Product category:
Enterprise Resource Planning software (ERP)
News Release from: Microsoft Dynamics | Subject: Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 14 March 2007
Streamlining business processes for
productivity
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 has been designed to work with familiar programs such as Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services to help teams and individuals work more efficiently
Microsoft has announced the forthcoming availability of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0, expected on Mar 31, 2007
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 25 Feb 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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From the beginning of the development process, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 has been designed to work with familiar programs such as Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services to help teams and individuals work more efficiently, integrate with existing systems, fuel business productivity and make sound decisions quickly.
Mogens Elsberg, general manager, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, oversaw the development and delivery of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0.
"Overall, the advancements in this release are in three core areas", he said.
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"We've strengthened the entire solution with new and enhanced application functionality, we've added new integration capabilities with Microsoft Office and other Microsoft software and technologies, and we've made improvements to the overall core technology that will help improve the developer experience and boost partner productivity".
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 includes several areas of new and enhanced application functionality that will serve to drive productivity by streamlining business processes.
These include Sales and Purchase Document Approval, Prepayment, Intercompany Purchase Cost Distribution, Inventory Costing, Item Tracking, Jobs and Service Order Handling.
"Additionally", Elsberg continued, "we have worked hard to maximise the benefits that Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 users can gain through integration with other Microsoft products and technologies".
"For example, the solution has very deep integration with Microsoft Outlook that enables users to complete daily tasks within one program and have the data synchronised in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 and Microsoft Outlook".
Another key feature is Record Links.
Companies often have a lot of relevant information they need to refer to in formats such as Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel documents or on Web sites.
In Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0, Record Links allows users to add links to any Web site or file stored on a document management system such as Microsoft SharePoint.
And thanks to integration to online maps such as Windows Live Local Search, users can click a button next to the relevant address in Microsoft Dynamics NAV, on the customer card, for example, see the address highlighted in the on-screen map, and follow the simple driving directions.
"We have also made significant productivity improvements to our core technology and have integrated our Rapid Implementation Methodology (RIM) - which now forms part of Sure Step, a methodology that uses models of a company to make deployments and configurations much more predictable - directly into the solution".
"This provides our partners a clear implementation blueprint to work from, so they can more effectively plan their own resource requirements, and offer their customers a straightforward and well-defined implementation path, with no surprises along the way".
"There were many things we did while developing this release".
"Most important was our early feedback and input mechanisms, which helped ensure that our development direction was being set by appropriate stakeholder feedback".
"We took a traditional approach in terms of getting input from customers and partners".
"We did this by creating a structured online feedback forum, to gain detailed responses from stakeholders".
"We predicate our development on customer needs, so this insight proved to be extremely valuable".
"The more non-traditional aspect of this process was what we call the Customer Model, which is a very extensive research project where we took a very close look at users and the roles they played in the companies using our solution".
"This research formed the backbone of the RoleTailored approach that Microsoft Dynamics is taking in developing and delivering leading business management solutions".
Concerning the benefits of the new release, there is new and enhanced application functionality in many areas of the product, which enables partners to offer solutions that drive business value for their customers by streamlining their business processes.
An example of this is in the area of supply chain and inventory management, with Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 offering sophisticated inventory costing and item-tracking capabilities.
The deep integration of Microsoft Office with other Microsoft products also represents a further strengthening of one of our partners' most powerful differentiators - the ability for them to offer their customers a seamless experience working across the Microsoft platform.
There are also great opportunities for partners to build extensions to the product, and new and improved ways to build vertical solutions.
customisation has been a keystone for over a decade for Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
The fact that there is a development environment built-in and the ability to customise anything has provided a very compelling product.
Elsberg continued, "In the development process, being able to retain flexibility and ease of use of the product - the two main enablers of customisation - is without doubt always a key priority for us".
"We see it as one of our major product strengths - the product has won several awards for this and has earned the reputation in the market that Microsoft Dynamics NAV equals customisation and simplicity".
When asked what some of the primary challenges are that customers rely on the product to address, Elsberg commented, "Integration is definitely a key one and Microsoft Dynamics NAV can be implemented easily, affordably and rapidly, avoiding project-creep".
"We've all heard stories about ERP implementations that took much longer and cost much more than anyone originally anticipated, so we strive to make it a predictable, and as much as possible, an enjoyable experience for them".
"We truly believe that with RIM and Sure Step there is now no reason for any customers who choose Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 to have anything other than a smooth and predictable implementation process".
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