Microsoft MVP Global Summit 2013 November: Day 3

Wednesday, November 20

The Microsoft MVP Global Summit is come to an end, but I am going to finish up the series and as usual wrap up with some thoughts.

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Frankly, today I woke up dragging feet a bit. It's been 2 grueling days of intense sessions with a lot of material to absorb. Since I am leaving on Thursday with the 1:15 PM flight back to Atlanta, I figured I would pack the day with a bunch of sessions I am interested in. And so, I attended the following sessions:

BR078 - DevDay1: What’s Next for the Visual Studio IDE?
BR519 - SQL Session 11-EN: Hidden Gems in SQL Server 2014
BR296 - SQL Session 12-BI: Applications on SSIM Platform

Again, I cannot really disclose much of the content I gather from these sessions, but suffice to say the future of Visual Studio looks great and you can start seeing some of the UX

As for SQL Server, you should be looking into some of the content already being delivered by Microsoft in SQL Server 2014 CTP2 and especially its new In-memory OLTP feature.

As with all Microsoft events, it was time to start closing the curtains and this year, the MVP Summit party was being held at the Seattle Aquarium. The Aquarium opened in 1977 and located on Pier 59 on the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle surrounded by one of the most amazing city skyline views in the United States.

Upon entering the building, it was impossible to miss the big fish tank accessorized by a reflection of the Microsoft MVP logo.

Projected MVP Logo above the fish tank

As good geeks we are always in the look for some conversation, so it was not uncommon to see tables of people simply talking around appetizers and drinks. There was also a free photo booth that allow MVPs to take some really cool pics with their friends, wearing all sort of accessories to spice things up and make things really funny.

MVPs at the Seattle Aquarium

Microsoft also made available free passes to the Seattle Great Wheel, located directly across from the Aquarium at Pier 57.  With an overall height of 175 feet (53.3 m), it became the tallest Ferris wheel on the west coast of the United States when it opened on June 29, 2012. However, this title may not stand long with the upcoming High Roller ferris wheel being constructed in Las Vegas, NV.

Seattle Ferris Wheel

It was time to play some darts, so I teamed up with my friends Ronni, Gus, and Tanguy for a couple rounds where I came out on top - really didn't know I had much of a steady pulse for darts.

MVPs Ronni Haakon Hegelung (C# - Denmark), Gus Gonzalez (CRM - USA),  Tanguy Touzard (CRM - France)

It was time to get back to the hotel to pack and get some rest. I won't be attending any of the Thursday morning sessions so this was it for me.

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There will be no wrap up post to this series so here are my final thoughts about the MVP Global Summit:

1. This was my first ever MVP Summit and it's good to see that other individuals from around the world share the same (or probably even more sometimes) passion I have for helping the technical communities of users and partners. Some fellow MVPs spend countless hours on forum activities, presentations at events, and their day jobs that it always begs the question from others: what time do you guys find to do all this stuff?

2. I have new appreciation for doing presentations. I used to think that delivering presentations to the community was hard enough. Wait until you ever have to deliver a presentation to a room full of extremely smart people who do actually work with the products you build. So kudos to all Microsoft Program Managers for taking the time to put up with us over the past few days.

3. It's hard to coordinate an event this large and the MVP Award Program did an excellent job at making sure buses and staff were well prepared for this one. I am sure there may been a few hitches here and there, but if they were, I sure was not aware of any.

Until next post!

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

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Microsoft MVP Global Summit 2013 November: Day 2

Tuesday, November 19

This day is very significant for us, Microsoft Dynamics GP MVP. For the first time, the MVP Global Summit features Microsoft Dynamics GP content.

I had a late start today. I believe I am starting to slow down. The previous day proved very hectic and tiring, displacing between buildings. However, I was at the Microsoft Conference Center early this morning to begin the day. On my way to the registration desk with Leslie and John, I saw this guy which I can only qualify as the Leslie Vail of the MVP world. He sure looked the part.

Just some morning fun

But what else could get your day going, if not Clippy, the former Office Assistant? Clippy happened to be running up and down the corridors of Building 33 greeting and cheering MVPs in attendance.

Clippy

We quickly found our way to Building 34 where the GP Product Team comprised of Daryl Anderson and Mike Hammond was ready to rock and roll. The following were the topics for the day:

BR133 - Dynamics GP on Azure
BR134 - Dynamics GP: DexNext
BR135 - Dynamics GP: Office 365 Integration
BR132 - Dynamics GP: Web Client Extensibility

This content was mostly covered at the last Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Technical Airlift in Fargo so not much was under NDA. Our review covered most of the Azure infrastructure setup and requirements to support an RDP or Web Client deployment.

