Interview on QBS group getting shareholder majority in 1ClickFactory

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QBS GROUP TAKES THE MAJORITY OF 1CLICKFACTORY SHARES

Microsoft Value Added Distributor and Indirect CSP QBS group (www.qbsgroup.com) has recently acquired the majority of the shares in her strategic partner 1ClickFactory (www.1clickfactory.com). A good reason to set up an interview with Soren Fink Jensen, CEO of 1ClickFactory, and Michael Hartmann, the CEO of QBS group. This article will dive into the prospering relationship and this intensified collaboration, along with the radical changes in today’s markets for business applications including ideas on how partners should react.

Exactly what has happened with this recent collaboration?

Soren: Until recent, 1ClickFactory was owned by three major shareholders, being a private investor from Lithuania, the management of 1ClickFactory and QBS group. QBS group entered into our company as a shareholder back in 2017 up until present with a minority share. With this collaboration, QBS group has acquired the shares of the private investor and combined with their initial share, the company now is the major shareholder in 1ClickFactory.

As management of 1ClickFactory, we’re of course very happy that the share of the private investor is bought by QBS group, as they are supporting our business, and not by a random third party. We will continue and intensify our strategic co-operation with QBS group in a simplified setting with just two shareholders.

So our collaboration now moves from a ‘strategic alliance’ to a ‘strategic partnership enforced by ownership’.

 

What is the motivation of QBS group to make this move and where does this fit into the strategy?

Michael: We’d like to see QBS group as the backbone for Microsoft Dynamics 365 partners. Over the last few years we have clearly moved away from the traditional model at the very beginning of the company, which was taking care of the transaction part. Over time we have extended our portfolio to also support our partners in non-core activities like marketing, pre-sales and training. Today, the whole Microsoft Dynamics partner channel is in a huge transformation phase. One in which technical and functional capabilities and capacities are more important than ever before!

Think about the transition of partner add on solutions to extensions. But also, the experience, methodologies, tooling and capacity you need to migrate the huge worldwide Dynamics NAV customer base to Dynamics 365 Business Central. We consider 1ClickFactory as the perfect strategic technology partner for our company! But also for our current and future partners – both VAR’s and ISV’s.

Now that QBS group owns the majority of the shares, the financial results of 1ClickFactory will be consolidated into the results of The IT Channel Company, the holding company of QBS group.

 

What is it that 1ClickFactory and QBS group match so well?      

Soren: Both companies are true partner focused organisations. Both have a ‘Microsoft only’ strategy. And both companies are laser focused on Microsoft Dynamics only. No other Value-Added Distributor in the worldwide Microsoft channel can claim this. Our deep functional and technical qualities and capabilities combined with the sales and marketing skills of QBS group plus their wide international distribution network create a great fit!

Michael: Our combined strengths, talent and capabilities create a true ‘one stop shop’ for Microsoft Dynamics partners who want to thrive in the new cloud era.

 

Soren, for those who don’t know your company yet – can you update us on what 1ClickFactory does and where the company is today?

1ClickFactory is a Dynamics 365 software ‘factory’. Our high-quality Microsoft Dynamics 365 upgrade, development and training services together with our leading Microsoft Azure managed hosting service, help Microsoft Dynamics partners offer better business value to their customers delivering solutions on-premises and/or in the cloud. Unlike the traditional ERP service providers who offer this type of service through 1:1 sourcing of people, we take responsibility for the projects and use automation tools.

We have performed 500+ Dynamics NAV and Dynamics AX upgrades, 300+ development projects and we also serve 5,000+ NAV users on Azure. 1ClickFactory is a Microsoft ISV Development Center that is Gold Certified in Enterprise Resource Planning, Application Development and Cloud Platform. We are a global business currently delivering our services to 300+ partners in 40+ countries.

In the last 18 months of working together strategically, QBS group has helped increase the number of partners using 1ClickFactory services by 13 percent. By working even closer together we will be able to provide even more value to partners. There are three areas where we have seen increased demand during 2018:

  1.  The move of IP to extensions where the QBS group and 1ClickFactory concept of Ready to Go and the value it provides to partners has played a big role
  2. Knowledge around how to implement and customise Dynamics 365 Business Central
  3. How to migrate customers toward Dynamics 365 Business Central in the Cloud and On-premise.

Together we have many of the answers on how partners can do this the most affordable way with the least risk, given the newness of the Dynamics 365 platform.

 

Well Michael, maybe you can give our readers a quick update on QBS group as well? 

QBS group drives the largest community of Microsoft Dynamics partners worldwide. Today we’re active in 22 countries where we support over 600 Microsoft Dynamics partners to improve their businesses.

The services of 1ClickFactory have already been a cornerstone of the value that QBS group delivers to its partners. The further integration of the 1ClickFactory services into the partner engagement, will strengthen the unique position that QBS group has as an indirect CSP.

While QBS partners are migrating their IP and their existing customers to Dynamics 365, they are facing challenges in their capacity and capability to do that on time and in quality. 1ClickFactory is helping many QBS partners already to provide the additional skills and capacity to exceed customer expectation via our Upgrade Service.

Since SaaS is not always the optimal solution for customers to bring their business applications to cloud, QBS partners take advantage of the 1ClickFactory hosting services to provide business applications through private cloud environment.

