The Case Study Gap — Why Only 1 in 5 D365 Partners Publishes Case Studies

Only 318 of 1,529 active, verified Dynamics 365 VARs and mixed partners in our database have published at least one case study. That is 20.8% of the partner ecosystem we track as of June 2026. The other 1,211 partners, or 79.2%, have no published case studies attached to their profile.

That gap matters because Dynamics 365 partner selection is high-stakes. Buyers are choosing who will interpret business processes, configure core systems, migrate data, train teams, and stay accountable when the implementation gets complicated. A published case study is not proof that a partner will deliver well, but it is evidence that the partner has completed work they are willing to describe in public.

Using our database of 1,529 active D365 VARs/mixed partners from June 2026, we looked at whether case study publishing correlates with ratings, reviews, company size, industry focus, and product specialization. The answer is nuanced: partners with case studies have a modestly higher average rating, but the partners without case studies are much larger on average.

The Case Study Landscape

Across our June 2026 database of 1,529 active D365 VARs/mixed partners, only 318 partners have published at least one case study. The remaining 1,211 partners have no case studies in the dataset. In percentage terms, that means 20.8% of partners publish case studies and 79.2% do not.

The 318 publishing partners account for 1,652 total case studies in our database. That works out to an average of 5.2 case studies per publishing partner, though a few partners maintain large reference libraries while many have only one or two public examples.

The simple interpretation is that case study publishing is still uncommon in the Dynamics 365 channel. Some partners may have private references, confidentiality limits, or account-led sales motions. But from a buyer's point of view, absence still creates an information gap.

Does Publishing Case Studies Correlate with Better Ratings?

Partners with published case studies have a higher average rating in our June 2026 database: 4.34 out of 5.0, compared with 4.26 out of 5.0 for partners without case studies. The difference is real in the dataset, but it is modest. This is not a clean story where case studies separate excellent partners from weak partners.

The more interesting pattern is company size. Partners without case studies average 2,923 employees, while partners with case studies average 388 employees, based on our database of 1,529 active D365 VARs/mixed partners in June 2026. That means the no-case-study group is not mostly made up of small firms that lack marketing resources. It is heavily influenced by large enterprise services firms that often have broad Microsoft practices, many clients, and more reviews, but do not publish Dynamics-specific case studies in the same structured way as smaller specialist partners.

The review count reinforces the same point. Partners without case studies average 109.3 reviews, compared with 67.0 reviews for partners with case studies, according to our June 2026 database. Review volume and case study publishing are measuring different behaviors.

So the rating comparison should be read carefully. The 4.34 versus 4.26 gap suggests that published case studies are associated with slightly higher average ratings. But because the no-case-study segment is much larger on average, the rating gap probably understates the pattern among comparable firms. A 300-person specialist partner that publishes detailed customer work is not the same type of organization as a global consulting firm with thousands of employees and no Dynamics-specific case study attached to its profile.

The dataset does not prove causation. The better interpretation is that case study publishing tends to appear alongside other signs of focus: clearer practice positioning, repeatable delivery stories, and enough client trust to document outcomes publicly.

Which Industries Get the Most Coverage?

Manufacturing is the most represented industry in the case study dataset by a wide margin. In our June 2026 database of 1,652 D365 partner case studies, 373 are tagged to manufacturing. That is 22.6% of all case studies tracked.

The industry distribution shows where partner storytelling is most mature. Manufacturing has a natural fit with Dynamics 365 because buyers often need ERP, supply chain, finance, warehouse, and reporting capabilities to work together. A manufacturing case study can show operational detail: inventory visibility, production planning, order flow, procurement, or legacy ERP replacement.

Retail, healthcare, and financial services also have meaningful representation, with 141, 105, and 80 case studies respectively in our June 2026 database. These sectors have recognizable pressure points: omnichannel commerce, patient or member operations, compliance, reporting, customer engagement, and finance operations.

The lower counts are just as useful. Government appears in 45 case studies, construction in 33, education in 33, and agriculture in 25, based on the same June 2026 dataset. These are not necessarily small Dynamics markets. In some cases, they may be markets where partners rely more heavily on referrals, procurement channels, private references, or confidentiality-constrained work. In other cases, they may represent underdeveloped content opportunities.

