Brandon is a Senior Technical Architect with Sunrise Technologies with hands-on implementation and customization experience in Software Development, Database Design, SQL Server, BizTalk and SOA. He has extensive experience in information systems including X++ programming, systems analysis, systems design, configuration, and project deployment. A diverse background in information and business systems gives him a great capacity to interact with people from various business areas and levels. He has outstanding analytical, problem solving, and communication skills as well as proven ability to help people understand complex issues. He also focuses on his blog Dynamics-AX that covers all kinds of topics for Dynamics AX from the Technical, to news, new releases, interviews, etc. He is also a devoted husband to his wife Amy, and has two daughters Emily and Natalie all of them make their home in the U.S, in the Northeast Alabama region. Brandon is also a noted huge Alabama Football fan!

 

What was your first job in Microsoft Dynamics?

 

I was actually working as a Senior Software Engineer for a Manufacturing company in the U.S., based out of Georgia. While there, focusing on Microsoft platform and products, the need to change out the old AS/400 in house ERP package arose. A good bit of different options were considered, and finally Axapta 3.0 was decided upon. That was some five years ago now, and that is all I have mainly focused on since. Of course that does mean that I still focus on SQL Server, BizTalk, .Net, SharePoint, Office, etc.

 

 

I have actually thought a good bit about this question, because I have not really ever given this much thought before. When you’re working non-stop - which is a good thing - sometimes such reflections are not ever presented in one's mind. So, with that said, there are actually a couple of different answers, and these are in order of how often versus any kind of priority. First I would say my customers / clients. They actually influence me the most because of their different business models. The problems they try and do solve with Dynamics AX, which sometimes pushes the envelope for the technology side of Dynamics AX. The needs they have for integrating into so many different systems, business partners and the like. Second I would have to say Sunrise Technologies, the great people that make up the company I am a part of. The amount of talent we have at Sunrise is rare. It's the mix of talent, versus being just strong technical or functional. The well rounded, real people that make up this company and ask the whys and why not that is push ourselves and our clients for better outcomes. Third would have to be the Dynamics Community and my fellow bloggers. So many great minds are out there now writing, posting, promoting, and sharing about the Dynamics line. When I first started blogging some five years ago, there was not much out there, now there is a wealth of knowledge that exists that is due to the community and also Microsoft.

 

 

From a Microsoft Partner perspective, being a part of so many different success stories and case studies that have been done about our Customers at Sunrise. Seeing Sunrise grow, and being a positive influence on that growth over the past four years, to have us rise to President's club, high customer retention and reuse, as well as being ranked one of the top Dynamics AX partners in the world. From a community perspective, starting a blog some five years ago that has helped the community itself grow. It's been well worth the effort and time to continue and try to post relevant and useful information about Dynamics AX. The comments I get really encourage me. This has lead then to having over 8,000+ average unique visitors a month to my blog, and gained by exposure as #83 on the Dynamicsworld.co.uk top 100 list!

 

 

This is a hard one to answer actually, because the nature of the question drives to me try and list one thing. I would say there are a lot of great things actually. One taking Axapta and turning it into Dynamics AX not just a name, but if you compare Dynamics AX now and vNext to AX 2.5 and 3.0 it's a different world. The platform, the web, the BI, the UI, the Functional depth, all have been because of Microsoft, Microsoft Partners & Customer feedback, and the R&D that has poured into Dynamics AX over the past several years. After that I would say the support and online communities that Microsoft has built or supports. This is a key when you’re faced with a go live, running into several issues, and needing to go down to the wire... and with everyone's help it's pulled off and it's a success!

 

 

Now this is for sure an opened-ended question that I could fill two or more books with! What it should come down too though, for a customer to purchase Microsoft Dynamics AX, over other ERP packages, is it's Better, Faster and Cheaper. Yes, it's easy to say those words, but the 'proof is in the pudding'. Microsoft Dynamics AX, being a part of the Microsoft overall platform and stack, offers customers a like a solution that can be a single platform that is familiar, which can give them the greatest ROI, in the shortest time, with the lowest TCO and don't take my word for this. Look at all the independent research firms that are claiming this for Microsoft: Gartner, AMR, etc.

 

 

I would say making sure technology is being used to solve actual business problems. I believe there is a big wave coming, and it's tipping and showing its crest already, with Cloud Computing. I believe Microsoft has the correct - in the Software+Services or 'Three Screens and a cloud' - approach. The Hybrid Cloud will be what companies have for the current too far reaching future. Microsoft has to get this correct for Dynamics, so that the technology of the Cloud can be understood and leveraged correctly so Partners and Customers understand how Hybrid their Cloud needs to be, and when one part of the solution should be ‘on-premise' versus 'in the cloud'. From a functional standpoint, they will still face what they have been facing they must continue to push to offer functional depth needed by customers, but keep the functionality flexible enough to fit customers unique brands and needs.

 

 

I would love to see Dynamics lines actually merge into the best of the four. Of course, I feel that Dynamics AX, being the flagship, would then offer the most, including X++. So a true Dynamics ERP vision, when, and what that will look like. After that, a continued push to where Dynamics is more and more a true part of the Microsoft stack / platform. In Dynamics AX 4.0, it was a pseudo-platform, and in Dynamics AX 2009 it could actually be considered just about there, though still a ways to go.