So while QBS group continues to onboard new partners into the QBS community, 1ClickFactory is the technical service backbone that will help partners to provide a superior cloud offering.

 

How does this more intensive co-operation work out geographically?

Michael: There are some overlaps in markets that we both serve. Here we will align our salesforces, intensify the knowledge transfer and build joint Go-to-Market programs, like the ‘Ready to Go’ program. An interesting observation is that neither of us can build and execute these kinds of programs alone. But together we can do it.

Then there are also markets where only one of us is active today. Last year, QBS group made a start in several markets in Middle-East & Africa (MEA). However, our focus is still mainly in Europe. 1ClickFactory is also active in Europe. On top of that, the company has activities in the US and in Asia and has plans to do additional investments in these regions shortly. Potentially we can use this situation to introduce each other’s services in new countries and regions going forward.

How did Microsoft react on this change?

Michael: The Microsoft Corp people are very positive about this move! They see the combination as a great asset for their worldwide partner channels: two partner-focused specialists that combine their strengths to facilitate the ongoing growth of Microsoft Dynamics 365!

Soren: Here I would like to add that the 1ClickFactory specialists work closely together with the engineering departments at Microsoft Corp.

 

In your opinion, what should the partner channel do to protect the 160,000+ Dynamics NAV customers worldwide and guide them to Dynamics 365 Business Central?

Michael: We see that this huge customer base consists of several sub groups. There are customers looking for private hosting and other customers will prefer a re-implementation based on a full-blown SaaS offering. And surely, there will also be Dynamics NAV customers who are forced to continue their On-premise solutions for some more time due to legal or infrastructural matters. We believe that the Dynamics partner channel needs partners that can both consult and help them based on a ‘one stop shop’ offering.

Soren: I believe that we must pay attention to bringing value to the older part of that customer base, and especially those customers without maintenance contracts. These customers will wonder what the price of a cloud migration is. For sure they would like to receive fixed price offerings, and after that they will want to know what the cost is of staying current. At 1ClickFactory, we’ve developed intelligent tooling and processes to help these end-users and their partners out. We offer an Upgrade Analyzer  that helps partners create fixed price and fixed date offerings.

On top of that we are building an Extension Maintenance Service that helps customers to stay current with their customizations – also based on fixed price. We strongly believe that these services are both unique and valuable and they will also support our partners to make them even more successful, also when they need to migrate to the Cloud!

Finally, what can the Microsoft Dynamics partner channel expect from the two companies in their new setting?  

Soren: The Microsoft Dynamics partner channel can expect a continuation of the existing strategies. With the same familiar faces on both sides of the companies, so that will stay the same. What will change is an even more tightly knit collaboration in the execution of the strategies. The partner communities can expect stronger and more attractive offerings, including offerings around the domain of PowerApps.

Michael: To make these words tangible: we have scheduled a first meeting with the leadership teams from both companies shortly to discuss and create a three year joint business plan. We’re all looking forward to a great collaboration with multiple benefits for our partner communities!

 

QBS group en 1ClickFactory bundelen hun krachten

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Vanaf maart 2019 heeft QBS group het meerderheidsaandeel van 1ClickFactory verkregen. Dit is een verdere versterking van de reeds bestaande samenwerking en is een belangrijke stap in de strategie van QBS group om haar aanbod naar het Dynamics partnerkanaal te verbeteren.

“We consider 1ClickFactory as a perfect strategic technology partner for both our company, but also for our current and future partners. We’re all looking forward to a great collaboration with multiple benefits for our partner communities!”

Michael Hartmann, CEO, QBS group

De samenwerking tussen QBS group en 1ClickFactory is in de afgelopen 18 maanden geïntensiveerd. Een mijlpaal werd bereikt toen QBS group Territory Representative werd voor 1ClickFactory in de DACH-regio – en vervolgens ook in de Benelux op 1 januari 2019.

Per 31 maart 2019 is Dynamics NAV niet langer meer beschikbaar voor nieuwe klanten. Partners kunnen nu alleen Dynamics 365 Business Central aanbieden. Of het nu gaat om het migreren van bestaande oplossingen, het verwerven van vaardigheden en kennis over Dynamics 365 Business Central of dat het gaat om concrete technische support, het aanhalen van de relatie tussen QBS group en 1ClickFactory zal een enorm voordeel zijn voor partners in deze transformatie.

“Both companies are true partner focused organisations. Both have a ‘Microsoft only’ strategy. And both companies are laser focused on Microsoft Dynamics only. No other Value-Added Distributor in the worldwide Microsoft channel can claim this. Our deep functional and technical qualities and capabilities combined with the sales and marketing skills of QBS group plus their wide international distribution network create a great fit! The partner communities can expect stronger and more attractive offerings, including offerings around the domain of PowerApps.”

Soren Fink-Jensen, CEO, 1ClickFactory

Er zal altijd een behoefte bestaan aan professionele en gespecialiseerde assistentie van een Indirect CSP, die de ins en outs van Microsoft Dynamics kent. Technische support en advies zullen altijd nodig zijn. Met deze belangrijke strategische samenwerking gaan QBS group en 1ClickFactory een eigen klasse vormen als het gaat om capaciteit en dekking voor het Dynamics partner kanaal.

