February 3, 2025 • 46 mins
In this episode, we sit down with Adeline Leow, Founder of Smarter D365 Ltd and Microsoft Certified Trainer, to explore her inspiring career journey from the world of finance to running her own business in the Microsoft ecosystem. Adeline shares insights on transitioning from corporate giants like IBM and JP Morgan to becoming a leading consultant and trainer in Dynamics 365 Business Central.
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(00:01):
Adeline, thank you so much for coming on.
The reason we wanted you on is obviously
I've known you for quite a while from
back in my like old school recruiter days,
we have spoken over the phone several times
and it was so lovely to get to
meet you in person at various events and
you've had a really established career within finance
working at the likes of IBM and then
you ended up working within the NAV space
(00:23):
or BC space for just over a decade
now.
How does and I really wanted you on
here to see how does somebody from go
from finance to working for Microsoft and now
running their own business within this Microsoft space
that's growing from strength to strength.
So welcome to the pod, thank you so
much for coming on Madeline.
Thank you very much Imogen, it's an honour
and a pleasure to be here.
(00:45):
Great, great.
So I mean I think one of the
most amazing things about yourself is your story
really.
So did you want to tell the pod
listeners a little bit about who you are,
where your background's from and you know how
you ended up from finance to working for
Microsoft.
So tell everybody a little bit background there.
(01:07):
All right, I'm Adelina, I come from Singapore
originally and when I was very young when
I met my then husband, he's English and
he brought me over to this country, to
England.
So I live in England now for many,
(01:27):
many, many years, more years than I've lived
in Singapore.
Two lovely kids but when I first got
over here I couldn't work because of visa
and I fell pregnant and so I had
two lovely babies that I was looking after
and then you know I was a housewife
(01:51):
and when the kids started going to school,
so to be honest like because I came
over so young, I didn't have a lot
of education background.
I only had GCSE, you know like in
the equivalent old days they were called old
levels, yeah secondary and that was it.
(02:13):
And when the kids started school, I found
myself like what do I do, you know,
I didn't want to be a housewife.
Nothing wrong with being a housewife, I really
respect housewives, yeah, but I wanted more and
so I let you in on a little
(02:37):
secret.
I actually started as a cleaner because I
didn't know what to do and I didn't
really know the country and you know I
was living in a village so I started
going around to people's houses in the village
cleaning their properties but then I then decided
(02:58):
no, I want a proper, you know, nothing
wrong with being a cleaner but I wanted
something more so I started night school.
I did AAT so when the kids were,
you know, after school, look after them.
(03:19):
When the husband came back, I'll go off
to night school and yeah and did AAT
and then at weekends I would hold down,
I started getting like a little bureau de
change, money changing, you know, yeah and I
(03:41):
got a little job there and then IBM
came along.
They wanted a payroll clerk so I applied
and I got the job.
I was, I just finished my AAT then
and yeah and then I stayed at IBM
and they then funded my ACCA training and
(04:06):
that's when from payroll I then went into
finance.
I worked for the finance department in IBM
and I did my ACCA there and I
qualified so I was like knee-deep in
finance but the good thing at IBM also
was I learned SQL, SQL, a little bit
(04:31):
of it.
I'm not like amazing at it but I
did understand and I did know how to
write reports, you know.
I guess that's what landed me the next
job because I was a call by a
company who was looking for an accountant and
a, someone who knows a little bit of,
(04:55):
you know, ERP systems and they wanted someone
to look after, be a systems administrator basically
and they made me an offer I couldn't
refuse.
So this was going back 20 years.
So I've been in finance over 25 years
(05:16):
now, all my life but in 20 years
ago I kind of went into the what
I'll call FinTech, yeah, finance technology because that's
where I got exposed to Oracle then.
In those days it was, I was looking
after Oracle but that company then decided that
(05:39):
they wanted to implement NAV.
In those days it was Navision, it was
called version 3.8. Yeah, that's how long
ago it was and so I was the
project manager, super user administrator, did everything basically,
(06:01):
rolled the whole project out.
Once the project was rolled out, I was
approached by JP Morgan, they wanted my banking,
well my, actually my finance skills and the
fact that I know IT.
So I went into banking for a while.
(06:23):
I left, after I finished the project, you
know, I thought yeah I need a little
bit more.
I always, I'm always challenging myself.
Yeah.
But I really did not like JP Morgan.
I'm sorry to say nothing wrong with the
people there, people were lovely, culture was okay.
(06:45):
I think it was just the distance, having
to travel everywhere.
You know, I was up to London, down
to Bournemouth and whatever.
Yeah, it's a lot.
And trends were definitely not as, well I
say good as they are now, but they
definitely wouldn't have been back then.
Yes.
Would have taken a long time, yeah.
Yeah.
And it was at that point that I
(07:05):
decided, you know what, I've had enough of
working in corporate space, commercial.
Yeah.
And so when I was studying for my
ACCA, it was at, then it was called
FTC, it's now called Kaplan.
(07:27):
Yes, yeah.
So the tutors who used to teach me
called me and said, you know, you've got
all this real world experience, all that, do
you want to get your hand in teaching?
I'm like, okay, yeah, sure.
Yeah.
So I ditched all my skill sets, everything
(07:51):
I've, you know, learned in the IT side
and went into teaching.
But I loved it.
And I taught finance for a long time.
