Corporate Accounting: Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0 future horizons – notes for consultant

As we are writing this article – a lot of new ERP related information about Microsoft Business Solutions products: Axapta (Microsoft Dynamics AX), Navision (Microsoft Dynamics NAV), Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Great Plains is published on the daily basis, especially with the advance of the so-called “Project Green”.  We would like to be a bit pessimistic and toss in new ideas about future Microsoft MRP products development and marketing positioning as we see the development on European (including UK, East Europe: Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, plus Southern Europe: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece), Latin American (including Brazil, where Microsoft is starting from scratch) and Asian ERP markets.

• Microsoft Dynamics GP vs. Microsoft Dynamics AX.  This is probably the question of future positioning of these two ERPs.  Axapta has modern design (the end of 20th century), while Great Plains Software Dynamics was designed in the beginning of 1990th as Great Plains Dexterity application
• Microsoft Dynamics GP USA MRP market.  This seems to be the stronghold of Microsoft Great Plains.  Microsoft Business Solutions makes its Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0 the first wave of its Project Green with the switch from Microsoft Dexterity to .Net and Visual Studio development: C# and VB, plus the increased role of eConnect (initially introduced for eCommerce web XML developers, now the middle tier to resolve Great Plains Dexterity peculiarity with generic .Net development)
• Microsoft Dynamics GP European ERP Market.  In Europe Microsoft Great Plains is leaving its French, German, Spanish and Dutch positions (leaving current Microsoft Great Plains clients to switch to Navision or Axapta). Microsoft Dynamics GP will stay in UK, Australia, New Zealand, LATAM: Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Guatemala, Salvador, Panama, Caribbean
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM.  Microsoft CRM 3.0 will become the CRM frontend for all the Microsoft Dynamics ERPs, including Great Plains, Axapta, Navision, Solomon.  The most interesting part is Microsoft CRM integration, when you can automatically move Customers, Quotes, Orders from Microsoft CRM to accounting back end – here you have two options: use Microsoft Great Plains CRM integration (based on BizTalk for CRM 1.2 or eConnect based integration for MS CRM 3.0 and GP 9.0)
• Oracle/Java/EJB/J2EE.  Here we have to appeal to our third party programming expertise and knowledge/experience with Oracle Financials/Oracle E-Business Suite/Oracle Applications development and Programming
• SAP MRPs.  SAP is another traditional MRP market leader.  For years ago SAP purchased Israel made MRP software application, now known as SAP Business One.  SAP Business One is seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Office (what is the next step from SAP R/3 mySAP project Mendocino with Microsoft for the next few years), plus SBO is integrated on the Sales and Purchasing transaction consolidation level wit mySAP/SAP/R3.  In the case of SAP – you will need customization/integration partner to help you with the above consolidation
• International aspects.  Well – as you can conclude from this whitepaper and our past publications – Microsoft Great Plains / Dynamics GP is not supported for non English or Spanish speaking countries.  In the case of Brazil/Sao Paulo/Rio de Janeiro/Salvador – population speaks in Brazilian Portuguese.  SAP Business One could be a good spoke/hub ERP application to be consolidated to Microsoft Dynamics GP/NAV or AX in the USA/UK/France (including Canada/Montreal/Quebec)/Germany/Europe 

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