Mike dove into the DexNext service architecture and what it meant for the future of Dexterity and Microsoft Dynamics GP, and how the service architecture is comparable to that of the current web client. Daryl covered the Office 365 integration considerations and gotchas for a smooth deployment of Microsoft Dynamics GP on prem or in the cloud. Finally, there were some hardcore, deep dive into Web Client extensibility and the current supported integration methods with Visual Studio Tools. I covered a sample of this in my article VST: Rendering WinForms in Microsoft Dynamics GP web client.

After a long day, it was time for dinner. All product groups would have a night out at The Commons with their respective MVP groups. Our assigned location was Spitfire Grill.

Spitfire Grill at Microsoft Commons

Decompressing was the name of the game and what better to do so by helping Daryl's daughter with her math homework. All those napkins on the table are scribbles containing her n-root expressions in simplest form.

Daryl Anderson, Leslie Vail and John Lowther

Meanwhile, Mike, Belinda, Jivtesh, and I were deep into how the Web Client is impacting our deployment choices with our customer base and looking for ways to increase adoption. If you haven't been following my Web Client Wednesday series you will want to do so as I am going to amp up the content after this Summit.

Mike Hammond, Leslie Vail, and Jivtesh Singh

Finally, a little sign-off on the board to let the world know we were here.

The Dynamics GP MVPs sign the board designating our spot at Spitfire

The evening was cold so it was time to return to the hotel to get some work done... ehem! Sleep. Tomorrow marks the final day of most of the sessions.

Until next post!

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

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Microsoft MVP Global Summit 2013 November: Day 1

Monday, November 18

Seattle has some rain in store for us this week and it did not disappoint. The morning started with a hearty continental buffet over here at the Hilton Bellevue hotel where MVPs were clearly gearing up for the long day ahead.

MVPs heading over to MSCC

After wrapping up, I headed over the Microsoft Conference Center in Building 33 to begin my Monday sessions. First up was BR404 - What's New in Windows Azure AD presented by Vittorio Bertocci, Principal Program Manager in the Windows Azure Active Directory team in charge of the Developer Experience. I was fascinated by the upcoming improvements

Following the BR404 session, I headed over to building 122 to attend the rest of the sessions on my agenda for the day:

BR286 - SQL Session 2-ALL: Information Management and Data Stewardship
BR287 - SQL Session 3-BI: Under the hood of Power BI
BR288 - SQL Session 4-BI: PowerBI IT Admin Experience

While I can't comment on the details of the sessions, these mostly focused on upcoming functionality in the Power Query and Power BI stack of self-service BI applications for on-premise and cloud data. These sessions went into the architecture, concepts, and some practical use cases illustrating the capabilities of the stack and some challenges surrounding the development process.

On the way out for some fresh air between sessions, I saw a few MVPs at the Tech Link center. Microsoft Information Technology (Microsoft IT) Tech Link centers provide Microsoft employees and vendors with a walk-in location where they receive face-to-face troubleshooting support from the Microsoft IT group's (MSIT) personnel.

Tech Link Center

Finalizing the day, it was time to return to the hotel to drop off my computer and head over to the MVP Reception at the Hyatt Regency. At the bus pick up station, I had a chance to meet and greet with a few SharePoint Server MVPs from Canada. I took the opportunity to talk about a Business Portal deployment for a customer in Ireland and got a few potential solutions to the issue we are trying to resolve.

Alain Lord, and Vlad Catrinescu

The networking opportunities presented by the Microsoft MVP Global Summit are unique and allow most of us to "compare notes".

At the Hyatt, I met up with Microsoft Dynamics GP MVPs Leslie Vail and John Lowther. Leslie had just arrived into town so we went straight to the registration desk to get her set up. Following her registration, we all headed over to the Microsoft Store at Bellevue Square to take advantage of our MVP-only Microsoft Surface 2 offer.

Back at the Hyatt, it was time for some R&R and socializing.

MVP Reception at Grand Ballroom

Our group consisting of Jivtesh Singh, Belinda Allen, Leslie Vail, John Lowther and I found a table outside of the ballroom where we sat to have a few drinks and eat some food. We were later joined by Dynamics AX MVPs, most of who we had met at the Dynamic Communities summit in Tampa and past Convergence events.