Why do you think that you enjoyed it
though, Adeline?
Like, what gave you that satisfaction?
It's definitely the fact to see all these
students, you know, these cohorts excel.
(08:14):
Yeah.
Where you see them progressing, you know.
And like myself, when I first started, and
then achieving what they achieve, getting their chartered,
you know, membership.
Yeah.
And obviously, you know how much that graft,
that takes to get into any finance, which
(08:38):
is why I believe, and you probably will
agree with me, that anyone who comes from
the finance space is already grafted so hard
to get their qualifications that having RP implementation
is a walk in the park sometimes, sometimes.
Yes.
Maybe not back then when it was when
it was no vision.
I think I must say, having that finance
(08:59):
background, but also having that commercial background made,
allowed me to kind of provide that sort
of training, you know, when I'm teaching, I'm
training, any subject in finance, I could then
draw on my experience and come up with
(09:20):
stories.
Yeah, the students, even now, like 10 years
on some of them, when I bump into
them, right in London or anywhere, they recognise
me, they go, Adeline, Mrs. Barbie.
Because I used to use, I used to
kind of use Barbie dolls and, you know,
(09:42):
to teach kind of like machines and production
metaphors that they could understand, rather than just
from a book.
Yeah, that makes sense.
I mean, that's the great thing about a
teacher is being able to speak the student's
language and actually put it into real world
terms that they understand rather than just being
like, Pythagoras, you know what I mean?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(10:04):
And that's where I think, you know, having
that finance background, having that project management role
in implementing a project on NAV, then, and
other projects, when I was at JP, and
then all this training, that kind of accumulated
(10:27):
my skills.
And it was like, after 20 years of
training, the industry has changed, you know, online's
come on a lot.
And there wasn't that much of a face
to face interaction anymore, in the classroom.
And I was a, and I was very
(10:48):
late in my career, to be fair, you
know, I was in my late 40s, when
I decided, I'll go back to tech again.
So again, you came with a real world
experience.
And you're not coming, not like it's a
bad thing, anyone can go into technology at
any time.
(11:08):
But I've supported people who have been very
well established finance directors, or CFOs, and then
they've gone down to be a junior NAV
consultant, because they were like, actually, I need
something new, I need something different.
And, you know, I love the tech side.
So let's explore that.
Yeah, do that.
So yeah, it's very similar.
But it shows that any at any time,
(11:29):
just chase your dreams, corny to say, but
you've got to do it.
You've got to do it.
Yes, yeah.
And I've never regretted it.
Yeah, I love what I'm doing now.
Absolutely love it.
Yeah.
And why do you think that is, then?
Why do you like, why do you love
it so much?
Because whenever I see you, you're always happy,
(11:50):
which I think is just part of your
personality.
But you know, some, some people in this
space can be a little bit grumpy.
So don't get me wrong.
I do get stressed.
I do get stressed.
And I, you know, behind closed doors, sometimes
I'm like, ranting and raving.
Understandable.
I think any job brings out.
(12:12):
Yeah.
But why would you say that you love
it so much?
Yeah, I love it.
Because even, you know, the whole journey, like
helping a client, going through from start to
finish of a project implementation, because I'm, I
get, don't think bored is the right word,
(12:32):
but I need challenges.
You know, I'm that sort of personality that
I want to, I can't just do the
same thing.
I have this sort of like, well, Microsoft
has this word called growth mindset.
Yeah.
And I think that that's very typical me.
I need to challenge myself, learn more, learn
(12:56):
anything, really.
And that's why, yeah, I love being so
I started as junior consultant, you know, back,
I went to the NAF people then.
That was, yeah, everybody knows the NAF people.
(13:17):
And, yeah, and, you know, you get all
this variety of calls.
And so I started in support.
You get all these support questions.
Was it first line that you would have
started in then?
Or was it?
Well, they had a great culture, you just
(13:37):
pick any support calls that come in, look
at it and think, okay, I'll try and
solve it.
Or Oh, I know the answer.
I'll solve it.
Yeah.
But I would try and push myself and
look at that and go, I like, that's
a challenge.
Let's try So that's what I would do.
Just and they started throwing me baby projects,
(14:02):
you know?
Okay.
Yeah.
So have a baby project.
And it was just finance.
And it was NAF 2016 for a small
business.
And that's how I got back into the
business now called business central world, you know?
(14:23):
Yeah, I love I love the whole journey
where I'll go visit the client, understand their
pain points, you know, and then try and
come up with the right solution that would
fix their pain point.
Yeah.
And the best is when you know, the
project go live, and the feedback is fantastic.
(14:44):
And and you know that if you've crafted
the whole solution correctly, and I think like,
also the training bit, because of my background,
being able to train users, how to use
the system, and have them, you know, come
back and say, love it, love, love the
(15:06):
system.
And that's, that's the thing, because, you know,
the business central is a product.
It's just a product.
It is how you deliver that product, how
you so get people to embrace that.
Yep.
I agree.
They definitely do.
And I've, I mean, I've been in the
(15:27):
VC space since 2018.
Obviously, working with hundreds and hundreds of customers,
hundreds of consultants, through my recruiter background.
And I cannot tell you the amount of
times I spoke to an FD or somebody
who were like, yeah, just can't get the
team to change or to use the system.
And I'm like, okay, so user adoption.
