The State of the Dynamics User Groups

June 9, 2022

Here we are in 2022, finally crawling out of our basement offices, blinded by that big bright ball in the sky and ready to trade our pajama bottoms for some fancy jeans and an event name tag. After a two-year hiatus, the Dynamics User Group community is blossoming much like the spring flowers in my expansive pandemic created backyard garden.

The Stranger Thing is… the user group community looks a lot different than it did in 2019. We are in the upside down, the downside up, or sideways right?!? It is confusing and really what the heck is going on! I am here for you to hopefully create some clarity for the masses. Keep in mind that even though I am an FO Fella, this applies to all D365 channels really: BC, CE, FO, GP, PP!

There are three sections explaining each of the current entities operating in the user community to assist in local meetings, provide content and resources, and present larger event opportunities!

Microsoft

In 2021, Microsoft committed to creating an online space for the user group community. There is access to discussion forums that are very active with Dynamics smarties.

Currently, they hold regular monthly user group leader meetings for chapter leaders, provide teams tenants to aid in the communication efforts, and event creation tools for meeting promotional use and as calendar invites.

Some key links:

Dynamics User Group

Dynamics User Group (DUG) was founded in 1995 as an independent user movement to empower everyday users, administrators, developers, and partners with the tools and information required to excel in their professions.

DUG has grown to include: Online discussion forums, video content, training programs, live interactive virtual and in-person events. These are just some of the resource’s members enjoy with their free membership. They believe that access to technical & functional education has the power to change careers and lives. For this reason, they support community education as a shared global resource.

Their mission is to support the Dynamics community of application users and professionals and they are building a variety of resources to compliment this mission.

Some key links:

Dynamic Communities

The idea for an organized user group community for Axapta, GP, & NAV was hatched in a small conference room sometime around 2004 with Andy Hafer leading the way. The UG group, formally, DCI, grew as Axapta became AX then D365, NAV became BC, and CRM, PBIUG, POWERUG became a thing! At the height of DCI’s UG mission, it supported Local UG’s around the world on its website platform and hosted the premiere annual user group event, SUMMIT!

In 2019, an acquisition by a private equity firm and the pandemic forced DCI to evaluate and re-invent the organization. Despite the past challenges, they remain passionate about a return to the community with a fresh perspective on how to provide support and value to an ever-growing landscape of D365 users.

They are in the process of bringing back Summit to its glory and other creative ways to engage the smart people of D365 for real connection and knowledge sharing. The old UG websites are still active and can be used for searching forums post questions and contacted old friends and members. They are listening, learning, and evolving, “For Community by Community.”

Some key links:

In 2020, the Dynamics User Group Community went into hibernation with one single option and today, in 2022, the horizon is blessed with a variety of unique offerings, each with a passion to bring back the community spirit and create a thriving ecosystem once again.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us!

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Posted in Azure/Power Platform, Dynamics 365/AX, Dynamics 365/CRM