Directions North America in San Diego, California was a big hit with over 250 expert speakers and 1,200+ attendees! The LS Retail team was happy to connect with the Microsoft Dynamics partner community and talk about ways to further align our LS Central software solutions with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Here are the main highlights and takeaways from the event:
Artificial intelligence and SaaS took center stage
Microsoft’s latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool, Copilot, was all the buzz at the conference, comprising around 50% of the sessions this year. Many attendees were curious how to introduce AI into their business and reduce the need for tedious manual tasks. “Copilot will put the entire Microsoft services offering far ahead of competition by being an industry leader in new technology that helps people work more efficiently, effectively, and organically,” says Kathryn White, Solution Architect for Consulting Americas at LS Retail, “Microsoft is focused on creating a much more immersive experience with AI using Copilot, and businesses can expect the way they engage with this tool to become much more advanced in the future.”
Software as a Service (SaaS) also took the spotlight among my discussions, as Microsoft continues to showcase moving to the cloud as a crucial step for businesses to stay efficient and agile. “SaaS is the way of the future,” Stephen Ward, Key Account Manager for Sales Americas at LS Retail told us, “If businesses want to remain competitive today, then migrating to the cloud now is key for staying ahead tomorrow.”
A successful LS Retail session and partner panel
As a Silver Sponsor this year, we had the opportunity to speak about our LS Central software solutions, which are built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP. Our team hosted a fantastic session where a few LS Retail partners were able to share their firsthand experience working with and implementing these solutions.
“We heard from both current and prospective partners that this session was very informative in terms of how the LS Central and Business Central functionalities work seamlessly together,” says Raquel Hauschild, Solution Sales Executive for Sales Americas at LS Retail, “It’s great to hear our partners talking about their experiences from the field and how our solutions support such diverse businesses and industries.”
Future growth with Business Central and LS Central
While advancements with Copilot and SaaS migration will continue to be a key focus for Microsoft, there are also plans for deeper integration with Dataverse and Power Platform, as well as useability improvements within Business Central.
Microsoft also presented some sessions about localization, as this significantly impacts both Business Central and LS Central users worldwide
“Directions North America has provided us with invaluable opportunities to connect with our partners in a collaborative setting,” says Jim Martell, Regional Sales Director Americas at LS Retail, “It’s so important for us to be able to understand their unique needs and grow together as part of the Microsoft community.”
