Directions North America

What Directions North America does

Directions North America is a non-profit conference and community organization that operates the largest annual Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner event in North America. Founded around 2005 and operated by Cronus USA, Inc. under the direction of the Directions North America Organizing Committee, the entity is governed by a Board of Directors composed of representatives from Microsoft Dynamics partner firms, including All Your Ducks (President), commercebuild (Treasurer), Innovia (Vice President & Content Chair), sa.global (Sponsorship Chair), PayTrace (Marketing Chair), Western Computer (Secretary), NAV-X (Technology), and Clients First Business Solutions. The Flagship Directions NA conference has grown over 21 years to host 1,400+ attendees from 30 countries with 170+ sessions, of which 70+ are delivered by Microsoft. The 2026 event took place at the Hyatt Regency Orlando on April 27-29, 2026, with the 2027 edition scheduled for the Hyatt Regency New Orleans on April 18-20, 2027. Predecessor events have been held in San Diego (2024) and Las Vegas (2025).

The organization's core product is the annual conference itself, supplemented by a year-round online community platform, the Directions for Partners portal (community.directions4partners.com), and a mobile application (Directions Events for iOS and Android). The website is built on the DynamicWeb CMS, and the broader global association, Directions4Partners, connects more than 1,200 Dynamics partners worldwide, including the parallel Directions EMEA conference in Paris. Microsoft is a strategic partner whose senior leadership, including Mike Morton, VP of Dynamics 365 Business Central, participates in keynotes and content delivery.

Business model revenue is generated through two primary streams: tiered conference registration tickets (Super Early Bird $1,495, Early Bird $1,695, Regular $2,195, Late $2,145 for the 2025 cycle) and multi-tier sponsorship packages (Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Distributor). Named Diamond sponsors include eOne Solutions, Insight Works, and Continia, with Gold support from PayTrace, Silver from Datahaven and k-ecommerce, and Distributor sponsorship from pax8. Additional revenue comes from guest passes for the Partner Celebration, expo-only passes, and ancillary partnerships such as the Universal Orlando Resort ticketing arrangement for the 2026 Partner Celebration. There is no disclosed revenue, no parent company, and no external funding; the organization is governed as a non-profit community asset.

Name

Directions North America

Legal name

Cronus USA, Inc.

Website

https://directionsna.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Directions North America is a non-profit organization that runs the annual Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner conference in North America, drawing 1,400+ attendees from 30 countries and operating through a partner-led Board of Directors under Cronus USA, Inc.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Conference Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional & Association Conferences (MPAGAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM)

Keywords

• Partner conference events
• Business Central community
• Dynamics partner events
• ERP partner channel
• Professional development conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Las Vegas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Conference Registration Tickets: Annual conference tickets sold at tiered pricing levels (Super Early Bird, Early Bird, Regular, Late) ranging from $1,495 to $2,195 per attendee. The event typically attracts 1,300-1,400+ attendees from 30 countries.
2. Sponsorship Packages: Multi-tiered sponsorship program including Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Distributor tiers. Sponsors include PayTrace (Gold), eOne Solutions (Diamond), pax8 (Distributor), Insight Works (Diamond), Datahaven (Silver), k-ecommerce (Silver), Continia (Diamond).
3. Guest and Expo Passes: Additional revenue from Guest Passes for Partner Celebration ($75-125+ for Universal Orlando parks), Expo Only Passes for sponsor personnel, and Partner Celebration guest passes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Directions North America operates the annual Directions North America conference for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partners, hosting 1,400+ attendees from 30 countries with 170+ sessions. The organization also runs the Directions for Partners online community portal for year-round content access and professional development, supported by iOS and Android mobile apps. Revenue is generated through tiered conference registration fees and multi-tier sponsorship packages (Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Distributor).

Product overview

Directions North America is a conference and events organization serving the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner community. The organization does not offer software products; its services consist of annual conferences, professional development events, and community networking opportunities for Microsoft Dynamics partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Directions North America Annual Conference Annual multi-day conference for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partners, featuring keynotes, breakout sessions, marketing day, partner celebrations, and networking. The event draws 1,300-1,400+ attendees from 30 countries and offers tiered registration (Super Early Bird, Early Bird, Regular) at $1,495-$2,195 per attendee.
• Directions for Partners Online Community Online community portal (community.directions4partners.com) providing Dynamics Partners year-round access to session content, presentations, and ongoing professional development resources. The platform is part of the global Directions4Partners association connecting 1,200+ Dynamics partners worldwide.
• Conference Sponsorship Packages Multi-tier sponsorship program for ISVs and service providers to showcase solutions within the Dynamics 365 Business Central partner ecosystem. Sponsorship tiers include Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Distributor levels, with named sponsors such as eOne Solutions, Insight Works, Continia, PayTrace, pax8, Datahaven, and k-ecommerce.

Quantifiable outcome

• Directions NA 2026: 1,400+ attendees from 30 countries with 170+ sessions
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and major.

