Technical Readiness for Microsoft Dynamics GP Latin American Partners

If you are Latin American partner looking to gain some insight into the deployment considerations of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Web Client, along with the skillset you will need on your team to carryout a successful implementation, then this 2-day course is for you. Course will be conducted at the following locations and dates:

Santiago, Chile - April 17 - 18, 2013

Santiago de Chile

Caracas, Venezuela - April 29 - 30, 2013

Caracas, Venezuela

These courses are organized by Microsoft and all content will be delivered in Spanish. As an added bonus, you get to be trained by me!!

For registration information, please contact:

North America: Pam Misialek
Latin America/Caribbean: Rodolfo Gonzalez-Llanos

Until next post!

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

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Microsoft Dexterity Training Roadshow - Next Stop: Seattle

(C) Microsoft Corporation

The Microsoft Dexterity Training Roadshow rolls around the United States with its next stop in Seattle, Washington from April 22 - April 26, 2013.

We still have plenty of seats left, so if you want to learn some of the development techniques used by Microsoft Dynamics GP developers this is your chance. For registration information, click here.

Until next post!

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

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"Unable to access SnapIn config data Store" accessing Web Management Console

For quite some time I had been running into this error when attempting to access the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Web Management Console application from a Windows 8 machine.

SnapIn config data store error

I had ran a Fiddler trace on the issue and determined that the issue simultaneously reported and HTTP 405 error, which suggested a problem with Windows Authentication, required by the Web Management Console.

Fiddler Trace

Since I really couldn't determine what the problem was, the issue went dormant for more than 4 months. In addition, I never seemed to have the time to troubleshoot it with my friends over at Microsoft... until this past Microsoft Convergence New Orleans 2013, that is.

As it turned out, there's one "other pre-requisite" if installing the Web Management Console on a Windows 8 environment: Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) HTTP Activation. Simply put, HTTP activation allows a WCF service to relay its messaging asynchronously over HTTP - in this case HTTPS. In Windows 8, HTTP Activation is turned off by default, unlike Windows Server.

The SnapIn config data store is a table in the GPWEBMANAGEMENT database (dbo.SnapInStorage) and stores the URL to the Session Central Service WCF service. I ran a SQL Profile trace and noticed that the Web Management Console was not able to reach the GPWEBMANAGEMENT database on the SQL Server to read the Session Central Service URL. Therefore, the Console was not able to communicate to the Session Central Service to obtain user session or tenant information.

To turn on HTTP Activation on Windows 8:

1. Open Control Panel
2. Select Programs
3. Click on Turn Windows features on or off
4. Expand .NET Framework 4.5 Advanced Services
5. Expand WCF Services
6. Click on the HTTP Activation checkmark

WCF HTTP Activation

7. If you plan to support other protocols in your environment, you can turn on MSMQ Activation, Named Pipe Activation TCP Activation, or TCP Port Sharing as additional options for your WCF endpoints.

Once the services were up and running, the Web Management Console worked like a charm.

Many thanks to Daryl Anderson and Grant Swenson at Microsoft for assisting with this one.

Until next post!

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

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Microsoft Convergence New Orleans 2013: Wrap Up

Convergence is over and I am now back to the daily grind. However and as is customary, this wrap up post serves as a venue to provide some insight into this past event, links to all posts, and of course, suggestions for the next.

First and foremost, a big thank you goes out to my friends at Microsoft for inviting me to this year's Convergence event as a speaker and presenter at the General Session. This is probably one of the highlights of my career in the channel. In particular, I want to send out a big shout-out to the following folks (in no particular order):

• Aaron Donat, for accepting the co-presenter role with me at GPPC's PreGAME and to help me in continuing building my understanding and knowledge of the Web Client.
• Pam Misialek, for all her guidance throughout the process leading up to the General Session presentation.
• Kevin Racer and Daryl Anderson, for inviting me as a co-presenter in our session CSGP32 - Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Web Client For Smaller Companies. Sorry I came down ill on our first go around, but hopefully the second time was great.
• Errol Schoenfish, for his great introduction of Mark and I and the duel we were about to engage in.
• Chad Sogge, for his participation at the MVP Breakfast
• David Musgrave, for his patience in preparing me for the Support Debugging Tool session and for dedicating a great deal of time in making the pre-build 18 release available for the session.

