News & Views

November 11, 2010 from The Enterprise System Spectator – “…1) CRM is where the action is, 2) Microsoft Dynamics serious about going “all in” on the cloud, 3) Microsoft not afraid to compete on price…”

180 View – The update from The Enterprise System Spectator is based on their attendance of a Microsoft’s Dynamics Fall Analyst Event which we did not attend. However, we run into Microsoft Dynamics frequently in our ERP selection projects. Although Microsoft is pushing the cloud, we still don’t see much progress yet. When it comes to price, Microsoft is not alone in competing on license price. I did attend a Microsoft event a number of years ago and thought that Microsoft Dynamics was going to be very successful in the ERP space by offering its business partners a technology platform and marketing in exchange for extending their system to specific industries. I thought this was an excellent strategy but I have not seen very much evidence that the strategy is working.

July 2010 from The Washington Post – “Ballmer structured the keynote around the theme of Microsoft moving to “the cloud” — that is, “cloud computing”, in which programs live on Web servers accessible from any device with an Internet connection instead of being confined to individual computers…

A cloud-computing strategy also requires a modern Web browser that can run anybody’s Web application. The current release of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer does not qualify as such — undercutting Ballmer’s claim that “we very much embrace” Web standards — so he had to talk about its upcoming Internet Explorer 9 instead…

Ballmer closed the keynote by all but commanding attendees to buy into its cloud-computing vision — “If you don’t want to move to the cloud, we’re not your folks” — before pledging that “the next 12 months will be some of our most exciting, phenomenal and incredible times together…”

180 View – Microsoft does not yet have a solution for ERP in the clouds but you can bet they will soon. I read an article in Computer World on August 31, 2010 entitled “Microsoft to build giant data center in Va.” and the closing paragraph was “Microsoft has other large data centers in Chicago; San Antonio, Texas; Quincy, Washington; and Dublin, Ireland. They support what Microsoft hopes will be a growing online services business, including hosted enterprise applications and its Azure cloud development platform. “

June 23, 2010 from ComputerWorld – “Microsoft’s SharePoint collaboration product will serve as a foundation for “portal based, unified interfaces for all Infor applications,” Infor said in a statement. The vendor will also use Microsoft’s Silverlight RIA (rich Internet application) platform; Microsoft Reporting Services for BI (business intelligence); and Microsoft Single Sign-On for identity management. It has also named SQL Server and Windows Server as its “preferred” infrastructure components.

Privately held Infor is one of the world’s largest ERP vendors after Oracle and SAP, with reported revenues in the neighborhood of $2 billion…

A number of other manufacturing-oriented ERP vendors, such as Consona and Epicor, also have products based on Microsoft…”

180 View – While one department/business unit in Microsoft wins with the partnership with Infor, Epicor, Consona, and other ERP vendors, another department/business unit in Microsoft loses.

June 14, 2010 from TechRepublic – “I’ve hit Microsoft pretty hard recently for its Windows debacle, its failed mobile strategy, and its missed opportunities in the enterprise space. I continue to believe that the company is in the midst of an identity crisis that it refuses to acknowledge.

Still, not everything Microsoft is doing is a disaster. There are plenty of smart people who work for the Redmond, Washington colossus and there are several useful Microsoft products that are worth noting for those who follow business technology. I’ve put together a quick list of five things Microsoft is doing right that may have slipped under your radar…”

180 View – I think there are lots more than five things that Microsoft is doing right but the ones in the article may be news to you.

December 2007 from CPA Technology Advisor – “This review encompasses four of the top high-end accounting systems in the market place. Each system is aesthetically pleasing to work with, and each provides an intuitive user interface and a full set of modules to accomplish most any task or process…” Products reviewed are Microsoft Dynamics GP, Sage Accpac 500 ERP 5.4, Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Sage MAS 500 ERP and each of them got a Five Star rating…”

180 View – The review was so light that I hesitated in including it. But perhaps there is something that is useful for you. It also demonstrates that it’s just about impossible to do a thorough review of any ERP system because of the extensive functionality. Here are some of my gripes with the article based on a quick read of the Microsoft Dynamics GP review:

• GP gets a five star rating for Modules/Scalability based on “GP offers business solutions through components such as Financial Management, Business Intelligence and Reporting, Supply Chain Management, Project Management, Customer Relationship Management, Human Resource Management, Manufacturing and Workspace Collaboration.” There is no indication on the adequacy of the functionality listed and GP is not known for manufacturing or project management.
• The ratings appear to be entirely subjective based.
• The review includes “Dynamics GP seems to be very customizable” shows lack of any depth to the review.” A system is either customizable or it is not – it should not read “seems to be”. Also NAV and AX are the Microsoft products touted for their customization features.

April 19, 2010 from WebCPA – “Not so long ago, NetSuite barely factored in to Microsoft’s ERP business, but a recent initiative by the mammoth technology concern has channel partners on both sides agreeing that Microsoft has become concerned about NetSuite’s rising status in the market.

In March, Microsoft announced that it would pay $850 to every U.S.-based NetSuite user that switched to one of its Dynamics ERP products, which include Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV, Dynamics AX and Dynamics SL. The new promotion is available until June 25…”

180 View – Seems like too little and too late by Microsoft to fight off NetSuite. 

March 4, 2010 from TechCrunch– “Earlier today, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave a speech at the University of Washington where he said that the company was going “all in” with its strategy to move Microsoft products to the cloud…”

180 View – This is a big change in direction for Microsoft and just as it takes an ocean liner time to change direction, so will it take time for Microsoft to move to the cloud or SaaS.

From Microsoft – “Find partner-built solutions that work with Microsoft Dynamics to meet the unique needs of your business and industry. Enter a search keyword or use the Advanced Search fields to create a custom search query…”

180 View – This site is a well kept secret by Microsoft. The advanced search includes country, industry, vertical, company size and location and will return Microsoft solutions and partners. You will probably be surprised at the extent of solutions and partners amd wonder why a solution or partner shows up. As well, you may wonder what is meant by the ratings or the number of references for a solution or partner. Nevertheless it’s the best place to look for Microsoft Dynamics solutions and partners. Other choices are calling Microsoft directly or taking a look at our ERP Portal for Microsoft partners.

August 18, 2008 from Newsfactor – “…The table-like Surface computer operates entirely through a 30- inch interactive screen, which works along the same lines as Apple’s iPhone. But the Surface also recognizes and interacts with objects such as iPods and digital cameras that it comes in contact with, allowing users to edit photos or play music on the spot. The display, which rotates, can also recognize multiple hands or fingers…”

180 View – Click here for a demonstration.

June 4, 2008 from ChannelWeb – “Microsoft has begun shipping Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, a new release of the vendor’s ERP application suite with new globalization functionality and tools for tailoring the applications’ interface for specific user roles.

Microsoft previewed Dynamics AX 2009 at the vendor’s Convergence conference in March. Dynamics AX is geared toward upper mid-market customers that have operations in multiple locations, particularly those in manufacturing, retail, distribution and professional services…

The software also uses business intelligence technologies to provide users with key performance indicators based on their roles. And Dynamics AX 2009 more closely resembles the familiar Microsoft Office…

Also offered in Dynamics AX 2009 is a new compliance center that provides a single view of internal controls, KPIs and other information needed to comply with company policies, local legislation in 36 countries and such regulations as Sarbanes-Oxley. The system also incorporates Microsoft’s Windows Workflow Foundation technology for documenting workflows — expense report management, for example — and creating an audit trail. The software also provides more support for companies that operate multiple sites within a single country and across multiple countries.”

180 View – We think that existing users will be eager to upgrade, and the new version will give SAP and Oracle a run for their money in the upper end of the mid market.

April 22, 2008 from InformationWeek – “Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s been dabbling with on-demand software services for awhile, but the general availability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, beginning Tuesday, marks its most significant effort yet to provide the market with an alternative to Salesforce.com.

The software service for managing a business’s customer contacts, sales information, and marketing efforts is available as a subscription and hosted from Microsoft’s data centers using a multitenant architecture. General availability follows months of testing by 500 Microsoft customers.

