Microsoft Dynamics Blog

Is your business set to take on the world? Then, you need several sophisticated technologies in your arson to face the tough battle. For a business to grow and expand its operation, it is necessary to use tools like Microsoft Dynamics NAV. It provides your business with an easy ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution to connect with the operations, accounting, purchase, sales, and stock management.

How do you know what is good for your business? The assistance of a partner is significant when choosing the right solutions for your business. Therefore, with the assistance of a Microsoft Dynamics NAV partner, you can automate your small or mid-size business with ease.

The Significance of Microsoft Dynamics NAV Partner- An Outlook

The success or failure of a project depends upon your choice of the partner. With an expert Microsoft Dynamics NAV partner, you can accomplish your business goals. The expert team understands your requirements and provides the right solution. So, the Microsoft Dynamics NAV partner in Liverpool offers you a highly flexible and business-critical solution to run your business smoothly. It is highly advantageous with the following merits-

1. The experts understand your specific business needs and develop a solution that is suited for you. The deep understanding can help find the right tools and process for a smooth functioning.

2. The experience and expertise of the team can provides an exceptional service that is cost-effective.

3. The dedicated team can work with you to clearly understand the Microsoft Dynamics NAV upgrade needed for your business. With an established agile project methodology, your business gets the successful upgrades to meet the demands of the market.

4. It also ensures quality assurance of high standards, continued technical support/advice, and enhancements.

By choosing the Microsoft Dynamics NAV partner in Liverpool, your business can grow profitably. The complete solution provided by the experts will simplify your operations, provide greater financial control, and enhance the visibility of your business and processes.

You also get the assistance for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV upgrade that aids you to stay in compliance with all the necessary business regulations. You can identify the business challenges and identify all the risks associated with the change. So, you need not feel overwhelmed with the implementation of ERP software for your business.

Almost 70% of users around the world are as yet running old renditions of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, as indicated by Microsoft, passing up on their chance to develop and take advantage of the most advanced and best NAV experience. Thus, if Microsoft needs those users to utilize the most advanced and most ideal NAV technology, and stay loyal, that introduces an enormous overhaul opportunity.

The possibility is there to construct income and benefits from NAV updates. However, it has been discovered that numerous developers are not taking advantage of the chance. Some portion of the reason is the myths encompassing NAV upgrades. Along these lines, let’s have a look at some of the myths surrounding Microsoft Dynamics Navision upgrade and how they do not stand any ground.

Myth 1 - We don't have sufficient time to complete an update

Microsoft's NAV desire mean there is a major opportunity for designers to benefit from updates, so shouldn't that be a need for your business? An update implies your users will experience improved results from their NAV establishment and that reinforces client reliability.

In any case, as indicated by experts, an update is a task that requires some serious energy, fixation, the progression of work and continued tests. In the event that you update exceptionally old renditions of NAV, updating gets extremely costly. This includes that you likewise require time to do precise tests. Automated tests are at times not adequate; you require a comprehensive test situation.

By working with a pro update partner, you can set aside time for that imperative NAV upgrade in light of the fact that an expert will deal with the time-consuming tasks. In the event that you invest some energy arranging and planning for the redesign, you could spare much additional time to get more improved and desired results.

Myth 2 - Upgrading to advanced Version is not worth the effort

Microsoft's development methodology depends on including much greater usefulness, features, and interoperability with the arrival of each new update. Thus, the most recent adaptations of NAV represent an intense platform with an expansive scope of alternatives to coordinate with different, platforms, gadgets and administrations.

In any case, the more prominent level of interoperability likewise builds security hazards that could uncover your users' frameworks to assault. Upgrading frequently guarantees that the NAV establishment has the most recent safety efforts set up to limit chance.

Routine upgrades have another imperative advantage. In the event that your users just upgrade occasionally, each Microsoft Dynamics NAV Upgrade will take longer. Some customization won't update effectively; users will miss packaged capacities on transitional adaptations that could have spared them more money. Also, it could take a huge cost venture to move from an old form. Upgrading routinely diminishes the incremental cost of moving from one version to another, and that truly is justified regardless of the exertion.