And that's why our, our bosses, obviously created
(15:49):
a user adoption programme, because that's, you can
have bleach in the cupboard.
But if you don't use it, your house
isn't going to be clean.
You know?
Yes, exactly.
And that's the user adoption.
It's how most implementations fail at the end
of it, or more heavy customisation.
So they've not actually managed the user expectations.
And they've just created the same system that
they've been using for the past 20 years.
(16:09):
So they're the two biggest downfalls, aren't they?
And it's, it's madness, because to us, it's
common sense.
You buy something, you learn how to use
it.
But some people, they're just so against it,
aren't they?
And the, I suppose a lot of consultants,
unlike yourself, don't necessarily enjoy that side of
the business.
They'd rather, they love the techie, like the
more hands-on a bit, doing all the
f**k of house.
(16:30):
They don't really see the value in the
training.
So yeah, it's mental, isn't it?
I see every aspect.
I think, like, no, the implementation is, you
know, the solution itself, crafting it right, is
important.
But the training itself is, I think, even
more important.
You know, actually, like, getting the message across
(16:53):
that.
And it's not saying, just press F8.
It's about, I like to take the user
on a journey and say, you know, why
you're doing what you're doing, how you're doing
this, and what's the implication.
(17:15):
And that's where I think the whole training
background for the last 20, you know, in
the 20 years, that, that's helped me a
lot with project, with Business Central, and the
whole project implementation, training, yeah.
Yeah, I agree.
And I do think people within finance need
(17:35):
to know how things work out to understand
it.
Like, I think that's a mindset.
So you've definitely got that advantage as well,
where you can work things out because you
understand how it works.
And I've got a lot of friends in
finance, and they're very similar to that.
So yeah, it's obviously really exciting.
And, I mean, one of the things I
was keen to really found out is about
what is the most challenging thing you're doing
(17:57):
at the minute?
Or what's the most exciting project you're doing
at the moment?
Or have planned for 2025?
Have you got anything coming up with your
company?
Oh, gosh, yes.
I started the business last June, actually.
I decided.
Yeah, I decided.
So I, my, the highlight of my career
(18:18):
was being employed by Microsoft to look after
the Business Central partners.
But last June, I decided that, right, I'm
gonna start my own.
Because I, I really love the training bit.
(18:39):
I love evangelising Business Central.
But I also love the training part of
it.
And so I started this business to four
partners.
But you know, God knows where long term
will lead.
Maybe you give us some customers as well.
(18:59):
But the idea is to help partners, any
type of partners in the Microsoft space.
And I would love helping.
I think like helping partners that want to
get into the Business Central space.
That's, those are the, that's like what this
business is about.
(19:19):
So I've teamed up with SmarterD365, I've teamed
up with TD Synax.
And we've got a programme, which 365 Talent
is also part of.
Yeah, it's been good, hasn't it?
So far, excellent programme, the Practise Accelerator programme.
And then is your training site, is that
also called Accelerate?
(19:41):
Remind me what that one's called.
They've called it Business Central Technical Training, hasn't
it?
Yeah.
Yes.
Inspiring title.
I love it though.
I mean, it says, it does what it
says on the tin, I guess.
And that's why your business is going so
successful, because there are so many organisations coming
into the BC space.
(20:01):
But it is, again, quite a difficult thing
to challenge.
There's a lot of compete partners coming in,
which is amazing to see, because they understand
the ERP side.
But there's obviously a lot of modern work
as well.
And that's a totally different kettle of fish.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Which, again, it's something to be excited about.
(20:22):
And I'm, you know, I love being in
the BC space.
I am biassed.
I obviously have doubled in other ERPs.
I've doubled in.
I do a lot of co-pilots at
the minute, which I do love.
But BC, I just think it's got a
little place in my heart.
And probably the same for you.
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And that's why I decided that much as
I love, you know, being at Microsoft, doing
(20:42):
business apps.
Very cool.
My heart is business central.
So I decided that's it.
Anything, everything business central, we will pick up.
Our business, Smarter D365 will pick up.
So yeah, we're doing the training.
We are also helping partners with implementation.
(21:06):
But what's most exciting for this year is
we are working on an extension, which we
hope will be valuable to a lot of
partners.
So, yeah.
And I guess in terms of the technical
side, is it just technical training or do
(21:27):
you have any, say, salesy training or anything
like that coming?
Because obviously, technical is difficult and you are
teaching people how to actually pass the exam,
but understand the theory behind it, understand what
it means and why they do it, which
is key, rather than just people going on
to MS Learn and trying to digest all
that information and then just learning how to
(21:48):
pass the exam.
Because that's the issue, is that sometimes that
can be difficult because you have the theory
and then obviously you don't have the application
of the theory.
So, it's good that you guys are tackling
that issue.
What else have you got going on then?
So, I've got pre-sales training.
Now, I'm not trying to step on, yeah,
I'm not trying to step on like salespeople
(22:10):
shoes, but it's more about on how to
demonstrate business central, how to sell the benefits
and what to do in business central to
make it so really quick wins, you know.
Because I think, yeah, from a pre-sales
(22:31):
perspective, that is a skill set that I've,
I mean, anyone within the BC space has
always struggled to find.
So, when you, when I last checked, it
was probably last 2023, there was actually only
about six people on the whole of LinkedIn
within the United Kingdom who had that skill
set in their job title.
Obviously, people have that skill set, they just
don't necessarily say about it.
