Our annual Business Briefing event was recently held in London America Square and was packed with customers, partners and those looking to join us. Around 100 people joined us as we explored some of the upcoming developments for Advantage as well as some of the key things we have seen from Microsoft and the various Microsoft solutions. Covering topics across Microsoft Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV, Business Central, 365, CRM and Managed Services we aimed to give everyone a deeper understanding of how to get the best out of their systems and the future ahead.
Below is an overview of some of the presentations and key take away points, but remember this is just a snapshot of a packed schedule. Please do contact us if you would like more information on any of the presentations or details below.
Welcome to The Advantage Briefing Event
Justin Bown, Sales Director, Advantage
Our sales director Justin Bown kicked us off with the full agenda of the day and what we hope our attendees would take away from the event. It has been an interesting year for Microsoft and the host of Microsoft products with many changes that will affect businesses going forward. Here we introduced our partners Draycir (Credit Hound & Spindle), Concur, Avalara and Mimecast as well as announce our prize give away for the Nintendo Switch to be drawn at the closing of the day.
To view the full presentation click here.
Marketing Evolution and the announcement of "The Advantage Edge"
Richard Goddard, Marketing Director, Advantage
There have been many changes for Advantage over the last year. 12 months ago we changed our logo as well as redefined our approach to our work with it no longer being about a one size fits all approach but providing business services that are right for the individual customer’s needs.
This year saw further innovation and evolution with the announcement of “The Advantage Edge” offering customers CRM, ERP and IT Managed Services all under one roof, resulting in the complete digital transformation and the future proofing of your business. We are one of the only Microsoft Gold partners that are able to do this, meaning that we can take you to the next level.
To view the full presentation click here.
Advantage Service Evolution
David Whitham, Service Director, Advantage
The Advantage Edge relates directly to level of service we are offering and our Service Director, Dave Whitham, took us through how we have developed our thinking to the work we do. There have been changes to our approach with the push forward of in-house Power BI experts, more Microsoft collaborative tools with a PMO back office function for the Project Management team, further increasing their efficiency.
To view the full presentation click here.
Microsoft and Dynamics Roadmap
Rob Pope, Microsoft
It has been an eventful year for Microsoft with many different announcements throughout this year regarding the product offerings and what the future holds. Rob touched on how digital transformation is affecting every business, the use of AI with the statement “data is the new oil” and, of course, the Business Central roadmap and Microsoft’s cloud capabilities. Rob also explored some of the unique functionality Business Central has.
To view the full presentation click here
The changing face of technology and Chesterfield
Christo Van Zyl, Managed Service Director, Advantage
Advantage first took on Chesterfield for GP Support. They were having initial issues with their previous GP provider as it was hosted on a non-Microsoft platform causing problems before being moved to Azure and implementing Microsoft Office 365 for Email. In this question and answer session, Chesterfields Finance Manager Ben Williams and Christo take everyone through the journey they have had with Advantage and their plans for the future.
To view the full presentation click here
Making Tax Digital
Eileen Kane, Avalara
Making Tax Digital, everyone is aware of it but not everyone is prepared for it. Here Avalara speak about their background, what they do and of course explore the details of the upcoming Making Tax Digital initiative set to launch in April 2019. Their VAT Technology Solutions Manager, Eileen Kane, talked about their Making Tax Digital solutions of Avalara MTD Filer and Avalara VAT Reporting. You can find out more about their products here.
To view the full presentation here
Reporting
Rob Anderson, Concur
Rob explored some of the inherent benefits that come with Concur’s Reporting solutions, with an interactive white board session identifying the key business objectives of growth, cutting costs, profit, people management and productivity. You can find out more about their product offering here.
Security
Scott Jenner, Mimecast
2018 has continued to be a big year for Cyber Security with threats increasing in their frequency and scale of disruption to major companies and SME alike. The complexity of attacks on companies has also increased varying from ransomware and more intricate whaling techniques. Mimecast explores some of their solutions and explain how companies should work to become continually cyber resilient rather than just aware of the need for cybersecurity.
To view the full presentation here
Tips & Tricks - Dynamics CRM
Dean James, Dynamics Consultant, Advantage
As Rob Pope mentioned earlier in the day “data is the new oil” and your company can only operate as well as the data that it keeps and properly utilises and stores. Dean James our Senior Dynamics CRM Consultant explored some key Dynamics 365 tips and tricks.
To find more of our Tips & Tricks click here.
Tips & Tricks - Dynamics GP
Sharon Sturgess, Dynamics Consultant, Advantage
Our Dynamics GP Consultant Sharon Sturgess also took users through some finer functionalities of the GP system covering some aspects of GP including shortcut keys, user preferences, workflow with EFT the GL Reconcile Tool as well as different reporting tools.
To find more of our Tips & Tricks click here.
Tips & Tricks - Dynamics NAV
Fungai Chinembiri, Dynamics Consultant, Advantage
Not a user of Dynamics GP? Well we also have our own tips and tricks session lead by Fungai our Dynamics NAV Consultant. In this session Fungai takes the group through common issues many Dynamics NAV users face aswell as many useful Dynamics NAV features often missed such as RapidStart Services and NAV Keyboard Shortcuts.
To view the full presentation click here
Power BI Dashboards, Jet Reports, and Budgeting,
Simon Nicholson, Dynamics Consultant, Advantage
Our Dynamics Consultant Simon Nicholson showed a group of our clients some of the functionality Power BI has and how to operate and navigate the dashboard successfully. Additionally, Simon shows the room how to use Jet Reports and better utilise some of the reporting features.
Marketing Automation and Marketing for CRM
Dean James, Dynamics Consultant, Advantage
Marketing and automation is a key facet of any business. Here Dean shares tips and tricks on how to better utilise CRM for Marketing purposes and things you can do to create marketing automation within your system.
To find more of our Tips & Tricks click here.
Power BI for CRM -Will Debose
Here Will Debose explained the uses of connecting Power BI to CRM and explored some best practice techniques as well as answering any functionality questions some of our clients or those interested had.
To find out more information about Power BI contact Advantage here.
Intelligent Edge and Product Roadmaps
Martyn Kemp, New Sales Account Management and
Padraig Kelly, Account Manager, Advantage
There has been a lot said about the Intelligent Edge and how it will help businesses by presenting all the various different types of data a business takes in and producing timely business insights. Here our New Business Sales and Account Managers, Martyn Kemp and Padraig Kelly, take us through some of the benefits of utilising the Intelligent Cloud for agility and scalability, coupled with the Intelligent Edge for business connected devices. In this presentation, we also explored the Microsoft GP and Business Central Roadmaps to see what Microsoft has in store for the future.
To view the full presentation click here
D356 to Business Central Demonstration
Justin Bown, Sales Director and
Dave Whitham, Service Director, Advantage
Justin Bown and Dave Whitham take us through some of the features of the Business Central with a demonstration of some features that are most relevant to our clients. To book a private demonstration please contact us.
Closing Remarks
All in all, the Business Briefing was a great success covering many topics and giving us an opportunity to speak to clients, explore what lies in the future for Advantage and delve into the future of the Microsoft.
There was much discussion on the benefits of the cloud, however the choice does still remain with you as to whether on premise or the cloud is the best option for you.
We explored Making Tax Digital solutions with Avalara, tips and tricks, announced The Advantage Edge and looked at the roadmaps for a host of Microsoft products.
Congratulations also to our prize draw winner who won a Nintendo Switch for their participation in the feedback form giveaway.
We look forward to meeting you at our next Annual Business Briefing!
