that have been uttered screamed in this order by corporate leaders to their management, and management to their employees, since the beginning of time. Catchy Non-instructive catchphrases like Apple’s “Think Differently” are not particularly… Continue...
How to Write a Modern RFP for CRM Implementation
I was talking to a prospective customer the other day who shared that they had created an extensive RFP for CRM implementation services and sent it out to multiple service providers, and not a single one responded. Not a peep! I thought this was worth exploring further. The RFP Legacy RFPs have been around for a very long time and have not changed much in all that time. It starts with wrong… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
Here’s why customers should pay for more for customizations!
A LinkedIn post led me to a blog article entitled “Here’s why customers should stop paying for customizations!“. In it, the author, Guus Krabbenborg suggests that organizations using Microsoft Dynamics 365 would be much better off if they used out-of-the-box capabilities and did not resort to customizations. Although I greatly respect Guus, I could not disagree with him more on this one.<span… Continue Reading...
Finding The Limits of Low-Code
I love low-code. It can, and is, changing business solutions for the world. Due to a recent business model change we are stretching low-code to the limit, and occasionally finding that limit. The New Model I have written in the past about our new Unlimited Services Model we call The Works from Forceworks. This has been a tremendous success for both us and our subscribers. The key attraction… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
Dynamics 365 Business Central and RapidStart CRM UPDATE!
In my last post, I announced that we (Forceworks) were developing an addon for our RapidStart CRM to connect to Microsoft’s wildly popular Dynamics 365 Business Central. I wanted to update you on our progress. BTW, I did not record audio for this post because it has too many reference images. Apples and Oranges First, Dynamics 365 Business Central and RapidStart CRM, which runs on Dataverse,… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
A Better CRM for Business Central?
At a recent event, Microsoft executives told me that Dynamics 365 Business Central was flying off the shelves. Over the years, I had occasionally peeked over the fence at Business Central, mostly out of curiosity. But “flying off the shelves” is a reason for me to look closer. BTW, I did not record audio for this post because it has too many reference images. The Next Logical Step As a small… Continue Reading Steve...
Steve has a Chat with Vahe Torossian
I had a chance to sneak up on Vahe Torossian, a Microsoft Corporate Vice President and the man in charge of Sales for Microsoft Business Applications. While Vahe has been with Microsoft for 30 years, many of you may not know him, so I wanted to fix that. Vahe is no ordinary Seller; he’s the “Top” guy who sets the sales strategy and motions for the entire global team. Vahe is also the… Continue Reading Steve Mordue MVP’s...
Steve has a Chat with Vahe
I had a chance to sneak up on Vahe Torossian, a Microsoft Corporate Vice President and the man in charge of Sales for Microsoft Business Applications. While Vahe has been with Microsoft for 30 years, many of you may not know him, so I wanted to fix that. Vahe is no ordinary Seller; he’s the “Top” guy who sets the sales strategy and motions for the entire global team. Vahe is also the guy who… Continue Reading...
Steve has a Chat with Jukka
I had the pleasure of having a chat with a Power Platform industry leader, Jukka Niiranen. Listen or Watch below. Enjoy! The post Steve has a Chat with Jukka appeared first on Steve Mordue MVP. Continue Reading Steve Mordue MVP’s Article on their blog Steve has a Chat with Jukka – Steve Mordue MVP Steve talks with Jukka about Power Platform Blog Syndicated with Steve Mordue MVP’s...
The New Weapon – Cost Predictability
For as long as I have been in this business, about 25 years now, costs for clients have always been a wild card. As a Partner, you have an obligation to be straightforward about the potential costs to meet a client’s requirements, but that carries significant risks, so not all partners are entirely “straightforward”. Let’s talk about the risks for both sides. Thunderdome It is far more common… Continue...
The Works Services-as-a-Subscription Model Update
Back in May, I wrote a post describing a completely new Services model we call “The Works from Forceworks”. It is a Services-as-a-Subscription model that is unique in the industry. I also promised to follow up with our learnings from this new model, so today I will do just that. The Works First, I’ll remind you of what the offer is. Thanks to advances in low-code/no-code for Dynamics 365 and… Continue Reading...
Power Platform Blind Spots
My CTO, Vlad Sarov, brought up the term “Blind spots” in a conversation we had the other day regarding our Services as a Subscription model. He described one benefit of the service as helping customers see their “blind spots” in the Power Platform. Oddly enough, I had a new customer call the next day,… Continue Reading Steve Mordue MVP’s Article on their blog Power Platform Blind Spots – Steve...
