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Microsoft Corp. today announced the general availability of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, an adaptable business management solution that offers powerful new capabilities to help growing multisite organizations streamline processes, reduce operational costs, manage compliance and drive informed decision-making.
As businesses expand globally, so does the complexity of managing accurate business insights and standardizing operations across multiple locations. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 offers new multisite and shared services capabilities, enabling customers to manage complex financial and supply chain processes more easily. For example, the new software can run multiple legal entities on a central installation and provide a single, integrated view of financial and supply chain information from facilities around the world, helping organizations simplify global planning. Advanced planning and reporting scenarios, such as consolidation and budgeting, are offered through integration with Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server.
“With its innovative role-based user experience, improved reporting and BI capabilities, and improving platform harmonization, Microsoft Dynamics products should be on ERP selection shortlists for a variety of SMBs, particularly those that use Microsoft’s server-based products,” wrote R “Ray” Wang of Forrester Research Inc. in the firm’s report “Microsoft Dynamics Gets Renewed Focus” in April 2008. “Multisite companies should consider Dynamics AX.”
Another business challenge that growing companies face is the increasing pressure to meet global and local regulatory compliance, a complex and costly problem that has been a top priority for chief executive officers and chief financial officers. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 delivers core features to help companies limit these risks and lower total cost of compliance, including the following:
A compliance center that provides one central, integrated view of internal controls, key performance indicators (KPIs) and other compliance data
Embedded workflows that automate business processes, enforcing standard operating procedures to limit organizational risks while still enabling organizations to quickly respond to changing market needs
Country-specific functionality to help customers more easily comply with local regulations in 36 countries
“Managing risk is an integral part of my job, and Microsoft Dynamics AX makes my job easier,” said John Elmer, vice president, information systems, and controller, the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. “I can access critical company information from within the Executive Role Center and see a 360-degree view of our global IT and finance operations, ranging from compliance risks to how the company is tracking against forecasts.” The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, based in New York, represents a wide variety of entertainment copyrights for more than 200 writers, including Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, through its theatrical, concert and music publishing divisions.
In a fast-paced world, people need software that helps them do their jobs more effectively and with minimal training. To increase productivity and foster more confident decision-making, the RoleTailored design of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 gives employees access to critical business data through the following new features:
A Role Center that prioritizes tasks and real-time information for a majority of business functions
A user interface that looks and feels like familiar Microsoft Office software to help employees ramp up quickly, resulting in higher user productivity and more consistent adherence to business processes
Self-service business intelligence tools using Microsoft Business Intelligence technologies to deliver standard KPIs by role and simplify end-user reporting, which results in more informed decision-making and integrity of information across the organization. Preconfigured KPIs and reports enable customers to start immediately.
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For the past couple of years, Microsoft has been crowing about its hosted CRM service that competes head-to-head with services from Salesforce.com. It wasn’t until today, April 22, however, that Microsoft’s offering in this space became generally available.
Microsoft has now taken the “Early Access” label off its Microsoft-hosted Dynamics CRM Online service. Starting today, Microsoft will be offering two different versions of its hosted service: Dynamics CRM Online Professional and Dynamics CRM Online Professional Plus. (The main difference between the two, besides the $20 price differential, is the Plus version provides offline data-sync and expanded storage.)
Dynamics CRM Online was formerly known as Dynamics CRM Live. Microsoft changed the name of the service last month, so that it would be consistent with other Microsoft-managed services, such as Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft SharePoint Online.
Microsoft is offering the Professional version of Dynamics CRM Online for an introductory price (an offer that lasts throughout calendar 2008) of $39 per user per month. The Professional Plus release is $59 per user per month.
Microsoft says more than 500 customers and 200 resellers have been testing the Professional version of the service for the past six months.
As my ZDNet blogging colleage Josh Greenbaum noted last week, while Microsoft will be competing with Oracle, Zoho and other hosted CRM vendors, Microsoft (and Salesforce) really see the hosted CRM space as a Microsoft vs. Salesforce contest. And just like it has done traditionally with on-premise software, Microsoft is going to emphasize low price/high volume as its primary advantage. The Redmondians are also playing up the familiar Office user interface and its network of partners as other areas where Microsoft will have a strong story vs. Salesforce.
The downloads for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 are now available for customers and partners. This is the English language version, more to follow soon.