Dynamics MVPs Meeting of the Minds
Joris de Gruyter (AX), Murray Fife (AX), Jose Antonio Estevan (AX),
Jivtesh Singh (GP), Belinda Allen (GP), and Leslie Vail (GP)

The group got even larger after Dynamics AX MVPs Andre Arnaud de Calavon (Netherlands) and Tommy Skaue (Norway) showed up - both returning from the Microsoft Store. Between product trash talk, jokes, laughs, and at times, some deep technical discussions, the night went by pretty quick, so it was time to return to my hotel.

On the way out, I caught up with my MVP Lead, Melissa Travers, who gracefully accepted my request for a picture. MVP Leads are our direct connection to Microsoft and they keep each one of us MVPs plugged into Microsoft organization, product news, and MVP activities overall. They are an important part in making the MVP Award Program a success.

MVP Lead Melissa Travers and I for a selfie

Tomorrow is a special day here at the MVP Global Summit: for the first time ever, the Microsoft Dynamics GP Product Management team and their MVPs will have an entire day of product group interactions (breakout sessions) featuring Microsoft Dynamics GP NDA content. Fargo has sent two of its best too: Michael Hammond and Daryl Anderson who will be hosting the sessions.

Until next post!

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

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Microsoft MVP Global Summit 2013 November: Getting Here

Sunday, November 17

This week finds me in the beautiful city of Seattle, Washington, partaking in my first Microsoft MVP Global Summit The MVP Global Summit is a multi-day event that is hosted in Bellevue and at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington. With a large catalog of technical sessions and a variety of networking opportunities, the MVP Global Summit enables MVPs to connect with other MVPs, build relationships with Microsoft product managers, and provide feedback on Microsoft products and technologies.

My day started with a fairly quiet travel between the cities of Atlanta, GA and Seattle, WA. Arriving into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was its usual self around this time of the year: cloudy, cold, and misty.

View of the Port of Seattle

After landing, I grabbed a cab that would take me straight to the Hilton Bellevue hotel, where registration was a breeze. Up I went to my room to change into some jeans and headed over to the Bellevue Hyatt Regency Hotel to register for the Summit. It was almost 5:00 PM (local time) when I arrived at the Hyatt where I met up with Microsoft Dynamics GP MVPs Belinda Allen and Jivtesh Singh.

Following registration, Jivtesh, Belinda, and I directed our attention to the MVP Showcase, an expo-style event on Sunday afternoon that showcases the work of a select group of MVPs and their impact on technical communities around the world, and being held in the Grand Ballroom.

MVP Showcase 

It was time to socialize and enjoy the show (and the appetizers and free drinks!). While visiting the booths, we came across Dynamics AX MVP André Arnaud de Calavon, who was also taking in some of the information around the always interesting Microsoft Technical Communities and its initiatives to build a solid network for community leaders and speakers.

Dynamics GP MVPs Jivtesh Singh (Australia) and Belinda Allen (USA),
Dynamics AX MVP André Arnaud de Calavon (Netherlands)

Wondering around the Showcase, we were joined by Microsoft Dynamics GP MVP John Lowther. John and I had been exchanging emails and text messages prior to our arrival into town, trying to round up the Dynamics GP MVP troops.

MVP Belinda Allen and I

After walking around for a bit, John and I stopped at the Microsoft Office product team booth to participate in a couple of games. The first game was to assemble a clear plastic briefcase with the Microsoft Office Project logo on the front. The winner of this challenge would take home a very cool Office bag. Suffice to say, neither John or I won and ended up with some extra cuts on our hands and fingers as a result.

We then moved on to a Jeopardy style game where we would spin a roulette with various Office product lines and answer a question based on the outcome on the roulette. Funny to see so many non-Office MVPs striking out on these "trivia" questions.

Who wants to play?

Who's next?

It was time for dinner. With Belinda having plans to dine with her husband and Jivtesh, John and I decided to head over to the west side of town, into Seattle's Belltown for some sushi at Umi Sake House. Umi is a sophisticated twist on the Japanese Izakaya style of informal eating and drinking. The design of the restaurant mirrors a Japanese country house, including a “front” and “back” porch. This restaurant ranks consistently in the Top 10 list of best sushi restaurants in the Seattle area.

Back at the hotel, it was time to check on the goodies collected so far. It is always good to plan some extra space in the suitcase to take home all the stuff you collect at these events.