Microsoft is trying to beat Salesforce.com on price and storage options. The base version, called Professional, costs $44 per month per user following a one-year introductory rate of $39 per month. That includes 5 GB of data storage per organization and the ability to customize workflows. The Professional Plus version costs $59 per user per month with 20 GB of storage, with more customization features and the ability to synchronize data contained in other systems with the service. Users access the service using Microsoft Outlook or a Web browser as an interface.

180 View – Microsoft is now fighting yet another war (with Salesforce.com), but it’s a war that they are well equipped to wage. But Salesforce.com has formidable allies especially in Google. Click here to see the April 15, 2008 from itWorldCanada entitled “Google, Salesforce.com partner on business apps”

March 24, 2008 based on an interview of Joel Martin, Microsoft ERP Product Manager – a recent Microsoft recruit who was previously an analyst with IDC Canada. Microsoft should be commended on hiring Joel who brings deep knowledge of enterprise software based on his IDC experience. Joel spoke to me about Microsoft’s annual conference for Dynamics partners and customers, Convergence 2008, which was held in Orlando from March 11-14. The conference continues to grow with a record-breaking 9,600 attendees this year.

Scheduled for release in June 2008, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 was a hot topic at Convergence 2008. In the new version, Microsoft has added functionality and improved user productivity through new role-tailored interfaces and integration with other Microsoft technologies. The improvements in the user experience brings Dynamics AX 2009 in line with the user interface of the other Dynamics applications. When asked about target markets, Joel described AX as Microsoft’s system for the upper end of the mid market, mid-size and enterprise customers in manufacturing, distribution, professional services, and retail. These organizations typically have multiple sites and are present in more than one country.

Another announcement at Convergence 2008 was that Microsoft will offer a set of migration tools developed to help companies that have outgrown their small business accounting software, such as Intuit’s Quickbooks, and move to Microsoft Dynamics GP within a fixed price and fixed scope.

Joel also confirmed that ‘Project Green’ has now concluded. Going forward, rather than a ‘net new’ product, Microsoft is focusing on incremental advancements on all four Dynamics ERP platforms. One example is the company’s ongoing delivery of role-tailored user interfaces across all application releases.

March 24, 2008 from PC World – “Microsoft is synonymous with the ubiquitous Windows operating system. But its Microsoft Office productivity suite pulls in more revenue than any version of Windows. Competition from Web-hosted productivity applications like Google Docs and Zoho Office has changed the rules of the application-suite game, however, threatening Microsoft’s desktop application revenues and forcing it to address the growing popularity of Web-hosted applications with new features and products…

If you and a few of your coworkers or family members want to collaborate in a lightweight fashion using Microsoft Office apps, Microsoft’s unique response to Web-hosted applications could be a free and easy no-brainer.”

180 View – A few days after PC World’s article on Microsoft Office Live, we read in ChannelWeb – “Google took an important step forward Monday in its rivalry with Microsoft Office Live, reporting that Google Docs will allow users to edit word processing documents offline. Google said users of its Google Docs word processing application can use Google Gears to save and then edit documents without being connected to the Internet.” As Google and Microsoft duke it out, we all benefit from the improvements made in their respective systems.

March 12, 2008 from Computerworld – “CEO Steve Ballmer used his opening keynote at Microsoft Corp.’s Convergence user conference here not only to preview a number of updates to the company’s Dynamics line of business software, but also to make a firm declaration of Microsoft’s enterprise market plans.

“I still get asked, is Microsoft a serious player in business applications? … This is mission-critical for us,” Ballmer asserted. “The biggest decision I made — unless we close this Yahoo deal — was pushing into the business applications area,” he said at another point…

One product, Microsoft’s Dynamics AX 2009, is set for release in the first half of this year. New features include integration with Microsoft’s unified communications platform; a “one-stop shop” for data related to compliance issues; an integrated workflow framework; and broader localization and globalization capabilities, such as support for multiple languages and time zones.”

180 View – It appears that Microsoft AX is getting most of the attention so far at the conference. AX is positioned at the high end of Microsoft ERP systems and now competes head on with SAP and Oracle.