I can't thank the rest of you at Microsoft enough for your continued camaraderie and support: Jay Manley, Jennifer Ranz, Theresa Nistler, Brian Meier, Sivakumar Venkataraman, Jared Hall, Brian Roney, Sarah Purdy, Kelly Youells, and the list goes on and on, so please forgive me if I omitted your name here. You all contributed to making this a great Convergence for me and my wife.

Special thanks to Brian Graftaas for conceding some time on his busy Convergence calendar to talk about the Certified for Microsoft Dynamics program.

Outside of Microsoft, I would like to extend a big thank you to Kim Peterson and Andy Hefer at DynamicCommunities for inviting me to GPPC PreGAME as a presenter, MVP Mark Polino for accepting the challenge of presenting with me at General Session, though we only had a few hours to rehearse in person, MVP Jivtesh Singh for his guest appearance during my session CSGP30 - The Microsoft Dynamics GP Support Debugging Tool,

Now, the links...

On this site, you can find coverage of Convergence using the following links:

Microsoft Convergence New Orleans 2013 - Getting there

Microsoft Convergence New Orleans 2013 : GPPC PreGAME

Microsoft Convergence New Orleans 2013: Day 1

Microsoft Convergence New Orleans 2013: Day 2

Microsoft Convergence New Orleans 2013: Day 3

Microsoft Convergence New Orleans 2013: Day 4

You can always take a look at some of the pictures I took over at The Dynamics GP Blogster on Facebook:

Microsoft Dynamics Convergence 2013 Album

Over at DynamicAccounting.net, Mark Polino has some thoughts about the event after couple days of review:

Convergence 2013 Monday

Convergence Update from Tuesday

My Convergence 2013 Thoughts

MVP Leslie Vail, over at Dynamics Confessions has some cool pictures and offer some insights as well:

Convergence 2013 Day Zero

David Musgrave, we miss you!

Volunteer Day at Convergence 2013

Kofi Annan Convergence 2013 Keynote Speaker

MVP Belinda Allen, over at The GP CSI has the following entries on Convergence:

So it begins... Microsoft Dynamics GP Convergence

Microsoft Dynamics Convergence for GP begins today

Microsoft Dynamics GP Customer Story - Shock Doctor

Microsoft Convergence Keynote brief

Microsoft Dynamics GP Project Accounting Convergence Session

Microsoft Dynamics Convergence for GP update - FREE EXCEL DASHBOARD

The Learning Resources page of this blog has been updated with latest Convergence 2013 materials I presented for your  consumption. Please download here:

The Dynamics GP Blogster: Learning Resources

Scroll to the end of the page and click on any of the links to download.

Finally, visit the Virtual Convergence site for links to my presentations. As of this article, they all seem to be up and available, including the General Session.

Virtual Convergence 2013

As you already know, Microsoft Convergence 2014 will be held in the beautiful city of Atlanta, my home base. I hope to see you all here next year.

Until next post!

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

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Microsoft Convergence New Orleans 2013: Day 4

All good things must come to an end, but no one knows how to wrap up things better than the folks at Microsoft. The day had a few good things in store: the closing Keynote with guest speaker and former United Nations Secretary, Kofi Annan; sessions galore; and a mega concert with Matchbox 20.

As for me, I had to skip all the keynote, but very excited I will be able to catch up with it on Virtual Convergence, so I really don't feel I have missed anything.

Came the afternoon, I was up on stage to present CSGP30 - The Microsoft Dynamics GP Support Debugging Tool, my first ever session on the subject without my buddy, David Musgrave, author of the Support Debugging Tool. The session was attended by 166 strong who got a chance to look at 5 demos ranging from the Support Debugging Tool compatibility with the Web Client, to some of the most misunderstood and underutilized features within the tool, to a glimpse into the new Database Validation tool soon to be released with Build 18.