(22:52):
But yeah, so that's an in-demand something
that a lot of consultants need or the
companies really need to invest in.
So, it's exciting that you guys are doing
a specific module for that.
Yeah, that's exciting.
Yes, and you know, it, I know how
pressure, how pressurised it is to do a
demo.
(23:12):
Yeah.
You know, to win a prospect.
But I think the, what I've learned over
the years is not to sell the business,
you know, how some of them, they go
on about how great, how wonderful their business
is.
(23:33):
That's not what the prospect wants to hear.
They just want to see the product.
And you just have to sell, this product
can make your pain points go away.
It can automate everything, less time wasted, less
mistakes, less human error.
And obviously, it's all of the data and
(23:53):
everything like that.
So, that's an issue in itself.
We could probably spend another two hours talking
about that.
But yeah, I mean, pre-sales is definitely
something difficult, doing the demos.
I've heard some horror stories as well from
other, from people who have been demoing like
other ERP systems and they've come in and
been like, oh, sorry, it's going really slowly.
And they're like, oh yeah, it does this
(24:14):
all the time.
And I'm like, why would the person say
that?
I've made those mistakes.
I've made those mistakes, you know.
And I've learned all the hacks, all the
tips and tricks of what not to do.
Yeah.
And also not to say that the system
could do something that it can't do.
(24:35):
That's another thing that can happen.
There's a few funny memes going around on
LinkedIn about that at the minute, it makes
me chuckle.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Fantastic.
But yeah, it's exciting.
And obviously, Smarter365 came out of yourself.
(24:55):
Is it just you as a team or
have you got a whole squad behind you
now?
I've got a very small team at the
moment, but yes, I've got Leah.
She's the solution architect in Business Central and
FNO or FNSEM now it's called.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(25:15):
So maybe next year, you might see FNSEM
as a product.
That's exciting.
One of the other things I think would
be really interesting to pick your brains on
is how have you seen the product?
(25:35):
I mean, we know it's evolved quite significantly
and it's got so much better BC than
when I first started working with it.
But how has Business Central and the features
and the functionalities changed for the better?
Would you say that there's anything in particular
that you're really loving that they're releasing at
the moment?
Oh, there's so many things from like all
(25:57):
those years ago when you first log in
and it was just a grey screen.
And now it's like, wow, this is really
fancy.
You know, you can change your role and
all the queues change and you can make
a little bit of colour here.
And now they've brought in subscription billing.
(26:19):
And that's really exciting.
Yeah.
And the thing is, it's such a big
system and it's always evolving.
It's evergreen.
It's evolving.
And yeah, even I with all my years
of and I use the system every day,
I play with it every day, you know,
and I still hand on heart still can't
(26:41):
say I know it all.
And that's what's exciting for me.
You know, it's like, for example, the other
only the other day, I learned that the
UK depreciation methods are different from W1.
And I was like, what?
I never knew that.
(27:02):
I mean, I didn't know that either, but
I'm not spooked.
Yeah, yeah.
So, yeah, it's, it's really exciting to learn.
And then now with AI with the copilot.
I was going to ask what your opinions
on that is as well.
Ah, it's exciting because they're bringing in sales
(27:25):
order agent, aren't they?
Well, hoping to I know it's in private
preview, but...
Did we see a little demo at Directions
for that?
Or did I make that up?
Yes.
Yeah, that was pretty sick, wasn't it?
I really, really liked that.
That was slick, wasn't it?
And then they say, you know, under your
chair, the 100 tickets, did you get, did
you get the ticket?
Sadly not.
(27:45):
I did.
Jealous.
Jealous.
Ah, yeah, I was like, I was real
chuffed.
And then I ran to the, yeah.
Oh, yeah, you got my email and you've
messaged me.
That is pretty cool, you know.
Very impressive.
So that's obviously coming out so soon.
(28:06):
Well, I'm not sure, as you said, it's
in pre, like kind of user testing at
the minute, isn't it?
But pre-release.
It's private preview.
So, and it's only in US, in a
US environment.
So, unfortunately, you have to actually fill in
a form and request for the extension from
(28:28):
Microsoft.
Yeah.
Gosh, the Americans always get it all first,
don't they?
Are you joking?
But I remember when I used to call
people, but, oh, have you got BC yet?
Like different countries in Europe.
They'd be like, no, no.
And then I remember I was working with
a couple of companies in Ireland and they
still didn't have like BC at the time
when it had been released and we'd had
(28:49):
it for like a year in the UK.
And I was like, whoa.
But you forget, they've got to roll it
out themselves as well.
Interesting to know.
But yeah, I mean, for you with CoPilot,
and I think it's really important because a
lot of, some of the listeners on this
are also end user focused.
So I think there's a lot of fear
mongering around AI and it's definitely a buzzword
(29:10):
and it probably will be for the next
50 years.
And I even have like people in my
close friendship group who are like, I won't
even use like CoPilot because I'm scared of
it.
And I'm like, well, it's just, yeah, you
know, they don't work in fields where it's
fully tech driven.
Okay.
But they just don't really compare.
And I'm like, well, it's basically just a
glorified search tool.
So don't panic.
(29:31):
But what would you say to your students
or your users, you know, if you were
still back in the finance side, who were
a bit more worried about it or a
bit more anxious?
Is there anything that you would say to
them?