Myth 3 - Upgrading to more up to date NAV forms is Complicated-

Moving up to the most recent Microsoft Dynamics Navision form is unquestionably difficult, however, it turns into a need. The principle reason is that each new form has additional products and highlights that permit more customization and better reconciliations with different stages and administrations. Remember that customization does not overhaul effortlessly either.

Another reason is the security dangers came about because of not updating your obsolete programming. Upgrading frequently guarantees that the NAV establishment has the most recent safety efforts set up to limit chance. This reason alone is justified regardless of the push to upgrade.

Moreover, periodic updates will take longer than standard updates. Moving basic information from a more seasoned stage to another one, skipping the middle of the road updates, will likewise demonstrate expensively. Introducing the most recent form may be the most cost-effective and sensible activity to indulge in.

Myth 4 - Redesigning custom usefulness expects change to center NAV objects

That is another myth that is never again obvious in view of changes to the structure of NAV in the most recent renditions. NAV 2017 saw the presentation of Extensions and that has changed the update of custom usefulness. NAV currently has isolate layers for center articles and customizations so the center framework update can be finished rapidly and effectively.

Integration of Microsoft SharePoint with Dynamics 365 offers a host of benefits to any company, by combining the power of both the apps.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 and SharePoint are two highly popular business solution apps that are being used by numerous medium-sized organizations worldwide. Both these programs are very powerful on their own and help companies manage various organizational functions effectively, but when the power of both these programs is combined, the benefits are significantly multiplied.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 has not been structured to store various essential attachments and documents, and users mostly use the notes attachment functionality to save the documents. This shortcoming can be quickly addressed with MS Dynamics and SharePoint integration using a server-based integration process. It would enable the users to save attachments and documents conveniently and access them as and when required.

Here are various other features of MS Dynamics and SharePoint integration or in other words, integrating Microsoft Dynamics 365 in SharePoint: -

1. Easy to set-up

It is effortless to integrate Microsoft Dynamics 365 in SharePoint. There are just a few steps that have to be followed to complete the integration.

2. No installation or changes

There is no need for any programming knowledge to complete the integration. This saves you a lot of money that would have to be paid towards installation charges. You do not need any additional tools for this process.

3. Up to date data

The data that has been connected automatically updates in the background, depending on the settings configured by you. You can also opt for manual update of data if that’s what you prefer.

4. One way and two-way connection

The SharePoint list functions as a front-end for Dynamics 365 and incorporates all the required features. It is also possible to write back the changes made to Dynamics in SharePoint with the help of creating, update and delete functionality.

5. Saving Dynamics 365 licenses

There is no requirement for Dynamics 365 licenses for SharePoint users as they are working with SharePoint lists as a data cache.

6. Notifications and Application Reporting

Workflows and item versioning in SharePoint can be employed for management of notifications and application reporting. There is an option for direct notifications on email if there are any errors that have been reported. In order to save settings and information logs, SharePoint list is used.

7. High security and easy maintenance

All critical and sensitive information can be stored using SharePoint Secure Store at one central location. SharePoint enables users to work on it in the form of an external data cache that offers better security and optimal performance.

8. Support for external systems

More than one hundred external systems are supported such as Layer2Data providers, vendor-specific data providers, and third-party data providers.

Here is how Dynamics 365 for Field Service Automation can make technicians more efficient and improve the business operation.

For any manufacturing industry, it is critical for you to bring about technical improvements so that things get easier for you in the field. Due to the technical inefficiency, things have become quite difficult as the technicians are not able to come up with the right solutions to the problems. Dynamics 365 field service automation can come in very handy for you when you are looking to make technicians more efficient. It helps in the optimization of the technicians and the resources that are available for you out there. Automation has become the need of the hour and almost every company these days makes use of automation techniques to enhance their services which are on disposal.

