GPUG Summit 2013 Tampa Wrap Up

I just got back from GPUG Summit 2013 in Tampa and I have to say it was a very exciting week. With a 4-hour training and 3 sessions over 3 days, reality is time is always of the essence at a conference like this one. If you went to any of my sessions, please fill out the survey as this is how I get invited to these events - seriously!


ITP02: Fun with Microsoft Dynamics GP Administration Tools
Wednesday October 23, 2013 2:00pm - 3:00pm
CPE Eligible
Complete survey

STR04: Web Client Deployment for IT Directors
Thursday October 24, 2013 1:15pm - 2:15pm
CPE Eligible
Complete survey

ITP07: Administering SQL for Microsoft Dynamics GP Administrators
Friday October 25, 2013 9:45am - 10:45am
CPE Eligible
Complete survey

Nonetheless, I got a chance to attend a few sessions where I picked up a few nuggets (blog material for this week) and learned some more about topics I don't usually get involved with and, boy, it was all worth it! Some of the sessions I attended are as follow:

BIR03: Unlock the Magic of Excel Refreshable Reports
Presenter: MVP Mark Polino
Wednesday October 23, 2013 10:00am - 11:00am
CPE Eligible
Complete survey

PSH05R: Making Microsoft Dynamics GP work Simpler and Easier
Presenter: Mark Rockwell @ Rockton Software.
Thursday October 24, 2013 9:30am - 10:30am
Not CPE Eligible
Complete survey

BDA06: Going Deep with SmartList Builder
Presenter: Nicole Alberson @ eOne Business Solutions.
Thursday October 24, 2013 4:00pm - 5:30pm
CPE Eligible
Complete survey

STR08: Business Portal is Alive and Kicking
Presenter: Tanya Henderson @ S2 Technologies.
Friday October 25, 2013 11:00am - 12:00pm
CPE Eligible
Complete survey

Thanks to Summit sponsors FastPath and Data Masons for hosting the Thursday morning MVP breakfast, attended by MVPs from all ERP and CRM products and a few GPUG All-Star guests - from left to right and front to back, John Lowther (GP), Belinda Allen (GP), Leslie Vail (GP), Mariano Gomez (GP), Zubin Gidwani (GP All-Star), Jon Rivers (Data Mason), Howard Swerdloff (GP All-Star), Gretchen Opferkew (CRM), Claus Lundstrøm (NAV), Per Mogensen (NAV), Mark Polino (GP), Brandon George (AX)

Congratulations to the GPUG Summit 2013 All-Stars, Beat Bucher (@GP_Beat) with Forensic Technologies in Canada, Terry Heley with Microsoft, and Michelle Kocher with Delta Medical Systems.

Michelle, Terry, and Beat joined the "Ask the All-Star" session featuring (from left to right) Zubin Gidwani, Richard Whaley, MVP John Lowther, Bob McAdam, and MVP Mark Polino.

It was also good to catch up with my friends at eOne Business Solutions, Abbey Cooper, Nicole Albertson, and Chris Dew - Martin Olsen behind the camera.

My thoughts in general are:

• Mark Polino is an Excel diva - enough said!
• 1 hour sessions are too short. Most presenters I spoke to had a lot more material they would have wanted to present, but time did not allow them to go deeper into the topics.
• Summit is definitely an event all end-users must attend at least every couple years.
• Drop the word "optional" from the pre-conference training sessions. When you make something "optional", people just don't show up. It was not uncommon to find classrooms with just 2 students and the instructor.
• Can't beat the Tampa weather. Should plan to have more summits in this beautiful city.
• More deep dives please! It should be all about the details for the end-user.
• From a presenter's perspective, VPC images were messed up and some were not even ready. Not cool!

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
IntellPartners, LLC
http://www.IntellPartners.com/

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Attending GPUG 2013 in Tampa? Don't miss my sessions

Well, it's yet another conference for me. This time around, I will be presenting at GPUG Summit 2013 in beautiful Tampa, Florida and I was hoping that, if you are attending, a) you can come to one or all of my sessions, and b) that you would absolutely stop by to say hello.

My sessions are as follow:

Fun with Microsoft Dynamics GP Administrative Tools
Wednesday, October 23 • 2:00pm - 3:00pm
This session will involve some Support Debugging Tool, but I also have a bit of an ace under the sleeve for attendees, so you won't want to miss this one.