Oh, it's not a Skynet dominator, is it?
Yeah, it's not.
I agree.
I agree.
I've made that joke quite a lot when
(29:52):
I do my CoPilot training.
It's funny.
Well, to be fair, honestly.
Adeline, thank you so much for coming on.
The reason we wanted you on is obviously
I've known you for quite a while from
back in my like old school recruiter days,
we have spoken over the phone several times
and it was so lovely to get to
meet you in person at various events and
you've had a really established career within finance
working at the likes of IBM and then
you ended up working within the NAV space
(00:23):
or BC space for just over a decade
now.
How does and I really wanted you on
here to see how does somebody from go
from finance to working for Microsoft and now
running their own business within this Microsoft space
that's growing from strength to strength.
So welcome to the pod, thank you so
much for coming on Madeline.
Thank you very much Imogen, it's an honour
and a pleasure to be here.
(00:45):
Great, great.
So I mean I think one of the
most amazing things about yourself is your story
really.
So did you want to tell the pod
listeners a little bit about who you are,
where your background's from and you know how
you ended up from finance to working for
Microsoft.
So tell everybody a little bit background there.
(01:07):
All right, I'm Adelina, I come from Singapore
originally and when I was very young when
I met my then husband, he's English and
he brought me over to this country, to
England.
So I live in England now for many,
(01:27):
many, many years, more years than I've lived
in Singapore.
Two lovely kids but when I first got
over here I couldn't work because of visa
and I fell pregnant and so I had
two lovely babies that I was looking after
and then you know I was a housewife
(01:51):
and when the kids started going to school,
so to be honest like because I came
over so young, I didn't have a lot
of education background.
I only had GCSE, you know like in
the equivalent old days they were called old
levels, yeah secondary and that was it.
(02:13):
And when the kids started school, I found
myself like what do I do, you know,
I didn't want to be a housewife.
Nothing wrong with being a housewife, I really
respect housewives, yeah, but I wanted more and
so I let you in on a little
(02:37):
secret.
I actually started as a cleaner because I
didn't know what to do and I didn't
really know the country and you know I
was living in a village so I started
going around to people's houses in the village
cleaning their properties but then I then decided
(02:58):
no, I want a proper, you know, nothing
wrong with being a cleaner but I wanted
something more so I started night school.
I did AAT so when the kids were,
you know, after school, look after them.
(03:19):
When the husband came back, I'll go off
to night school and yeah and did AAT
and then at weekends I would hold down,
I started getting like a little bureau de
change, money changing, you know, yeah and I
(03:41):
got a little job there and then IBM
came along.
They wanted a payroll clerk so I applied
and I got the job.
I was, I just finished my AAT then
and yeah and then I stayed at IBM
and they then funded my ACCA training and
(04:06):
that's when from payroll I then went into
finance.
I worked for the finance department in IBM
and I did my ACCA there and I
qualified so I was like knee-deep in
finance but the good thing at IBM also
was I learned SQL, SQL, a little bit
(04:31):
of it.
I'm not like amazing at it but I
did understand and I did know how to
write reports, you know.
I guess that's what landed me the next
job because I was a call by a
company who was looking for an accountant and
a, someone who knows a little bit of,
(04:55):
you know, ERP systems and they wanted someone
to look after, be a systems administrator basically
and they made me an offer I couldn't
refuse.
So this was going back 20 years.
So I've been in finance over 25 years
(05:16):
now, all my life but in 20 years
ago I kind of went into the what
I'll call FinTech, yeah, finance technology because that's
where I got exposed to Oracle then.
In those days it was, I was looking
after Oracle but that company then decided that
(05:39):
they wanted to implement NAV.
In those days it was Navision, it was
called version 3.8. Yeah, that's how long
ago it was and so I was the
project manager, super user administrator, did everything basically,
(06:01):
rolled the whole project out.
Once the project was rolled out, I was
approached by JP Morgan, they wanted my banking,
well my, actually my finance skills and the
fact that I know IT.
So I went into banking for a while.
(06:23):
I left, after I finished the project, you
know, I thought yeah I need a little
bit more.
I always, I'm always challenging myself.
Yeah.
But I really did not like JP Morgan.
I'm sorry to say nothing wrong with the
people there, people were lovely, culture was okay.
(06:45):
I think it was just the distance, having
to travel everywhere.
You know, I was up to London, down
to Bournemouth and whatever.
Yeah, it's a lot.
And trends were definitely not as, well I
say good as they are now, but they
definitely wouldn't have been back then.
Yes.
Would have taken a long time, yeah.
Yeah.
And it was at that point that I
(07:05):
decided, you know what, I've had enough of
working in corporate space, commercial.
Yeah.
And so when I was studying for my
ACCA, it was at, then it was called
FTC, it's now called Kaplan.
(07:27):
Yes, yeah.
So the tutors who used to teach me
called me and said, you know, you've got
all this real world experience, all that, do
you want to get your hand in teaching?
I'm like, okay, yeah, sure.
Yeah.
So I ditched all my skill sets, everything
(07:51):
I've, you know, learned in the IT side
and went into teaching.
But I loved it.
And I taught finance for a long time.
Why do you think that you enjoyed it
though, Adeline?
Like, what gave you that satisfaction?
It's definitely the fact to see all these
students, you know, these cohorts excel.
(08:14):
Yeah.
Where you see them progressing, you know.
