Microsoft Dynamics Profile: A developer's perspective on portals and the growing business apps stack

Colin Vermander transitioned from .NET development for Windows and SharePoint to developing solutions built on the Dynamics CRM and Dynamics 365 Portal platform. As Dynamics has evolved, so has Colin's career and his work with clients. Since joining Adxstudio in 2012, his job description has evolved. He's now a Microsoft MVP and director of software engineering for KPMG Canada with a focus on Dynamics 365 Portal and related applications in the Business Applications suite.

As his career has evolved, the community has also continued changing. There are new possibilities for customer solutions and demands for new skills and knowledge that professionals need to develop.

Colin spoke with MSDW about managing software projects, building portals, and staying current with Microsoft technology.

Building a career as a .NET developer

Colin who is today known for his Dynamics 365 Portal technical expertise, started his career setting up Windows and SharePoint servers and discovered the Dynamics product line while configuring Dynamics CRM for a client. When he met Nancie Calder, a managing partner at Adxstudio, the firm that originally developed the product now known as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Portal, he took the opportunity to immerse himself in portals development built on the Dynamics CRM platform. He explained:

I was always very web development focused in the ASP.NET stack. I took [the portals opportunity] and ran with it. Over the three or four years until Microsoft acquired Adxstudio I built a hundred portals on Dynamics CRM. It was very interesting work. [I met] many different groups and had so many opportunities to do so many different things.

He eventually moved on to management and training roles, holding workshops and eventually leading a dev team. As the company grew, so did his leadership opportunities.