Web Client Deployment for IT Directors
Thursday, October 24 • 1:15pm - 2:15pm
With the release of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Web Client, IT administrators are at the cross-roads of continuing to support a traditional rich client environment and adopting the new Web Client interface. Come learn what it takes to deploy Web Client, upgrade your current rich client environment (whether you are on a Terminal Server or workstation-driven environment), and the challenges with this new deployment approach.

Administering SQL for Microsoft Dynamics GP
Friday, October 25 • 9:45am - 10:45am
Are you confident that you are managing your Microsoft SQL Server environment correctly? Increase your effectiveness as an IT administrator at your organization - we'll help you increase your self-reliance and skill set for monitoring and maintaining your SQL environment, and give you the tools and knowledge to help troubleshoot when the unexpected happens.

I also have a training class, Hands-On with the Support Debugging Tool, which will be running on Tuesday, October 22 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM where I will be teaching some really cool SDT features. The best part is, you get to play with the tool yourself.

More information on Summit 2013 pre-conference training here.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
IntellPartners, LLC
http://www.IntellPartners.com/

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Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Airlift 2013 - Day 1

The Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Airlift 2013, hosted by GP Partner Connections is now in full session.

Unfortunately, last minute circumstances prevented my participation as a presenter this year, but in retrospect, it was probably a good thing as I really don't want to become like those actors that show up in just about every movie.

The sessions list for this year is off the chain and if you are a propeller head like me, you can certainly attend some really cool sessions:

• Developing for the Web Client: a Microsoft Dexterity Perspective (Sept 18, 1:15 PM CST)
• Dynamics GP Multitenant for Developers (Sept 18, 2:30 PM CST)
• Dynamics GP Development Team Unplug (Sept 18, 3:45 PM CST)
• Dexterity and Services: Can they be friends? (Sept 19, 11:15 AM CST)
• Web Client Customization with VST Deep Dive (Sept 19, 4:00 PM CST)

In addition to these development sessions, there are tons of other development related sessions around Window 8 and Windows Phone, and BI for GP.

You will not want to miss the closing session on Friday either. That promises to be a complete surprise, according to my friend Jay Manley. Find detailed information on sessions here.

Being away, however, doesn't give me the right to not know what's going on and I can tell you that the first major update coming out of Fargo is a roadmap refresh.

Roadmap Update

The next big thing in the horizon, of course, is all the buzz surrounding GP Next, Microsoft's next generation of the award winning Microsoft Dynamics GP -- okay, I sounded a bit like a salesman there, but hey, ain't we all? To deliver the "next generation" of products you have to imagine there will be a "next generation" of tools. What will happen with Dexterity? What will happen with Visual Studio Tools and, of course, Silverlight development? As GP expands more into a service model, and away (in some sense) from its Client/Server roots how will the development tools be enhanced?

Microsoft delivered ahead of expectations on the SP2 updates for GP 2013 in the second half of this year, which included close to 20 new enhancements, drifting away from the traditional Feature Pack concept. Pam Misialek explains this as a way to deliver functionality out the door much, much quicker to customers. You can read more here.

The next major wave will be coming in the first half of 2014 and will see significant enhancements to Workflow, a move to add Requisitions into Microsoft Dynamics GP, a Windows 8 Procurement app, and some Identity Management concepts.

I also have my spy reporter at the conference and this is the first picture coming out from Fargo with MVP Leslie Vail presenting the Support Debugging Tool session (with MVP Belinda Allen).

Leslie in the Support Debugging Tool session

The credit for the above goes to Tanya Henderson at S2 Technology.

I challenge you to be my reporter by taking pictures and relaying your experience. Email  your pictures and updates and I will make sure you get credit for your work in my article. All pictures will be uploaded to The Dynamics GP Blogster on Facebook for everyone to see. If you attend an interesting session and/or hear of the latest buzz around the corridors, please feel free to email me too.

I wish everyone in attendance a great conference and hope you enjoy every bit of it.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
IntellPartners, LLC
http://www.IntellPartners.com/

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Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Airlift 2013

The Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Airlift 2013 hosted by GP Partner Connections is a little less than 3 months away, so if you are a Microsoft Dynamics GP partner please register now.

As is customary, I will be attending the Technical Airlift as a presenter this year and will really be rocking a cool new session:


Developing for the Web Client: a Microsoft Dexterity perspective
September 18 • 1:15pm - 2:15pm

In this session, I will be presenting some new (and not so new) techniques used by Microsoft Dexterity developers to render integrating applications on the Web Client. Come learn about user interface standards, ribbons, command forms, selective programming (Web Client vs Rich Client), techniques for converting your VBA customization to Web Client compatible customizations, and performance killers.

