Phoenix, Arizona. What makes it special? The weather, the people, the “x” in its name?

The answer is: all three! Of course, there’s another reason Phoenix is special to our team at Implementation Specialists. Phoenix was the host city for Microsoft’s annual Summit conference this past week. I’d like to share with you some of our team’s thoughts and impressions of our experiences at the conference.

1. Passion for the Product is Present. The GP community is loud and proud. The sessions we attended were filled to the brim with people passionate for GP. Our booth was constantly buzzing with GP customers, all sharing their excitement about such a robust community of professionals genuinely sharing best practices with newcomers and experienced users alike.
2. Family Feel. There were multiple occasions in which a partner, customer, or vendor would greet a counterpart, or even competitor, with a hearty handshake and hug. Oftentimes, there were conversations with the easy comradery of longtime friends. That’s because they usually are! Since GP is a mature product, and many of the companies partnered with GP have a long and established history, there is a distinct feeling of stability that you only get with a strong family that legitimately want to assist and care for each other.
3. Energized Attendees: It wasn’t just the coffee that gave the attendees a buzz – there was a genuine sense of determination and focus within the conference on new features within GP and the opportunity to expand their networks. Our conversations were pointed, and there was little fluff – everyone we spoke with had a problem that needed solving. Whether it was centered on re-opening AP and AR for year close, reporting from a specific module, or how to correct a posting mistake, our guests wasted little time in cutting to the crux of the issue.
4. Phoenix Rising: Phoenix was an excellent choice for the conference. Our hotel was a short walk from the convention center, so we got to take in a bit of the local architecture. The Herberger Theatre Center was on our route, so we were treated to beautiful modern sculptures of youths and adults in various states of play. The St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Basilica was across the street from the convention center, and gave us a snapshot into Phoenix’s Franciscan history. The Phoenix Convention Center was enormous and easy to navigate, with a modern glass and steel design that more than suited our needs for space and comfort.
5. New Products Push Boundaries: One of the most consistent messages I absorbed from the conference was Microsoft’s commitment to not only their existing products, but a push into new horizons. Intelligent Edge would augment GP’s core functionality with Business Central’s cloud accessibility, analytics capability, and AI automation. Intelligent Edge could potentially enhance GP by providing real-time insights into your customer’s buying schedules, industry trends, your internal KPI’s, and much more.

Phoenix and the Summit Conference were both experiences that further confirmed the GP community is one of a kind. People who genuinely want to help others and an excellent air of hospitality around the city was palpable. I can’t wait to attend Summit 2019 in Orlando.

Steve Green

Business Development Manager