About Me

Hello! I’m Alex Dan — a Solution Architect, Microsoft Certified Trainer, technology enthusiast, and someone who genuinely enjoys figuring out how all the pieces of the Microsoft ecosystem can work together.

For more than 10 years, I’ve been designing and implementing business applications, CRM platforms, integrations, automation and, increasingly, AI-powered solutions.

Today, most of my work lives somewhere at the intersection of Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Azure and Generative AI.

Sometimes that means designing an enterprise CRM architecture. Sometimes it means connecting Dynamics 365 with SAP or another backend system. And sometimes it means asking an AI agent to do something slightly ambitious just to find out where the limits really are.

What I Do

I help organizations turn business requirements into solutions that are useful, scalable and maintainable.

That sounds simple. In real projects, of course, there are usually a few security roles, integrations, legacy systems, mysterious Excel files and “small requirements” hiding somewhere along the way.

My job is to bring those pieces together and design an architecture that makes sense — both technically and from a business perspective.

  • Dynamics 365 – Sales, Customer Service, Contact Center, Field Service, Project Operations and Customer Engagement scenarios.
  • Microsoft Power Platform – Dataverse, Power Apps, Power Automate, governance, ALM and enterprise application architecture.
  • Microsoft Copilot & Copilot Studio – AI agents, conversational experiences, tools, actions, knowledge sources and business process automation.
  • Azure & AI – Azure AI services, Generative AI, Azure OpenAI, AI architecture and integration scenarios.
  • Integrations – Connecting Dynamics 365 and Dataverse with ERP platforms, SAP, APIs, Azure services and enterprise systems.
  • Architecture & Envisioning – Workshops, solution blueprints, fit-gap analysis, prototypes, demonstrations and implementation roadmaps.

My Professional Journey

One of the things I value most about my career is that I’ve had the opportunity to look at technology from several different angles: implementation, architecture, product ownership, presales, consulting and training.

  • Solution Architect at ORBIS Schweiz AG – Designing and delivering Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform solutions for enterprise customers.
  • Freelance Solution Architect & Microsoft Certified Trainer – Supporting customers with architecture, envisioning, workshops, AI, Copilot, Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.
  • Technical Specialist at Microsoft – Helping customers understand what is possible with Microsoft Business Applications and translating business challenges into technical solutions.
  • Technical Sales Manager at Avanade – Designing solution concepts, supporting complex sales engagements and advising customers on Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.
  • Technical Product Owner at SoftwareOne – Managing custom applications and integration scenarios supporting more than 2,000 users.

Having worked on both the customer-facing and implementation sides of projects has taught me something important: a great demo is not automatically a great architecture — and a technically perfect architecture is not useful if nobody wants to use it.

AI, Copilot & Where Things Are Going

This is probably the part of technology I’m most excited about right now.

We are moving from applications where users mainly enter information toward systems where AI can understand context, retrieve knowledge, automate actions and actively participate in business processes.

That changes the architecture conversation.

It is no longer only about forms, tables, plugins, flows and APIs. We also need to think about agents, grounding, prompts, tools, knowledge, orchestration, security, governance and responsible AI.

I spend a lot of time experimenting with Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Azure AI and Generative AI to understand not only what works in a demo, but what can realistically be used in an enterprise environment.

And yes, occasionally the most interesting discoveries start with: “I wonder what happens if I try this…”

Architecture First. Technology Second.

I like new technology, but I don’t believe every problem needs a new technology.

My approach normally starts with a few simple questions:

  • What business problem are we actually trying to solve?
  • Who is going to use the solution?
  • What can we achieve with standard functionality?
  • Where does customization genuinely add value?
  • What needs to integrate with what?
  • How will we operate and maintain this solution two years from now?
  • And increasingly: where can AI actually improve the process rather than simply making it look more futuristic?

I prefer standard capabilities before customization, pragmatic architecture before unnecessary complexity, and measurable business value before impressive-looking technology diagrams.

Training & Knowledge Sharing

I’ve been a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) for several years, and teaching has strongly influenced the way I work as an architect.

If an architecture cannot be explained in a way that business stakeholders, developers and consultants can understand, it is probably more complicated than it needs to be.

I enjoy running workshops, mentoring teams, demonstrating new capabilities and translating highly technical concepts into something people can actually work with.

Education & Certifications

I hold a Master of Science in International Business Administration from the University of Vienna and completed professional education in Data Science and Machine Learning through MIT Professional Education.

Over the years I have also collected quite a few Microsoft certifications. Fortunately, Microsoft Learn stores them digitally, otherwise I might need another room just for certificates.

Some of my certifications include:

  • Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 + Power Platform Solution Architect Expert
  • Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate
  • Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate
  • Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate
  • Microsoft Azure architecture and infrastructure certifications
  • Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT)
  • Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO I)
  • Professional Scrum Master (PSM I)
  • SAFe Product Owner / Product Manager (POPM)

View my Microsoft certification transcript →

Why This Website Exists

I created this website to share things I learn while working with Microsoft technologies.

Some articles are based on customer scenarios. Others come from experiments, technical limitations, new Microsoft features or situations where something behaved completely differently from what the documentation suggested it should do.

I’m particularly interested in writing about Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Copilot Studio, AI agents, Azure AI, Contact Center, integrations and solution architecture.

I try to go beyond “here is a new feature” and instead look at questions such as:

  • Where would I actually use this?
  • What are the limitations?
  • What happens when you put it into a real enterprise architecture?
  • And, perhaps most importantly, what happens when users start using it in ways nobody expected?

If you work with Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Copilot, Azure or AI — or simply enjoy discussing where enterprise technology is going — feel free to connect with me.

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