Lot's to cover in one hour, but trust me, you will walk out of this session with some good tips for your bag of tricks.

See you in beautiful Fargo, North Dakota.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
IntellPartners, LLC
http://www.IntellPartners.com/

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Microsoft Convergence New Orleans 2013 : GPPC PreGAME

 

Yesterday marked the beginning of the Dynamic Communities events. Also, it would be my first time presenting for this week.

 

The days started out with a relaxing breakfast with my wife. After that, it was all business. At 10:30 AM I headed over to the ballroom area to get registered for GPPC.
 

GP Partner Connections Banner

The registration desk was buzzing with Katie Froeber, Shanna Hensch trying to wrap-up placing the badges inside the clear holders. This process was very time consuming and they still had a bunch of badges to filled out by hand, since they were not printed.

After helping out with the badges, it was time for the GPPC Welcome Session along with the Ask the MVP. The session featured Jesse Byam as the host who did a fantastic job at keeping attendees warmed with his jokes as the ballroom was freezing!

As is customary during these welcome sessions, we had a representative from Microsoft announce some of the immediate upcoming product and partner oriented events. This time around it was Jay Manley's turn to do the honors.

Jay Manley, Microsoft

Some of the product and partner events announced are as follow:

• Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 SP1 will be available by mid April.

• Business Portal for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 will be available by mid April and will be SharePoint 2010 ready.

• Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Feature Pack (R2) is scheduled to hit the market some 18 months from now.

• Web Client updates are scheduled to be released every 3 months, with service packs still within a 6 month cycle, with Payroll and HR ready to hit the block after Convergence.

• Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Airlift 2013 will be from September 18 - 21 in Fargo, North Dakota, once again hosted by GPPC. Both Microsoft and GPPC have vowed to keep this conference on a yearly basis.

After the GPPC Welcome, it was time to hit the stage with my esteemed MVP colleagues, Belinda Allen, Frank Hamelly, Jivtesh Singh, Leslie Vail, and Mark Polino.

Running a bit late, it was time to meet up with Kerri Garbis, President at Ovation Communication to do our first rehearsal for the General Session. Kerri provided Mark and I with some great tips for our General Session delivery. After our initial rehearsal, it was time to meet up with the Microsoft Product Management team over at the Keynote Session room, in Hall J for a walkthrough of the stage and what Mark and I were supposed to do when we got there on Tuesday morning.

I have to say, the shared size of the room can be a bit intimidating and to know we will be in front of 5,000 people makes for great excitement! Can't wait for the General Session to begin!

Hall J - Keynote Room

I personally had a unique opportunity to see the video and sound engineers at work, fine-tuning every little gizmo to ensure a successful Convergence opening. There are literally 100's of computers, miles of cables, milliards of connections, speakers, cranes, at any given moment back there with an army of people moving around constantly.

Pam Misialek then showed us our way to the stage for our presentation and walked us through some details including where we would be positioned, our stance, how we should address the audience, the monitors, etc. This was a really cool experience for me, since this is the first time I am delivering a presentation in such setting.

Pam Misialek and Mark Polino

The projection screens are definitely theater size and the General Session is sure to be a success. The projection on these screens is done from the back stage, which really caught my attention. At the back of the stage the image is flipped horizontally, which makes it appear in normal mode when seen from the front stage. This technique reduces the glare caused by front projection and creates a smoother, softer image.

Projection Screens in Hall J

One last look at the room from the stage reminded me of the responsibility ahead. Mark and I feel pretty well about our 5 minutes of fame and are sure ready to put on a good show - MVP style!

A look at the room from the stage

Well, it was time to return to the Hilton Hotel where Aaron Donat and I would be delivering our PreGAME session, Implementing Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Web Client. We had really good attendance to our session, which ran a good 30 minutes over its original schedule. We walked through all the Web Client elements and provided live demos of Web Client and Web Management console, explaining all the different challenges with things like certificates and ports. We strongly encouraged partners to attend one of the deep dive sessions offered during Convergence and/or to join a training class.

After our session, it was time for a little R&R at the GPPC partner reception. The reception featured a Jazz group and quite a bit of interaction between partners.