Power Platform Outside the Bubble
In my recent conversations with Charles Lamanna here and Jason Gumpert here, we discussed the explosive growth of the Power Platform. Then while listening to Jukka Niiranen on yet another podcast here, I was reminded that we are all inside the Power Platform bubble. From the outside, however, this bubble is tiny. Expanding Bubble There is no denying that the Power Platform’s growth is… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
The Microsoft Partner Dilemma
In preparation for a Podcast with Jason Gumpert of MSDynamicsWorld, he asked me to review the results of a recent study from another friend Dana Wilmer. The information was not good but also was not surprising. It’s Been Coming If you have followed my blog for a while, you know I have warned of… Continue Reading Steve Mordue MVP’s Article on their blog The Microsoft Partner Dilemma – Steve Mordue MVP The...
Steve has yet another Chat with Charles
I have had my head down working on some big things since RapidStart CRM growth exploded, and it has been a while since you heard from me. Well, I’m getting back to it with a follow-up chat with Charles Lamanna who recently took over for James Phillips as head of Business Applications for Microsoft. This was my fourth chat with Charles, and it was interesting to back listen to them in order…. Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
Let’s Talk About Funnels
In my 20-plus years in this CRM business, I have seen my share of “Funnels”. Lead Funnels, Sales Funnels, Delivery Funnels, every kind of business-related funnel you can think of, I have probably seen it. From what I have witnessed, most businesses have no idea how to use them effectively. So, let’s talk about Funnels. The Numbers Game One of the most significant areas I see where customers… Continue Reading...
It’s Time for a New Services Model for Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform
About seven years ago we pioneered the “Support by Blocks” model, and it has served our Forceworks clients and us well. But thanks to Microsoft, it is time for a whole new model for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform Support and Services. Let’s unpack this one. The Challenge Let’s be honest, no business application you can buy will serve your needs as delivered. Any of them will require some… Continue...
The Myth of Single Version of the Truth
I’ve heard this term bandied about for many years now, “Single Version of the Truth”. As Jack Nicholson once said, “You can’t handle the Truth!” I would paraphrase that as, “You can’t afford a Single version of the Truth, and you wouldn’t want it anyway!”. So, let’s see how many of you I can get to agree on this one :). What is Implied? From a business standpoint,...
Are you over-paying for Dynamics 365?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 business applications are fantastic products. Unrivaled power and features and priced accordingly. Are they over-priced? No! Are you over-paying? Maybe. So, let’s unpack this one. My Cable Bill Several years ago, I moved into a new home, and shortly afterwards the local cable company salesperson was on the phone. I was easily talked into the “Gold” package because it… Continue Reading...
Pay as you Go, Go, Go
Microsoft just announced, and released in the next breath, a new Pay as You Go model for Power Apps. This has huge implications for all organizations and also for users of our free RapidStartCRM solution. Let’s unpack what it means. Pay as you go Who doesn’t like the idea of only paying for what you use? I wish it applied to more things: “I only ate half of this hamburger, so I’ll just you… Continue...
Hit 50K Users? Get ready for the knock-offs.
Shortly after we launched RapidStartCRM back in 2015, a couple of competitors followed us into the emerging space we identified. They are gone now, but new ones occasionally pop up. I hear “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. First Mover Advantage As the very first simple-to-use CRM solution built on Microsoft’s Business Applications platform, we did have an early advantage. We… Continue Reading Steve...
Your organization (tenant) is over capacity
It seems like a couple of times a week I get a panicked message from a customer who saw the dreaded alert: “Your organization (tenant) is over capacity” in the Power Platform Admin Center. Sometimes they are over a little, and sometimes they are using 500% or more of their allocated capacity. Let’s chat about this shall we? Capacity We still have a handful of customers on the “Old Model”,… Continue...
“Even after everything, we still have adoption problems”
One of the smartest things I have done in a while was to introduce a monthly Principals call with our customers. Our customers are all very happy with our team, so why rock the boat by injecting myself? For the same reason I might tell the waiter that my food is “fine” when it isn’t. The Owner’s Dilemma Every single day people go into a restaurant and have a sub-par meal. It seems the wait… Continue...
We Upgraded from Dynamics 365 to RapidStartCRM
I have had my head down for a while working on the next version of RapidStartCRM. We also recently deployed RapidStartCRM for our own support operations. In the process, I came across a few items that I thought would be of interest to the users of our free app, and since they would also work for any Power App, including Dynamics 365, I thought I might discuss them. Next Version Before I get… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
Steve has another Chat with Toby Bowers
I have had my head down working on some big things, and it has been a while since you heard from me. Well, I’m getting back to it with a follow-up chat with Toby Bowers, the Leader of the Microsoft Bizapps ISV Program. I managed to catch him in his car, and got a great update on some new things happening in the ISV arena. Enjoy! Transcript Below: Toby: Hi, this is Toby. Steve: Hey Toby,… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
Dynamics 365 for Outlook Deprecated Alert
Many of our customers have been asking about the ominous alert that appears in their advanced settings area for either Dynamics 365 or Power Apps Model driven environments. In this short post I will explain it, and show you how to get rid of it. Dynamics 365 for Outlook The integration of Dynamics 365, or Model-Driven Power Apps, to Outlook has been around for a very long time and has seen… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
Steve has a Chat with Ryan Cunningham
So I noticed Ryan Cunningham, Product Lead for the Power Apps side of the Power Platform for Microsoft, suddenly come available in Teams. So of course, I ambushed him, and we had a great conversation about Power Apps and the whole Microsoft Business Applications group. Enjoy! Transcript below: Ryan Cunningham: Hello. This is Ryan. Steve Mordue: Hey, Ryan. Steve Mordue. How’s it going? Ryan… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
$10 bills for $3 each, for a limited time!