 

After my session, I went on to interview Brian Graftaas, Program Manager CfMD at Microsoft. I had vowed to interview Brian since Technical Airlift and am very glad I was able to. You can listen to the full interview here:

My final session of the day was CSGP32-R2 - Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Web Client For Smaller Companies. We had 62 attendees for this session and I have to say I enjoyed working with Kevin Racer and Daryl Anderson on this. Unfortunately, I could not carry out our R1 session due to illness, but a quick turnaround in my conditioned allowed me to get on the stage for this one.

Kevin Racer and Me presenting CSGP32-R2

After our session, Convergence 2013 sessions had come to an end. My wife and I met up for dinner at Mulate's, a Cajun institution in the heart of New Orleans, before we headed over to the Matchbox Twenty concert.

Dinner at Mulate's with the La Touché Band

Needless to say, we were treated to our own private concert, courtesy of the La Touché Band, and authentic Louisiana Cajun music band that has traveled the world as ambassadors of the Cajun traditions, music, and culture. It was a true joy to sit down and listen to a few tunes, watch entire families and friends dance, and enjoy some really good food.

Now, I said no one knows closing better than Microsoft and effectively this Convergence won't be any different. For "dessert" we were treated to a full hour concert to the beat of Matchbox Twenty at grounds of the Woldenberg Riverfront Park. The setting was great! Microsoft also provided access to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas were some found refuge from the cold winds.

Things won't be cold for too long as Matchbox Twenty took the stage by storm playing some of their coolest songs, among them "She's so Mean", by far my favorite - well, maybe one of my many favorites.



Well, concert ended just around midnight and it was time to get back to the hotel to get some rest since I had an early flight at 7:15 AM  and needed to be up by 4:30 AM to beat the possible traffic and security lines due to all the people heading out of town.

Until next post!

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

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Microsoft Convergence New Orleans 2013: Day 3

With the General Session gone it was now time to get through some sessions for the day.

The morning started out with a breakfast for the Microsoft Dynamics (AX, GP, CRM, NAV, and SL)MVPs in attendance, hosted by our Microsoft MVP Award Program lead, Melissa Travers.



Left: Melissa Travers (Microsoft), Donna Edwards (CRM), Mariano Gomez (GP), John Lowther (GP), Julie Yack (CRM), Gus Gonzalez (CRM), Jivtesh Singh (GP), Mark Polino (GP)

 

Right: Per Mogensen (NAV), Chad Sogge (Microsoft), Belinda Allen (GP), Jerry Weinstock (CRM), Charles Allen (GP), Juris de Gruyter (AX), Roohi Shaikh (CRM)

After breakfast, it was time for my first session of Convergence 2013 - CSGP24 - Administering SQL Server for Microsoft Dynamics GP. My session was attended by over 255 people, with just a few seats left for a full room.

The day did not precisely continue as I expected. After my session, I came down with a severe case of conjunctivitis (commonly known as "Pink Eye") and had to quickly seek out an urgent care clinic to obtain a prescription antibiotic. As such my afternoon session, CSGP32 - Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Web Client For Smaller Companies was conducted by my co-presenters Kevin Racer and Daryl Anderson, with Daryl sitting in for me throughout the session.

Frankly, this was a first getting 'sick' at any event I have attended and have to say it was quite frustrating and disappointing. As such, I went back to the hotel to nurse my eyes for the rest of the day - yes, that meant no parties, grr!!!

Until next post!

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

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Microsoft Convergence New Orleans 2013: Day 2

Today's the BIG DAY! My first presentation ever at the General Session. For Mark, this marks his second so he is somewhat of a "veteran".

As is now a tradition at Convergence, the entertainment was in the hands of funny man Rodney Sherwood and the Nick Brophy band. Tell you what... I do love this one-two punch combination and would love to see them back at every event.

Hall I almost at full capacity

 

The opening keynote was conducted by Wayne Morris (Twitter: @wmorrisoz), Corp VP of Microsoft Business Solutions Marketing, who welcomed the more than 11,500 attendees this year - 25% attending from outside of the United States. Wayne emphasized the upcoming advancements in the areas of marketing, social and mobile within the Dynamics product line, which brought the audience to claps.