GPPC partner reception

My wife and I had quiet dinner plans for the evening and went out to the ultra famous Commander's Palace where we started out with a couple Hibiscus Martinis, "Hand-crafted Jamaican Hibiscus tea, fresh squeezed lime and Bombay Sapphire come together beautifully to make a cocktail that is as stunningly beautiful as it is delicious and refreshing". Our dinner ended with a great Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé with warm whiskey cream and a cup of New Orleans style coffee (with chicory).

Well, it was time go get some rest since a new days awaited with General Session rehearsals on stage and GPUG sessions.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
IntellPartners, LLC
http://www.IntellPartners.com/

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Meet me at GPPC PreGAME

As if 5 Convergence sessions weren't enough, I am also doing a presentation at PreGAME 2013 hosted by GP Partner Connections (GPPC) with my good friend Aaron Donat, Escalation Engineer in Fargo.

Aaron and I will be presenting Implementing Microsoft Dynamics GP Web Client which will run from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM in Grand Salon 3 & 6 at the Hilton New Orleans River Side. This event is open to Microsoft Dynamics GP partners and ISVs, but you must register to attend.

Following this presentation is the Microsoft Partner Reception and Executive Q&A. Please be sure to attend this event as well as it will be one of the unique opportunities to question Microsoft executives in attendance directly.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
IntellPartners, LLC
http://www.IntellPartners.com/

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GPUG Georgia Regional Chapter Meet Up

I did not want this to pass me by.

Last Tuesday, February 12, 2013, I had the opportunity to participate as a guest speaker at the GPUG Georgia Regional Chapter meeting, hosted at Prosys Information Systems, a Microsoft Dynamics GP customer.

Our chapter meeting had two topics being discussed for the day:

• Advanced Analytics for Microsoft Dynamics GP. This first topic was very exciting and was conducted by Dwight Specht, COO of IBIS, Inc. Dwight demonstrated the power of Analysis Cubes for Microsoft Dynamics GP and showed how Excel can be leveraged as a client to interact with these.

• Where to Go for Answers? I championed this topic and explored some of the options for finding information within the Microsoft Dynamics GP community with all attendees. We had a great deal of discussion around the use of social media from a corporate and personal perspective and how it can be leveraged as a tool for building your professional network and obtaining support.

All in all, it was an exciting afternoon and attendees had a chance to interact with the presenters and discuss how they are taking advantage of analytics and social media in their organizations. I can't wait for next quarter's meeting.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
IntellPartners, LLC
http://www.IntellPartners.com/

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GPUG Summit 2012 Seattle - Wrap Up!

With another Summit behind us, it's just fitting that I close this one out with some remarks about the event, and as it is customary, with all links I could find from people talking about it.

This is indeed my second GPUG Summit as a presenter and I have to say, this event is growing very fast in popularity, with over 550 users, partners, and ISVs from the Microsoft Dynamics GP world. It's also good to note that over 2,000 participants attended on behalf of all the user groups (AXUG, NAVUG, CRMUG, and of course, GPUG). What also shocked me was the total number of sessions: over 150! Sessions were as diverse as anyone could imagine: from Social Media, to Excel, to Reporting Services, to Business Intelligence, to myriad of sessions on tips (50 tips, 100 tips, 150 product tips, etc., etc.) , Microsoft Dynamics GP functionality, and the upcoming Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013. No, it doesn't end there either. Attendees got an up close and personal view of the web client, Business Analyzer on Windows 8 and quite a mouthful of GP 2013 features.

No, not quite of Convergence proportions, but certainly a very familiar feeling to the entire event. You see, there's no corridor or isle you can walk without running into someone you know, someone asking you "how's your event going?", or heck, someone inviting you out for a drink or dinner! In addition, this is the only conference where there is no short of presenters willing to pick up a session for another one on a moment's notice. End-users also get to interact with presenters and subject matter experts on a one-on-one basis, more so than they would at Convergence.

The venue? No slouch here either. The Washington State Convention Center and The Conference Center proved just as worthy as any other venue I have been to. The difference? The proximity of the session rooms made the experience even more enjoyable for attendees.

GPUG Summit 2013 will be held in the beautiful city of Tampa, Florida and you can bet that Kim Peterson and Andy Hafer are probably a step away from wrapping up the details on this. Those two work just as hard as anyone else in this industry to make things happen for the user community.

