Anitha Eswaran's Journey: AI-Driven ERP

Mark Smith: 0:06
Welcome to the MVP show. My intention is that you listen to the stories of these MVP guests and are inspired to become an MVP and bring value to the world through your skills. If you have not checked it out already, I do a YouTube series called how to Become an MVP. The link is in the show notes. With that, let's get on with the show. Today's guest is from the United Kingdom. She works at Sonata Software Europe as a digital architect. She was first awarded her MVP in 2023, but she has 18 years experience in the dynamic space where her journey began with version three, I can assume, of MSCRM. Back then. Her blogging journey was inspired by her husband's dedication to blogging, which I love. You can find links to her bio social media in the show notes for this episode. Welcome to the show, Anita.

Anitha Eswaran: 1:07
Thank you, mark. Thanks for the introduction, hello all and thanks for hosting me to this show and my name is Anita Ishwaran. Just a quick recap of me about myself. I have 18 plus years of experience in AXEPTA, so it was called as AX in 18 years before, where we had a blue screen and we used to enter the password. And then that is how I started my career and, um, it's been 18 years and we had I had worked with various versions also like ax 3.0, then 4.2, then 5.2, then then it started, then it I mean there are lots of versions coming on right.

Anitha Eswaran: 1:50
Then alongside I started also got chance to work with the integration, also because integration plays a major role, because nowadays there is no system which is a standalone. You need to communicate with the other, and that is where the integration took me to a higher, the next level, where I could learn a lot of various technologies, because this is an Alphanau and it has to speak to different system. So then I need to promote. I mean, in order to speak to my clients, then I need to get various technology ideas. So that is how I started my journey. Then I thought I can share my learnings with our community and that is where my blog started, which got inspired from my husband.

Mark Smith: 2:36
Interesting. So let's just start with three things I like to always start with, which is food, family and fun, before we get into the technology side of things. So tell me a bit about you in that respect.

Anitha Eswaran: 2:50
Yeah, I'm from India. I did all my schooling in Coimbatore, tamil Nadu, and from there I moved to UK. It's been five years before and I have got I married for 14 years and I have been blessed with twin boys. They are 13 years old and having a good time with family and, of course, being a busy mom and somehow spending time with the family where we will be able to. I mean, all the stress will go out if you spend the time with the family, right, that is where the family is almost like a stress buster and luckily, since my husband is also from the same technology, I will be able to share all my ideas or troubles or whatever challenges I have. At least I will share it with him and he's so good in giving me the ideas or sometimes, the solution. See, it proves like if you speak to your partner, you will be able to, whether you get the solution or not, but at least you will feel light, okay, there is somebody to have you, there is a listening ear for you.

Anitha Eswaran: 3:53
So blessed to have a family like this, and even my sons support me a lot during my whenever I have a blog, because you need to spend some time in writing the blogs and recently I have started the channel also. So they support me a lot. Being now they are grown up, obviously they will trouble me, but still they support me in all my community activities. And regarding food, we are purely vegetarian and we don't venture outside much. We we prefer to have home. Home is heaven for us. We prefer to stay indoors and at least maybe a couple of months two months we will go out and then venture outside, have some fun, but most of the time we prefer to be at home spending time together.

Mark Smith: 4:39
Nice, nice, and so purely vegetarian. Are you mainly cooking Indian-based dishes, then?

Anitha Eswaran: 4:46
in that respect, yes, mainly Indian-based, but now, since we are living in UK, so I have also learned to prefer because my kids they prefer varieties and so for their sake, I started learning the UK-based vegetarian dishes, the UK-based vegetarian dishes, and they love it because it's just another idea where I can bring all the other cooking stuffs here and at times it becomes a flop, but most of the time it is good and they say it's good, ma.

Mark Smith: 5:17
That's so good. So when we look at the award category that you got, you'd be in this new category, which is ERP AI. Is that right? Is that what the category award under business applications that you've got?

Anitha Eswaran: 5:31
Yes, so because now I was my promotion, most of my sessions and if you see my blogs now they are in the AI ERP side only because Dynamics FNO is becoming like a co-pilot. It is like nowadays co-pilot. Nowadays co-pilot is becoming a buzzword here, right so? And my domain, the Dynamics D365 FNO, is purely AI. It's slowly becoming the AI-based and thus I have been awarded in that category and because of my various sessions, even the integrations I have displayed displayed. I have given it, as in the ai related few sessions I have given so and that is the reason I was awarded in the aarp category nice.

Mark Smith: 6:12
So tell me, because I'm more on the power platform side of things and and, uh, you know, anything that has a dataverse back end, which obviously F&O doesn't. My question to you is how much is AI permeating now that story from Microsoft in the ERP space, and what are the workloads that customers are most likely going to adopt first and then, what are the workloads that customers are most likely going to adopt first in the area of AI in the context of ERP?

