I was in Los Angeles July 11-14 for WPC 2011 and got a chance to meet with many of our Microsoft Dynamics partners and to host a Value keynote session on the opening day.  I found the mood around the convention center to be far more upbeat than the last two years as many partners have seen the impact of financial confidence returning to their regions in the form of business.

I truly value all the feedback I got at WPC on how we're doing in supporting and developing our partners.  Many partners told me they appreciated the messages we were providing to them, such as the "sticking to the basics" material I used during my Value keynote.  Our partners also told me they appreciated the guidance and best practices we are providing to help them understand and embrace the cloud.  They like the honest approach Microsoft is taking with our Dynamics partners with respect to cloud, and that we are working through the opportunities and transition challenges together. 

Based on the theme of sticking to the basics, I decided the best approach for conveying the key messages to the partners would be to include three partners in my keynote to share how they are growing their businesses through sticking to the basics -- focusing on verticals and embracing the cloud where possible.  This format enabled attendees to hear three very different partners share their insights and best practices for driving ERP and CRM business in various regions around the globe, and from what I've heard from the partners who were there, this made the audience feel much more connected to the topics than the formats we have used in the past. 

Overall, the partners and Microsoft representatives I spoke with at WPC thought the event was a huge success for the Dynamics products as well as the entire Microsoft Dynamics partner community.  Dynamics was in the spotlight many times during the main keynotes, including comments from both Steve Ballmer and Jon Roskill.  The newly announced President of MBS, Kirill Tatarinov, had his own main stage Vision keynote, which was a "first" for Dynamics at WPC.  Kirill's keynote and transition to President clearly reflected the importance of Dynamics to Microsoft's business.  Partners told me this shift is significant:   They feel that the level of broad Microsoft executive commitment to Dynamics will enable them to increase their engagements across Microsoft's field teams and throughout Microsoft's non-Dynamics partner community to drive more business for ERP and CRM.

One of our goals for WPC was to see the Microsoft Dynamics partners come away from the event truly believing Microsoft is deeply committed to the Dynamics business and, therefore, Microsoft is deeply committed to the success of the Dynamics partner ecosystem.   It's been exciting to hear partners say they feel and believe in that commitment - and that WPC was an excellent event that got them pumped up for a highly successful FY12. 

I'd love to get more partner feedback on the WPC experience.  If you joined us in Los Angeles, please share your stories, insights and comments below. 

Doug Kennedy
Vice President, Dynamics Partners & Support Service Programs
Microsoft Corporation