Tampa, Florida

With that said, here is the Summit from various perspectives:

The Dynamics GP Blogster (this site)

GPUG Summit 2012 Seattle: Getting here
GPUG Summit 2012 Seattle: Day -1
GPUG Summit 2012 Seattle - Day 1
GPUG Summit 2012 Seattle - Day 2
GPUG Summit 2012 Seattle - Day 3

DynamicAccounting.net (Mark Polino)

GPUG Summit Wrap Up

EDI Integration for Microsoft Dynamics (Jon Rivers)

Updates from NAVUG Forum 2012 Opening Session
Thanks AXUG Summit Party Goers for a Great Event at Seattle’s EMP!
GPUG Summit 2012 Kicks Off and Heads Into Busy Day
Where Should You Turn for Answers? The Power of Social Media
Last Day of AXUG Summit 2012, Make it Count!
Experts Abound at GPUG Summit 2013 ‘Ask the Experts’ Roundtable
Record Attendance, Great Week at AXUG Summit, GPUG Summit and NAVUG Forum in Seattle!

Please check The Dynamics GP Blogster on Facebook for pictures from GPUG Summit 2012 Seattle. Also, check back regularly for presentation materials on the Learning Resources page of this site.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
IntellPartners, LLC
http://www.IntellPartners.com/

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GPUG Summit 2012 Seattle - Day 3

Day 3 marks the end of GPUG Summit 2012 Seattle. However, this day would go out with a bang and still tons of sessions left.

Kim Peterson, Michelle Spitzer, David Eichner

Next up was the "Ask the Experts" town hall session, where I had a chance to be on stage with fellow Microsoft Dynamics GP MVPs and last Summit's GPUG All-Stars Bob McAdam, MVP John Lowther, and Zubin Gidwani.

"Ask the Experts" Panelists
Left to right: Andy Hafer (Moderator), MVP Charles Allen, MVP Frank Hamelly, MVP Leslie Vail, MVP Mark Polino, MVP Mariano Gomez, Bob McAdam, MVP John Lowther, Zubin Gidwani

Somehow, the GPUG organization saw fitting that me and my fellow colleagues on stage wear these propeller head caps. I must say, we did look the part. After some introductions, some fun on stage, and the cap fitting, the questions began to poor in from the attendees and we had a wonderful time taking on some challenging ones.

The "Propeller Heads" in action

It was now time to wrap up the circus and poor Michelle Spitzer was left to pick up the pieces. Here she is wrapping up one of the GPUG banners.

Michelle Spitzer is left to reel it in

Up next was my last session at the Summit, GEN05 Where Should You Turn for Answers: The Power of Social Media. This session would be delivered with my friend Jon Rivers (twitter: @jon_rivers) from Data Masons. Jon and I had a blast with this topic and were able to offer Jon's eBook for free to those attending our session.

It was time to head over to the Grand Hyatt to pick up my luggage and sail to the airport. I had a tight 55 minutes before my flight departure. Unfortunately, I could not stay for the rest of the day and missed the closing session. I will not bore you with the details of my return home, but my trip started with a pleasant ride with Lou Spevack, and would take me from SEA-TAC to MSP and from MSP to ATL. The trip from SEA-TAC to MSP was uneventful, with just a couple rough patches of air here and there. Upon landing in MSP at gate G21, I had to find my way to gate G2. I came across a 4-year old at my departure gate in MSP who wanted to step on my toes for fun. I must say, I was completely wiped out from this event and spent most of the time sleeping on my trip from SEA-TAC to MSP.

The flight to ATL was very pleasant.

As customary, please wait for my wrap up post and, if you attended, hope you had a great Summit. Safe travels home.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
IntellPartners, LLC
http://www.IntellPartners.com/

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GPUG Summit 2012 Seattle - Day 2

After a late dinner the previous day, today I would start the day with an 8:00 AM session - ITP16 Advanced Microsoft Dynamics GP Administration with the Support Debugging Tool. For an early session, I had a good turn out with 17 attendees, all of which were asking very interesting questions about the tool.

Couple suggestion to improve the SDT come to mind from attendees:

1. The Resource Information window should incorporate a "Back" button that would allow a user to return to the starting resource once the user begins to drill-down into other resources. For example, if the Resource Information window starts out with a form or window, then the user chooses a table associated to that form, and them moves on to a field in a table, the back button should allow the user to navigate to the table, then to the original form/window if pressed again.

2. Support Debugging Tool training should be a part of the Summit Optional Training sessions. Should you want to see any particular sessions added to Summit training, you need to request these to GPUG by filling out your surveys.