Today, Microsoft business Applications group is announcing a special offer for Power Apps Per App Passes. It felt pretty significant, so I thought I would write a short post on it. The Offer Starting today, you can buy Power Apps Per App Passes for $3 each. The catch? Minimum 200 users… but still.. that is a pretty big deal for mid-sized and above companies. For example, combined with our… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
Microsoft marching masses to peak of Mt. Stupid
I recently became aware of an interesting concept in psychology called the Dunning-Kruger Effect, and Citizen Developers came to my mind. What the hell am I talking about now? Read on to find out. The Dunning-Kruger Effect Essentially the Dunning-Kruger effect is one’s own perception of their reality. Often displayed as the following image: For those of you who are listening to this, instead… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
The beatings will continue until morale improves
James Phillips, the head of engineering for Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform, that we all either use, or make a living on, recently tweeted “The name changes will continue until morale improves”. It was a joke people!!! Relax My inbox blew up with people asking me what “morale” issue James was referring to. Jimbo was paraphrasing an old quote that I used for the title of this post. In… Continue Reading...
Microsoft taking away Direct CSP from Small Partners
When I moved from Salesforce to become a Microsoft partner about ten years ago, they were just launching the “Advisor” model for cloud license sales. The road got rocky after that. Life was Good The Advisor model was great. Microsoft handled everything, billing, support, collections, etc. All we had to do was bring customers and get paid a commission on the licenses that were bought. Cloud… Continue Reading Steve...
Steve Reads Jukka’s Post
In one of our private MVP channels, another MVP “joked” that Jukka Niiranen should consider reading his blog like I do, so I “joked” that I would do it for him, and then Jukka “joked” that he “fully approved this innovative art performance“, and so…. all jokes aside… a Special Edition of Steve Reads his Posts, where I instead, Read one of Jukka’s posts. But before I do… Continue Reading Steve Mordue MVP’s Article on...
I recommended Zoho!
In this past week, I had two potential customers who were deciding between our RapidStartCRM Power Apps or Zoho. For one of them, I had no choice but to recommend Zoho. I you want to know why, keep reading. Customer Number 1 I got a call from Bob, the owner of Little Bitty Inc., in Podunk, Nebraska. Bob was managing the finances for his 5-person business in his checkbook, and managing his… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
The Evolution of an ISV
I get that it is mostly partners and Microsoft employees that read my blog, I have not really targeted my content toward customers, which was probably a mistake, but that is a topic for another day. Today, I want to break down some significant changes we made to our ISV strategy and why. Every ISV is Different Our strategy is obviously not going to work for every ISV. For us, I think it… Continue Reading Steve Mordue MVP’s...
ISV Connect ED and our Apps are now Free
I had planned on making this two posts, but frankly I have too much on my plate at the moment, so its a twofer. The first part is about something new I launched, and the second part is about a bold move I made. ISV Connect ED I have certainly been one of the “complainers” about Microsoft’s ISV programs, including ISV Connect. Well, you can only complain so much, and then, if you are in a… Continue Reading Steve...
Steve has a Chat with Toby Bowers
I recently wrote a post with suggestions for Toby Bowers, the new Leader of the Microsoft ISV Program. I assumed he had read it, but just to be sure, I ambushed him on the phone. If you are a Microsoft Business Applications ISC, this is the guy who will make or break you. We had a great discussion about his plans for ISVs. We also chatted about my latest undertaking, ISV Connect ED, he acted… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
Suggestions for Toby Bowers on ISV Connect
I guess it is fairly obvious from my post yesterday, that I am pretty pissed off at Microsoft. I have always been one of those “Don’t point out a problem, without suggesting a solution” kind of guys, and I have done my share of pointing out problems with Microsoft’s Business Applications ISV efforts. So here are some ideas. Why ISVs? First, why should Microsoft even give a shit about ISVs?… Continue...
Microsoft continues inching into ISV Turf
“Microsoft has always been a partner-led company, and we are committed to creating more opportunity for our partners across our businesses.” and “This ethos of being partner-led will be there in everything we do“. Satya Nadella has said these things, but I am wondering… Lip Service? One of the major factors that brought me to transition my company from a Salesforce Consultant, to a Microsoft…...