Summit jacket, geek shirt, and Duet for Microsoft Office and SAP hat

MVP water bottle, Microsoft Surface Touch Cover, and Microsoft Office Project clear briefcase

Well, tomorrow is a jam-pack day fill of sessions. While my non-disclosure agreement (NDA) prevents me from talking about the content of the sessions, I will try to bring some insight into the experience as a whole.
Until next post!

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

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MVP Summit 2013 in Seattle

This week marks the 2013 MVP Global Summit in Bellevue & Redmond, Washington. Unfortunately, I cannot be at every event (?), but it's good to know that a few fellow Microsoft Dynamics GP MVPs have made the trip.

Microsoft Dynamics GP MVPs at the MVP Global Summit
From left to right: Leslie Vail, Belinda Allen, John Lowther, and Mark Polino

My personal take... until the MVP Global Summit begins featuring Dynamics GP content, it will be hard for me to justify making the yearly trip. However, that's not to say I won't appreciate meeting other MVPs or knowing what's going on with other products such as Office, SQL Server, or SharePoint.

See you all at Microsoft Dynamics Convergence 2013 New Orleans!

Until next post!

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

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Congratulations to Victoria Yudin!

I didn't want to let the opportunity pass by to send shout outs to Victoria Yudin for achieving a record 8 consecutive years as a Microsoft Dynamics GP MVP. Please continue to support Victoria's work in the community by acquiring a copy of her Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Implementation book.

A personal dream of mine is to see Victoria presenting at Convergence... maybe I should start a poll asking you, the reader, if you would like to see her present at this event.

Until next post!

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

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5 Support Debugging Tool features you should be using today: Decisions Fall 2011

The Decisions Fall 2011 virtual conference is around the corner, with Dynamics GP Day scheduled for Tuesday, December 6 2011. Please register to participate in the conference. This is a unique, virtual conference experience. No, it's not a boring webinar and surely not the kind of place where you will be ran over by tons of people walking up in hallways and down escalators trying to get to a session room. You can do this from the comfort of your office, sofa, or even your tricked out basement office. There's no excuse - that I can think of anyways - for not participating.

This time around, I will be presenting a topic around - what else! - the Support Debugging Tool: "5 Support Debugging Tool features you should be using today with Microsoft Dynamics GP". What can I say, I love long session titles.

This session is strictly an end-user oriented presentation whose sole objective is to demistify the complexities of the Standard Mode options in the Support Debugging Tool. That's right! No complex scripts, no Dexterity triggers, no XML mambo jambo... just plain simple talk on what's available for YOU the everyday mortal who works with Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Want the advanced stuff? Meet David and I at Microsoft Convergence 2012 in Houston (more on this in another post).

The session will feature 5 simple demoes that will, once and for all, convince you of installing the tool in your environment.

I will also be a panelist at the Microsoft Dynamics GP MVP Roundtable with my compadres, Frank Hamelly, Jivtesh Singh, and Mark Polino. You get to ask us anything Microsoft Dynamics GP and have some fun in the process. Register now!

Until next post!

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

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MVP Jivtesh Singh shows the power of Business Analyzer with Windows tablets

If you are one of those who love cutting edge Microsoft Dynamics GP stuff, then take a look at fellow Microsoft Dynamics GP MVP Jivtesh Singh showing off Business Analyzer on a Microsoft Windows Touch tablet. Jivtesh emphasizes usability, simplicity, and availability of meaningful enterprise data for information consumers who need solid grounds for quick decision making.

Furthermore, Jivtesh shows off how you can add more power by using Microsoft Lync integration.

This sure makes selling Microsoft Dynamics GP much easier.

Until next post!

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

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Decisions Fall 2011 Virtual Conference registrations now open

Well folks, as I mentioned before, this year-end is going to be a bit busy on my calendar. In addition to my Las Vegas adventure with the GPUG folks, I am speaking at the MSDynamicsWorld Decisions Fall 2011 virtual conference. This time, I am adding a 30-minute, fast paced Support Debugging Tool session.

Please come join my session Five Support Debugging Tool Features You Should be Using Today with Microsoft Dynamics GP. That's it! You just need to sit in for 30 minutes and as a result you will gain a good understanding of the key end-user and administrative functions available in the tool.

Also join me in a live Microsoft Dynamics GP MVP Panel featuring my fellow MVPs, Frank Hamelly, Jivtesh Singh, and Mark Polino. Seriously, in what circus do you get to ask four clowns a question and get an intelligent response? Well, now is your chance. We promise to make this entertaining and fun in a relaxed setting.

