Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0 LATAM support, customization, upgrade, implementation – overview

With the recent move to new naming – Microsoft Dynamics GP, former Microsoft Great Plains / Great Plains Software Dynamics & eEnterprise 4.0, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0 and now Dynamics GP 9.0 is the product with multiple series and interfaces: Great Plains Dexterity “fat” client, MS Business Portal, FRx, Crystal Reports & now MS SQL Server Reporting Services.  For the majority of the existing clients spread over the whole LATAM: Latin America continent: from Mexico & Caribbean to Argentina & Chile, Microsoft Great Plains is associated with the standard client interface: Dex.exe working with DYNAMICS.DIC dictionary – this is where Financial: GL, AR, AP, Payroll, Distributions: SOP, IV, POP modules are coded.  Very often we see the case when customer is still on version 6.0 or 7.5 on Pervasive SQL or Ctree database platforms, not supported (effective 2004) by Microsoft Business Solutions technical support any more.  In this small article we are trying to orient IT managers of Latin American companies with Microsoft Dynamics GP migration path, upgrade, data conversion, integration, custom development.

• Microsoft Dexterity.  Great Plains Software Dexterity, now it should be considered as the legacy IDE/programming language was architectured by Great Plains Software as pioneered Graphical and Database platform independent C-shell in earlier 1990th.  If you remember those nice and optimistic days – nobody could predict which graphical platform will win: Microsoft Windows, Macintosh MAC OS, Sun Solaris or something else.  GPS designed graphical shell to be kind of platform independent (better say – be able to switch from one platform to another with relatively low level of redevelopment).  The second principle was Database platform independence – Oracle, Sybase, Ingress, Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB 2, potentially Lotus Notes Domino – Dexterity was first designed for Pervasive SQL and Ctree/Faircomm, then MS SQL Server 6.5 – Microsoft Dynamics C/S+.  Now, when Microsoft purchased GPS – the actuality of being Graphics and DB independent vanished and Microsoft Dynamics GP is available for on Windows only and for MS SQL Server 2000/2005.
• Technical FAQ.  The most popular question was and still is – how to delete user who is hung up in Great Plains.  Here is the answer: delete activity where userid=’jorge’ – run this statement against DYNAMICS DB and replace Jorge with actual user id in Great Plains.  Second question by popularity is how to unlock hanging batch: update SY00500 set …  then before you design it – look at the other “good” batches and check which is their batch status field – change batch status field to zero for the problem batch – SY00500 is in the Company database.  If the crash was to severe – you need to clear SY00800 table as well – this one sits in DYNAMICS database.
• Customizations.  Even if you as the developer have now more options: eConnect, advanced tools in Integrations Manager, Visual Studio.Net with eConnect extensions and web services exposed eConnect methods – we still expect high demand for Microsoft Dexterity customizations and Dexterity development.  Dexterity development is usually done over DYNAMICS.DIC and often requires access to Dexterity source code (DYNAMICS.DIC with sanscripts codes in it).  Besides Dexterity, due to the high popularity of eConnect we expect high demand on SQL Stored procs programming – especially posting extensions for eConnect, all the kinds of SOP processing stored procedures for eCommerce web development, such as integrations with Microsoft RMS, credit card processing modules connection, etc.

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