The downloads can be found at the following links:
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As Michael Lu reports, they shipped 4.0 on Friday. It generally takes a couple of weeks for everything to hit all of the download sites, etc... But it looks like the Product Development made good on a Q4 Delivery Date for Microsoft Dynamics 4.0. (aka Titan....) The US Launch parties for customers start in March
This Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 RC0 VPC is designed to allow you to demonstrate the features and functionality of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 in a live environment utilizing a single PC or laptop computer. The VPC is based on the Release Candidate 0 (RC0) code base of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 product and contains sample data.
The VPC Contains:
https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/products/mscrm/newsevents/news/CRM4VPCImageRC0Release It will also be up on the Microsoft Partner Portal Site for those of you who do not have access to PartnerSource.
Q&A: Microsoft’s U.S. financial services leader Tracy Issel discusses how Microsoft and its partners are working to provide new technologies for the ultra-competitive banking industry to attract, retain and extend customer relationships.
Banks are getting squeezed on all sides by consolidation, regulation, lower margins and fierce competition. Couple that with the rise of consumerism – or the push by consumers for better overall experiences and services – and it’s understandable why banks are so concerned over customer attraction, retention and extension.
Today, at one of the leading forums for the financial services industry, the BAI Retail Delivery Conference & Expo, Microsoft’s U.S. Financial Services Group is showcasing a number of new technologies to help banks differentiate – and ultimately win over new customers, retain long-standing ones and extend relationships to achieve a greater share of wallet. To learn more, PressPass spoke with Tracy Issel, general manager, U.S. Financial Services Group at Microsoft.
PressPass: What are the three biggest challenges facing banks today?
Issel: Unlike in years past, where growing market share was a priority, banks today are primarily concerned with attracting new customers, retaining existing ones and extending those relationships to achieve a greater share of wallet. Differentiation, then, becomes critical in a commoditized market in which many customers view one bank as indistinguishable from another. As consumers get quality service and superior experiences from other institutions – such as making travel plans online or booking dinner reservations – they expect the same personalized, high-quality service from their financial institutions.
That’s why it’s so important that banks differentiate from competitors and provide the superior service that customers expect. Failure to meet expectations can result in a customer opening an account across the street. Thankfully, technology can be a tool to create this differentiation for the industry. Technology can help banks find new value in existing systems, explore new market opportunities and realize measurable returns on their investments. Microsoft’s software, in particular, is well positioned to help banks achieve this differentiation in the market – whether it’s attracting customers by creating a dazzling online banking interface with Microsoft Silverlight or retaining customers by providing a complete, 360-degree view of their accounts with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Continue At Source
Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq “MSFT”) today announced that Midas Inc. (NYSE “MDS”), one of the world’s largest providers of automotive services, has selected Microsoft Dynamics GP to overhaul and expand its corporate business management systems.
Midas’ headquarters in Itasca, Ill., recently switched its financial management and general ledger reporting systems from another company’s more limited enterprise resource planning system to Microsoft Dynamics GP, which provides completely integrated and scalable financial management, intelligence, forecasting, budgeting and reporting. Working with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner IDT Consulting Inc., also of Itasca, Ill., throughout the Microsoft Dynamics GP evaluation, selection, system-integration and implementation processes, Midas will move its remaining financial management systems to Microsoft’s premier business management solution over the next two years.
“We looked at other software packages, but nothing came close to Microsoft Dynamics GP,” said Bennett Cikoch, vice president of IT at Midas. “The powerful business management tools, flexible and familiar components and many personalization features of Microsoft Dynamics GP are transforming the way we manage Midas’ corporate finance and other business systems.”
Microsoft Dynamics GP is a complete and scalable business management solution that offers a cost-effective way to manage and integrate finances, e-commerce, supply chain, manufacturing, project accounting, field service, customer relationships and human resources. Based on the familiar People-Ready Microsoft Office system interface, Microsoft Dynamics GP makes it easy for executives, managers and staff to access information that is meaningful to their specific roles and responsibilities, gain deep contextual insight into the key drivers that matter to their business, and improve efficiency throughout their organization. The solution is also easy to configure and maintain, adding to overall return on investment.