Anitha Eswaran: 6:48
See, if I speak from the Dynamics 365 F1O perspective, this AI is still evolving, like, for instance, me, from a technical background. We can install a plugin to help us in generating the code. Okay, that minimizes our workload, see, for instance, it cannot completely replace our logic, but at least it could save you some particular amount of time in writing your logic. For instance, if I install that plugin and say, hey, get me the data, give me the logic idea for so on, so, for instance, posting of the sales order, so that would give me a template. So accordingly, I will be able to tweak it on On top of that. From the functional perspective, if you see the copilot it has given you have some copilot with Outlook it will give you. And on top of that you have copilot for the invoice vendor automation you have. So all these they have, I mean where the workload of the users have been reduced. But still I can say that you need to put still some effort to bring it in a better picture.

Mark Smith: 7:54
Yeah, and so that's helping you from a productivity point, in writing, et cetera. But are you having customers requesting how does they apply to their business in the context of what you're doing? Are you having any of those type of use cases?

Anitha Eswaran: 8:11
No, at the moment most of them, for instance, when we are uploading the invoices. See, I think even in the Power Platform I have suggested for one of my customers where we can read the documents. For instance, they wanted to upload the invoices in our system. So here in the Power Platform you will be able to use the AA connector, read the document. You can do an AA model right, you can train an AA model to read a set of documents and then you can train it and you can connect it with any other system. So this is what I have done.

Anitha Eswaran: 8:41
That is for one of the customers I have done where we had a requirement to upload the set of invoices to our system and this I suggested where it will be dropped to a common folder and then we trained the AI model in such a way to read the document, extract the invoice number from it and upload the data against that particular invoice journal. So that was one scenario where we used this AI here. That was via the Power Platform. I think you should be aware of this right Because you are from the Power Platform side.

Mark Smith: 9:11
How did you get into tech? Why was that the career path for you?

Anitha Eswaran: 9:16
No, I started my career as a developer only, like from before 18 years. I started as a technical and where I was presented with that AOT where we had tables classes. It was little. Like to be frank, mark, like I was little, it took some time for me to interpret. Okay, this is stable and this is what. Why is it being used here? What does it do with this ERP and how do you interpret? What answer does it give to you?

Anitha Eswaran: 9:46
So it took some time for me to understand all those technical jargons. So, after it took almost three, two to three years to get a complete picture of how AX because by the time I started this, ax 3.2, ax 4.2 came into picture, and then I was I need to connect the dots where this is there and this is what has to be done in 4.2. So it took some time for me. But then we started working on something called as integration, application, integration framework, where you have the ability to connect, accept the external system, and that is where I got a better picture Okay, this is how you need to do and this is what it should happen when you connect to the ERP system how the authentication is handled, how the security is handled, how the data is secured when you are transferring the data. All these, then, I was able to understand. So this is how I started my journey as a technical and now being a solution architect.

Anitha Eswaran: 10:39
Technical solution architect, I am still given. Every day is a challenge for me, you know, because every day when I start my day, I will start with one plan, but the moment I log in, there will be some or other different issue waiting for me, okay. So then? Okay, anita, put on your thinking hats. Okay, give the solution. Okay, is this okay? So before you suggest a solution to your customer, you need to think from various perspective, because that should be some integration related, okay, so why is there is a performance issue? This might be the reason why this is not posting this. You need to give it in the live system. There are few cases where the issues will come only in the production, not anywhere. Then I had to give a solution in such a way that it doesn't affect the other scenarios. So just the technical and the integration knowledge helped me to come to this stage here.

Mark Smith: 11:34
Yeah, yeah. This is so, so interesting, and tell me a bit about Sonata. What do they do as a company and where do they operate in the world?

Anitha Eswaran: 11:44
Sonata, if you remember, this is the Sonata is a gold partner in the Microsoft ERP Like. They have worked closely for thePilot and the Microsoft Fabric. The headquarter is in Bangalore, india, and it is spread across the world Ireland and UK and even in the US. We have various branches across the world and the main product here we are working on mostly on the Microsoft ERPs Plus. There are other technologies where you have NET Also. There we have various projects which we'll be working because, since we are working with various teams here, I will have the opportunity to work with other domain as well. So that is where I will be able to get more idea on how the particular stream is operating and how we need to tweak the changes there.

Mark Smith: 12:35
Yeah, very good. So you've recently been awarded MVP. Who nominated you? How did that come about and what's it like being an MVP?

Anitha Eswaran: 12:48
Yeah, mvp. It's like a dream come true, mark, the reason being now you are 18 years in this profession and something you need to achieve Right and OK something as a part of profession. You are doing your job. Then I thought we should do something as a part of our career, right? That is where this came, and initially, when I started my blog, I didn't have this idea. It was way back in 2016. I started my blog. I didn't have this idea. It was way back in 2016. I started my blog.

