My Journey to BC/NAV All-Star
This year something really special and unexpected happened at Summit, and my journey with Business Central suddenly got very real: I was awarded the BC/NAV All-Star designation for 2024! Admittedly while the event was happening, and I stood there with Shawn Dorward and Brad Prendergast I had one of those “how in the hell did I get here” moments, but I am so grateful for this honor. It got me thinking, that’s what I’ll blog about!
I was in the room in Fargo for a GP Tech conference when project Tenerife was announced. All of the amazing people that built Dynamics GP were sharing with us what Microsoft was presenting as the future of ERP - a cloud-based application built on the NAV platform and utilizing more European ERP and accounting concepts. I could not believe it at the time. But here we are in 2024 now, living with Business Central as a focal point for more than 40,000 companies worldwide.
My journey to BC followed that announcement in 2017. And it did for many others in the GP community too. Some of those GP-folks are now role models, mentors, superheroes, MVPs, ISV experts, and community leaders in the BC space, and I am forever grateful for all the experiences they have shared and leadership they provide. Their friendship and comradery is a blessing for me. They lead top-notch presentations and foster learning at events all over the world, all while raising families and finding time to also enjoy their lives.
I was subsequently enabled and supported by my company (GraVoc) to attend Microsoft-led, and partner-only Business Central training in May, 2018 in Denver, Co. It was clear BC was still very new to everyone and it needed some time to mature and get some level of user adoption before getting to mainstream. As a longtime GP consultant, I had a lot to learn about how BC worked. The very fact we couldn’t use SQL to see data was mind-blowing at the time.
In the years that followed, we migrated our own company from GP to BC, to get the early-on, hands-on experience of the process. We used and analyzed the free GP to BC migration tool. We built sandboxes, learned about configuration packages, and the table structure in BC. We synced BC to CRM. We created our first extensions using AL code. We deployed Web Services in BC and wrote some incredible Power BI reports against the data in order to fully understand what migrated over and how it got there. I was especially interested in the limitations and differences from GP, which continues for me every day. Now we migrate, implement, and provide 360-degree support for a growing number of diverse BC customers. This is what feeds my Dynamics Mindset!
I’ve been truly blessed to have the opportunity to represent GraVoc and attend and present at many Dynamics conferences over the years. I love sharing the knowledge I’ve learned, keeping and expanding the network of resources and friends, and learning all the newest features and solutions the BC product and the GP and BC communities have for us.
The energy that comes at Summit each year is extraordinary. For this year’s event in San Antonio, TX, I was honored to be part of both the Dynamics GP and Business Central programming committees. It was neat to provide input on the content for both tracks, and provide coordination as the partner leader for the manufacturing track for BC. At the event I lead two deep-dive sessions, and participated on panels for both GP and BC. I presented and demoed during the GP General Session, with Mike Morton and Terry Heley sitting at the same table as me, right after the announcement came regarding the lifecycle change for GP (whoa!). The broken foot didn’t hold me back (thanks to the electric scooter in that Texas-sized convention center!), and it turned out there were quite a few of us about the place who were “walking-impaired” in various forms.
It is incredibly humbling to be recognized this year for such a prestigious award. It send chills down my arms just thinking about my journey from inception, to joining the group of truly amazing previous All-Star recipients.
Dynamics BC/NAV is just something I love doing every single day, and sharing what I learn with others helps reinforce the journey. Having the chance to speak at Summit is always a thrill, and I encourage others to consider the same, you never know where the journey will take you!
Thank you!
I’m grateful should this experience or these insights be helpful to you on your journey…until next post!