With the daily commute being a thing of the past, at least for the time being, it can be difficult to keep up to date with the latest developments in the Dynamics ecosystem. Scrolling through social media and blogs on the train to work has rapidly been replaced with waking up and simply starting to work.
That can mean falling behind on the latest news, despite working within a community full of passionate advocates for the platform. And in a year that’s been busier than ever for anyone working in cloud technology, it can be easy to overlook some of the best resources available.
With that in mind, we pulled together some of the best Microsoft Dynamics influencers that you should be following and asked them how they stay up to date with the latest developments on the platform.
Malin Martnes
Head of Dynamics 365 at Knowit
What Malin loves most about using Microsoft Dynamics
All the possibilities the platform offers and how it all works together.
The one Microsoft Dynamics tip Malin recommends you adopt ASAP
Think about the people who’ll be using the technology, before you think about how the technology works.
Malin’s favorite podcast, blog or resource for Microsoft Dynamics
Power Platform Weekly is a great way to keep up to date with the latest content from the Dynamics world in one weekly email. CRM tip of the day is also full of good tips.
Who to follow in the Dynamics community for info, updates, tips or tricks, according to Malin
There are so many great people to follow, but #PowerAddicts is a great source for those working with Power Platform.
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Jen Kuntz
Owner/President at Kuntz Consulting Inc
What Jen loves most about using Microsoft Dynamics
What I love most about Dynamics GP are the people and the ecosystem around this product. I believe we have the best product community, and a long history of users, both MVP and non, who have always shared their knowledge. It’s fantastic!
The one Microsoft Dynamics tip Jen recommends you adopt ASAP
Speaking from a Microsoft Dynamics GP perspective, my number one recommendation would be to keep an eye on the various online communities. My top three suggestions are the following:
- Microsoft’s own forums and community site
- Dynamics Communities’ forum
- Dynamics User Group
Jen’s favorite podcast, blog or resource for Microsoft Dynamics
I follow many Dynamics GP bloggers in the community, but I would say my go-to is former Microsoft MVP Victoria Yudin’s website. She has many great resources for the community.
Who to follow in the Dynamics community for info, updates, tips or tricks, according to Jen
I don’t think I can narrow this down to one person! I follow many blogs and listen to a lot of podcasts from fellow Microsoft MVPs and others in the community, mostly I’d recommend Dynamics GP-focused content and Power BI content.
What Jen learned about working on the platform or in the ecosystem in 2020
I would say I learned a lot about myself. In 2020 specifically, my focus changed in the initial days of the COVID pandemic, to more of a “take care of myself first” attitude. With that, I stopped blogging much and focused on trying to get through the cycles of lockdowns and re-openings. I hope to get back to regular blogging on my website in 2021!
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Nishant Rana
Architect at First Abu Dhabi Bank
What Nishant loves most about using Microsoft Dynamics
Businesses and technology are evolving at an immense speed, meaning you need a platform that adapts and evolves in parallel, supports these market changes, and helps businesses develop solutions that can be rolled out quickly.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM (or XRM, as it was also called during earlier versions of the product), model-driven apps, or Dynamics 365 customer engagement apps, along with Microsoft Power Platform, are examples of a Rapid Application Development platform. All the new features that are frequently being added to the Power Platform and Dynamics 365, along with Azure make it more and more powerful and exciting to work with each passing day.
The one Microsoft Dynamics tip Nishant recommends you adopt ASAP
Participate in the Dynamics Community forum – answer the questions, read the solutions provided by the experts, and earn points and badges. It makes learning fun!
One other tip would be to bookmark and learn from Microsoft Learn – particularly the parts about Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.
Nishant’s favorite podcast, blog or resource for Microsoft Dynamics
My favorite podcasts are CRM MVP Podcast, CRM Audio, Microsoft Business Applications Podcast, Steve reads his Blog, and Power Advise.
I’d also recommend subscribing to Dynamics Weekly, Power Platform Developers Weekly, Power Platform Weekly, and CRM Tip of the Day.
Who to follow in the Dynamics community for info, updates, tips or tricks, according to Nishant
Right now, there are so many outstanding community contributors, that it would be very difficult to mention only one among them.
However, one specific person I would like to thank is Michael Höhne of Stunnware. His blogs and tools were extremely helpful during my early days working with Dynamics CRM versions 3.0, 4.0, and CRM 2011. I would also like to thank Mike Snyder and Jim Steger for their book Working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 and 4.0.
These were among the few good resources available at that time for learning more about CRM 3.0 and CRM 4.0, apart from MSDN and the certification course materials published by Microsoft.
What Nishant learned about working on the platform or in the ecosystem in 2020
2020 has been a year of adaptation. Be it as an organization or as an individual, everyone had to adapt to a change in circumstances, and that surely made people realize the power and importance of cloud technology. I can see more and more organizations moving and embracing CRM Online over CRM On-Premise. This has also shaped the strategy and point of focus of Microsoft.
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Andrey Baludin
Solutions Architect at Awara IT
What Andrey loves most about using Microsoft Dynamics
I’m a real fan of Business Central and Azure, and my specialization is NAV/BC integration. I like that system and programming languages develop dynamically. Another great point of reference is the Dynamics 365 ecosystem – it allows you to combine different platforms in many ways according to your needs.
The one Microsoft Dynamics tip Andrey recommends you adopt ASAP
I would recommend you keep learning – whether that’s learning about new integration possibilities, new features of AL language, Modern client, or something else, just keep learning. And, of course, try Business Central if you still using Dynamics NAV.
Andrey’s favorite podcast, blog or resource for Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft’s official resources, MVP tech discussions, and Business Applications MVP’s blogs. I can’t select just one! I try to follow them all, as in such resources you’ll find something totally new every day.
Who to follow in the Dynamics community for info, updates, tips or tricks, according to Andrey
If I need to choose only one person – it’s definitely Freddy Kristiansen. He’s a Microsoft tech evangelist, a great man, and a teacher in all the Business Central world.
What Andrey learned about working on the platform or in the ecosystem in 2020
This year brought a lot of new experiences for me. We launched the go-live integration of Business Central with Microsoft Dataverse for one of our customers. We also moved part of our integration services to API management and Logic Apps – which is still in progress.
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Antti Pajunen
Power Platform Advisor, co-founder at Forward Forever
What Antti loves most about using Microsoft Dynamics
The incredible possibilities the platform enables.
The one Microsoft Dynamics tip Antti recommends you adopt ASAP
Always keep learning new things to stay relevant. The platform evolves so fast that the only way to keep up is by being curious and constantly learning new things.
Antti’s favorite podcast, blog or resource for Microsoft Dynamics
I read the Dynamics Community forums as it has lots of interesting questions about a variety of topics. I also like to listen to different podcasts while driving to and from work.
Who to follow in the Dynamics community for info, updates, tips or tricks, according to Antti
I try to follow different people based on the niche they focus on. If I have to name just one person, I’ll say I love listening to MVP Steve Mordue’s podcasts. I love Steve’s approach and his voice!
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