White Paper – Microsoft Dynamics 365 the perfect platform for digital transformation in the mid-market

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At QBS group we’re all about Dynamics partners – to the extent that we call ourselves “Dynamics partner fanatics”. We constantly look for new innovative ways in which we can assist our partner community with ways to grow their business – no matter what their Dynamics strategy is. There’s no doubt in our minds that Dynamics 365 offers a lot of advantages both to new partners but especially to the existing Dynamics partner community – which the most recent white paper from us focuses on. Enjoy the reading!

Abstract of white paper:

“We are approaching one of the great infliction points in time where information technology-based solutions  have matured to a level where they can deliver new and compelling value to meet recognized needs of mid-market companies.

The steadily falling prices on computer capacity, the accumulated investments in standard software products and the introduction of the cloud-based as-a-service delivery format have made advanced information technology available to the mid-market. Under the headline digital transformation these advanced technologies have the potential to dramatically increase the productivity of mid-market enterprises, while the steady expansion of the world wide web (51.5 per cent of the global population or 3.2 billion people) has enabled them to expand and grow beyond their domestic territories.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 The Perfect Platform For Digital Transformation In The Mid Market

Despite the increased availability of advanced software tools, the declining prices and the improved user-friendliness, digital transformation remains an ongoing activity that requires support from specialists that the typical mid-market enterprise cannot attract and justify on her payroll.  This whitepaper explains that exactly this intersection of technology and needs represents a yet untapped business potential for entrepreneurs that can translate software technologies into a tangible business advantage and that Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the perfect platform for executing such an ambition.”

You can download the full white paper here:
Microsoft Dynamics 365 – The perfect platform for digital transformation in the mid-market

Or if you would like to attend one of our upcoming QBShare events to learn more about how QBS can assist you in your future journey with Dynamics, find a local event here and register.

More from the same author.

Directions EMEA 2018 Business Report

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At QBS group, we understand that well-informing our Dynamics partners is crucial for making the right strategic decisions. That’s why we strive every single day to make “QBS Partners the best-informed Microsoft partners.”

We have been writing business reports on the international Microsoft events since 2004. So we know what we’re doing. This report is part of our ‘around the year’ reporting service that spans all the major events for Dynamics partners: Inspire, eXtreme 365 and DIRECTIONS. This unique report features a broad but insightful and independent business reporting on the happenings at DIRECTIONS EMEA 2018. The report, which consists of 46 pages of need-to-know information, is bought and used by leading Dynamics partners from all over the world.

These partners use the report among others to:

  • Inform all their colleagues who did not visit the event
  • Improve their marketing and sales pitches
  • Update the content on their websites

Directions EMEA 2018 Business Report QBS Group

The average satisfaction score for this report over the last 5 years was 8,6 on a 1 to 10 scale.

Taster first? To get a good idea of what you can expect from our DIRECTIONS EMEA 2017 Business Report, you can order the 2017 Business Report as a free download version here.

Order your copy now!

Partners of QBS group receive this report at no additional cost, as it is part of their QBS membership. For non-QBS Microsoft partners, the report is available for only Euro 400 exclusive of VAT per partner company.

The evolution of Dynamics 365 opens the door for new opportunities

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The 2018 edition of eXtreme365 EMEA is expected to be an interesting edition.
 Today, the world of a Dynamics CRM partner is changing faster than ever before. Being a Dynamics CRM partner today is like dancing on a volcano – far from boring! And the recent announcements around the Dynamics 365 solution makes this effect even stronger!

The EMEA edition picked Dubrovnik, Croatia as their 2018 location. It will be organized from March 19th till 21st for the partner event and on March 21st and 22nd for end-users. This last part is organised for the second time and anticipates to fill the gap that has emerged after Microsoft stopped with Convergence.

Due to the release of Dynamics 365 last year, the eXtreme organization decided to change the name of the event from ‘eXtreme CRM’ into ‘eXtreme365’

Attending partners
The expectation is that around 600-800 people from Dynamics 365 partners will attend eXtreme365 EMEA in Dubrovnik. If you’re a visitor yourself, an interesting question is how you will bring all these messages back home. Because it’s crucial that all your team members understand what’s going on. And more important – what that all means to them!

Read as well the blogs from Christly Spokely why NAV partners and CRM Partners attending eXtreme365 Dubrovnik

Business Report of eXtreme 365 EMEA
Here’s where QBS group can help you out. We will write a business report on eXtreme 365. With 3 authors we will cover more sessions than a single partner normally can do. The sessions that we will cover go ‘cross content’. This means that we will not only cover the keynotes, but also various technical and functional sessions and of course also the business sessions.

On top of that we will publish exclusive interviews that we will have in Dubrovnik with Microsoft executives.

The report will be published in the English language and will be available mid April 2018.

“QBS partners are the best informed Microsoft partners”

At QBS group we’ve been writing business reports for Microsoft Dynamics partners on Microsoft’s WPC and DIRECTIONS since 2004. Later this year we’ll be writing Business Reports about Inspire 2018 and Directions EMEA 2018.

QBS group partners
QBS group partners will receive this report for free as part of their membership. Partners who sign up as a QBS group partner before April 1st, 2018 will get a FREE copy as their welcome present. Non-QBS partners pay only € 350,- exclusive VAT to receive a copy.

This unique and valuable report is bought by leading Dynamics partners from all over the world.

Can you afford to miss on this important business report? Reserve your copy now!

