Andrew Snodgrass

Andrew Snodgrass

Analyst

Andrew analyzes and writes about Microsoft's data management, business intelligence, and machine learning solutions, as well as aspects of licensing

Before joining Directions on Microsoft, Andrew was vice president of IT for a global Fortune 500 company, where he directed overall IT activities and strategy for the company‘s global operations, including work sharing and collaboration, application design and development, communications, data center operations, security, compliance, procurement, and vendor management. Andrew also started and sold an independent software firm specializing in disparate data integration, cleansing, and analysis.

Andrew received a B.B.A. in information systems from Boise State University and an M.B.A. from Colorado State University.

Latest Content by Andrew Snodgrass

Analyst Report

July 1, 2026 · by Andrew Snodgrass

Azure SQL Database DTUs: There’s a Better Way The SQL Database DTU purchasing model is simple, but lower costs are available using vCore purchasing or consolidating workloads onto...

Analyst Report

June 17, 2026 · by Andrew Snodgrass

Strategies for Controlling Dynamics 365 Storage Costs Without proper governance, Dynamics 365 storage can drive costly overages, while disciplined cleanup, archiving, and strategic licensing can reduce long-term...

Analyst Report

May 28, 2026 · by Andrew Snodgrass

Azure Files Removes a Big Blocker to Cloud Migration Azure Files now supports Entra ID–only authentication, enabling simpler cloud migration for SMB workloads with faster deployment, lower costs, and...

Roadmap

May 18, 2026 · by Andrew Snodgrass

Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Server In early 2026, Microsoft extended the life of Dynamics 365 on-premises server by another two years. The new end of...

Analyst Report

May 11, 2026 · by Andrew Snodgrass

Dynamics 365 MCP Servers Show Strategic Development Shift Dynamics 365 MCP servers provide a standard method for AI agents and applications to access data and execute business processes,...

Roadmap

Updated: April 29, 2026 · by Multiple Authors

Business Applications Roadmap The Business Applications Roadmap describes Microsoft products (on-premises software and cloud services) that provide traditional business functionality like collaboration, email,...

Analyst Report

April 20, 2026 · by Andrew Snodgrass

SQL Server 2016/2017 Integration Services Migration Staying with SSIS is possible on-premises or in the cloud, but switching to a competitor requires significant rework.

Roadmap

March 27, 2026 · by Andrew Snodgrass

Dynamics 365 CRM Overall The roadmap advances AI-driven automation while forcing customers to replace retiring features, manage rising costs, and govern increasingly autonomous Copilot...

Roadmap

March 26, 2026 · by Andrew Snodgrass

Dynamics 365 Customer Insights Planned updates streamline data integration and orchestration, reducing effort while improving targeting, engagement quality, and handoffs to sales.

Roadmap

March 26, 2026 · by Andrew Snodgrass

Dynamics 365 Contact Center 2026 roadmap investments target productivity, governance, and cross-channel service consistency to support scalable contact center operations.