Anitha Eswaran: 13:15
I didn't know much about this MVP, but I thought I should share with the community whatever I learned, be it very small or whatever it is, because few, few things are very minor. Things would help others, like how it helped me. So I thought initially, I thought, hey, this is a very small, a very minor thing. Why should you put it in a blog? I used to think Then, no, it should be helpful for somebody or other. Then I will post it in my blog. So after a month or two, some or other will message me hey, anita, this has helped me a lot and that will be motivating for you. And then from there I started, from that will be motivating for you. And then from there I started from blog. And because my husband used to write the blog earlier even his blog was a Microsoft community certified earlier and then, since he became busy with his professional life, then I thought I should start a blog and share the learning. So this whole credit goes to my husband. First, that is how he told me this is how you need to write a blog and this is how you need to write a blog and this is how you need to present. He used to give me all the ideas, so I need to thank him. Thank him for that, all the support, what he has given. And followed by that I started the newsletter. Because at times people might see the blog or might not see, they might miss, but newsletter, if they nowadays people are busy in the I mean at least they will, they will. Once in a day they will be seeing the linkedin. So the newsletter is another, better way to reach our community. And then I started the newsletter also where I shared recently, whatever the integration or certification, even when I complete the certification, I will share my experience, what I have learned from it and what you can benefit and see microsoft learn.

Anitha Eswaran: 14:51
I started spreading word about the Microsoft word. There are so many challenges Microsoft, build challenge all these I used to spread via the newsletter. So what I thought, rather than people seeing the blog, I got more responses for the newsletter. So then I started now my my. I am more active in newsletter blog I am still doing it, but newsletter is having a better response because then I started. Now I am more active in newsletter Blog I am still doing it, but newsletter is having a better response.

Anitha Eswaran: 15:15

Because then I started understanding people are more into LinkedIn because there you get regular updates. See, from Microsoft you get regular updates because most of the updates regarding our latest technology is being posted in LinkedIn. So the best way is to reach any of the latest update is via the LinkedIn. So the newsletter helped me a lot. So from there people started understanding okay, this is how the update is, this is how the new feature is working. Hey, this is how the build challenges seriously mark.

Anitha Eswaran: 15:47
People used to message me in the LinkedIn whether, whether they are following me or not, they will message hey, this blog, this newsletter, has helped me a lot, and also about your experience on the build challenge or any certification that has motivated them to take it. Because whether you pass that certification or not, but attempt it, that is what I used to tell them whenever they contact me. And with this I started the sessions as well. So I thought, rather than my voice should reach the viewers, because blog nobody knows who's anita. So I thought my session in an online session would give a better reach. They can, I can reach them easily.

Anitha Eswaran: 16:28
Then I started giving the sessions also. So where I was giving the integration sessions, especially on the Logic Apps, adf Power Platform, so in that way people would also message me and ask so many doubts, so many clarifications. They would ask is this the right approach? Is that or not, whether we can use this Logic Apps. Could you advise me? So all this maybe because of this. I was active in the community that had led me to the MVP and I wanted to thank my colleague Kamal. He was my ex-colleague in Accenture. Earlier I was working in Accenture, so now he is currently in Microsoft, so he nominated me seeing my regular community activities and then, of course, I need to thank him for that and that is where the MVP nomination received. I got the MVP the mail on March 1st and it was like a dream come true, mark.

Mark Smith: 17:25
That's so cool. One thing I want to ask you about your newsletter that you're referring to there. Are you talking about you're doing a LinkedIn newsletter? Are you using the linkedin news?

Anitha Eswaran: 17:34
yes, I am using the linkedin news.

Anitha Eswaran: 17:36
I'm seeing that a lot more lately, and so you find it very effective yes, I can reach people easily rather than see blog, I am getting a better response. But if you put it in the newsletter, then I say, even if you take my case, I regularly follow so many newsletters because I get many updates. Nowadays in the dynamics world, not only in our technology, in various technologies you have so many updates happening, so people put it in newsletter or share it in, share their experience there. That is a part of our learning right, so that I find it very effective.

Mark Smith: 18:08
So good. Anitha, thank you so much for coming on the show. Thank you, thanks. Aa, thank you so much for coming on the show. Thank you, thanks a lot, Mark.

Anitha Eswaran: 18:13
Thank you for hosting me.

Mark Smith: 18:20
Hey, thanks for listening. I'm your host business application MVP Mark Smith, otherwise known as the NZ365 guy. If you like the show and want to be a supporter, check out buymeacoffeecom forward. Nz365 guy. Thanks again and see you next time. Thank you.