Following my session I went to The Hub area to catch up with MVP Mark Polino who was signing his now popular Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Cookbook.

MVP Mark Polino

It was time to catch up with emails and return a few phone calls, so off I went to the hotel to get some rest and do some work.

I returned to The Conference Center just on time for the GSN03 Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 General Session. As usual, Kim Peterson opened the session with a big welcoming to the attending crowd - in parallel with the General Session, there was a field trip to the Microsoft Campus in Redmond, WA.

Kim conducted the drawing of sharing coupons given out to session attendees throughout Wednesday and Thursday, delivering prizes sponsored by various companies like E! Entertainment who donated DVDs. Next, she recognized the GPUG Indiana/Kentucky Regional Chapter for their commitment to the local user group and the awesome meets they have.

Kim Peterson - Sharing Coupons Prizes

Next on stage was Microsoft's Errol Schoenfish to introduce Hal Howard, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Dynamics ERP R&D. Hal walked through Microsoft's Dynamic Business strategy and products launch for 2012 and how it would impact the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem. It is clear that a significant investment in time and financial resources went into making this the biggest product launch in Microsoft's history.

Hal Howard

Next up was Pam Misialek, Product Manager at Microsoft, to kickoff a set of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 web client demoes. Pam began her session by telling the story of how the web client came about and brought Lou

Errol Schoenfish and Pam Misialek

Pam gave way to Jared Hall, Program Manager at Microsoft to demonstrate some of the cool business intelligence features available in Microsoft Dynamics GP Business Analyzer, SQL Server Reporting Services, and Microsoft Office Excel 2013 (Preview).

Next up was Kevin Racer to demonstrate the Web Management Console application and how it facilitates the administration of web client sessions and tenants. For more information on the web client infrastructure, take a look at Aaron Donat's article Dynamics GP 2013 Web Client Infrastructure Overview over at Developing for Dynamics GP.

Kevin Racer and Errol Schoenfish

I want to individually congratulate Bob McAdam for doing two well rounded demoes on Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 features. For a list of features, take a look at the following articles on this site:

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 "Feature of the Day" - Week 1 Digest
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 "Feature of the Day" - Week 2 Digest
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 "Feature of the Day" - Week 3 Digest
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 "Feature of the Day" - Week 4 Digest
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 "Feature of the Day" - Week 5 Digest
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013"Feature of the Day" - Week 6 Digest
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 "Feature of the Day" - Week 7 Digest
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 "Feature of the Day" - Week 8 Digest
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 "Feature of the Day" - Week 9 Digest
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 "Feature of the Day" - Week 10 Digest
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 "Feature of the Day" - Week 11 Digest
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 "Feature of the Day" - Week 12 Digest
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 "Feature of the Day" - Week 13 Digest


After the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 General Session, I rounded up all the presenters and snapped a picture for posterity. Good job guys on the demoes!

Kevin Racer, Jared Hall, Pam Misialek, Errol Schoenfish, Kim Peterson, Bob McAdam

Another day was over and it was time to go get some dinner. Nothing better than sushi in Seattle at Shiro's Sushi.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
IntellPartners, LLC
http://www.IntellPartners.com/

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GPUG Summit 2012 Seattle - Day 1

Let the show begin!

This is the only way to describe Day 1 of GPUG Summit 2012 Seattle. The day started out with breakfast in room 304 of The Conference Center. Attendees had one last chance to check out the sessions they were attending for the day, before the opening General Session.

Breakfast at the Opening General Session

Mama Kim took control of the stage, welcoming all attendees and talking about the benefits of GPUG, joining the regional chapters, and participating in the Microsoft Dynamics GP community as a whole. She then presented some formidable statistics on GPUG's growth over the past 5 years, the number of attendees to this event - 2000 users across all products, 550 Dynamics GP attendees.

Kim Peterson, Director of GPUG

Kim gave way to Mike McDowell who explained away the functions of the GPUG Advisory Board and the importance of the volunteer work performed by its members. Mike provided a comic relief to attendees when he described being a sort of croc hunter.



Mike McDowell

The General Session continued with the introduction of event sponsors and keynote speakers. We had the opportunity to listen from Doug Bertram, Regional Sales Manager at MetaViewer, who introduced the company's value proposition and products.