Nieuwe Outlook Customer Manager – CRM voor klein MKB

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Op 14 november kondigde het Office team aan dat er vanaf begin 2017 een nieuwe Outlook-functionaliteit beschikbaar is: Outlook Customer Manager. Dit is een CRM-functionaliteit in Outlook voor kleine MKB-bedrijven (1-10 medewerkers). Het is als eerste beschikbaar via het ‘Office 365 First Release Program’ en wordt daarna uitgerold naar alle Office 365 Business Premium klanten wereldwijd. Zij kunnen er dan zonder meerkosten gebruik van maken.

Outlook -com -logo -600px2

Wat betekent dit voor Dynamics partners?

Met de Outlook Customer Manager kunnen 60+ miljoen bedrijven wereldwijd hun klantrelaties beter beheren. Dit is voor hen een mooie oplossing, omdat ze al bekend zijn met Outlook en Office 365 en de Outlook Customer Manager voor hen snel en gemakkelijk is te gebruiken.

Ook biedt de nieuwe functionaliteit kansen voor Dynamics 365 partners. MKB-bedrijven die gebruik maken van Outlook Customer Manager zijn al bekend met het Microsoft platform. Zij staan daarom meer open voor de geavanceerde functionaliteiten van Dynamics 365 als hun organisatie groeit en complexer wordt.

Dynamics partners kunnen er ook voor kiezen om Outlook Customer Manager actief te promoten als zij zich richten op het klein MKB-segment met Office 365. Outlook Customer Manager is onderdeel van Office 365 Business Premium. Alle Dynamics partners die zich hebben aangemeld als CSP Direct of Indirect partner hebben de mogelijkheid om het product te verkopen en de bijbehorende kortingen en extra’s (discounts and incentives) te ontvangen.

Voor meer informatie over Outlook Customer Manager, lees dit blog van Microsoft.

DIRECTIONS EMEA 2017 business report is available now!

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Never before it was so important for Dynamics partners to understand the directions that Microsoft takes with her Dynamics NAV and Dynamics 365 business applications in today’s fast changing cloud world!

At DIRECTIONS US in Florida and the EMEA edition in Madrid, Microsoft unfolded some bold ideas to disrupt the market and grow faster. QBS group was in Madrid with a 23 people to hear these plans from first-hand. After the event, we have once again written our unique and well known DIRECTIONS EMEA 2017 business report with a team of 8 authors.

At QBS group, we understand that informing Dynamics partners well is crucial for making the right strategic decisions. That’s why we strive every single day to make “QBS Partners the best-informed Microsoft partners.”

We have been writing business reports on the international Microsoft events since 2004. So we know what we’re doing. This report is part of our ‘around the year’ reporting service that spans all the major events for Dynamics partners: Inspire/WPC, eXtreme 365 and DIRECTIONS.

What you can expect?

This unique report features broad, insightful and independent business reporting on the happenings at DIRECTIONS EMEA 2017. The report, which consists of 51 pages of need-to-know information, is bought and used by leading Dynamics partners from all over the world.

These partners use the report among others to:

  • Inform all their colleagues who did not visit the event
  • Improve their marketing and sales pitches
  • Update the content on their websites

 

What do Dynamics partners say about these reports?

This is what some of your colleague partners say about our reports:

  • “We are a loyal purchaser of these business reports. Where in the world can you find a solid, structured and well-informed second opinion for so little money? We always discuss the report in our board meeting. QBS helps us to stay alert!”
  • “This is a great report service! It contains lots of background information that helps us better understand how to translate Microsoft’s strategies to our daily business.”
  • “I’ve only recently started in the Dynamics channel. Thanks to the QBS reports I was up to date in no time of the various Microsoft strategies, her product policies and the trends in the Dynamics partner channel”

The average satisfaction score for this report over the last 5 years was 8,6 on a 1 to 10 scale.

Taste first?
To get a good idea of what you can expect from our DIRECTIONS EMEA 2017 Business Report, you can now download the 2016 edition for free.

Order your copy now!

Partners of QBS group receive this report at no additional cost, as it is part of their QBS membership. For non-QBS Microsoft partners, the report is available for only Euro 400 exclusive of VAT per partner company.

Do you want to know all about Microsoft’s plans with Dynamics NAV and Dynamics 365 ‘Tenerife’ and the opportunities these solutions create for your business? Then order your copy today!

As a Microsoft Dynamics professional, can you afford to miss on this important information?

Slimstock and QBS group join forces to strengthen QBS partner capabilities

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Leusden, 21th of September 2017

Slimstock: market leader in inventory optimisation in Europe, announced a partnership with QBS to drive more business opportunities within the QBS partner base. With the complete software package Slim4, Slimstock helps customers to get the right inventory to the right place at the right time. Slimstock offers assistance to help reduce your inventory while at the same time increasing the service level. So turnover increases, while costs decrease and they offer a guarantee on these results. QBS will work with their partner community to explore opportunities for and with Slimstock which should result in service projects for the QBS partners.

The long-term strategic relationship will focus on enabling clients to implement the complete solution for the structural optimisation of their inventory with Slim4 and give our partners an upsell possibility at their customers and create more value add in the value chain of the customer.

Eric van Dijk, CEO, Slimstock: “Working with QBS will help us sharing our knowledge with more partners and customers. Thereby helping customers to take advantage of the new innovation in Dynamics NAV more efficiently.”

