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Microsoft Partnering with Dominion for DMX system

When the rumors became reality this morning about Dominion releasing a DMS at NADA this year I was delighted!  I had multiple people email me, call me, tweet and even text me asking if we knew about the "BIG NEWS!" and they all asked how I feel about it.

And then I read Ralph Paglia's post.  What an absolute pollution of the industry some posts have become and this one in my humble opinion tops the list as the most poorly written blog post in history.  If you're going to get all emotional and sprinkle the internet with your bathroom opinions, do it there.  Why would I say something this bold?  Allow me a moment to explain the reality of what is going on instead of the garbage you might read elsewhere.

Microsoft doesn't build DMS systems, they empower their partners who have earned Microsoft's respect.  The relationship between Microsoft and Dominion is simple, Dominion is a member of the Microsoft Partner Network.  This means that Dominion has access to people, resources and insight that is not easily available to other companies.  Reynolds had a relationship with Microsoft prior and Reynolds decided at the time that the movement to the internet and web based DMS computing wasn't in Reynold's best interest.  I've looked for the press release but am unable to find it at this time.  Perhaps if I do find it, I'll pos that in the comments below.  That's right, it was Reynold's CEO who made this decision and they burned Microsoft big but more importantly the dealer was left holding hope in a Red Solo Cup only to be filled later on by some other provider we all hoped.

With respect to the MSDMS that was anticipated at NADA in or around 2005, John Reed was a Microsoft employee endorsing a Microsoft Partner called MSDMS that used Microsoft Dynamics to build out what could be implemented as a DMS replacement.  MSDMS was a Euro company and did/does business outside of the U.S. and does very well.  The DMS business in fact outside of the U.S. is quite lucrative for many Microsoft Partners.

When the MSDMS product didn't get the traction necessary to really win dealer adoption in the U.S. the fellows went back to their jobs and powered dealers outside of the U.S. and they do quite well.

But wait, a company that Dominion bought, ACS acquired the rights to sell MSDMS in the United States as shown in this ADM post from 2009.  http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/msdms-1

Well, guess what?  That means that John Reed has been working with companies from all over the world in an attempt to gain interest by Microsoft to support a Dynamics based DMS.  Yep, he hasn't been floating, he's been working hard to get all the stars aligned and get dealers another viable option for a DMS.

My hat is off to you John for sticking with it since 2002 and now 10 years later you have aligned all of your resources, partners and the support of the mammoth Microsoft to give dealers options that will make sense.

Thank you for your dedication to excellence and for not giving up on our dealers.  We look forward to working with DMX and we look forward to supporting and promoting your product.


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