5 Things To Do BEFORE Summit (Now)
1. Seek new information
This is a critical point in whatever Dynamics-related endeavor you are undertaking. At the rate things are changing these days, you simply cannot adopt a wait-until-Summit-and-see strategy. Even if you know you won’t be pulling the trigger on a major decision until next year, now is the time to get informed so that when Summit rolls around (in less than a month!) you will be well-prepared with clear objectives in Nashville.
Where do you get this information? Short answer: wherever you can. Some great places to start are your partner, other users, Microsoft and of course, don’t forget about us. Just keeping an eye on these sources can be of great benefit in the long run, and don’t be afraid to jump into some conversations!
2. Plan your expo and session strategy
Now that you’re up on the latest, it’s the perfect time to check out the exhibitors and expo map for Nashville. If you have a conversation with every booth who sees you walking by, you’re going to collect a lot of random free stuff but you’ll also be there a REALLY long time. Many exhibitors may indeed have something of interest to offer, but adding a little focus to your “visit list” will make your expo time more productive and actually give you more freedom to browse the floor later on. We’ll be in booth 910 talking Dynamics 365 upgrades, Dynamics AX support and Payroll/HR (plus we’ll have random free stuff too!) Whether we make your initial visit list or not, it’s good to have one.
The same goes for sessions. Once again, AXUG has outdone itself with a plethora of informative topics across several industries and experience levels. It’s fantastic, but it also means you and your team will need to plan ahead in order to attend what most interests you. Thankfully, the full session schedule is online and ready for your viewing pleasure. We will be hosting 5 sessions this year as well:
- Sales Forecast Through the Prism of Azure Machine Learning in Dynamics AX 2009 and Beyond
- How2: BI & Reporting within Dynamics AX 2009 and Beyond… – Which Tool Should I Use and Why?
- Going Live on Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations: A Year In the Life of an Implementation
- How2: The Power of Product Configurator in Dynamics AX 2012 and Beyond
- How2: The Ins and Outs of Procurement in Dynamics AX 2012 and Beyond
3. Network within AXUG
Getting conversations going now will not only lead you to being better informed about new stuff (see above), but also an invaluable support network for your existing Dynamics AX/365 implementation. Getting to know people now will make your Summit experience several times more productive (and FUN).
Joining in on anything from the online forum to local chapter meetings (if you’re in or near Ohio like us, they have one coming up on September 15!) can be immeasurably helpful in finding users with similar implementations, industry challenges, and love for geeky pop culture references.
4. Attend that free webinar
This can arguably be lumped in with the above points, but then how could we self-promote our Dynamics Coach service? In all seriousness, we aren’t the only ones offering some great topics for free. A free webinar from a partner, AXUG, MSDynamicsWorld or others can provide some real applicable knowledge for users. Our upcoming free Dynamics Coach webinar on BI and Reporting is a great warm-up for our matching AXUG Summit session!
5. You tell us!
This is where that “joining the conversation” comes in. Whether you’re a Summit veteran or a rookie about to get in the game for the first time, Nashville will be what you make it, so make it great!