Summit 2022…Microsoft Dynamics GP Looking forward and looking back
Hello and welcome to reading my thoughts on Summit 2022. It was great to see friends from around the world come together again to share knowledge and help each other after what has been a very, very difficult couple years. This year 2 out of the 3 solo classes I taught were aimed at new users. It was fun to put those sessions together and I had the chance to get some new laughs from some of my “classic jokes”…and the sessions went great. My 3rd solo class was my 2022 edition of “GP User to GP Superhero”. That was my last class of the event, and I have to say I had a moment where I almost cried. I asked the people in the session how many had to work at home during the pandemic…not quite 1/2 raised their hands. I then asked how many had to keep going to the office because their job was essential…and then everyone else raised their hands.
“Whether you spent hours at home with kids, dogs, and significant others, or you were feeling alone while you kept your company running; or if you had to go to an office and worry about what was “in the air” while you sat at your desk...YOU ARE A SUPERHERO!”
Being in a room with people from around the country and around the world, showing them how to get more out of whatever accounting solution they have…that is what Summit is supposed to be! The last couple years were tough. I enjoyed teaching and laughing and helping people. That was what I could do to make things a little better. I am sad to say that part of the GP General Session…made things harder.
For those of you that didn’t attend Summit and if you didn’t hear about the closing speaker for the GP General Session, here is a link to Mike Morton from Microsoft’s follow-up statement.
Before Mike spoke, Terry Heley did a demo of some of the new features that were released with GP 18.5 (which is basically GP 2022…for those of you that get confused by the new numbering system). You can read about them on the official GP Support and Services Blog. I am super excited about the addition of the Batch ID to Navigation Lists! I remember seeing this on the “Ideas” site! For those of you that don’t know, you can add suggestions for future features and changes to Microsoft Dynamics GP. It takes a couple minutes to setup a login, but it is worth it! Here is a link!
I would rather keep talking about What’s New…and cool new add-on products I saw at the Expo…but I think I will make a separate article about that and this one can just address the elephant in the room.
A Brief Overview of “What Happened” at the GP General Session
Here is the description of what the session was supposed to be:
Join other Microsoft Dynamics GP users at Summit at the GP General Session as we talk all things product release, project roadmaps, and strategy! At this general session, we are also going to be doing an All-Star Awards ceremony to recognize our community leaders. Lastly, bring your best customer highlights and stories so that we can share our wins!
The majority of the session (I’d estimate 40 minutes) followed the description. When Mike Morton from Microsoft began his part of the session, he talked about the current “roadmap” for Dynamics GP through 2028 “and beyond” (everyone clapped)…Where things went sideways came next. Mr. Morton stated and showed a slide that October 2022 would be the last release with new features and recommended partners to call for migrating to BC. The remainder of the session was a BC Demo.
The information about BC was not new. The announcement of no new features contradicted all previous messaging and official policy as we all understood it. For more information about this commitment from Microsoft to support GP, read this official article: Understand the Lifecycle Policies for Dynamics GP.
He has since corrected/redacted and clarified as follows:
If you are an existing GP customer, you can be confident in using Dynamics GP to run your business for years to come.
New releases will contain regulatory (tax), security updates, and hotfixes, ensuring GP remains up to date.
New releases will also include updates in usability, reliability, addressing top customer issues, and other areas that are critical in ensuring businesses run successfully on GP.
We recommend customers with any questions or concerns reach out to their existing partner, who best understands their business.
Microsoft mentioned several companies that provide migration services. These services are intended as a ‘partner-to-partner’ resource, with customers continuing to work directly with their existing partner
I appreciate the speed that this was addressed (behind the scenes emails and planning commenced IMMEDIATELY to clarify and restate Microsoft’s official commitment to GP).
To quote, Mike Morton from Microsoft again:
It is the case that Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 Finance + SCM will be products which will see the majority of Microsoft’s investments in ERP. We do encourage customers to talk with their partner about whether one of these products may be a good fit, while being assured that Dynamics GP will continue to be updated and supported, allowing customers to make the choice that is right for their business.
