Community Experience at Summit

Now that we’re home from the User Group Summit 2019, it’s time to catch up on work and reflect on the knowledge and connections gained from the conference.

One feeling I sensed all week while attending my first Summit conference was the sense of community. From the partner community to the user community, to the Dynamics community as a whole.

User Group Summit

The User Group numbers shared in each of the solution’s general sessions spoke for themselves; the number of users and companies involved in the User Group; the number of local Chapter User Groups; the number of posts and replies in the online forums. The numbers showed that the community is growing and reinforces the idea that everyone can benefit from supporting each other. Everyone in attendance was there to learn by investing in themselves and the solutions they use daily. No matter what colour of lanyard you were wearing at Summit, we are all part of the greater Dynamics community and we’re attending Summit for similar reasons.

User Group stats shown during the CRM General Session:

One of the benefits of attending a conference like Summit is learning from peers that use the same solution as you as well as learning about other tools and solutions that integrate with your existing solution. Users can be better together by sharing pain points or useful tips with one another, thus furthering their investment in the solution. The thing is, the community doesn’t exist for one week at Summit; the community extends to online forums and to the local chapter meetings. There is a community available to users year-round. Check out the User Group links below to take part in learning and networking year-round!

An example of a community within the community was seen at the “Women in Technology Luncheon: The Power of Mentoring” at Summit. A panel of women shared their experiences of mentoring and career lessons. At the end of the session there was discussion and learning amongst peers at the table around us where we shared different workplace roadblocks, who our mentors are, and how we can be leaders in the workplace. At the end of the discussion, our table connected on LinkedIn and once again this community extends beyond the luncheon and is available to us when we’re home. Beyond connecting individually on LinkedIn, there’s a Women in Technology online community available through Dynamic Communities.

Dynamic Communities

You might see a new logo for your User Group! Right before Summit, Dynamic Communities introduced updated logos as well as updated names for some User Groups and events. Dynamic Communities’ goal is “to unite people of all levels through community”. More information about the updated logos can be found here: New Logo, Same Benefits, Growing Community.

Here is an example of the new Dynamic Communities logo:

Giving Back

Giving back to the community was another aspect of community that was seen at Summit. In previous years, Summit attendees could package meals for Rise Against Hunger. This year Dynamic Communities chose to support three charities that have roots in towns connected to Dynamic Communities. You can read more about the three charities here: Charitable Giving Multiplied By Three At User Group Summit North America 2019.

User Group Membership

Whether you attended the Summit conference or not, you should consider becoming a member of your solution’s User Group. Some of the membership benefits include virtual learning, peer networking (online and in-person), online activities, educational resources, and discounts to community events.

As of today, there are nine different User Groups:

• Dynamics 365 User Group (D365UG)
• Finance & Operations/Dynamics AX User Group (AXUG)
• Customer Engagement and Dynamics CRM User Group (CRMUG)
• Business Central and Dynamics NAV User Group (BCUG|NAVUG)
• Dynamics GP User Group (GPUG)
• Power BI User Group (PowerBIUG)
• PowerApps User Group (PowerAppsUG)
• Flow User Group (FlowUG)
• Dynamics SL User Group (DSLUG)

Check out your User Group or contact us if you have any questions!

Voting for Product Features

Did you know that you can influence which product features are taken into consideration by Microsoft?

Several User Group general sessions discussed how product features submitted by users and voted for by users were implemented by Microsoft and were part of the latest releases.

Users can vote on product features they want for their products and then Microsoft takes the most voted product features into consideration. You can suggest a new idea, vote on ideas other users have posted, and see the status details of the suggested idea (New, Under Review, Planned, Completed, Needs Votes).

Check out Dynamics 365 Application Ideas to see the ideas submitted for your solution.

For Office 365 feedback, see Customer Feedback for Microsoft Office 365 and select the forum that interests you.

Now What?

There are many ways for you to get involved in the community whether it’s becoming a User Group member and taking advantage of the many benefits, voting for product features, or joining us next October in Nashville at the next Community Summit!

Contact us if you have any questions about Summit or becoming a User Group member!