Dynamics CRM is holding its own in the LinkedIn Poll "What is your primary Client Relationship Management (CRM) Software that you use?" running a very close second behind Salesforce.com.

ERP Software Blog has a nice post up describing how Microsoft is finding success in the Enterprise Software space due in part to their shift to Azure cloud capabilities.

The Microsoft Dynamics stack isn't just for small and medium sized business.  We're seeing GP fit better and better in the enterprise space.  Don't rule it out when considering your next ERP.

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Are you frustrated with your Dynamics ERP system and starting to consider other options?  Maybe you feel like you have outgrown your Dynamics ERP system and need to move on to something like SAP.  Maybe it's just time to take a fresh look at your ERP strategy to take it to the next level.
Over the past few years we have completed several re-implementations of Dynamics GP for our clients while several others are considering the same in favor or moving on to something else.  Here are some reasons why they are choosing to re-implement.
1. Enable new revenue streams and growth strategies:
After completing a Dynamics GP implementation for a client in the early 2000s they recently changed their distribution strategy to include direct sale retail stores and have expanded the number of customer service centers.  During the initial implementation, neither was part of their strategy or a design

Happy Holidays everyone!

2010 has been great year for all of us at MBS Guru and Straight Arrow Consulting.  We recently wrapped up an integrated Dynamics CRM/GP implementation further evolving our Equipment Rentals Solution for Dynamics GP, are still working to help a client open a new Retail Store with an integrated Dynamics RMS solution, and are excited about all of the great projects, clients, and new products we are working with in 2011.

Check back for more posts from me, Bryan, and others after the first of the year.  As usual, we hope to grow to be more active in the community next year and expect to introduce a new MBS Guru contributor with a core competency around SharePoint soon.  We have a lot going on and are excited to share.

Cheers!

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The 2011 Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Conference is open for registration.  This Partner event is in Fargo again this year; March 1-3.  They haven't posted the agenda, speakers, or sessions just yet but I'm sure we'll see Dave, Mariano, and some other familiar faces with some new information for us.

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Wow!  I never thought I'd have an opportunity to jump between Polino and Musgrave in a squabble but I just can't resist any longer.  Maybe they'll break out the sumo suits at Tech Conference this year and they can settle this debate once and for all.

I think Dave is just trying to get a rise out of Mark but I'll chime in anyway.  Like most, I lean towards the school of thought that Dynamics GP RW should NOT even be up for consideration as a the best in the world.  BUT, that's not to say it can't be great.

You can pretty much do anything you want with GP Report Writer as along as you have 1) intimate knowledge of the inner workings of GP and 2) know how to customize reports using VBA.  Dave demonstrates some of the advanced capabilities in his latest post on how Dynamics GP

*Note* - This code was written for Dynamics GP 10. If you are using Dynamics GP 2010 see this updated article.
I was recently tasked with creating an eConnect integration between Microsoft Dynamics GP 10 and a custom SharePoint 2010 Portal designed to replace the GP Item Maintenance process with workflow and departmental routing.

Most of the eConnect examples I see online serialize the eConnect object to a file before loading it into an XmlDocument. This can cause unnecessary permissions concerns, and worse, if your application runs under the context of IIS or SharePoint you may not have a file system available to you at all. This was the case in my scenario. A much better approach is to serialize the object in memory.

The latest build of the Support Debugging Tool has been released by THE David Musgrave.  Check out the fixes, enhancements, and new features here http://blogs.msdn.com/b/developingfordynamicsgp/archive/2010/12/02/support-debugging-tool-build-14-released.aspx.

Ask your partner to download it for you now.

Thanks Dave.  Keep it coming!

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If you haven't already done so stop by the Microsoft Convergence 2011 site at http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/convergence/atlanta11/about_overview.aspx and sign up for Registration Alerts.  You don't want to miss out on the early bird discounts.

See you in Atlanta!

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I was presented with a business process problem by a client related to managing Credit Limit overrides in Dynamics GP Sales Transaction Entry.  This company does not supply Order Entry users with the Credit Limit override password.  It's the Credit Manager's responsibility to decide whether or not to allow that override.
This client has been working for some time to generally route information to the right person that needs to make the decision and eliminate waste in their business processes.  During the normal course of business when users are presented with the "Please enter the credit limit override password:" prompt the Credit Manager is called to the user's workstation to make the decision on the fly.

This is a very inefficient process.  What a great opportunity for improvement!
To resolve this issue and get the information to the person responsible for making the decision while maintaining the system controls required we got creative

The topic of whether to execute a project by developing in Dexterity came up in a requirements discussion I had this week after The Dynamics GP Blogster and then Mark Polino opined on the subject.  I have spent some time thinking about this myself as we're also working on plans for 2011.  I don't think Dexterity is going anywhere as long as GP is around although it will continue to get depreciated over time.

When Microsoft purchased GP and consolidated ERP solutions under the Dynamics brand all the buzz was about both consolidating those solutions into 1 best of breed solution and/or replacing Dexterity with (insert your favorite .Net language here).  I don't even remember how long ago that was.  We're not really any closer to realizing either vision even though it's clear that .Net is the future for GP.

With the introduction of the Visual Studio Toolkit we're

I have posted both a .pdf version and a .ppsx version of the Decisions 2010 - Extending Your GP Distribution Solution with the Field Service Series presentation for download.

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