And like myself, when I first started, and
then achieving what they achieve, getting their chartered,
you know, membership.
Yeah.
And obviously, you know how much that graft,
that takes to get into any finance, which
(08:38):
is why I believe, and you probably will
agree with me, that anyone who comes from
the finance space is already grafted so hard
to get their qualifications that having RP implementation
is a walk in the park sometimes, sometimes.
Yes.
Maybe not back then when it was when
it was no vision.
I think I must say, having that finance
(08:59):
background, but also having that commercial background made,
allowed me to kind of provide that sort
of training, you know, when I'm teaching, I'm
training, any subject in finance, I could then
draw on my experience and come up with
(09:20):
stories.
Yeah, the students, even now, like 10 years
on some of them, when I bump into
them, right in London or anywhere, they recognise
me, they go, Adeline, Mrs. Barbie.
Because I used to use, I used to
kind of use Barbie dolls and, you know,
(09:42):
to teach kind of like machines and production
metaphors that they could understand, rather than just
from a book.
Yeah, that makes sense.
I mean, that's the great thing about a
teacher is being able to speak the student's
language and actually put it into real world
terms that they understand rather than just being
like, Pythagoras, you know what I mean?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(10:04):
And that's where I think, you know, having
that finance background, having that project management role
in implementing a project on NAV, then, and
other projects, when I was at JP, and
then all this training, that kind of accumulated
(10:27):
my skills.
And it was like, after 20 years of
training, the industry has changed, you know, online's
come on a lot.
And there wasn't that much of a face
to face interaction anymore, in the classroom.
And I was a, and I was very
(10:48):
late in my career, to be fair, you
know, I was in my late 40s, when
I decided, I'll go back to tech again.
So again, you came with a real world
experience.
And you're not coming, not like it's a
bad thing, anyone can go into technology at
any time.
(11:08):
But I've supported people who have been very
well established finance directors, or CFOs, and then
they've gone down to be a junior NAV
consultant, because they were like, actually, I need
something new, I need something different.
And, you know, I love the tech side.
So let's explore that.
Yeah, do that.
So yeah, it's very similar.
But it shows that any at any time,
(11:29):
just chase your dreams, corny to say, but
you've got to do it.
You've got to do it.
Yes, yeah.
And I've never regretted it.
Yeah, I love what I'm doing now.
Absolutely love it.
Yeah.
And why do you think that is, then?
Why do you like, why do you love
it so much?
Because whenever I see you, you're always happy,
(11:50):
which I think is just part of your
personality.
But you know, some, some people in this
space can be a little bit grumpy.
So don't get me wrong.
I do get stressed.
I do get stressed.
And I, you know, behind closed doors, sometimes
I'm like, ranting and raving.
Understandable.
I think any job brings out.
(12:12):
Yeah.
But why would you say that you love
it so much?
Yeah, I love it.
Because even, you know, the whole journey, like
helping a client, going through from start to
finish of a project implementation, because I'm, I
get, don't think bored is the right word,
(12:32):
but I need challenges.
You know, I'm that sort of personality that
I want to, I can't just do the
same thing.
I have this sort of like, well, Microsoft
has this word called growth mindset.
Yeah.
And I think that that's very typical me.
I need to challenge myself, learn more, learn
(12:56):
anything, really.
And that's why, yeah, I love being so
I started as junior consultant, you know, back,
I went to the NAF people then.
That was, yeah, everybody knows the NAF people.
(13:17):
And, yeah, and, you know, you get all
this variety of calls.
And so I started in support.
You get all these support questions.
Was it first line that you would have
started in then?
Or was it?
Well, they had a great culture, you just
(13:37):
pick any support calls that come in, look
at it and think, okay, I'll try and
solve it.
Or Oh, I know the answer.
I'll solve it.
Yeah.
But I would try and push myself and
look at that and go, I like, that's
a challenge.
Let's try So that's what I would do.
Just and they started throwing me baby projects,
(14:02):
you know?
Okay.
Yeah.
So have a baby project.
And it was just finance.
And it was NAF 2016 for a small
business.
And that's how I got back into the
business now called business central world, you know?
(14:23):
Yeah, I love I love the whole journey
where I'll go visit the client, understand their
pain points, you know, and then try and
come up with the right solution that would
fix their pain point.
Yeah.
And the best is when you know, the
project go live, and the feedback is fantastic.
(14:44):
And and you know that if you've crafted
the whole solution correctly, and I think like,
also the training bit, because of my background,
being able to train users, how to use
the system, and have them, you know, come
back and say, love it, love, love the
(15:06):
system.
And that's, that's the thing, because, you know,
the business central is a product.
It's just a product.
It is how you deliver that product, how
you so get people to embrace that.
Yep.
I agree.
They definitely do.
And I've, I mean, I've been in the
(15:27):
VC space since 2018.
Obviously, working with hundreds and hundreds of customers,
hundreds of consultants, through my recruiter background.
And I cannot tell you the amount of
times I spoke to an FD or somebody
who were like, yeah, just can't get the
team to change or to use the system.
And I'm like, okay, so user adoption.
And that's why our, our bosses, obviously created
(15:49):
a user adoption programme, because that's, you can
have bleach in the cupboard.
But if you don't use it, your house
isn't going to be clean.
You know?
Yes, exactly.
And that's the user adoption.
