Microsoft improves business processes with Dynamics

Microsoft is developing better systems for business processes with new products, integration with Office, and help from partners

At its annual Convergence event for Dynamics business customers in Dallas this week, Microsoft detailed more of its vision for roles-based business applications and the importance of its partners.

In the opening keynote, Microsoft Business Division president Jeff Raikes said Wave 1 of Microsoft's Dynamics strategy is now half complete, with CRM 3.0, GP 9 and SL 6.5 already shipping, and Dynamics AX 4.0 and NAV 5.0 nearly finished.

"Wave 1, which extends [to] 2007, is [all about] the user experience and the integration of the product line, where you have role-based experience, portals and collaboration capabilities, SQL and Office-based business intelligence, and easy integration via web services," said Raikes. "Within the next year as well we'll have GP 10 and SL 7.0."

Microsoft demonstrated integration of the next version of Office into Dynamics products. And it demonstrated usability and productivity benefits from applications including Dynamics CRM 3.0 and the soon-to-be-released NAV 5.0, which take advantage of features in the upcoming Windows Vista release and have tools familiar to users of Office.

Satya Nadella, vice-president of Microsoft Business Solutions, said the strategy of building Dynamics on web services enables structured data and processes found in enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) applications to be linked with the more ad hoc workflow typically found in Office, creating more seamless, collaborative business processes.

Nigel Montgomery of analyst AMR noted that other vendors, such as Epicor, have successfully created applications that also sit on top of the Microsoft stack, but Microsoft's integration strategy is likely to be more successful.

"Office integration is a big advantage… [Microsoft's approach makes the most] of a system which works across disparate communities," Montgomery said.

Customers approved of the new capabilities. Nic Roberts of US financial services company GreenStone Farm Credit Services said his staff achieved significant productivity gains with Dynamics CRM 3.0.

"The fact that [you can access] Dynamics CRM in Outlook made a huge difference to us," said Roberts. "We implemented [the product] at the same time as Office and many of our staff didn't realise CRM [had previously] not been a part of Outlook."

Microsoft stressed the important role of its partners in utilising Dynamics products' web services capabilities to produce highly tailored business systems.

Raikes praised the Solution Finder, an online catalogue, which allows Microsoft customers to search through the offerings of more than 220,000, Microsoft Certified Partners based on their location, industry or specific solution. The service is now being made publicly available on the Microsoft.com web site to increase interest in third-party solutions built on the Dynamics platform. "What we want to do is to make sure that we're working with you and our partners, the community," Raikes said.

AMR's Montgomery said that the winners in the battle between Microsoft, SAP, Oracle and others would be decided by the "ecosystem" these firms can build with partners as well as the support they offer to customers, rather than the capabilities of individual products.

"The value [of Microsoft's business products] is in the partners, but it needs to bridge the gap between partner and customer and itself and the customer," he said. "[Microsoft doesn't want to] step on its partners toes, but although the products have good capabilities, its partners don't have a [sufficient] global span."