The Dynamics GP Blogster

Wednesday, May 23, 2018 After a long couple days, and especially after Day 2 presentation marathon, I decided to sleep in a bit this morning. I had a commitment at midday to meet with the Premier team. Premier has sponsored my trips to South Africa over the last two years, which has allowed me to participate in both reIgnite GP and GPUG Amplify South Africa conferences, so I wanted to take the time to thank them for their continuous support. We had lunch at Turn 'n Tender Steakhouse , located in the upscale Waterfall district. Mariano Gomez, David Joosten,  Renier van der Merwe, Wilma van Eck, Jako Diedericks After lunch, I was in crunch time to get some presents for the wife. I decided to head to the nearby Mall of Africa , South Africa's largest mall built in a single phase, featuring 300 stores on 32 acres of retail space. Mall of Africa - Exit 12 After a good hour and change of lingering around the mall, I headed back to the hotel and had a chance to share...

Tuesday, May 22, 2018 Day 1 of the conference was really hectic, but today would prove to be even more challenging as David and I had to deliver even more sessions than the day before. Developing Microsoft Dynamics GP Extensions with PowerApps and Flow session We presented our remaining 5 sessions, including a repeat session: Ask Us Anything About Microsoft Dynamics GP Development  Developing Microsoft Dynamics GP Extensions w/ Microsoft PowerApps & Flow  Microsoft Dynamics GP 2018: Customizing the User Interface (Repeat session) Partner Solution Showcase: Winthrop Development Consultants – Leveraging GP Power Tools as a Developer  Understanding Microsoft Dynamics GP Security  We had mixed attendance. Our Ask Us Anything session was attended by 4 developers in total, but with the few questions asked, we managed to talk for a full hour, nonstop! I believe the folks that walked into our session certainly walked away very happy, as they receive...

Monday, May 21, 2018 Having some fun over the weekend , while here in Johannesburg, was good, but Day 1 of the conference was now here and it was time to unleash the wealth of information that David and I had prepared for this conference. GPUG Amplify South Africa welcome banner The morning started with a small tech check since Bob McAdam , VP and General Manager of GPUG would be dialing in via Skype, from his hometown in Tampa, to kickoff the day's event. Katie Froeber , did a small recap of the agenda and it was all Bob from there on, introducing all the new features in Dynamics GP 2018. Although communication was spotty at times, the content was clearly communicated and attendees were rather receptive to the overall future set. As is customary, and before the agenda was introduced, David and I got the usual "wave photo" from attendees. Several times throughout the presentation, there were thank you notes to the event sponsors. It is worth mentioning...

Saturday, May 19, 2018 After a busy day yesterday , at the Developer Day session for the Braintree dev team, it was time for some a little R&R and getting to know a bit more of Johannesburg. Jennifer, David's better half, arranged a tour to the Lion and Safari Park and the Township of Soweto - Soweto is short for South West Townships. Our driver, Pike, arrived at 8:00 AM local time to take us on our tour. The initial arrangement was to first do a tour of the township, then go to the Lion's Park. Pike suggested we did the opposite to better enjoy the experience, as the Lion and Safari Park would be less concurred. We went with his recommendations and it turned out to be a great decision. After arriving, we arranged for Pike to buy our tickets which gave us access to all the park's attractions: petting the lion's and the cheetah, a tour through the park, and the new hyena and leopard exhibits. Cob lions exhibit Cheetah exhibit With David and Jenn...

Friday, May 18, 2018 What would a delectable breakfast look like without Vegemite? Toast bread with butter and Vegemite After breakfast, we were picked up by Adriaan and his cousin, to be taken to The Canvas Riversands Venue , a modern business incubation hub, for our Developer Day Session with the Braintree software development team. This magnificent facility will also serve as the primary venue for GPUG Amplify South Africa 2018. The Canvas Riversands Venue Panoramic view of the outside theatre at The Canvas Riversands The day started by requesting developers to propose the topics they wanted to cover. As topics were voiced out, we added them to a PowerPoint slide we created on-the-fly, with an Agenda title. We have to confess, this was a little intimidating as we weren't sure what topics would be requested, nor did we prepare any material to address any of the items requested. This would be a freeform presentation and we would have to catalog each topic i...