It's how most implementations fail at the end
of it, or more heavy customisation.
So they've not actually managed the user expectations.
And they've just created the same system that
they've been using for the past 20 years.
(16:09):
So they're the two biggest downfalls, aren't they?
And it's, it's madness, because to us, it's
common sense.
You buy something, you learn how to use
it.
But some people, they're just so against it,
aren't they?
And the, I suppose a lot of consultants,
unlike yourself, don't necessarily enjoy that side of
the business.
They'd rather, they love the techie, like the
more hands-on a bit, doing all the
f**k of house.
(16:30):
They don't really see the value in the
training.
So yeah, it's mental, isn't it?
I see every aspect.
I think, like, no, the implementation is, you
know, the solution itself, crafting it right, is
important.
But the training itself is, I think, even
more important.
You know, actually, like, getting the message across
(16:53):
that.
And it's not saying, just press F8.
It's about, I like to take the user
on a journey and say, you know, why
you're doing what you're doing, how you're doing
this, and what's the implication.
(17:15):
And that's where I think the whole training
background for the last 20, you know, in
the 20 years, that, that's helped me a
lot with project, with Business Central, and the
whole project implementation, training, yeah.
Yeah, I agree.
And I do think people within finance need
(17:35):
to know how things work out to understand
it.
Like, I think that's a mindset.
So you've definitely got that advantage as well,
where you can work things out because you
understand how it works.
And I've got a lot of friends in
finance, and they're very similar to that.
So yeah, it's obviously really exciting.
And, I mean, one of the things I
was keen to really found out is about
what is the most challenging thing you're doing
(17:57):
at the minute?
Or what's the most exciting project you're doing
at the moment?
Or have planned for 2025?
Have you got anything coming up with your
company?
Oh, gosh, yes.
I started the business last June, actually.
I decided.
Yeah, I decided.
So I, my, the highlight of my career
(18:18):
was being employed by Microsoft to look after
the Business Central partners.
But last June, I decided that, right, I'm
gonna start my own.
Because I, I really love the training bit.
(18:39):
I love evangelising Business Central.
But I also love the training part of
it.
And so I started this business to four
partners.
But you know, God knows where long term
will lead.
Maybe you give us some customers as well.
(18:59):
But the idea is to help partners, any
type of partners in the Microsoft space.
And I would love helping.
I think like helping partners that want to
get into the Business Central space.
That's, those are the, that's like what this
business is about.
(19:19):
So I've teamed up with SmarterD365, I've teamed
up with TD Synax.
And we've got a programme, which 365 Talent
is also part of.
Yeah, it's been good, hasn't it?
So far, excellent programme, the Practise Accelerator programme.
And then is your training site, is that
also called Accelerate?
(19:41):
Remind me what that one's called.
They've called it Business Central Technical Training, hasn't
it?
Yeah.
Yes.
Inspiring title.
I love it though.
I mean, it says, it does what it
says on the tin, I guess.
And that's why your business is going so
successful, because there are so many organisations coming
into the BC space.
(20:01):
But it is, again, quite a difficult thing
to challenge.
There's a lot of compete partners coming in,
which is amazing to see, because they understand
the ERP side.
But there's obviously a lot of modern work
as well.
And that's a totally different kettle of fish.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Which, again, it's something to be excited about.
(20:22):
And I'm, you know, I love being in
the BC space.
I am biassed.
I obviously have doubled in other ERPs.
I've doubled in.
I do a lot of co-pilots at
the minute, which I do love.
But BC, I just think it's got a
little place in my heart.
And probably the same for you.
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And that's why I decided that much as
I love, you know, being at Microsoft, doing
(20:42):
business apps.
Very cool.
My heart is business central.
So I decided that's it.
Anything, everything business central, we will pick up.
Our business, Smarter D365 will pick up.
So yeah, we're doing the training.
We are also helping partners with implementation.
(21:06):
But what's most exciting for this year is
we are working on an extension, which we
hope will be valuable to a lot of
partners.
So, yeah.
And I guess in terms of the technical
side, is it just technical training or do
(21:27):
you have any, say, salesy training or anything
like that coming?
Because obviously, technical is difficult and you are
teaching people how to actually pass the exam,
but understand the theory behind it, understand what
it means and why they do it, which
is key, rather than just people going on
to MS Learn and trying to digest all
that information and then just learning how to
(21:48):
pass the exam.
Because that's the issue, is that sometimes that
can be difficult because you have the theory
and then obviously you don't have the application
of the theory.
So, it's good that you guys are tackling
that issue.
What else have you got going on then?
So, I've got pre-sales training.
Now, I'm not trying to step on, yeah,
I'm not trying to step on like salespeople
(22:10):
shoes, but it's more about on how to
demonstrate business central, how to sell the benefits
and what to do in business central to
make it so really quick wins, you know.
Because I think, yeah, from a pre-sales
(22:31):
perspective, that is a skill set that I've,
I mean, anyone within the BC space has
always struggled to find.
So, when you, when I last checked, it
was probably last 2023, there was actually only
about six people on the whole of LinkedIn
within the United Kingdom who had that skill
set in their job title.
Obviously, people have that skill set, they just
don't necessarily say about it.
(22:52):
But yeah, so that's an in-demand something
that a lot of consultants need or the
companies really need to invest in.
So, it's exciting that you guys are doing
a specific module for that.
Yeah, that's exciting.