Microsoft Dynamics GP will enable Midas’ 40-member finance team to integrate and electronically manage virtually all of the business processes and corporate transactions within the organization’s more than 1,700 franchise and company-owned locations in the United States and Canada. In addition to accounts receivable, accounts payable, order processing and inventory management, Midas will rely on Microsoft Dynamics GP for security-enhanced online distribution of financial reports to field staff via the integrated FRx Report Server and Business Portal.
Midas’ finance team is already seeing positive productivity results from the new system: greater speed, functionality and tools that make financial reporting easier. “We expect the new Microsoft Dynamics solution to bring us efficiencies throughout the fivnance department and in improving information flow with the field,” said James Haeger, vice president and controller for Midas.
Cikoch credits the IDT Consulting organization for putting all the pieces together — a thorough understanding of its critical business issues and internal processes, compliance mandates, strong accounting and product knowledge — to make the transition to the new financial management system as seamless as possible.
Other specific benefits include the following: Continue At Source
Microsoft Corp. today announced that AccessVia, an industry leader over the past two decades in development of in-store signage, labels and e-commerce applications for retailers, has selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 to integrate all its internal data and processes. AccessVia is adopting the Microsoft customer relationship management (CRM) technology to replace its previous system, based on GoldMine software for CRM, an in-house time-tracking application, and flat files for sales processes.
AccessVia, based in Seattle, provides comprehensive communications services that help retailers connect with their customers, including systems, software, consulting, training, hosting and support.
The growing company had been faced with the challenges presented by three separate internal IT systems for customer relations, time tracking and sales. Forecasting and planning were suffering, and the company had outgrown its current software. After examining offerings from FrontRange Solutions USA Inc., SalesForce.com Inc. and SugarCRM Inc., AccessVia chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
“Microsoft Dynamics CRM covered all of the bases that AccessVia required and is built on technologies that we currently use, including Microsoft Internet Information Services and SQL Server,” said Scott Hunter, systems administrator for AccessVia. “The integration with Microsoft Outlook was critical, as well as the different options for connectivity, including browser access, the mobile client and offline options. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, we were able to consolidate several internal processes and tools into a single, easy-to-use offering that brought the whole company onto the same page.”
AccessVia called on Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Madrona Solutions Group, based in Seattle, to implement the Microsoft solution, including software installation, data migration and customization, while a cross-functional AccessVia team helped in mapping the system to the company’s business processes.
AccessVia already has gained significant benefits from its Microsoft Dynamics CRM system:
Better reporting. Microsoft Dynamics CRM has allowed AccessVia to improve its filtering and reporting by tenfold, compared to its previous software, while making reporting easier to execute and share.
Time savings. Previous unconnected applications have been replaced by a simpler, integrated, robust and easy-to-use system that enables much faster data retrieval when communicating with customers.
Data accuracy. AccessVia had found the process of keeping multiple systems current to be exhausting. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, all customer, account and service data resides in a centralized database for easy, accurate and up-to-date retrieval of client information.
Support for growth. The company is better poised to see and respond to customer needs because all information about each customer is centralized, enabling the company to maintain a comprehensive view of its customer base as it grows and better manage future sales cycles.
Integration. Now AccessVia can access customer data from within Microsoft Office Outlook, over the Web or from mobile devices so that it can respond very quickly to customer needs.
IT support and management. With its integrated system, AccessVia has cut the time needed for support from its IT team by 75 percent. Moreover, training requirements were minimal because the company already was using Microsoft SQL Server and Internet Information Services.
Nobody ever wants to miss a commitment that they make, and with the move of our delivery date from H1 to H2 of 2008, that is the situation we as a Dynamics NAV R&D team find ourselves in right now. This reality is very disappointing for all of us, and definitely not what we hoped for , but I have to say that I am as excited as I have ever been about the product we are building and I am confident that you will find that the product will definitely be worth the additional wait.
· We have moved the product from a two-tier architecture to a three-tier architecture dramatically increasing the integration opportunities for customers.
· We have added support for web services across the board and enabled all of our ISV and partner solutions to also be web serviced enabled. The win for customers is the ability to leverage the open interface from multiple applications in their organizations.
· We have transitioned our runtime execution engine from an interpreted environment to a compiled environment running on.NET. Giving customers increased performance and stability and aligning us even closer with the advances being on the Microsoft Stack.
· We have transitioned our reporting story to Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services and the incredible richness that it provides for users to gain more insight into their business.
