HomeAuthor InterviewsInterview with Nicolas Fernandez

Interview with Nicolas Fernandez

Nicolas Fernandez is the author of Extending Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Apps with Low Code, we got the chance to sit down with him and find out more about his experience of writing with Packt.

Q: What is/are your specialist tech area(s)?

Nicolas: Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement and Power Platform.

Q: How did you become an author for Packt? Tell us about your journey. What was your motivation for writing this book?

Nicolas: I always had it in my to do list. I think that books are a really nice way to share knowledge. Blogs are short and specific, while a book can tell a richer story.

Q: What kind of research did you do, and how long did you spend researching before beginning the book?

Nicolas: As I have worked mainly in pre-sales for the last few years, I am lucky enough to play with the whole platform. This has made it easier for me to deal with the variety of topics covered in the book. For a few specific chapters, I took the trouble to review Microsoft documentation, as well as articles and videos from the community, especially in terms of best practices.

Q: Did you face any challenges during the writing process? How did you overcome them?

Nicolas: Sometimes we think we can write lot of pages, but when you are blocked you start to panic. When that happened, I took a walk and then I started with another chapter.

Q: What’s your take on the technologies discussed in the book? Where do you see these technologies heading in the future?

Nicolas: No-code and low-code are clearly the future of enterprise applications, and I believe it is crucial that all dynamics 365 professionals embrace this.

Q. Why should readers choose this book over others already on the market? How would you differentiate your book from its competition?

Nicolas: As I said, the blogs are great. Videos are amazing. But a book will tell you a story in a more complete way.

Q. What are the key takeaways you want readers to come away from the book with?

Nicolas: Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement is a great platform, and offers several first-party solutions for specific business processes. But Power Platform is the platform to use to extend those applications, and the limit is the sky. Of course, Low-Code has a big share on every D365 CE project, but we also need to consider pro-code approach for the solutions because sometimes will be the right solution.

Q. What advice would you give to readers learning tech? Do you have any top tips?

Nicolas: Don’t be afraid to be wrong, to make mistakes. Don’t you ever think that you know everything. Don’t lose the curiosity and be open minded to new technologies.

Q. Do you have a blog that readers can follow?

Nicolas: Not really, but I have an online academy (www.power365academy.com)

Q. Can you share any blogs, websites, and forums to help readers gain a holistic view of the tech they are learning?

Nicolas:www.power365academy.com, https://wilmeralcivar.com/, elrincondynamics.com

Q. How would you describe your author journey with Packt? Would you recommend Packt to aspiring authors?

Nicolas: My experience was amazing. Packt team made it too easy for me. I totally recommend aspiring authors to give it a try.

Q. Do you belong to any tech community groups?

Nicolas: Yes, I’m one of the leaders in the Power 365 Initiatives, and participate in several groups in Spain.

Q. What are your favorite tech journals? How do you keep yourself up to date on tech?

Nicolas: I try to read all the official blogs, and read my LinkedIn feed.

Q. How did you organize, plan, and prioritize your work and write the book?

Nicolas: I had to put many other community initiatives on pause. Then, I blocked specific days to work on the book. In general, I extended my work week one day, and I blocked Saturdays to write the book.

Q. What is that one writing tip that you found most crucial and would like to share with aspiring authors?

Nicolas: I had to put many other community initiatives on pause. Then, I blocked specific days to work on the book. In general, I extended my work week one day, and I blocked Saturdays to write the book.

Q. Would you like to share your social handles? If so, please share.

Nicolas: Yes! you can reach on twitter.com/nfernandezba, linkedin.com/in/nfernandezba

You can find Nicolas’s book on Amazon by following this link: Please click here

Extending Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Apps with Low Code – Available on Amazon.com