• Universal Orlando ResortminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 29 April 2026Partner venue for the 2026 Partner Celebration at Universal Studios Orlando. Offers discounted park tickets for conference attendees extending their stay.
• MicrosoftcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2026Microsoft is a key partner in the Directions North America community, delivering products and sharing knowledge at conferences. Microsoft executives including Mike Morton (VP, Dynamics 365 Business Central), provide keynotes and strategic direction. Microsoft leads 70+ sessions at each conference and uses the event to gather partner feedback.
• eOne SolutionscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 April 2026Diamond sponsor at Directions NA 2025 and 2026. eOne Solutions develops Business Central productivity tools including SmartList Builder and Popdock. Provides thought leadership content and sponsors partner events.
• PayTracemajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 April 2026Gold sponsor providing B2B payment processing solutions integrated with Business Central. Mary Miller from PayTrace serves as Marketing Chair on the Directions NA Board.
• pax8majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 27 April 2026Distributor sponsor at Directions NA. pax8 is a cloud distribution platform for Microsoft products, enabling partners to provision and manage cloud services.
• Insight WorkscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 April 2026Diamond sponsor specializing in Dynamics 365 Business Central solutions for manufacturing and distribution, including warehouse management and data collection.
• ContiniacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 April 2026Diamond sponsor providing document management, expense management, and payment processing solutions for Business Central.
• DatahavenminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 April 2026Silver sponsor offering document automation and data extraction solutions for the Dynamics community.
• k-ecommerceminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 April 2026Silver sponsor providing B2B ecommerce solutions integrated with Microsoft Dynamics Business Central.
• Directions for PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2026The online community platform (community.directions4partners.com) connecting Dynamics partners globally. Houses session content, presentations, and facilitates year-round professional development and networking.
• Directions4Partners (Global Association)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2026Global association connecting more than 1,200 Dynamics partners worldwide. Organizes Directions EMEA (Paris), Directions NA, and other regional events. James Crowter serves as Chairman of Directions4Partners.
• Cronus USA, Inc.coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 27 April 2026The non-profit organization managed by the Directions North America Organizing Committee that operates the Directions North America events. Processes all financial transactions including registration fees and sponsorship payments.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• DynamicsCon: Community-led virtual/regional Microsoft Dynamics conference series with significant overlap in audience (Dynamics partners and consultants). Represents an emerging substitute for Directions NA, particularly appealing to partners preferring virtual or lower-cost formats.

Broad incumbents

• Dreamforce (Salesforce): Salesforce's annual ecosystem conference and the reference example of a vendor-hosted, sponsor-funded, partner-and-developer-enabled mega-conference. Provides a benchmark for ecosystem event monetization and content architecture even though it spans a different application stack.
• Oracle CloudWorld: Oracle's annual enterprise application and cloud infrastructure conference, combining partner and customer audiences. Comparable in agenda structure (keynotes, partner tracks, ISV expo) and in reliance on tiered sponsorships from Oracle ISV partners.
• Microsoft Inspire: Microsoft's flagship global partner conference — the first-party incumbent alternative to Directions NA. Covers the entire Microsoft partner ecosystem (not just Business Central), sets the broader partner-program context, and competes for partner travel budget every year.
• SAP SAPPHIRE: SAP's flagship annual user and partner conference, much larger in scale (~20,000+ attendees) but operating the same ERP-ecosystem conference model. Sets the competitive benchmark for ecosystem events in the broader enterprise application market.

Direct peers

• Sage Summit / Sage Transform: Sage's annual partner and SMB-accountant conference serving a comparable SMB ERP VAR and partner audience with a tiered-sponsor model. Directly comparable in audience (small-business ERP channel) and event mechanics even though the underlying ERP platform differs.
• Community Summit NA (formerly D365UG / CRMUG): The largest community-led Microsoft Dynamics 365 / Power Platform / Azure conference for end users and partners. Competes with Directions NA in the Dynamics ecosystem community space and operates a similar partnership-driven, multi-sponsor event model targeting D365 practitioners.
• SuiteWorld (Oracle NetSuite): Annual Oracle NetSuite partner and user conference with a comparable ~2,000+ attendee, tiered-sponsor, ERP-cloud focus targeting SMB-focused VARs and ISVs. Closest analog to Directions NA in structure, scale, and audience composition within the competing ERP ecosystem.
• Acumatica Summit: Annual partner conference for Acumatica Cloud ERP, a direct SMB-ERP competitor to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Highly comparable partner-led, sponsor-funded, ~1,000-1,500 attendee format targeting SMB ERP VARs and ISVs.
• Directions EMEA (Directions4Partners): Same brand family organized by Directions4Partners global association, hosting the EMEA counterpart event in Paris (Oct 27-29) for the same Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner audience. Directly comparable business model, sponsor mix, and content tracks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/directionsna
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCk1yhAHBR0ixsoDDPEWc6Ng
• Facebookfacebook.com/DirectionsNorthAmerica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/directions-north-america

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Directions North America