It helps you out in many different ways and here is a look at some of the ways in which the field service automation can help you with making the technicians better equipped and efficient -

Optimization of the resources - One of the major advantages that the automation will offer is optimizing the resources that you have in hand. It will automatically select the best employee for a particular job and get the needful done on the priority basis. Thus, you do not assign the call to any employee who is not a master at that job and that will certainly help in resolving the calls on an immediate basis.

Making technicians more effective - The second advantage that the automation will provide is that it will give a better view of the customers and their problems. Thus, you can provide real-time solutions to your customers which in turn will increase the faith of the customers on your brand. They get to help you in the following issues which are listed as -

1. They get to ensure that the appointments are scheduled on the right time and thus neither the customer nor the technicians have to suffer any kind of problem regarding this very issue. One of the major issues that come through in most of the cases without automation is that the communication between the technicians and the customers is not that effective. Thus, automation will help you a great deal over there.

2. They also provide you with full information about the customers by means of 360 views so that you know what exactly the problem is. Your Microsoft CRM partner will help you with information on every step which is critical in resolving the customer complaint.

3. It also helps in updating the on-site efficiency as the technicians can access all back office information on their device. Thus, they are able to capture all the work details and update them as well when you need them. This is one of the most important aspects as the things tend to get easier for the technicians.

4. Another thing with the automation is it makes use of the latest technologies which in turn will help your technicians with better solutions to the problems that they have in hand.

5. Another way in which it helps the technicians and the customers is by providing a fair pricing that helps you out a great deal. The most important thing that it does is that it creates a better image of your brand amongst your customers.

Drive towards innovation - This is another major aspect of the automation that makes it so very good for people. It helps you in driving the customers towards a better approach and your technicians are also benefited by the same. It helps you in enhancing the reputation of your company and making it more renowned amongst the customers as well.

Enhance your business exigencies with Microsoft Business Solutions. Microsoft Business Solutions helps in integrating various dynamics software solutions to provide better opportunities for your business.

It is often seen that small and medium scale businesses have some common problems that do not require complex business solutions. It is likely that when a business solution is too complex, they become costly and the majority of the small and medium-sized business enterprises are unable to bear such costs. SMEs do not want to invest in programs that are difficult to understand and requires additional manpower to supervise. Microsoft business solutions have come up with a perfect series of the solution to deploy management benefits in the small sector businesses.

Microsoft business solutions –Overview

Microsoft has come up with a segregated business solution that allows the business to pick the ones that they find lucrative and beneficiary. Microsoft has come up with various types of business solutions like Microsoft Dynamics GP, NAV, AXAPTA, and Office 365.

Among all the Microsoft business solutions, the Microsoft dynamics GP stands ahead of other solution packages.  It is known to be flexible in terms of usage. Microsoft Dynamics GP is now popular with a variety of industries because of its productive features. It works great in terms of accounts allocation.  It is easy to use, simple in navigation, easy to maintain and extremely simple to install. Microsoft Dynamics GP is known to have great reporting features and can manage import and export solutions as well.

Dynamics GP has the ability to instantly access the data and convert the insights into action. Microsoft GP has been famous for its strong financial management and out-of-the-box functionalities. It needs to be customized according to the company thus, making it more usable and less costly in comparison to other Microsoft business solutions.

Another lucrative business solution by Microsoft is the Microsoft business solutions Axapta (AX). AX is highly popular with the medium-sized enterprise that mostly deals with manufacturing, distribution and in maintaining retail chain businesses. It offers support to the companies in dealing with the global market completion.

It supports multi-language as well from payroll management to stock management, Axapta handles it all. It is a general software that can be integrated easily with other programs such as Microsoft Excel to give simplified reports.

Microsoft Dynamics 2018 NAV from the stables of MS Dynamics is now deeply integrated with other Microsoft products by connecting them with each other in the same business environment such as Dynamics 365 applications, PowerApps, Flow, Office 365, Power BI and other third party applications.

Microsoft Dynamics as one of the Microsoft business solutions is a complete enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solution especially for mid-sized organizations that is fast to implement, easy to configure and simple to use.