Up next was Kirill Tatarinov, President of Microsoft Business Solutions Division. Kirill outlined Microsoft's move to become a "devices and services" organization as the company continues to evaluate its role in the market. "Today, cloud is integral to everything that we do. When we deliver our devices, the service that comes with the device is an integral part of it, and you truly cannot see the chasm, the gap, between the device and the service that comes from the cloud", said Kirill.

The World Today

Then outlined how companies with solid interaction and communication at the executive levels are 4 times more profitable than those whose executives do not communicate.

CxO Communication vs Profitability

Business leaders from Chobani Inc., Habitat for Humanity International, Revlon Inc., Shock Doctor Inc. and Weight Watchers International Inc. shared the stage with Kirill and discussed how their businesses are using Microsoft Dynamics solutions to bring products to market more efficiently, while providing executives with the right tools and information to drive business.

You can find the complete recording of the Keynote on the Virtual Convergence 2013 website, here.
With the keynote session coming to a finish, it was time to go backstage and get ready for the General Session, GENGP01: Getting Inspired with Microsoft Dynamics GP. This was quite the experience since I had to go through the make up artist at first. Everyone was quite relaxed at this point, which brought a lot of confidence to this first-timer. The production staff was quite helpful in navigating the backstage and ensuring that we were informed at all points in time of our next steps.

First up was Errol Schoenfish (Twitter: @eschoenf), Director Product Management at Microsoft, who set the tone for the presentation by dividing it into two sections: Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 and The Future of Microsoft Dynamics GP.

The theme for the first segment of the presentation revolved around how Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 can be Personal, Productive, and Perceptive and each theme would have a presenter showing off how Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 accomplishes each.

First up was Jennifer Ranz (Twitter: @jenniferranz1), Program Manager at Microsoft who demonstrated the personalization capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 by showing some navigation capabilities and interaction with reporting and Business Analyzer.

Errol Schoenfish and Jennifer Ranz on Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Personal

It was show time! Mark Polino (Twitter: @mpolino) and I were next to present the productivity capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 in what would prove to be a duel of MVP top features.

Mark, Errol, and Mariano on Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Productive

Our duel went well with lot's of clapping from the attendees. I personally believe that this format works well for this type of event and should be promoted by you the attendee.

Next up was Brian Meier, to demo the perceptive capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, by showcasing the new capabilities of the Navigation Lists and integration to Business Analyzer and email via Office 365, and CRM integration.

Errol Schoenfish and Brian Meier on stage

Upon concluding his presentation, Brian returned backstage and for an instance I had a chance to capture this picture: yes, everyone was tweeting!

Twitter-mania back stage: Mark Polino, Pam Misialek (seated), Jennifer Ranz, Brian Meier

To wrap up the General Session and as part of the second segment, Jeff Trosen, Product Unit Manager at Microsoft and Chad Sogge (Twitter: @csogge), Principal Group Program Manager at Microsoft gave attendees a look into the future of Microsoft Dynamics GP and introduced code name GP.Next.

Jeff talked about the availability of functionality for the Web Client and stressed the importance of continuing to log requests for features via Microsoft Connect.

Chad then demoed some of the new/possible companion Windows 8 apps that may be released with GP.Next.

Chad, Jeff, and Errol demoing Companion Apps

With the General Session being a success, it was time to leave the Hall J. I then went to the Expo area where I had a chance to catch up with my friends, MVP Jivtesh Singh (Twitter: @jivtesh) and former MVP and now Microsoft employee, Sivakumar Venkataraman (Twitter: @veeyeskay). We sort of discussed our current Microsoft Dexterity projects and bantered a bit about methods to achieve certain customizations.

MVP Jivtesh Singh and Siva Venkataraman

Back at the hotel, I was able to relax for a bit and off I went to the Latin American Partners reception at the New Orleans Board of Trade. It was great to see my friends from my former employer in Colombia and be able to talk some Spanish for a bit - I really don't get to do so that often.

Maria Ines Bohorquez, Leonel Estrada, Thomas Garcia (ICON)

Well, it's time to say bye for now and stay tuned for Day 3's events.

Until next post!

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

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