Register now!

Until next post!

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

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Congrats to MVPs Mark Polino and Siva Venkataraman!

Mark Polino and Siva Venkataraman received news from Microsoft over the weekend that they will, once, more hold the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award for another year.

Please join me in extending my sincere congratulations to these gentlemen who work tirelessly for the Microsoft Dynamics GP community.

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

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Welcome MVP Jivtesh Singh!

I'll start this post by saying... it was just about darn time!

My good friend Jivtesh Singh has been working tirelessly for the Microsoft Dynamics GP community worldwide and I don't think he often gets too much credit for it. I came in touch with Jivtesh probably around April of 2,009 when he approached me on the subject of becoming an MVP. Back then I remember telling him there was no quick way or magic formula to become an MVP, but rather to begin working with and for the Microsoft Dynamics GP community of users and partners to provide sound solutions to their problems. And so he set off to do.

In August of 2,010 and after a lot of back and forth between Jivtesh, David, and I, GPWindow was born - see Jivtesh Singh dissects the Microsoft Dynamics GP Community for more information. GPWindow has become the de facto destination for everything Microsoft Dynamics GP: articles, blogs, development tips, customizations, sample code, and the likes of thousands of other little Microsoft Dynamics GP secrets provided by experts and bloggers, all categorized like a big online library at your fingertips.

Later on, Jivtesh released the first online search tool for Microsoft Dynamics GP windows and forms. Simply put, you begin to type some window name (complete or partial) and GP window will narrow down the navigation path to that window - once again, online, from your browser!

Jivtesh also has his own blog, About Dynamics, Development, and Life which he also keep up with. For all these accomplishments, Jivtesh deserves the MVP award. Keep up the good work!

Until next post!

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

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4th consecutive year as a Microsoft Dynamics GP MVP!

It's that time of the year again... every July 1st I find out whether I continue to keep my MVP stripes or... not! The good folks at Microsoft have felt once more that my contributions to the Microsoft Dynamics GP community in general have made me worthy of such honor, so it's with great joy that I announce I get to keep my award for one more year starting today, making it the 4th consecutive year of such privilege.

NOTE: The record for consecutive years in our track is currently held by MVP Victoria Yudin, with 7 consecutive years.

Also, I must congratulate MVP Frank Hamelly for being reawarded. Frank's contributions have also earned him the right of passage.

So you ask, "what does a Microsoft MVP do?" Here is just a few things I did since last July:

• Published 186 blog articles on this site
• Continue to prop up The Dynamics GP Blogster on Facebook, now with 230 active followers (join here)
• Answered over 2500 questions on the various user newsgroups and forums
• Answered over 1450 questions on the Online Partner Technical Community
• Started a monthly specialized column on Microsoft Dynamics Community, IMHO with The Dynamics GP Blogster - 6 articles published so far
• Serve as Advisor on MSDynamicsWorld's Editorial Advisory Board
• Presented at the Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Conference 2011 (more than 80 hours invested on prep time)
• Presented at GPUG DayONE event
• Presented at the Microsoft Convergence Atlanta 2011 (more than 100 hours invested in prep time)
• Championed the Microsoft Dynamics GP MVP Product Interaction Group monthly discussions with the Microsoft Dynamics GP Product Management Team.
• Presented at the MSDynamicsWorld Decisions 2011 Spring virtual conference
• Continue to provide features' input and beta testing support for the Support Debugging Tool.

The year is still young and you can expect to see me around at a few upcoming events and training sessions, including the GPUG Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada this coming November.

For more information on the Microsoft MVP Award Program, visit the MVP Award Program Blog site.

Until next post!

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

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New Article on MSDynamicsWorld: MVP Mark Polino on "Integration Frustrations"

"Significant gaps remain as eConnect and Integration Manager stagnate"

MVP Mark Polino

If you are familiar with MVP Mark Polino you will know that he has always had a love-hate relationship with Microsoft Dynamics GP integration tools - see Mark Polino's Integration Manager Rant.

This time Mark vents out his frustrations (again!) with Integration Manager and eConnect over at MSDynamicsWorld in his new article Integration Frustration: Why Microsoft Dynamics GP Integration Tools Need a Kickstart. If you have your own comments, complaints, or if you are enamored with the tools and think Mark is simply overreacting, please read Mark's article and add your comments.

Until next post!

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

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