Dynamics NAV 2018 comes with totally new features that include Microsoft’s Cognitive services that use advanced algorithm allowing users to amalgamate artificial intelligence into the applications. In addition, automatic facial, speech and language recognition can be employed in HR contexts and in automating the procedures.

The image analyzer extension uses the powerful image analytics provided by Computer Vision API for Microsoft Cognitive services to detect attributes in the images when items and persons are added. Microsoft Dynamics has been really packaged with new features under the umbrella of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018. The following new features have been loaded under the Dynamics NAV 2018 such as-

1. User Tasks

This new feature facilitates in assigning of new tasks to be provided to any user with the tasks highlighted in a queue on the dashboard. The task assigner can set the due date, start date, priority etc for each task.

2. Employee Expense Management

The employee expense management feature allows expenditure to be registered on employee cards with a range of tools that helps in simplifying the process. The feature allows creating journal entries directly to employees in local currency, employee posting group, making payments to the employee in Payment Journal, correct mistakes with unapplied payments etc.

3. IA Image Analyzer

One of the dynamic features provided under Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 is the Image Analyzer extension that uses the powerful image analytics provided by the Computer Vision API for Microsoft Cognitive Services to detect attributes to the images that are added to items and contact persons so that one can easily review and assign them. By using the Cortana Intelligence, NAV 2018 can automatically fill up the data based on the images.

4. Power BI Integration

Power BI integration allows users to get reports thereby making them accessible out of regularly used NAV lists. Under this feature, Power BI report could be displayed to highlight specific visualization for business essential information.

For a customer-oriented business concern, the establishment of healthy customer interaction system is very important. The customer service system helps in developing better organization–customer relationship. Microsoft dynamics 365 for customer service help in empowering the employees to provide faster service to its customers.

The implementation of Dynamics 365 for customer service helps in creating brand loyalty and improving the market position of the organization. Moreover, the Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation helps in providing better service to the customers. The services may differ in the terms like assistance for self-help, site-service, or employee assistance.

Features of implementing 365 for customer service – an overview

 Customers today want quick delivery of service and relevant answers to the queries. Business enterprises that provide customer-oriented facilities must go for Microsoft dynamic implementation of Microsoft 365. The dynamics 365 has built-in intelligence that guides the organization to deliver faster and personalized service to its customers.

Customer engagement

Implementation of Microsoft dynamics 365 for customer service creates an effortless support system within the organization. This makes it easy to find answers to all the customer queries and answer them through the right agent. The implementation also aids in establishing an automated resolution that gives great customer support experience. It frees up the agents to provide a higher value of interaction with the customers.

Delivers fast and personalized service

Implementing dynamics CRM for customer service automates and guides the agents to give optimal outcomes. The feature empowers the agents with more productivity and directs them to follow up a certain fruitful action to solve the issues. It enables the agents to provide personalized service to each customer with the help of machine learning recommendations.

Learning from every customer

The Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation helps the agents and the organization to learn to from its varied customers. It improves opportunities to improvise the service experience with the help of customer reviews. This also helps in improving service through target analysis. The implementation also promotes optimal behavior among the agents through team competitions and high reviews grading.

Innovate with a modern platform

Implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 transforms the customer interaction with the help of artificial intelligence and guides the agents towards right behavior. This also reduces the cost of training and global infrastructure by giving an open platform for innovation.

 With the implementation of Microsoft dynamics 365 for customer service, it gives a 360-degree view of the customer's problems and issues. This not only opens the platform to learning but also in the development of basic infrastructure of the organization.

 The customer service team gets to learn about the varied issues and with the help of artificial intelligence, they work out effective ideas.

MS Dynamics Navision is being implemented by small scale to medium scale businesses. The businesses that have a great perspective for growth are using the latest Microsoft product for its efficient functionalities. In order to meet the demand of the customers, Microsoft has launched this simple product which has more controls over the financial and operational environment.

The Microsoft Dynamics Navision has drastically helped the businesses in automating and connecting their sales, purchases, inventory and accounting management. Navision is an ERP solution which is comprehensive and influential for the business growth. Implementing the right business solution helps in structuring the business in the right way. ERP business solutions are designed according to the business process of a specific company to bring out fruitful results.

