The Passion Behind Microsoft Dynamics Users at the Summit Conference

Encore has been a regular attendee and exhibitor at Summit, the annual Dynamics User Group conference for five years now. I personally didn’t attend this year but we had a team of CRM, AX and GP consultants on the ground in Reno along with numerous customers all taking in 4 days of sessions and training. Encore’s Debra Huntly, Senior Dynamics GP Consultant, shares a snapshot of her knowledge gained at GPUG Summit specifically here.

With nearly 1000 breakout sessions and an expo hall boasting nearly 200 exhibiting companies this year’s event certainly did not disappoint those in attendance! I’ve heard lots of positive feedback from our team of consultants and customers and read a few blog posts expressing what a successful event it was. One post in particular resonated with me and if you have ever wondered if there is any value in attending yourself or sending some of your valued employees, I think you’ll come to a decision when you are done reading this page.

Martin Olsen is the Owner of eOne Integrated Business Solutions and is highly regarded in the Dynamics Community. Here are excerpts from his recent blog post:

“I am amazed at the abundance of passion that software users have for business software. Last week I witnessed an amazing community of people that are truly and fully invested in the software they rely on all day every day.

Now when I say passion I mean real exuberant, overflowing passion coming from accountants, IT people and CRM administrators. Now this is a group of people that are not easily excited and not known for an outward display of emotion. So why did these people spend 8 hours a day listening, learning, sharing, teaching and generally getting really excited about their software?
When you think about it, it really is not surprising at all. If you ever speak with a carpenter you will always find them very willing to talk about their tools – the things that help them craft fantastic furniture or they use to build a house. They are very protective of their tools, they spend a huge amount of time sharpening, oiling, repairing and if you tried to use one of the ‘special’ tools you would be very quickly stopped. These tools are the most crucial part of doing their job.
This is exactly the same for accountants and anyone working in the accounts department of a mid-size business. Your ERP or CRM is something you use all day every day. You rely on it to be successful. You must learn it inside and out. You get excited about its function and its features. You become protective of it if anyone says anything bad about it. You want to find ways to make it better. You spend time learning how other people use it. You buy add-on tools to enhance it. Your ability to succeed in your job is directly related to the tool you use all day every day.

ERP and CRM software are unique in the software world in that you use it 8hrs or 9hrs or 10hrs every day. A tool like Microsoft Paint you use occasionally. Skype you might use a few times a day. Word, you use when you need to write a letter (or this blog). Facebook you use at night when watching TV! BUT your ERP is directly tied to the success of a business, and the success of your career. I understand where the passion comes from.

For all the above reasons software user conferences are just fantastic places to be. The customers are excited, the team at Dynamics Communities who host the event are awesome, the ISV’s are equally passionate and take both positive and negative feedback well.”

Attendance at the event among Dynamics users, partners and Microsoft employees has risen dramatically in recent years and this year’s event didn’t fall short on maintaining that momentum. Surpassing the organizers original registration goals, attendance rose an impressive 14% over last year. Join the Encore team next year at Summit 2016 in Tampa, Florida from Oct. 11-14. Explore Tampa’s unique and vibrant culture while networking and improving your business and personal success with Microsoft Dynamics!