CRM is not just about Sales
“We’re not looking for a Sales solution“, said the person on the other end of the phone call. I have heard this many times. While those of us in the Power Platform arena know that Sales is only one of the business problems we can solve with the tools today, many still think “Sales” when they hear Dynamics 365. Once more from the top I have previously explained some of the evolution of what… Continue...
Power Apps – The truth about $10
When Model-Driven Power Apps first appeared on the scene, it brought with it a $40 per user license called Power Apps P2. Earlier this year Microsoft launched a $10 per App “Pass”. Clearly $10 is going to get some eyeballs, along with a lot of skepticism about it having a place in an organization that may be paying $100 per user plus. So let’s talk about it. “Your going to like it” I believe…...
Walking the Talk
I usually avoid discussing my products or services on the blog, people seem to get annoyed. But I was having a chat with an ISV the other day, who said he had found me via this blog. He asked me how much of my ISV opinions were “theoretical”, and did I actually have any ISV solutions. So if you don’t want to hear about my stuff, stop reading or listening now. AppSource As many of you know, I… Continue Reading...
Steve has another chat with Alysa Taylor
In this episode of “Steve has a Chat”, I catch up again with Alysa Taylor, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft, to get the latest from the Queen of Marketing for Microsoft Business Applications Group. We chat about the success of Virtual Events, Customer Insights, Power Apps vs Power Apps, and touched on SMB. Enjoy! BTW, don’t forget, Mark Smith (@nz365guy) and I do PowerUpLive every… Continue Reading Steve...
Steve has a third chat with Guggs
In this episode of “Steve has a Chat”, I catch up again with Steven Guggenheimer “Guggs” to get the latest on the ISV Connect program. It seems that the word is out at Microsoft about calls from me… they all seem ready now. But I still had a few surprises for him. Enjoy! BTW, don’t forget, Mark Smith (@nz365guy) and I do PowerUpLive every Tuesday at 4PM EST, click here to be alerted,...
Tried Dynamics 365? Take another look at Power Apps.
As I think back to past customers of Dynamics 365, not all of them were successful. The challenges that brought them to Dynamics 365 were real enough, but at the time we only had one solution to try and solve them with. I would love to snap my fingers and take Power Apps back in time. Sledgehammers Dynamics 365, borne out of it’s predecessor, Dynamics CRM Online, is a software marvel. I’m… Continue Reading Steve...
Steve has a third chat with Charles Lamanna
I try and sneak up on Charles Lamanna a third time, but he was ready for it, “fool me once”. Recently promoted to CVP, Citizen Application Platform I wanted to check in with Charles, who was working from home, about some of the things that are going on. We covered a lot of topics, including the post-virus workplace, RPA, API Limits, Multiplexing and Restricted Entities. Enjoy! BTW, don’t… Continue Reading...
The Cost of Hemorrhaging Money
Most people I am talking to today are starting to think about their businesses in these odd times. Many are naturally concerned about a reduction in revenue. But the counter-part to revenue is cost. Since the revenue side may be out of our control to some degree, the cost side is more critical than ever. Athletic I work with a lot of businesses of all sizes. From my first-hand experience,… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
The Last Nail in the On-Premise Coffin
The Conona Virus is having many different effects on the world, most are negative, but there are some that may actually be positive. For example, with workers being asked to work from home at an unprecedented rate, and that will no doubt go higher, one major point of failure will be on-premise based solutions. Let’s unpack this. Remote Workers Looking from the balcony of my downtown… Continue Reading Steve Mordue...
Dynamics 365 Team Member gets Locked
You were warned, you panicked, then realized nothing was happening immediately. So the trusty Team Member licenses kept chugging along, continuing to perform well beyond their boundaries. I wrote about this day coming back in May of 2018, and now finally, it’s just around the corner…. prepare for the panic. Sum it up In a nutshell, if you bought Team Member licenses after October 1st of 2018,… Continue Reading Steve...
Power Apps Potholes
There are a couple of different ways to approach building a Power App… and I am not referring to Canvas vs. Model-Driven here, but rather, the environment type. Today, you can build a Power App on either a “vanilla” CDS environment, or on a Dynamics 365 CDS environment. Why does it matter? Vanilla Let’s quickly discuss the Vanilla approach as it is the safest, which I will explain why later…. Continue...
Power Platform – ISV Ready
As an ISV I want to be able to take full advantage of everything that Microsoft’s Power Platform can offer. Like SI’s and customers, I get excited when I see the roadmap of features that are coming… it is mind-boggling. Unfortunately, just because something goes GA, does not mean it is “ISV Ready”. ISV Connect Technical Summit I recently attended the least “technical”, technical event I...