Michael Hartmann, CEO, QBS: “We are glad to offer another solution that helps partners adding more value add software on top of the existing NAV base”

For more information, visit www.slimstock.com

 

Important news from Directions US 2017

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QBS Partners are the best informed partners. As this is the mantra we live by, we are sharing the latest news on Dynamics NAV via this article. This week the first of the two Directions conferences is taking place in Florida. Some important news was shared which is crucial for your business planning for 2018. Although most of this news is very fresh, not fully detailed and will be repeated at Directions EMEA in Madrid, we would like to share what we know right now.

Dynamics  365 “TENERIFE” will offer full NAV functionality

The current versions of D365 Finance and Operations BE, avaliable in UK, US and CA offers limited functionality. This product was scheduled to become avaliable in other countries in Q4 2017. At Directions US it was announced that the new product, code name “TENERIFE” will have full functionality, giving customers the ultimate decision power to go for any configuration (OnPremise, Hybrid, SaaS or Multi Tenant hosting). For customers requiring less functionality, Office 365 Business Center will be the place to start. With this news it looks like the rigid division between Business Edition and Enterprise Edition is a blast from the past. This news proofs the full and continued focus of Microsoft on offering a great cloud product for the SMB with the same code base and functionality provided by Dynamics NAV. It is expexted that this product will launch in the spring of 2018

 

Extensions will be be optional

This new product “TENERIFE” will offer more possibilities to enhance the solution without the eminent need of extension. Although extensions will be by far the BEST option (in terms of upgradebilty, scalability and technical support), there will be options to leverage on the investment done in the current verticals build on older techniques

Although many more news was shared, these are the most important messages for now.  During the coming QBS Share Events we will share with you more details and indepth insights on these subjects. The connections we have with Microsoft via Inner Circle (amongs others) will be used to keep you updated and gives you early on the possibility to adapt to this news.

If you have any questions regarding this news or want to know more about our services around cloud readiness, please contact your PAM.

 

Start selling Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales now via special SMB SKU

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QBS group guarantees “future proof selling” to Dynamics 365 Sales when it becomes available

You want to get started selling D365 Sales but don’t want to wait to Dynamics 365 Sales to become available in your country…. We got you covered!

In combination with the Jumpstart add-on we can sell you D365 today and guarantee you the upgrade to future products.

The basis for this offering are the 2 promotional SKU’s from Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales or Dynamics 365 for Sales and Customer Service (for more information visit our Partner Portal).

These promotional SKUs basically allows you to sell the D365 Sales Enterprise Edition to with a “SMB” price, which means that you can start selling to customers and don’t have to tell them to wait.

More info on Jumpstart via: http://www.jumpstart365.com/ 

If you want to know more or order this solution, please contact QBS group via the Partner Service Desk.

Promotion of Anne D. Jakobsen to VP of Marketing for QBS group

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Customer lifetime value and customer adds have become the new currency in the business application space. So at QBS group we want to strengthen our ability to offer world class marketing to our partners in order to keep them competitive. Promoting our Global Marketing Lead to VP of Marketing, Anne D. Jakobsen, is a natural step in this direction.

Anne has been with QBS group since November 2015, when she joined as the OneBizz Marketing Lead in the Nordics. Before that, Anne had a 15+ year history with Microsoft/Navision, so she’s a long time veteran in the world of Dynamics. She brings in a wealth of marketing experience on numerous disciplines and experience on cross-European activities, latest from her role as Marketing Manager with Microsoft Western Europe team. We are sure that strengthening our marketing organization like this will benefit all partners in the QBS group community.

In her own words: “I’ve spent most of my adult life doing marketing on the Dynamics portfolio – and over the years it has become more and more evident that creating modern marketing activities is what can make or break a company in this industry. So the services of the QBS group marketing teams are vital to the success of the partners in our community”.

Partners with QBS group benefits from marketing services such as strategic consultancy, lead generation, online marketing and marketing automation. Want to know how to join the QBS community? Read here.

Strategic alliance with 1ClickFactory

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1ClickFactory and QBS group are delighted to announce a strategic relationship between the two companies. The synergies in such a relationship are apparent: both organisations are partner centric and dedicated to the Microsoft Dynamics products with very different yet complementary services.

Since 2009 1ClickFactory provided partners worldwide with extended development capabilities around Dynamics and packaged services aimed at specific tasks, such as Upgrade Services, code transformation, provisioning on Microsoft Azure, Certification for Microsoft Dynamics and much more.  Today 1ClickFactory does business every year with more than 300 Dynamics partners.

Since its creation 4 years ago, the QBS group network of partners in the Dynamics channel has grown to encompass 400+ partners. The services that QBS group provide partners range from strategic partner advice and management, staff readiness, sales and marketing support through to being the distributor of Microsoft licenses and enhancement plans and a CSP platform for partners.

Søren Fink-Jensen, CEO, 1ClickFactory:
“This will be a great partnership, where both 1ClickFactory and QBS partners, will benefit increasingly from an end-to-end experience, provided by 1ClickFactory and QBS”.

