Pivot to the Positive

There's been an abundance of bad news hitting the media lately regarding lay-offs and downsizing in the tech world. And while there are elements to the enterprise business application sub-set that insulate it from larger trends in the tech industry, it still doesn't exist out of orbit to the state of the general economy.

My phone and email were ablaze a few months ago from friends and family wondering how my business was going as Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, Google, HP and many others were laying off their employees in droves. In November of 2022 my outlook was overwhelmingly optimistic as I had to remind my well meaning friends and family that the niche I work in isn't exactly tied to the Big Tech names that they're familiar with. Afterall, ERP and CRM solutions are ineluctable needs for business. Not to mention from a business stakeholders point of view it's easier to calculate clear ROI on ERP and CRM projects, especially when it comes to Supply Chain Management.

For a couple of months everything was fine, but there is a noticeable downturn in the volume of Dynamics roles that are coming our way in conjunction with a lot of candidates coming to us that have been recently laid off. If I were to take everything at face value right now and get caught up with overthinking, I might as well quit recruitment and start picking up some solo weekday happy hour music gigs. But that's not going to happen, because there are a lot of positives to pivot to in light of temporary market forces.

In 2022 Microsoft Dynamics products + Cloud Services was Microsoft's second highest sub-segment of revenue growth, bolstering 27% growth. If you untether Microsoft Dynamics from cloud services, Dynamics growth alone was 42%!

Microsoft Dynamics as a product has enjoyed historic growth since 2020. Anyone involved in the space in any capacity whatsoever can describe in a qualitative way the the growth they've seen. Thankfully there are quantitative numbers to back that up. In 2022 Microsoft Dynamics products + Cloud Services was Microsoft's second highest sub-segment of revenue growth, bolstering 27% growth. If you untether Microsoft Dynamics from cloud services, Dynamics growth alone was 42%! That's a lot of new end users that will be running into novel problems and needing skilled professionals to solve them.

The next positive that I've personally seen is that Microsoft Dynamics is no longer an honorable mention when enterprises are considering CRM, ERP, and other business solutions. Satya Nadella & Co. mapped out a strategy that put Oracle, SAP, and Salesforce in their cross-hairs, and it's working. Over the past couple of years I've had multiple conversations with executives and program managers at end users who shared their vendor analysis stories and why their organization opted for Microsoft over SAP, Oracle, and Salesforce. Sure, there's a long way to go before Microsoft has joined the ranks of these enterprise business applications behemoths, but being the underdog punching up during the ascension is a fantastic place to be positioned. I've had the great pleasure of speaking with a lot high level Salesforce professionals that have ridden that rocket since pre 2010, and by and large, they're doing VERY well. I'd argue that Dynamics is similarly positioned to Salesforce circa the same era, +/- 2 years.

Another positive from a labor market perspective is that by and large there still isn't a formal path to learning Microsoft Dynamics that's free and accessible for all. This has been frustrating for anyone trying to hire a Dynamics professional, but great for talent in the space because there aren't droves of people starting their careers and skilling up looking to take your job.

Another finer point is that specializations in the Dynamics space have become more and more narrow. There's no such thing as a "Supply Chain" consultant in the SAP world, I mean there is, but mostly you'll have experts that work full-time on one application in SCM, e.g. Sales & Distribution, Transportation Management, Extended Warehouse, Planning & Optimization, etc.. We're starting to see subset niches like that happening in the Dynamics space across the entire suite of products. 5 years ago no one could've imagined how many people could make a full-time living just off of being a Field Service expert. Project Management & Accounting and Advanced Warehouse Management have become their own animals mostly capable of granting people fully niched down career choices now. The growth of Microsoft's business solutions aided by the acquisition of ISVs points to some really positive changes happening as the overall market for Microsoft Biz Apps expands and becomes more robust.

I have some great gigs lined up with both of my bands coming up, and SXSW will get some new eyes on the outfits I'm in. The future is looking good for music, but I'm in no hurry to quit my day job. I love the Microsoft Dynamics space. But like everything else in life that you love, be it family, friends, or hobbies; the things you love the most will eventually cause you pain somewhere down the line. It's part of the package written in the fine print. Nevertheless, we keep on rocking in the free world despite our carpal tunnel, arthritis, and herniated discs. Oh, would you look at that, it's time to take my ibuprofen, gotta go!