· We have added a deep integration with Office SharePoint Services making it even easier to get more people in an organization working with your business system.
· Finally, and most dramatically and importantly, we’ve made a MAJOR upgrade to a new Role Tailored User Experience that our research indicates that customers will absolutely Love.
Twelve outstanding Microsoft Dynamics™ customers will be honored with Microsoft Corp.’s semiannual Customer Excellence Awards at Convergence 2007 Copenhagen, the company’s premier event for Microsoft Dynamics, which is taking place this week.
The award winners are customers based in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) that span a variety of industries, reflecting the adaptability and scalability of Microsoft Dynamics business management solutions and the innovation of the Microsoft Dynamics network of 9,600 partners.
The winning customers are listed below:
Overall Excellence: JJ Food Service Ltd.
Excellence in Innovation: Voith Turbo GmbH & Co. KG
Excellence in Microsoft Technologies: AVK Group
Excellence in International Implementation: RMD Kwikform Ltd.
Excellence in Environmental Sustainability: Chelab
Excellence in Evangelism: Daemon Quest
Distribution Industry Leadership: Elliott Group Ltd.
Excellence in Education: Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law
Manufacturing Industry Leadership: Balfour Beatty Rail Track Systems Ltd.
Retail Industry Leadership: GameStop
Public Sector Industry Leadership: Maccabi Healthcare Services
Services Industry Leadership: Bidvest Bank Ltd.
America’s technology leader in the manufacturing of toolholders for high-precision machining operations has selected Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV to serve as the technology backbone for its global expansion. Microsoft Corp. today announced that Command Tooling Systems LLC, headquartered in Ramsey, Minn., chose the Microsoft® technology to replace its previous enterprise resource system from Epicor Software Corp.
Command Tooling serves a wide range of industries, including automotive, aerospace, computers, defense, electronics, medical equipment and job shops. Since 2004, the company has been evolving from one focused on domestic customers into a global enterprise that requires a system that manages multiple warehouses, a variety of currencies and other issues associated with globalization. As Command Tooling’s customer focus has broadened, its leadership has understood that its capabilities also must expand to meet additional demands.
Previously, Command Tooling Systems ran its operations on an outdated UNIX-based system that did not function well with current software and created difficulties when data needed to be retrieved. Although the product was no longer supported by the provider, Command Tooling still was under contract to pay its monthly fee.
“Microsoft Dynamics NAV was a very good fit to allow us to run our business without programming changes,” said Jeff Allen, director of operations at Command Tooling. “The integration with Microsoft Office products, like download and upload from Excel®, will save hundreds of hours for our staff.”
Microsoft Corp. is making Microsoft® Services Premier Support with Microsoft Dynamics™ Services available for enterprise customers worldwide with one contract. The offering, which combines the best of Premier and support services for Microsoft Dynamics, simplifies processes and decreases complexity, providing high-quality, personalized service.
Premier Support is now one of the most complete vendor services offerings available in the industry, providing support across the entire Microsoft environment — from databases and servers to business applications. Through this integration, Microsoft Dynamics customers will now have access to proactive services, reactive support assistance and support account management, including the following:
A single point of contact through a technical account manager (TAM)
A single process for engagement
Access to expertise on infrastructure and Microsoft Dynamics products
Flexibility to move hours to service components
Enhanced break-fix services with critical situation and rapid on-site support
“This is a logical step for Microsoft to take as Microsoft Dynamics products become more widely accepted in the enterprise market,” said Tom Kucharvy, senior vice president of Ovum Summit. “Customers want to limit the number of required contracts, minimize points of contact and generally simplify processes. Microsoft is responding to these needs.”
To maintain a high level of partner engagement, Microsoft is offering documented collaborative support processes and service subcontracting processes.
“We’re excited about the integration of the Microsoft Dynamics proactive services into Premier,” said Sean Jazayeri, general manager of Enterprise Business Solutions at Avanade. “This will enable us to provide our enterprise customers worldwide with the best services Microsoft has to offer. We’ve experienced firsthand the high level of confidence and satisfaction that Premier drives with the customer when Microsoft Premier is backing our organization.”
Microsoft Premier Support with Microsoft Dynamics Services is available immediately to enterprise segment customers with Microsoft Dynamics enterprise resource planning (ERP) and Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions. Customers interested in receiving additional information are encouraged to contact their account representative.