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The Microsoft technology community in the Philippines has grown and evolved over the years along with the products and business opportunities in the space. Now, a group of community leaders have organized a new conference in Manila with a focus on Power Platform and Dynamics 365 training and learning for professionals and students alike. TechBayanihan 2024 takes place on August 2 and 3 and promises a full schedule of sessions and activities, from Microsoft product updates to customer panels to plenty of networking opportunities.
 
Our guests on this episode, Microsoft MVPs Kris Ruyeras, Doher Drizzle Pablo, Ahmed Salih, and Cecile Dinh, are all part of the globe-spanning organizing committee for the event. They explain how they came together along with the rest of the team to conceive of and plan the event. They discuss the event's priorities, the organizing process, and interesting characteristics of the Microsoft tech community in the Philippines.
 
And listeners can help sponsor the attendance of more students. Learn more about purchasing low-cost registrations on behalf of local students.

This episode is sponsored by PayTrace.
 
Bringing embedded payments capabilities to a Dynamics ERP system can offer a range of benefits, but it is not always a simple transition. On this episode, our guests, Mary Miller and Sam Johnson of PayTrace, discuss what it means to accept payments within the context of ERP-driven business processes and how organizations are reaping the benefits.
 
Payment requirements in B2B scenarios are unique compared to the B2C world, and our guests discuss some of the goals that PayTrace clients seek when they invest in embedded payments. Mary and Sam tell us about the experiences of their customers that have expanded payments capabilities and insights into areas like AR, cash management, and analytics. And we discuss how conversations in the Dynamics channel between partners and customers are changing based on payments-related requirements. In short, partners need trustworthy tools that they can rely on to deliver supported solutions that meet client needs.
 
A message from PayTrace:
The B2B payment experts, PayTrace specializes in payment processing and automation that enables businesses to accept payments anywhere and increase cash flow. They provide solutions for accounts receivable, interchange optimization, surcharging, and more, all built on the solid foundation of a B2B payment gateway that’s trusted by 40,000 merchant businesses.

Derik Bormann is president and director of learning at Myrium Technology Solutions, a founding principal and instructor at 365.training, and a Microsoft MVP.
 
Over the last few years, Derik has been doing a lot of work training and onboarding hundreds of new Microsoft technical specialists who needed the PL-100 and PL-200 skills as well as D365 Customer Service, Field Service, Sales, and Customer Insights. He explained why that particular training had to be tailored to the needs of Microsoft employees as opposed to other styles like classroom training.
 
But while he has been training others to get their certs some of Derik's own certifications have lapsed. He tells us about his work to prepare to re-certify on PL-200 and PL-600. PL-200 is one of the hardest certifications to get, Julie and Derik say, due to its broad range of knowledge across Power Apps, Power BI, and other services.
 
We also discuss some of the other Power Platform certifications that people can choose from, how Derik recommends people prepare to pass a cert, how quickly the Microsoft exams change over time, and the benefits of Applied Skills, which Derik says are challenging but offer a good way to prepare by testing understanding in real world scenarios.
 
Links & Resources: 
Derik on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derikbormann/ See all Biz Apps Classrooms episodes here:   https://msdynamicsworld.com/biz-apps-classroom Support the podcast and get a discount on an annual plan for 365.training by visiting    https://365l.ink/MSDW. Keep up with community content at   https://mydigest.365.training/

After a few years of relatively little change to certifications in the Business Applications space, Microsoft MVP Joe Griffin says he is encouraged by forward movement from Microsoft in new certs and new approaches.
 
In this episode, recorded live at DynamicsMinds 2024, Joe tells us about why he likes the Applied Skills approach through Microsoft Learn. He and Julie also share their experiences with the new incremental assessment capabilities of some certs and their opinion of the new D365 Customer Experience Analyst Associate cert that serves as something of a baseline for other more specialized areas.
 
Joe also offers a few predictions on the importance of Copilot Studio and role-based copilots and he discusses getting a broader and more diverse group of people involved with Power Platform.
 
Links & Resources: 
Joe's Blog: https://crmchap.co.uk Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joejgriffin/ Joe on X/Twitter:  https://x.com/joejgriffin See all Biz Apps Classrooms episodes here:  https://msdynamicsworld.com/biz-apps-classroom Support the podcast and get a discount on an annual plan for 365.training by visiting   https://365l.ink/MSDW. Keep up with community content at  https://mydigest.365.training/

The Biz Apps Classroom travelled to Slovenia last week for DynamicsMinds 2024, the Dynamics and Power Platform community conference in its second year, and we caught up with Microsoft channel expert Joe Corigliano to talk partner training and skills. Joe wears several hats in the Microsoft channel community, helping build connections, plan events like the partner track at DynamicsMinds, and working with firms on their Microsoft strategy via his role at Ciellos.
 
Joe talks with Julie and Jason about his work, his experiences at DynamicsMinds 2024, and his plans for future events and projects. He explained that partners face a range of challenges today in their Microsoft businesses, from administrative hurdles like optimizing the use of Partner Center to achieving the solution designations needed for maximum channel benefits. Certifications play an important role in those Microsoft designations, along with sales, utilization, and other metrics.
 
We also discuss other ways that partner firms are findings success with non-traditional business models that don't involve the solution designations and may not align with Microsoft's incentives. Regardless of the strategy, relationships between firms will continue to drive a lot of the success partners achieve, Joe believs.

Julie and Joe also talk about how community connections have evolved in the Microsoft biz apps channel. Developing a richer set of relationships will fall to people who work in this space directly, they believe, and it will require a range of efforts. Joe's outlook for the year includes his own podcast, organizing July's Biz Apps Partner Summit, and Community Summit.
 
More Resources: 
See all Biz Apps Classrooms episodes here:  https://msdynamicsworld.com/biz-apps-classroom Support the podcast and get a discount on an annual plan for 365.training by visiting   https://365l.ink/MSDW. Keep up with community content at  https://mydigest.365.training/  

Julie and Jason took the Biz Apps Classroom to Denver to talk training and learning at DynamicsCon Live 2024. Our guest on this live, in-person episode is Nick Doelman, a Microsoft MVP and former Microsoft employee.
AI was all over the conference, and we start by taking on the question of Microsoft Copilot's role in developing Microsoft technology training. Nick shares his perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of today's tools for creating learning plans, classroom training, and self-learning activities. His experiences point to Copilot as a tool, not a solution, and he explains why he still has trust issues with the technology.
Nick also shares a recent experience of asking Copilot to develop a syllabus for a client. He had to balance the potential time saved, the skills a Microsoft consultant needs to properly review such AI output, and the risks of some people leaning too heavily on these tools. 
Resources: 
Power Platform Boost Podcast: https://powerplatformboost.buzzsprout.com/  MSDW's DynamicsCon Live 2024 coverage: https://msdynamicsworld.com/tags/dynamicscon-may-2024 See all Biz Apps Classrooms episodes here: https://msdynamicsworld.com/biz-apps-classroom Support the podcast and get a discount on an annual plan for 365.training by visiting  https://365l.ink/MSDW. Keep up with community content at https://mydigest.365.training/