Benefits of implementing Microsoft Dynamics Navision

1. Calculates accurate estimates of time and cost. 2. Minimizes future costs by anticipating the actual costs. 3. Avoids interruptions in the business. 4. Manages and keeps track of the projects 5. Gives fast and quality support to manage the various functionalities of business. 6. Guides to achieve a return on investment every financial year. 7. Keeps a track of the latest ERP system of the business. 8. Helps new users with thorough training.

Navision is a perfect Microsoft business solutions for the business to withhold the cost and bring out effective returns on the investment. The product regulates and streamlines the business process and increases profit margins. Navision is a multi-language multi-currency ERP solution to manage the business growth. Apart from the above benefits derived from the implementation of NAV, there are some operational advantages as well and these are-

1. Connects front offices and back offices

MS Dynamics Navision integrates the procurement of various functionalities of the business such as accounting, inventory management, sales, and purchases. Thus it connects the front and back offices with all other departments to integrate every possible solution. Since Microsoft NAV is a global enterprise resource planning solution, it builds relations within the departments to monitor the business performance wisely.

2. Streamline financial practices

Microsoft Navision helps in allocating general ledger practices, cash inflows, and outflows, planning of budgets, and figuring out financial reports. Allocation of various ledger accounts in multiple currencies and languages helps in understanding the financial status of the company. It also directs the businesses to gain visibility of the actual cost of operation, projects, and other activities.

3. Flexible and mobile

MS Dynamics Navision gives the business a highly flexible operation. It is itself a flexible and scalable solution that integrates and supports operational advantages. It gives the user a flexibility to view data from a mobile interface.

Microsoft dynamics is equipped with diverse ERP solutions. The solutions offered have great features that are hardly available on any other software packages. They are highly customizable, supports multi-language and currencies used around the world. Microsoft business solutions packages have high specific functionalities that assure compliance with regional requirements.

The two latest offerings of the Microsoft dynamics are in the form of NAV and AX with both having some major functionalities for providing impeccable business solutions. While some organizations prefer NAV and some others prefers AX. They both even though are apart having certain basic features in common.

Differences between AX and NAV- What are they?

1. The Type of Clients/Business Entities

AX is developed for large sector organizations that face multiple challenges every day. The challenges are decentralized over multiple locations of the organization that is solved through AX.

NAV is basically designed for medium to small-scale business, where the departments are centralized. The sectors use this solution as they look out for powerful technology to help them compete with larger business to expand.

2. Global activities

Microsoft Dynamics AX supports Master Data Management and a range of services. It allows various financial standards of the business as well. Microsoft NAV supports global companies that have lesser complex structure.

3. Industry Adaption

The Microsoft AX is specifically designed to handle six specific industries; finance, public, retail, service, manufacturing, distribution. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 is flexible and highly adaptable to ERP solution that can be used by all types of industries.

4. Manufacturing Processes

AX is designed to give a complete Microsoft business solutions for the manufacturing companies. Microsoft NAV is an integrated ERP solution specially created for all types of the manufacturing process. The solution is perfect to solve the problems of all types of manufacturing companies with its executive functions.

5. Implementation

Microsoft AX combats lots of features that need great decision-making power before deciding the implementation. This results in a bigger team of decision makers, huge implementation processing time, more cost and longer processing. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 implementation cost is moderately lower than the implementation cost of AX.

6. Launching

Both Microsoft Dynamics AX and Nav can be installed on your private servers hosted by the user. However, NAV 2018 is combat with great additional features that need special installation.

Microsoft Dynamics used for manufacturing business helps in boosting efficiency to manage production, which includes bills, supply orders, capacity requirements etc. One needs to respond promptly to the requests, changes and new business opportunities to stay strong in the competition.

