“MSDW” is the abbreviation for
“Microsoft Dynamics World”. Since 2008, MSDW has been the
world’s largest independent source of information when it comes to
Microsoft business solutions. This includes a podcast that covers the most important
news and events affecting the
Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM community. There are interviews and discussions with special guests - in a recent podcast episode,
Guus Krabbenborg talks about his experiences with projects in the industry and his conclusions.
Guus Krabbenborg: experienced Microsoft Dynamics Expert who wants to make Partners around the World rethink their Approach
Guus Krabbenborg is a business trainer, coach and keynote speaker in various countries. He has over 30 years of experience in the software industry - of which over 20 years with Microsoft Dynamics.
Guus has owned and managed several software companies. He was also the co-founder and co-owner of QBS Group (now Companial). More than 1,000 Dynamics partners in over 75 countries are currently members of the Companial network.
In the areas of marketing and sales and when it comes to ERP and CRM solutions, Guus has extensive knowledge - his focus is on Dynamics ERP, Dynamics CRM and Dynamics 365. He is particularly characterized by his strong “out-of-the-box” approach, which he imparts to Dynamics partners.
What is the Podcast Episode with Guus about?
The interview with Guus is about what project success really means in the ERP and CRM world. According to Guus, many Dynamics partners are still too focused on the software they want to sell. The introduction of Microsoft Copilot has actually reinforced this.
In his opinion, the majority of partners only think about the invoices they can issue and the money they can make from them. Therefore, the definition of success on the part of many partners continues to be “keeping to time and budget”. However, Guus is convinced that this “traditional” approach is long outdated. In this context, he also speaks of the “on-premises mindset”, which often leads to additional costs for partners and their customers - sometimes this is even half a fortune.
And Microsoft could also improve in this respect. Guus believes that the technology company itself also relates digital transformation in companies almost exclusively to new software. In his opinion, Microsoft in particular should act as a role model for partner companies.
Why you should not
buy Licenses and Services But Project Success!
Guus continues:
Basically, the customers deserve more attention because ultimately it is about satisfying them and making them happy in order to enable a long-term cooperation. Not least because nowadays it is very easy for customers to switch to another partner at the first sign of disagreement. And they are even forced to behave in this way: after all, in the fast-moving world, they can not afford for their project to fail.
All in all, only the customers are able to define what success really means.
If you really want to achieve project success, you need to rethink your approach.
We are already selling Project Success to our Customers: AGOLUTION as a Positive Example in the MSDW Podcast
In the podcast episode, Guus also refers to the “Project Excellence” workshop that we (AGOLUTION) completed with him in summer 2022. Over two consecutive days, the team members from consulting and marketing learned a lot about project success, digital mindset and change management.
Note: in the podcast , he does not mention AGOLUTION by name, but speaks of a “partner from Germany”, but in Guus’ article , which refers to the podcast episode, it says “AGOLUTION”.
Guus mentions us as a positive example of a company that has managed to take its complete mindset to a new level. The same applies to the messages we convey to our customers: we don’t just sell a software solution on our website with Dynamics 365 Business Central (as many other Dynamics partners still do), but advertise project success: “Guaranteed project success with a holistic approach”. How exactly success is defined depends, as Guus says, on our customers.
Guus also has a little joke at our expense:
If even the Germans can manage to change, then it must be possible for partners in other countries (which are probably less conservative) to do the same. 😁
Listen to the Podcast Episode with Guus