Michael Hartmann – CEO, QBS group:
“We want to be the best provider of services to Dynamics partners, and this alliance is a big step on the way”

Inspire 2017 Business Report available

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From 9 to 13 July the Microsoft partner conference Inspire was held in Washington DC. Inspire (aka WPC) is the most important annual Microsoft partner event. QBS group was there with a team of 8 people to hear from firsthand about Microsoft’s plans for FY 18 and beyond. And with that same team we have once again written our unique and well known Inspire/WPC business report.

Microsoft and her Dynamics partners live in exciting times! The switch from the traditional long-lasting, heavily services oriented on-premise projects to a more product oriented, vertical-specific approach based on subscription pricing is a big challenge!

At QBS Group, we understand that informing Dynamics partners well is crucial in that journey for making the right strategic decisions. That’s why we strive every single day to make “QBS Partners the best-informed Microsoft partners.”

We have been writing business reports on the Microsoft WPC/Inspire events since 2004. This year’s report will be our thirteenth annual publication. So we know what we’re doing.

What you can expect
This unique report features broad, insightful and independent business reporting on the happenings at Inspire 2017, especially for Microsoft Dynamics partners. The report, which consists of 54 pages of need-to-know information, is bought by leading Dynamics partners from all over the world.

The report contains no less than 16 pages about everything you need to know about Dynamics 365. It also features exclusive interviews with Marko Perisic(General manager for Microsoft Dynamics SMB) and Jeff Edwards (Director ERP Channel Strategy and Programs).

Index of the report 

What do Dynamics partners say about these reports?

This is what some of your colleague partners said about this report:

  • “We are a loyal purchaser of these WPC/Inspire reports. Where in the world can you find a solid, structured and well-informed second opinion for so little money? We always discuss the report in our board meeting. QBS helps us to stay alert!”
  • “This is a great report service! It contains lots of background information that helps us better understand how to translate Microsoft’s strategies to our daily business.”
  • “I’ve only recently started in the Dynamics channel. Thanks to this report I was up to date in no time of the various Microsoft strategies, her product policies and the trends in the Dynamics partner channel”

The average satisfaction score for this report over the last 5 years was 8,6 on a 1 to 10 scale.

First taste?
To get a good idea of what you can expect from our Inspire 2017 Business Report, you can now download the 2016 edition of our WPC Business report for free. 

Order your copy now!

Partners of QBS group receive this Inspire 2017 report at no additional cost, as it is part of their QBS membership. For non QBS Microsoft partners, the report is available for only € 400,- exclusive of VAT per partner company.

Do you want to know all about Microsoft’s plans for FY 18 and the opportunities these create for your business? Then order your copy today!

As a Microsoft Dynamics professional, can you afford to miss on this important information?

Inspire 2017 – daily business updates

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From 9-12 July in Washington D.C. QBS group attended the Inspire 2017 edition.

Are you ready to be Inspired? Watch here the daily business updates back from Guus Krabbenborg during Inspire 2017.

Day 1

Day 2 

Day 3

Exclusive interview with Joe Longo – SBS Group

Day 4

Day 5

QBS group receives prestigious Microsoft 2017/2018 Inner Circle Award

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For the fourth year in a row QBS group is awarded Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics

For the fourth consecutive year, Microsoft has awarded QBS group with the prestigious membership of the Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics. The 2017/2018 Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle honours an elite group of <60 of the most strategic Microsoft partners across the globe, showing high commitment to customers reflected in their business performance and high level of sales achievement.

Membership in this elite group is based on sales achievements that rank QBS group in the top echelon of the Microsoft global network of partners. Inner Circle members have performed to a high standard of excellence by delivering valuable solutions that help organizations achieve increased success.

This recognition of Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics came during Microsoft Inspire (formerly Microsoft WPC), the annual premier partner event, which took place July 9-13, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

Maria Garaña, Vicepresident EMEA, Microsoft Business Solutions: “QBS group continues to be a strategic partner for Microsoft across Europe. Not only do they serve more than 400 partners with sales, marketing and technical services, they will also one of our key partners to launch  Dynamics 365 Business Edition. QBS will further grow their impact in Microsoft’s partner ecosystem by enabling partners new to Dynamics to build solutions and serve SMB customers across Europe.”

Frank Holland, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Business Solutions Sales & Partners: “Each year we recognize and honor Microsoft Dynamics partners from around the world for exemplary business performance. These award-winning partners represent the top 1% of Microsoft Dynamics partners in terms of sales performance, but their critical impact on the success of our shared customers is what truly stands out. Microsoft is honored to recognize QBS group for their achievements this past year and for their dedication and support of Microsoft Dynamics solutions.”

Michael Hartmann, CEO QBS group says: “I am extremely proud that we have succeeded in receiving this prestigious award for the fourth year in a row. This award means a lot to us and is the result of great achievements by both our partners and our team. It is also a constant reminder to provide services that will help our partners take full advantage of the opportunities that come with Dynamics 365.  Our community counts now more than 400 partners and we will continue to invest heavily to make QBS the most attractive service provider for partners.”

Optimizing your resources as QBS partner with ForNAV

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Leusden, 5th May, 2017 – ForNAV, a relatively new company with decades of NAV experience, announced on April 18th a partnership with QBS, to drive more business opportunities within the QBS partner base. With the combined power of the tools of ForNAV and the experience of industry veterans such as Michael Nielsen, Jan Sillemann, Jacob Reinholdt Rasmussen and Mark Brummel, partners can easily overcome obstacles when creating and upgrading reports for Dynamics NAV.