There is also a taxonomy caveat. Many of the 1,652 case studies in our database do not specify an industry. The named industries listed above account for only part of the total. That absence is itself meaningful. A case study without an industry label is less useful to a buyer trying to answer a practical question: "Has this partner solved a problem like mine?"

Which Products Are Documented Most?

Business Central is the dominant product in published case studies. In our June 2026 case study database, Dynamics 365 Business Central appears in 445 mentions, combining 281 mentions of "Dynamics 365 Business Central" and 164 mentions of "Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central." Power BI follows with at least 227 mentions.

That product mix says something about where case studies are easiest to document. Business Central projects often involve a defined before-and-after story: replacing QuickBooks, migrating from Dynamics NAV, consolidating finance, improving inventory control, or giving leadership better reporting. Power BI has a similar advantage because reporting outcomes are visible.

The presence of Microsoft Dynamics NAV in 125 case study mentions is also useful context. It shows that a meaningful share of published stories still reflects the legacy path into Business Central. For buyers running NAV, that can be helpful. A partner that has documented NAV migration work is speaking to a known transition pattern, not just a generic ERP implementation.

Finance, Sales, and Supply Chain Management appear less often than Business Central in our June 2026 database, with 62, 50, and 49 mentions respectively. That does not mean these products are less important. Enterprise Dynamics work is often harder to summarize publicly. It may involve multiple systems, more stakeholders, longer timelines, and stricter approval processes for naming clients or describing results.

For partners, this creates a content gap. Credible experience in Finance, Supply Chain Management, Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, or industry-specific Power Platform work may stand out because fewer competitors publish detailed examples in those areas.

What Case Study Publishing Actually Signals

A case study is not automatically good evidence. Some are thin, vague, or written as sales copy. A strong case study has a named or clearly described client, a business problem, relevant Microsoft products, implementation scope, constraints, and observable outcomes. It does not need to disclose confidential financial details to be useful. It does need to show that the partner can explain its work in business terms.

In that sense, case study publishing is a proxy for maturity. It suggests the partner has completed enough work to identify repeatable patterns, get client approval, coordinate marketing and delivery teams, and translate implementation details into buyer-facing evidence.

For buyers, the absence of case studies should not be treated as an automatic disqualifier. Our June 2026 data shows why: many partners without published case studies are large firms, and some have substantial review volume. The average no-case-study partner has 2,923 employees and 109.3 reviews in our database. Large firms may have private references, restricted client names, or global marketing systems that do not map neatly to Dynamics 365 partner profiles.

But absence should change the diligence process. If a partner does not publish case studies, buyers should ask for relevant examples during evaluation. The useful question is not "Do you have any case studies?" It is "Show me work with a similar product, industry, company size, complexity level, and operating constraint." A partner that cannot provide public proof should be able to provide private proof.

For partners, the message is more direct. In a market where only 20.8% of verified D365 VARs/mixed partners publish case studies, a good case study library is a differentiation lever. It does not require exaggerated claims. In fact, the strongest case studies are usually plain: the client had a problem, the partner implemented a specific set of Microsoft technologies, the work changed a process, and the result was measurable or at least observable.

The data also suggests that case studies are especially important for smaller and mid-sized partners. The publishing segment averages 388 employees in our June 2026 database, far below the 2,923 employee average in the non-publishing segment. Smaller firms cannot always win on brand recognition, office footprint, or enterprise procurement familiarity. They can win on specificity. A well-documented case study lets a buyer see industry knowledge, product fit, delivery style, and the kinds of problems the partner has solved before.

The Dynamics 365 partner ecosystem does not have a shortage of capable firms. It has a visibility problem. Based on our June 2026 database of 1,529 active D365 VARs/mixed partners, most partners still ask buyers to infer experience from ratings, review counts, Microsoft badges, employee counts, or broad service descriptions. Case studies reduce that inference burden.

Browse the Top Dynamics Partners directory to compare Dynamics 365 partners by product focus, industry experience, reviews, ratings, and published case studies.