90 Minds Community

Hi all - it's been way too long since I've posted or even looked at these forums. I'm connected to many of you on LinkedIn and Facebook and, in some cases, good old fashioned emails and phone calls!

I don't know who - if anyone :) - will care but I'm going to be moving on from 90 Minds. 

I still feel the group has great value and communities like this make each of the individual members stronger. I'll still be an advocate for 90 Minds when I encounter Sage partners out in the wild, alone, fighting the good fight for their customers. There is certainly safety in numbers.

But my own focus has dramatically shifted from Sage CRM to Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM to the point where 95% of my new business and 70% of my total business is now Dynamics.

I still have a soft spot for Sage CRM but I've run the numbers dozens of ways and the cost-benefit isn't there for my typical customer. Dynamics CRM (100% in the cloud - imagine that!) integrated to Sage 100 via Gretyrix's GUMU integration is a lower total cost of ownership with a better adoption rate than spinning up a server, installing Sage CRM, and spending on annual upgrades (plus all the break / fix work that we don't see with our Dynamics customers).

Plus the feature set of Dynamics is amazing. We shifted from Sage CRM to Dynamics internally four years back and our customer satisfaction is at an all-time high. 

I made this shift when good ol' whatsisname became Sage UK CEO and started shouting Salesforce from the rafters to everyone around - Sage internal, third-party vendors, partners, customers, and prospects. He literally crushed my business with his heavy handed messaging and refusal to keep investing in Sage CRM. From 2015 to 2106, I went from selling 42 new Sage CRM customers in a single year (!!!) to 12 the next year. And it's hovered around the same rate since then. Not great and no room to grow. 

Like many of you ERP partners, I made a shift to pick up another product. Unlike many of you, I *had* to or I would be panhandling right now or working as a Walmart greeter.

Since picking up Dynamics, we have slowly rebuilt the organization. I'm not close to my glory days but ... I'm getting there. We're on pace to close 20 new Dynamics CRM customers this year. The biggest thing limiting me is I've spent too many years digging out of the hole left by my Sage business cratering, so I'm conservative with my cash flow and don't spend enough on marketing.

The world of Microsoft is interesting. If anything is a challenge, it's that there are too many directions to go. Microsoft is a giant beast - it could care less about my business directly but it opens the doors like I've never seen before (except in the 90s when I sold Novell Netware). I've learned to get narrower and narrower and know my limits. @Wayne Schulz has been a great instructor (as always) in this with his persistent refrain "don't get involved in something you will only do once." Amen, brother.

Instead of chasing every CRM prospects, I happily dish projects off if my team isn't a good fit. 

If anyone is interested in particulars, please let me know. I am always happy to share my findings with you all. And if anyone is interested in picking up a new ERP product, Business Central is a good bet with a strong future. Huge potential for you even now. Microsoft is just getting started with Business Central - it's going to be extremely large. 

If you don't want to go full on Microsoft ERP, pay attention to the Power Platform - Eric Anderson and I did a session back in 2019 at the MotM to show how easy it is to extend core functionality for your customers. This wave is coming fast and it's going to change the world. Microsoft isn't the only player here but, because of the number of customers using Microsoft Office, they will be at the forefront. There are massive service opportunities for smart resellers.

90 Minds is a great community and I've appreciated my time with you all and the chance to get to know so many of you, so well. I wish you all well in future endeavors!

I'm on LinkedIn - please connect! - if anyone wants to talk. Or if the powers that be would like to hear what it's like spinning up a Microsoft practice, I will be happy to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of it. ​

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Peter Wolf
Azamba Consulting Group
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God Speed @Peter Wolf - To infinity and beyond.  Seriously!  You contributed immensely during the early days of the 90M BOD, Your Facebook posts are well reasoned. Rest assured, I will give you a shout when I am on the Brown line heading your way.
​

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Jeff Schwenk
FORMER 90M Board Member -140,000,000 is a TERRIBLE thing to waste!!!
Bottomline Software, Inc.
Waynesboro VA
540-221-4444
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@Peter Wolf what I heard was "blah blah blah I'm not going to MOTM 2022".

I'm glad that you've found your niche. I will miss you!

Karen​

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Karen O'Lane
Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
Fresno CA
803.252.6154 x242
559.577.4142
90 Minds Treasurer
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Peter:

You will definitely be missed for many reasons.  This post is a perfect example of how your thoughts, acumen and reasoning is insightful, valuable and applicable.

By now most of us who wanted to be more than lifestyle partners have added alternative publishers and either keep Sage for the cash cow it is or focused elsewhere.  Back in the "glory days" (mid to late 80's and through Y2k) SOTA was a partner with the reselling community.  The CPA's were the referral engine and VARs focused on adding value through their knowledge and expertise.   Along the way the model changed, the publishers got bigger, greed became good and VARs became a tool.  The concepts you, Wayne, Ed and others developed for adding value were adapted and adopted by many at varying levels of incorporation and success.

We are all better for having you as a key piece of our community and you will be missed.  Hopefully your leaving will usher in a greater understanding of the need for 90 Minds to adapt, change, grow and remain the same.  Sage is suffering from death by 1,000,000 paper cuts.  Small bad decisions that are not fatal but have relegated it to a place of less significance in the market.  We have a strong affinity and nostalgia for MAS 90, but without change 90 Minds will follow along with Sage to a place where we lose more members like you.  The group needs to add value to people like you, so you can continue to bring value to our group.

I look forward to staying in touch and hopefully one day being confident that there is a reason for you to return or collaborate in another space!

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Gary Feldman
Cloud Evangelist
I-Business Network, LLC
Marietta GA
6786270646 x224
http://www.summithosting.com
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Glad to hear you are 'crushing it' once again. 

Aside from being a pioneer with Sage CRM in North America, you have been a wildly entertaining member of the larger Sage community. 

When the core group of Sage CRM types jumped in with both feet almost 20-years ago, none of us could have imagined the odd way that Sage CRM survived, but never really reached it's potential (to put it mildly). But… Sage CRM is still a cool product, good ol' whathisname is gone (3-years gone), and Sage globally seems to have re-found their love for CRM. Globally Sales (NCA Sales) of Sage CRM has been up by +25% in each of the past 2-years. 

I'm sure Dynamics is cool too. Many of the enhancements we have been feeding Greytrix related to the GUMU™ Sage 100 CRM integration also find their way into Greytrix's Dynamics and Salesforce.com integrations to 100. So – the Dynamics integration keeps getting better and I'm sure is a great long term investment for end companies.

Good luck Peter!

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Dan Cousins 416.233.3188
My CRM Manager
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@Peter Wolf I am so happy to hear of your success with MS Dynamics CRM​!!  I had little taste of it a few years back while looking at solutions and appreciated your team's guidance and insights.  I've always found you to be generous in sharing experiences, and again, you've shown us your insights and the path of your journey.   We gain so much when we have the chance to share so openly. 

You will be truly missed.  Your insights, inspirations, and novel ideas helped shape this community for both consultants and affiliates alike.  As a board member, mentor, MOTM presenter, Sage Spirit award winner, co-host of SMB  Jump Street, you've inspired and shown how 90 Minds members can explore, differentiate, and expand their products and services.

And on a side note, I'll miss you a lot!  Thank you for all the wonderful advice and friendship you've provided.  We'll stay in touch!

​

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Moira Goggin
Chismet Consulting Corp.
Long Beach CA
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