I am a Theme Lead who is passionate about what I do. Through my website, I discuss my role and all the wonderful things about Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. I’m also the founder of the Dynamics 365 and Power Platform user group in Reading.
Hello there! I’m Areti Iles and I work as Theme Lead within the Financial Services (FSI) Business Unit at Incremental Group.
I have worked in the industry for over 10 years and in that time have been involved in a number of large-scale Dynamics 365 implementations with FTSE 250/500 companies in the Financial Services, Insurance, Healthcare, Legal, Manufacturing, Government and Event Management sectors.
I haven’t always been a consultant. Prior to joining a Microsoft partner, I specialised in IT programme management and have 5 years of client-facing experience within the Not-for-Profit, Facilities Management and Wholesale Distribution industries in a CRM management capacity.
The Website
Earlier this year, I launched my own website where you can find out more about me and the projects I have worked on. More importantly, having my own website has allowed me to start a blog on Dynamics 365, the Power Platform and other weird and wonderful things I discover on my IT journey.
Goals
My hope is that by sharing things I discover about the platform, while building new solutions, it will enable others to avoid the same issues quicker.
I also hope that I can use my blog to help people understand more about what it is like working for a Microsoft partner and what consultants do. Switching from a client-facing role to consultancy is something people may be considering, however, there isn’t a lot of information out there to help people make that transition or aid them at the start of their journey. My blog aims to change that.
Future ambitions
My hope for the future of my website is that my content can help other consultants to solve similar issues they come across while using, customising and configuring Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform.
We are all building solutions on the same platform and I know that when I come across an oddity, someone else has faced the same issue. Getting the information out there ‘in the wild’ is the best way we can help each other.
Final musings
Creating a website and a blog is one way to get involved with the Dynamics 365 and Power Platform community and help others out but there are so many other ways to do this. I encourage everyone to share their experiences.
No matter how long you have worked within the industry, or the way in which you are involved, everyone has something to offer. You can get involved in local user groups, IT conferences (like the South Coast Summit and Scottish Summit), hackathons and even pub quizzes.
If you would like to find out more about my website or how to get involved with the D365 and Power Platform community, please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. Or, if you are looking for a Microsoft Partner to assist you on your digital transformation journey, then please get in touch.