Yes, and you know, it, I know how
pressure, how pressurised it is to do a
demo.
(23:12):
Yeah.
You know, to win a prospect.
But I think the, what I've learned over
the years is not to sell the business,
you know, how some of them, they go
on about how great, how wonderful their business
is.
(23:33):
That's not what the prospect wants to hear.
They just want to see the product.
And you just have to sell, this product
can make your pain points go away.
It can automate everything, less time wasted, less
mistakes, less human error.
And obviously, it's all of the data and
(23:53):
everything like that.
So, that's an issue in itself.
We could probably spend another two hours talking
about that.
But yeah, I mean, pre-sales is definitely
something difficult, doing the demos.
I've heard some horror stories as well from
other, from people who have been demoing like
other ERP systems and they've come in and
been like, oh, sorry, it's going really slowly.
And they're like, oh yeah, it does this
(24:14):
all the time.
And I'm like, why would the person say
that?
I've made those mistakes.
I've made those mistakes, you know.
And I've learned all the hacks, all the
tips and tricks of what not to do.
Yeah.
And also not to say that the system
could do something that it can't do.
(24:35):
That's another thing that can happen.
There's a few funny memes going around on
LinkedIn about that at the minute, it makes
me chuckle.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Fantastic.
But yeah, it's exciting.
And obviously, Smarter365 came out of yourself.
(24:55):
Is it just you as a team or
have you got a whole squad behind you
now?
I've got a very small team at the
moment, but yes, I've got Leah.
She's the solution architect in Business Central and
FNO or FNSEM now it's called.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(25:15):
So maybe next year, you might see FNSEM
as a product.
That's exciting.
One of the other things I think would
be really interesting to pick your brains on
is how have you seen the product?
(25:35):
I mean, we know it's evolved quite significantly
and it's got so much better BC than
when I first started working with it.
But how has Business Central and the features
and the functionalities changed for the better?
Would you say that there's anything in particular
that you're really loving that they're releasing at
the moment?
Oh, there's so many things from like all
(25:57):
those years ago when you first log in
and it was just a grey screen.
And now it's like, wow, this is really
fancy.
You know, you can change your role and
all the queues change and you can make
a little bit of colour here.
And now they've brought in subscription billing.
(26:19):
And that's really exciting.
Yeah.
And the thing is, it's such a big
system and it's always evolving.
It's evergreen.
It's evolving.
And yeah, even I with all my years
of and I use the system every day,
I play with it every day, you know,
and I still hand on heart still can't
(26:41):
say I know it all.
And that's what's exciting for me.
You know, it's like, for example, the other
only the other day, I learned that the
UK depreciation methods are different from W1.
And I was like, what?
I never knew that.
(27:02):
I mean, I didn't know that either, but
I'm not spooked.
Yeah, yeah.
So, yeah, it's, it's really exciting to learn.
And then now with AI with the copilot.
I was going to ask what your opinions
on that is as well.
Ah, it's exciting because they're bringing in sales
(27:25):
order agent, aren't they?
Well, hoping to I know it's in private
preview, but...
Did we see a little demo at Directions
for that?
Or did I make that up?
Yes.
Yeah, that was pretty sick, wasn't it?
I really, really liked that.
That was slick, wasn't it?
And then they say, you know, under your
chair, the 100 tickets, did you get, did
you get the ticket?
Sadly not.
(27:45):
I did.
Jealous.
Jealous.
Ah, yeah, I was like, I was real
chuffed.
And then I ran to the, yeah.
Oh, yeah, you got my email and you've
messaged me.
That is pretty cool, you know.
Very impressive.
So that's obviously coming out so soon.
(28:06):
Well, I'm not sure, as you said, it's
in pre, like kind of user testing at
the minute, isn't it?
But pre-release.
It's private preview.
So, and it's only in US, in a
US environment.
So, unfortunately, you have to actually fill in
a form and request for the extension from
(28:28):
Microsoft.
Yeah.
Gosh, the Americans always get it all first,
don't they?
Are you joking?
But I remember when I used to call
people, but, oh, have you got BC yet?
Like different countries in Europe.
They'd be like, no, no.
And then I remember I was working with
a couple of companies in Ireland and they
still didn't have like BC at the time
when it had been released and we'd had
(28:49):
it for like a year in the UK.
And I was like, whoa.
But you forget, they've got to roll it
out themselves as well.
Interesting to know.
But yeah, I mean, for you with CoPilot,
and I think it's really important because a
lot of, some of the listeners on this
are also end user focused.
So I think there's a lot of fear
mongering around AI and it's definitely a buzzword
(29:10):
and it probably will be for the next
50 years.
And I even have like people in my
close friendship group who are like, I won't
even use like CoPilot because I'm scared of
it.
And I'm like, well, it's just, yeah, you
know, they don't work in fields where it's
fully tech driven.
Okay.
But they just don't really compare.
And I'm like, well, it's basically just a
glorified search tool.
So don't panic.
(29:31):
But what would you say to your students
or your users, you know, if you were
still back in the finance side, who were
a bit more worried about it or a
bit more anxious?
Is there anything that you would say to
them?
Oh, it's not a Skynet dominator, is it?
Yeah, it's not.
I agree.
I agree.
I've made that joke quite a lot when
(29:52):
I do my CoPilot training.
It's funny.
Well, to be fair, honestly.
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