Next up was Jeremy Epstein, VP Marketing and Social Media Navigator at Sprinkl. Jeremy's high powered and exquisitely funny delivery of the risks and benefits of social media and how organizations in this day and age can live or die by the "attention economy" spear. Jeremy stressed the importance of identifying anti-social behaviors within the organization and work to root these out before it's too late.

Following was Andy Snook, President at FastPath, Inc. and a sponsor of the event. Andy introduced his company; clients; and its security, auditing, and compliance solutions. FastPath is known for its Microsoft Dynamics GP integrating products, Assure, Audit Trail, and Config AD. Click here for more information.

The final speaker of the morning was no one other than Neil Holloway, VP of Business Strategy at Microsoft. Neil introduced Microsoft's next wave of products to hit the market during 2012 and proceed to describe Microsoft's Dynamic Business vision and approach.

Neil Holloway

As usual, no event is ever complete without awards, and it was time to select the 2012 GPUG All-Stars. I have to say, I was very proud to be considered among a select group of individuals representing the partner community. However, this time the accolades go to Richard Whaley, Microsoft Dynamics GP MVP, Mark Polino, and Howard Swerdloff.



GPUG All-Stars 2012: MVP Mark Polino (IBIS) and Howard Swerdloff

Well, and who better than Mark Rockwell, President at Rockton Software to put the final highlight to the General Session? Mark has become famous for his product jingles and this time we got a taste of his singing skills? Rockton Software is the author of Microsoft Dynamics GP integrating products SmartFill, Auditor, Dynamics GP Toolbox, Dynamics Report Manager, and Omni Price. Click here for more information.

Mark Rockwell from Rockton Software jingling his products capabilities

With the Opening General Session over, it was time to go find a quiet spot to prepare for my first session of the day. On the way, I came across the folks at Mekorma who are sponsoring The Hub at the Summit. The Hub is a gathering place to catch up on emails, bounce around ideas with other customers, and get answers from the experts.

The Hub @Summit courtesy of Mekorma Software
Left to right: Les Shannon, Steve Linz, and Ora Goldman

Closer to The Conference Center's exit, I ran into fellow consultant and blogger Gloria Braunschweig, President at Computeration and Kim Peterson, GPUG Program Director. The ladies were also enjoying some peace and quiet and chit chatting about the old days of Stampede.

Gloria Braunschweig (Computeration) and Kim Peterson (GPUG)

As the time approached, I moved down to room LL3, where I would be delivering my first session of the event, ITP06 Getting Started with Modifier and Visual Basic for Applications. As mentioned yesterday, I picked up this session as a result of a last minute eventuality. The session went very well, with only 4 attendees in the room. I have a feeling the change from the original schedule for this session impacted the turn out. However, I truly enjoyed working with a small group of mostly new IT users who had no exposure to Modifier and VBA.

My session ran close to another commitment on my calendar. As it turned out, I had been invited to shoot a video for the upcoming Microsoft Dynamics Convergence 2013 to be held in New Orleans. It's amazing to think that this event is just around the corner. The video session went pretty well with the Kitterman Marketing team making it very relaxing and enjoyable all the step of the way.

Mark Sanders (Camera), Debra Bouchegnies, Dusty Henry, and Nikky Naiser from Kitterman Marketing

Following the video session, I went over to the Expo Hall to catch up with the latest ISV offerings. I ran into Amy Alley (Dynamic Communities) and Craig Goldman (Mekorma) and managed spend sometime chit chatting about their event experiences. Frankly, I have been running into Amy for the past 3 years in a row. And Craig? Well, since probably the past 5 years.

Amy Alley (Dynamic Communities) and Craig Goldman (Mekorma)

Walking around the Expo, it was obvious that users, partners, and ISVs come here to really learn about the new products and technologies being offered by the long list of ISVs lining up the various aisles of the room.

Expo Center abuzz with activity

Another highlight of my evening was dinner with the MSDynamicsWorld team of Adam Berezin and Jason Gumpert. Adam and Jason organized a small dinner at Palomino Restaurant & Bar for some of its writing contributors in town. We were also joined by Tanya Henderson, Project Manager at S2 Technology and Lisa Armstrong a Microsoft Dynamics GP consultant in the Washington D.C. Metro area.

MSDynamicsWorld dinner
Left to right: Adam Berezein, Jason Gumpert, Gloria Braunschweig, Mark Polino, Tanya Henderson, Lisa Armstrong

After dinner, it was time to prepare for my early session at 8:00 AM the following morning and get some rest.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
IntellPartners, LLC
http://www.IntellPartners.com/

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