This week is DynamicsCon LIVE week in Scottsdale. Join me for a quick video with impressions and an interview from the conference. Check it out:
In this video, Erik shares his impressions from DynamicsCon LIVE 2023, held in Scottsdale, Arizona. He walks us through the highlights of the conference and sits down once again with Molly, the president of the Dynamics User Group (DUG), to discuss the event’s growth, what’s new this year, and what’s coming next.
A Growing Conference
DynamicsCon LIVE 2023 proved to be a significant step up from the previous year’s event. Just nine months after hosting nearly 400 attendees in San Antonio, Texas, the conference in Scottsdale drew 637 registered attendees — with people continuing to register even while the event was underway.
The growth wasn’t just in headcount. The conference expanded from five conference rooms to ten breakout session rooms, giving attendees far more options and eliminating the frustration of having only a single track per product area.
Expanded Session Tracks
One of the biggest changes this year was the addition of more content tracks. Last year, there was only one session per product per hour — meaning if a particular Business Central session didn’t interest you, you were out of luck. This year, the ten rooms were organized as follows:
- Two rooms for Business Central
- Two rooms for Power Platform
- Four rooms for Finance and Operations
- One room for GP (Dynamics GP)
- One room for Customer Engagement (CE)
- A cross-product room
The Cross-Product Track: A First
Perhaps the most innovative addition was the cross-product track — something Erik noted he had never seen at a conference before. As Molly explained, many community members work across multiple products every day. Someone might use Business Central and Power Apps together, or Customer Engagement and Power Platform side by side. The cross-product room catered to these real-world workflows, hosting sessions that spanned two or even three product areas simultaneously — for example, a “triple product” session covering Power Platform, Customer Engagement, and Business Central all at once.
A Strong Sponsor Presence
The expo area also grew substantially, with approximately 45 sponsored tables and numerous additional sponsors contributing to different elements of the conference. Molly noted that this presence would carry forward into future events at an even larger scale.
Who Attends DynamicsCon?
Molly shared the attendee breakdown by their relationship to the DUG community and Microsoft ecosystem:
- ~40% — End users
- ~57% — Partners
- ~2-3% — Microsoft employees
- <1% — DUG staff
This healthy mix of users and partners ensures a rich environment for networking and knowledge sharing.
Looking Ahead: DynamicsCon LIVE 2024 in Denver
The big announcement from the conversation: DynamicsCon LIVE 2024 will be held at the Marriott in Denver, Colorado. With more space to work with, Molly anticipates the event will cross the 1,000-attendee threshold — a significant milestone for the community.
Community-Driven Planning
Molly emphasized that the conference is shaped by the community, not dictated from the top down. DUG relies on several committees — including a planning committee that helps curate speakers and content, and an advisory committee that provides broader organizational feedback. But some of the best ideas, Molly noted, simply come from community members leaving comments and sharing what they’d like to see more of (or less of).
The team intentionally avoids planning too far ahead, preferring to gather feedback from each event before deciding what to change or introduce for the next one. This iterative, community-first approach is clearly paying off given the conference’s rapid growth.
Erik’s Session
Erik’s own session took place on the very first day of the conference — a scheduling decision that Molly jokingly acknowledged was “punishment” for Erik’s habit of getting his materials ready at the last minute. Despite the early slot, Erik’s sessions continue to be a major draw for the DynamicsCon community.
Summary
DynamicsCon LIVE 2023 in Scottsdale represented a major leap forward for the event — nearly doubling attendance, doubling the number of session rooms, introducing a groundbreaking cross-product track, and expanding the sponsor expo significantly. With the move to Denver and a larger venue for 2024, the DUG community is clearly on an exciting growth trajectory. If you have ideas for future events, Molly and the team are listening — drop your suggestions in the comments!