The Reports ForNAV Converter makes going from classic reports to RDLC fast and easy. It enables reports developed for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 and NAV 2009 (also known as “classic” or C/SIDE reports) to run on newer versions that require the RDLC format.

For creating and modifying reports for Microsoft Dynamics NAV, the Reports ForNAV Designer is an easy-to-use tool. If you are familiar with the C/SIDE reporting tool, you can start working with the Reports ForNAV Designer instantly.

For the partners of QBS, this is another way to focus on delivering high-value services to customers, letting smart tools improve efficiency by automating some of the day-to-day work. This partnership is also another example of the services to help partners with the optimization of their resources. And this is why QBS has negotiated a 50% introduction discount for QBS partners, when combined with the use of the Dynamics Upgrade Services.

The long-term strategic relationship between ForNAV and QBS will focus on driving the use of ForNAV tools by new partners and end-users.

Jan Sillemann – ForNAV
“Working with QBS will help us reach more partners. Faster. And thereby help customers take advantage of the new innovation in Dynamics NAV more efficiently.”

Michael Hartmann – CEO QBS group
“We are glad to offer another solution that helps partners focus on delivering high-level services and support the transition to a repeatable business model.”

For more information, visit www.fornav.com/ and www.qbsgroup.com/marketplace/ForNAV

Wat is het Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Programma (Microsoft CSP)

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Microsoft wil graag dat haar partners optimaal profiteren van de kansen die de cloud hun biedt. Daarom hebben ze het Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program (Microsoft CSP) geïntroduceerd.

Het Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program stelt partners in staat om de volledige klantlevenscyclus van Microsoft-cloud rechtstreeks te beheren. Microsoft-partners kunnen binnen dit programma gebruik maken van speciale In-product Tools. Deze tools worden ingezet om customer subscriptions rechtstreeks te provisionen, te managen en te ondersteunen. Daarnaast kunnen partners eenvoudig hun eigen oplossingen, producten of diensten als een package aanbieden en combineren tot één maandelijkse of jaarlijkse klantfactuur.

Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program

Het Microsoft CSP programma helpt partners om de vertrouwde adviseur van hun klanten te worden. Door gebruik te maken van CSP, is de partner in staat om een volledige end-to-end relatie met hun klanten aan te gaan.

Direct-CSP en Indirect-CSP

Het CSP programma bestaat uit twee versies, het CSP-Direct (Tier 1) -model en het CSP-Indirect (Tier 2) -model. Partners moeten minimaal één model kiezen, maar ze kunnen ook beide CSP Programma’s kiezen.

Microsoft Cloud solution provider

Wat is het verschil tussen het Direct CSP-model en het Indirect CSP-model? Voor het aanbieden van het Directe model is een stabiele infrastructuur verreist. Dit naast nog een aantal andere vereisten waaraan u als Direct partner moet voldoen. Helaas is dit voor de meeste partners niet haalbaar. Het indirecte model voor dit CSP programma biedt partners de mogelijkheid om samen te werken met een indirecte CSP-partner of Indirect CSP provider. Deze Indirect CSP provider biedt de tools en middelen die nodig zijn om als CSP partner de klantrelatie volledig te beheren. Voor de meeste partners binnen het programma is dit de beste optie.

Als Microsoft partner moet een belissing nemen over het CSP programma

Microsoft zal steeds meer van haar cloudoplossingen aanbieden via het CSP-model. Zo zal Dynamics 365 geen onderdeel meer uitmaken van de van de Dynamics prijslijst, maar is alleen beschikbaar via het CSP programma. U als Microsoft-partner zal dus een beslissing moeten nemen.

eXtreme 365 EMEA 2017 Business Report

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The 2017 edition of eXtreme 365 EMEA is expected to be an interesting edition. Today, the world of a Dynamics CRM partner is changing faster than ever before. Being a Dynamics CRM partner today is like dancing on a volcano – far from boring! And the recent announcements around the Dynamics 365 solution makes this effect even stronger!

The EMEA edition picked Lisbon as their 2017 location. It will be organized from March 13th till 15th for the partner event and on March 16th and 17th for end-users. This last part is new and anticipates to fill the gap that has emerged after Microsoft stopped with Convergence.

Due to the release of Dynamics 365 last year, the eXtreme organization decided to change the name of the event from ‘eXtreme CRM’ into ‘eXtreme 365’

Over 600 partners will attend eXtreme 365 EMEA in Lisbon. That’s an all-time high score! If you’re a visitor yourself, an interesting question is how you will bring all these messages back home. Because it’s crucial that all your team members understand what’s going on. And more important – what that all means to them!

Here’s where QBS group can help you out. We will write a business report on eXtreme 365. With 3 authors we will cover more sessions than a single partner normally can do. The sessions that we will cover go ‘cross content’. This means that we will not only cover the keynotes, but also various technical and functional sessions and of course also the business sessions.

On top of that we will publish exclusive interviews that we will have in Lisbon with these Microsoft executives:

  • Tony de Freitas – Director Dynamics Partner Strategy
  • Param Kahlon – General Manager of Program Management, Dynamics 365
  • Satish Thomas – Group Program Manager, Microsoft Appsource

The report will be published in the English language and will be available by the beginning of April 2017.