What I have found is that with proper training, and an additional add-on product…many companies can and will continue to use Microsoft Dynamics GP for the foreseeable future.
If your company wants to discuss moving to BC or any of the other cloud-based ERP systems…talk to your partner. If you have a good partner, they are getting ready now to help your company weather whatever changes are coming. If you don’t get the help you need from your partner, I recommend looking for a new partner now…and then talking about any changes that you might want to make.
Microsoft Dynamics GP works with the latest technologies from Microsoft in the Power Platform such as PowerBI, PowerAutomate, and PowerApps. Also, if you want to move GP to the cloud, there are many options!
A Little History on GP and Microsoft
Microsoft announced the purchase of Great Plains in December 2000. I was working at a small partner in San Diego when that happened. In researching for this article…I wanted to find the original official announcement of the acquisition. When I read it, I couldn’t help but think of all of the companies I have worked with from around the country that have seen the goals in this announcement come true and benefit their company.
“...a family-owned business that employs 35 people will have access to — and will be able to afford — the same kinds of technology purchased by a multi-national corporation.”
(Following quotes are from the article “Microsoft to Acquire Great Plains Software Inc.” available on the official Microsoft news site.)
PressPass: What are some of the things we’re likely to see come out of this acquisition in terms of new technologies?
Raikes: We’re working together on a new way of thinking about, building and delivering business management software. We want to harness the power of Microsoft’s .NET vision in a way that builds new opportunities for partners to deliver high value custom business solutions and delivers innovative software and services to small- and medium companies at the very same time those kinds of solutions are becoming available to very large businesses. In other words, a family-owned business that employs 35 people will have access to — and will be able to afford — the same kinds of technology purchased by a multi-national corporation.
Burgum: In the future, we plan to integrate technologies from both companies that provides lots of choices for businesses to manage their technology on a wide range of devices — including PCs, terminals, and handheld and wireless devices — and will let them decide between Web-based services, hosted applications, or on-premise, locally-managed solutions, all according to their business needs, support requirements and customization requirements.
Additionally, we plan to “blur” the boundaries of today’s functional applications to expand solution reach beyond a company’s traditional users to its entire business community of employees, customers, suppliers, and partners.
Final Thoughts and Links to Awesome Articles
Microsoft has for over 20 years invested in Microsoft Dynamics GP. During that time, the stability and scalability of GP has meant that many independent companies have created AMAZING add-on products to address specific needs and to improve on the foundation that was laid so many years ago.
It is true that Microsoft is investing a lot of money in BC. There are some amazing people that have been working on BC. I have several awesome people that have been helping me learn how to use it. I would like to be ready to answer questions for any customer that is considering moving over. There may be features could make BC a good fit for some companies…but I will never push any customer to make a change without discussing their specific system and their specific needs.
Moving to BC is implementing a NEW system. One of the best articles I have read about this is: Microsoft Dynamics BC Myth Busters by Todd McDaniel.
Lastly, I found out this week that BC is written in a new “language” even than the program it was originally based on (Navision). For anyone who wants more information about that, I found this article: Learn the differences between C/AL and AL coding, why Microsoft introduced a new language, and the benefits it has for businesses. (For companies with customizations and add-on products designed for Microsoft Dynamics NAV, this means time and investment to make that change.)
For most companies, this month’s #MSDynGP kerfuffle (to quote Bob McAdam) won’t affect their decision. Whatever choice you make now, in 2028, or beyond…Mike Biwer, the CEO of Cavallo said it best in his article The Future of Dynamics GP.
“Our position is quite simple: If you are on GP and want to stay, great, we’re happy to serve you there. If you have decided it’s best for you to migrate to Business Central, great, we’re happy to serve you there too. Do what’s best for you and we’ll meet you there!”