Stated below are a few ways in which this can be done-

1) Growing business with confidence:

Many times manufacture reaches a point where their systems that are used to manage growth start hindering their ability to act with insight. With the business growth and diversification, one needs more than just bookkeeping, production, inventory and backward-looking reports. Few signs that state your account must be hindering your growth process- i. One can not scale operations to support the growth of a business ii. One has to remain reactive when there is time to be proactive iii. With this, customer expectations are hard to meet iv. Even supporting a mobile workforce is difficult This can be effectively managed by Microsoft Dynamics Implementation Schemes.

2) Manufacturing Best Practices:

There is a bunch of certified staff personals that can assist the manufacturers to implement Microsoft for the manufacturing process. One has to start with basics and then gain the benefits. Added values in phases help your business growth simultaneously. There are a few steps one needs to follow for the same process-   i. Phased implementations and reduced timing for a project ii. Manual planning for orders, be it sales or production which encourages flexible planning while letting you implement Material Requirement Planning iii. Calculation and effective planning of production times. With this, you can even setup capacity requirements planning iv. As per the operations demand, tune in the systems as per the changes v. Updating the systems with various manufacturing scenarios vi. Use barcode to eliminate the errors of manual time and material data

3)  Improve Customer Services:

Strengthen your relationships and maintain the competitive advantages by responding faster to the customer's expectations with the right kind of information at right time. This can be done by implementing the following Microsoft Business Solutions -

i. Increasing the accuracy of orders and response at the same time. This ensures customer satisfaction

ii. Rush orders must be immediately planned from the sales orders

iii. Modification of orders at any point of production must be enabled

iv. For better coordination, multilevel production of orders must be preferred

v. All the what ifs must be clarified to see how customers are affected

4) Management of inventory:

The heart and center of every kind of business is inventory. With the emerging Microsoft Dynamics NAV and DMS, a better management and forecast of the inventory can be done. This reduces the overhead risks and ensures better services to the customers.

5) DMS Physical Inventory Count Module:

Reduction in the efforts required to keep the physical inventory in sync with the DMS Physical Inventory Count Module is what people are asking for now. Whether a person is performing a manual kind of data entry or is scanning the barcodes, DMS and Microsoft Dynamics NAV can easily and effectively manage the complete physical inventory and cycle counts, which also includes the Work In Progress (WIP) Inventory.

One can improve the margins by-

i. Increasing the sales confidence by upgrading the “in stock” market

ii. Increasing the worker productivity by majorly reducing the time spent on stock search

iii. Improving customer satisfaction by on-time delivery of goods

iv. Managing the size of inventory overstock which is majorly used for compensation of the out of sync inventory control software

6) Shop Floor Data Collection:

Barcoding is used mainly to overcome the errors typically associated with manual data entry. We here have a tracking solution for manufacturers with a limited functionality but is rarely fully implemented, this DMS Time Collection Module has a very short payback cycle, which is another kind of Manufacturing Accounting Software.

i. Barcoding as a process speeds up the shop floor time collection while reducing any entry level errors

ii. Also, real time reporting for evaluation of job is done, which measures progress as well as costs, by verifying the names of employee and checking the time on production orders

iii. There is this new Full Manufacturing Execution System(MES) which allows the shop floor users to:

a. View the documents as it is

b. Record the production-consumption and outputs

c. Enter quality measures

d. Check the production comments

e. Dispatch list management for jobs and other orders

iv. To check maintenance costs the time against fixed assets must be recorded

v. The intuitive user interface is encouraged for speed adoption, reduction of training time as well as entry time errors

vi. Consistent interface for salaried people to simplify operations must be encouraged

vii. Multilevel approval of time through organizing hierarchy must be done.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for project service automation is an integrated suite of solutions built to enable Project-Based Organizations (PBOs) in managing services from sales through invoicing.  It is built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM operating as one holistic solution.

