Playing Chess with Microsoft at The Biz Apps Partner Summit
In the world of Microsoft Dynamics and Business Applications, success depends on more than making the next move. It’s about anticipating the entire game.
Throughout my career in the Microsoft ecosystem, I’ve seen firsthand how the most successful partners think several moves ahead. For example, I have worked with partners like Mike Gillis and Tom Patterson, who invest time and resources in understanding Microsoft and developing relationships within the ecosystem.
Mike and Tom’s strategic thinking is like that of chess grandmasters. And that separated them as industry leaders from those merely reacting to market moves.
As the saying goes, they played chess, not checkers.
From Pawns to Kings
Many Microsoft partners, especially unmanaged ones, face the challenge of not having opportunities to engage directly with Microsoft leaders and gain insight into key strategies and priorities.
Partners typically piece together Microsoft’s direction through partner portals, occasional webinars, and fragmented communications. This approach, while informative, often leaves partners feeling reactive rather than proactive.
Recognizing this critical need in the market, Dynamic Communities, under the leadership of John Siefert, has organized the Biz Apps Partner Summit.
This event offers Microsoft partners an exclusive, immersive 24-hour experience that brings together relevant Microsoft leaders and Systems Integrators, Consultants, and ISVs in the Microsoft Business Applications space.
The summit’s primary focus?
To discuss what’s in store for the fiscal year 2025, help partners scale their Microsoft practice, drive profitable revenue, and dazzle customers.
The summit guides partners on how to align business strategies and go-to-market plans with Microsoft’s priorities and, ultimately, how to empower partners to “play chess, not checkers” in the Dynamics ecosystem.
Day 1: Navigating the Chessboard
To play chess, first, you must understand how each chess piece moves and interacts on the board. Similarly, the first day of the summit is all about tactics.
The agenda is packed with sessions designed to help partners work effectively with Microsoft’s field organization:
- A keynote on Microsoft Copilot, exploring the innovation and opportunities of AI in the partner ecosystem
- An overview of Microsoft’s customer segmentation strategy
- Sessions on working with Microsoft SMB field and channel management to impress customers
- Introduction to the new SMC (Small and Medium-sized Business Center)
- Strategies for winning in Business Applications in FY25
- Insights on co-creating and co-selling with Microsoft SMC and enterprise field sales teams
The day culminates in a panel discussion featuring top partners sharing their vision, adaptation strategies, and scaling techniques in the Microsoft partner ecosystem.
Moderated by Dynamic Communities’ strategic advisor, Terry Petrzelka, this panel brings together John Scandar from Alithya, Tom Galambos of Hitachi Solutions, Archer Point’s Greg Kaupp, and Andy Kurtz from Kopis.
This session alone provides invaluable insights that partners would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.
Day 2: Strategic Thinking for Long-Term Victory
If Day 1 is about understanding the pieces, Day 2 is about mastering the game.
This is when the event focuses on corporate strategy and direction, helping partners think globally and strategically:
- A morning keynote on winning at scale with partners in FY25
- Sessions on succeeding in the SMB/SMC space, including partner perspectives on priorities
- An overview of FY25 Business Applications solution play
- Insights into scaling practices by dazzling customers, presented by BDO
- Discussion of SMC & SMB programs driving partner success and creating customer demand
- A fireside chat on the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program
- A panel helping partners win in FY25 by understanding Microsoft’s strategies
The summit concludes with a keynote sponsored by AI Copilot Summit NA, followed by a session by Bob Evans, Cloud Wars founder and Acceleration Economy co-founder, exploring if this is the golden age to be a Microsoft partner.
Checkmate: The Value of Strategic Alignment
The Biz Apps Partner Summit offers an unparalleled opportunity for Microsoft partners to gain a strategic advantage.
The event condenses crucial information, high-level networking, and strategic planning into a focused one-day period.
Partners can expect to walk away with a deeper understanding of Microsoft’s direction and the ability to align their strategies more closely with Microsoft’s vision.
But the strategic journey doesn’t stop there.
From October 13 to 17, in San Antonio, Texas, Dynamic Communities is organizing Community Summit North America 2024 — the largest independent innovation, education, and training event in the Biz Apps space, delivered by expert users, Microsoft leaders, MVPs, and partners.
The event will kick off with a Partner Pre-Conference Day, during which the tactics and strategies learned at the Biz Apps Partner Summit will be translated into actionable plans.
Stay tuned for the October event, as that is your opportunity to refine the chess game and put your newfound strategic insights into practice.
But before that, let’s meet in Bellevue, Washington.
The Biz Apps Partner Summit — Be There
The Biz Apps Partner Summit is your opportunity to move from being a pawn in the game to becoming a strategic player capable of making king-like moves in the Microsoft partner ecosystem.
For those partners serious about elevating their game and playing chess with Microsoft, the question isn’t whether you can afford to attend.
It’s rather: can you afford not to?
Those who think several moves ahead are the ones who ultimately win the game.
I hope that’s you and we meet in Bellevue, July 24-25.
There is still time to register —> Get your tickets here.
