Today's post is written by Ryan Toenies, VP of Sales at Sonoma Partners.
Microsoft recently announced that their long-standing Microsoft Convergence conference will cease to exist. Opting for a “One Microsoft” strategy, Microsoft has decided to roll all of their Dynamics content into two conferences. Microsoft Envision and Ignite will now replace Convergence.
So which conference should you attend?
The first thing we all need to understand is that Convergence as we knew it is now gone. Don't be alarmed! This is not a bad thing. The new conference layout allows individuals to attend the event that most closely aligns to their needs.
Microsoft Envision:
April 4th - April 6th, 2016 | New Orleans, LA
This conference is designed for CxO’s and Senior Leadership to discuss how technology is impacting their business strategies. Filled with 3 different customer panel sessions, an opening keynote from Satya Nadella and some industry breakout sessions; business leaders will have ample time to discuss key business needs with peers from around the world.
The takeaway: Attendees will come away from this conference understanding how Microsoft is approaching business strategies both today, and into the future.
Microsoft Ignite:
September 26th - September 30th, 2016 | Atlanta, GA
This conference is where all the traditional Dynamics technical content will be found. The conference is designed for IT professionals, system administrators and power users. Product roadmaps, features and functions of the latest releases, and Microsoft product team members will all be a key components of this conference.
The takeaway: Attendees will learn about O365, Azure, PowerBI, Dynamics AX, NAV, GP, CRM and more. All of Microsoft’s key business technologies will be on display and there will be separate roadmap sessions diving into each product line.
There is one more conference that you might consider attending:
CRM UG Summit:
October 11th - October 14th, 2016 | Tampa, FL
This is a conference that has really exploded over the last couple of years. This is the “how-to” conference for the Dynamics CRM community. The audience will be primarily power users of CRM, with a mix of business and IT leadership looking to understand how other companies are utilizing Dynamics CRM. Microsoft attendees will include the product support team, engineers and some senior leaders on the product development team.
If your goal is to understand how you can better maximize your CRM investment, this is the conference for you.
Sunsetting the Convergence conference was a bold move. This further solidifies Satya’s vision of a "One Microsoft" strategy. Since the inception of Dynamics, it has always been a separate business unit within Microsoft. Transforming that business into the broader ecosystem of Microsoft will benefit the entire Dynamics community. Removing Convergence and replacing it with Envision and Ignite is just one more sign from Microsoft that Dynamics is a key part of their evolving cloud strategy.