At QBS group we’ve been writing business reports for Microsoft Dynamics partners on Microsoft’s WPC and DIRECTIONS since 2004.

QBS group partners will receive this report for free as part of their membership. Partners who sign up as a QBS group partner before April 1st, 2017 will get a FREE copy as their welcome present. Non-QBS partners pay only € 350,- exclusive VAT to receive a copy.

This unique and valuable report is bought by leading Dynamics partners from all over the world.

Can you afford to miss on this important business report?

eXtreme 365 EMEA 2017 Business Report

/in /by

The 2017 edition of eXtreme 365 EMEA is expected to be an interesting edition. Today, the world of a Dynamics CRM partner is changing faster than ever before. Being a Dynamics CRM partner today is like dancing on a volcano – far from boring! And the recent announcements around the Dynamics 365 solution makes this effect even stronger!

The EMEA edition picked Lisbon as their 2017 location. It will be organized from March 13th till 15th for the partner event and on March 16th and 17th for end-users. This last part is new and anticipates to fill the gap that has emerged after Microsoft stopped with Convergence.

Due to the release of Dynamics 365 last year, the eXtreme organization decided to change the name of the event from ‘eXtreme CRM’ into ‘eXtreme 365’

Over 600 partners will attend eXtreme 365 EMEA in Lisbon. That’s an all-time high score! If you’re a visitor yourself, an interesting question is how you will bring all these messages back home. Because it’s crucial that all your team members understand what’s going on. And more important – what that all means to them!

Here’s where QBS group can help you out. We will write a business report on eXtreme 365. With 3 authors we will cover more sessions than a single partner normally can do. The sessions that we will cover go ‘cross content’. This means that we will not only cover the keynotes, but also various technical and functional sessions and of course also the business sessions.

On top of that we will publish exclusive interviews that we will have in Lisbon with these Microsoft executives:

  • Tony de Freitas – Director Dynamics Partner Strategy
  • Param Kahlon – General Manager of Program Management, Dynamics 365
  • Satish Thomas – Group Program Manager, Microsoft Appsource

The report will be published in the English language and will be available by the beginning of April 2017.

At QBS group we’ve been writing business reports for Microsoft Dynamics partners on Microsoft’s WPC and DIRECTIONS since 2004.

QBS group partners will receive this report for free as part of their membership. Partners who sign up as a QBS group partner before April 1st, 2017 will get a FREE copy as their welcome present. Non-QBS partners pay only € 350,- exclusive VAT to receive a copy.

This unique and valuable report is bought by leading Dynamics partners from all over the world.

Can you afford to miss on this important business report?

ORDER NOW

 

Meet QBS group at eXtreme 365 EMEA 2017!

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It’s only a few weeks until the start of the most important Dynamics CRM/Dynamics 365 Sales & Marketing partner event in the EMEA region: eXtreme 365 2017. The event will be organized in beautiful Lisbon from March 13th-15th (partner event) and March 16th-17th (end-user event).

Value Add Distributor QBS group is silver sponsor at this event. With over 375 Dynamics NAV partners in 17 countries, QBS group is the biggest partner eco-system in the Dynamics world. In Lisbon, we will present ourselves for the first time to the Dynamics CRM channel where we aim to play this Value Add role as well. We will do this together with our strategic partners Dynasource and MindsUnited. The three of us share a booth on the information market and deliver a series of sessions that might be interesting for you.

Here’s an overview:

We will start with a side-kick role in the session of Microsoft’s WE lead Ingmar Boon on Tuesday afternoon at 2:15 pm, called ‘Building your SMB practice leveraging CSP’.

The second presentation will be delivered by Guus Krabbenborg on Wednesday morning at 8:30 am and is about the partner business side of the new Dynamics 365 solution. The title of his session is ‘This is what Dynamics CRM partners need to change to become successful with Dynamics 365!’.

The third session is one delivered by Peter Vach from Dynasource. The title of this session is ‘Why Have 2500 Microsoft Partners Already Signed Up to Collaborate?’.

And the fourth presentation on Wednesday afternoon at 4:45 pm is again a side-kick role in another session of Ingmar Boon, called ‘Dynamics 365 Sales in SMB – Partner Roundtable’.

Lastly, Guus Krabbenborg will lead a session in the Executive Exchange track on Wednesday, named ‘Build your Business Models’

We also have a booth, number 9, where we can answer all your questions about the new CSP program and how we can support the growth of your Dynamics 365 business. We are more than happy to explain why QBS partners perform substantially better than non-QBS partners.

Curious what you can expect from this conference? Same here! That’s why we wrote this pre-view article for you: ‘What Dynamics CRM partners can expect from eXtreme 365 EMEA 2017’.

Finally, we will publish a business report on this event. After publishing these reports on Microsoft’s WPC for the past 12 years, and on DIRECTIONS EMEA last year, this will be the first year that we will write such a document on the eXtreme event. With a team of expert authors, we will cover most of the sessions – both commercial, technical and functional. The result is a great read for you as visitor. But maybe even more important – a fantastic document to inform your colleagues back home! Our mantra is ‘QBS partners are the best-informed Microsoft Partners!’

This report is available for free for all the QBS partners as part of their membership. Non-QBS partners can buy a copy for only EURO 350 excluding VAT. More details at the QBS booth.

See you all in Lisbon in March!

Guus Krabbenborg