Defining Project Service Automation - An Introduction

Project Service Automation can be defined as an end-to-end solution that handles projects from the beginning to the end that includes project contracts, available resources, budgets and costs, project management and other deadlines. The Microsoft Dynamics 365 project service automation enables billable project-based organizations to manage all aspects of the client facing activities from sales through project staffing, project delivery and invoicing.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for PSA - Modules

The collaborative framework provided by Dynamics 365 for PSA (Project Service Automation) allows team members to work together to ensure clients and customers are satisfied in addition to maintaining or exceeding profit margin requirements. The Microsoft Dynamics 365 for PSA consists of seven core modules that include –

1. Opportunity Management – Opportunity Management module consists of an integrated dashboard that provides visibility of potential opportunities, their costs, duration and projected profit.

2. Project Planning – This module enables the sales and project managers to collaborate on the work proposed with the visualization of cost, duration, and value offered to the prospective client or customer.

3. Resource Management – It is a module of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for PSA enables visibility into the resources in order to bring in the best potential fit in terms of cost, availability, skills etc into the project work.

4. Team Collaboration - This module provides a collaborative environment for the team members so that they are able to share information to collaborate on project deliverables.

5. Time and Expenses Management – This module enables individual consultants to track accurately their project time and expenses concerned with specific tasks in order to maintain cost deliverables thereby maintaining cost control within the project based work.

6. Customer Billing – Through customer billing module project managers can track, review, and update and approve all project related costs followed by invoice generation that can be emailed to the customer or client.

7. Service Analytics – Service Analytics is an interactive dashboard that provides the necessary infrastructure for management to understand all aspects of the projects delivered, their cost, success rate, revenue and other important performance indicators necessary to successfully run a project-based business.

Every business starts from a zero, but with hard work, determination and dedication it blossoms into a prolific establishment. As your business grows, you intend to take it to greater heights, and this aspiration never ends. With our Microsoft business solutions Our IT experts at Dynamics Square, help you achieve better and faster development.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a business management solution from Microsoft that helps small and mid-sized organizations to automate and rationalize business procedures. The rich features of this software help various companies to enhance their functionality and give them a better support system that facilitates an increase in their target customers. A product of Microsoft Dynamics ERP, this software helps your company grow by managing your organizational needs.

Let’s take a look at how Microsoft Dynamics NAV helps your company in making better and smarter developmental moves:

1. Manages Finances: A business depends solely on accurate finance management. Microsoft Dynamics NAV helps you by maintaining accuracy in your finances and accounts. Being an updated Microsoft business solution software it keeps in record all your assets and investments. All your business transactions and cash transfers are in record and are also timely updated by the software, therefore saving you from the headache of managing accounts and finances.

2. Manages the production, sales and services: It is a powerful tool that manages the inflow and outflow of your products and services. The software credibly manages all your services starting from production to consumption. It also helps in smart management of your company’s marketing methods by keeping under diagnosis the sales patterns, contracts and campaigns. It’s easy to use interface helps in making your company more productive thence generating better and greater growth for your business.

3. Manages Services, builds customers:  A satisfied customer is an asset for your company, and this dynamic software from Microsoft helps you in multiplying customers. Since you are in a direct connect with your customers, you know them and their anticipations in a better way, which helps your company in giving better services to your target consumer.

4. Better Document Management: Every document is saved on cloud. This software from Microsoft Dynamics ERP is a boon in terms of document management. All the documents are stored electronically. Since you manage and edit them electronically, there is a nil chance of losing or misplacing them. This not only saves time, but helps in smart administration of your company.

5. Manages Projects and Staff: The software automatically keeps up with all the phases of a company project. From working hours, estimates and deadlines to resources and capacity, this smart business solution keeps you updated. Moreover it minimizes the complexity of salary management of employees and keeps an eye on scarcity of work force as well.

6. Get things done at the touch of a button: The best feature of the updated Dynamics NAV is that it is seamless to operate. A meagre knowledge of softwares’ like Microsoft Office tools is enough to operate it, you can accomplish your tasks from your inbox, using Word and Excel. Being Mobile and laptop operative you get to manage your company at your instance and facility.

Microsoft Dynamics AX

Microsoft Dynamics AX is a powerful ERP System developed to deliver powerful, agile and easy to use solutions that add value to organizations thereby providing more business value through a continued emphasis on simplicity.

Microsoft Dynamics AX – An Introduction

Microsoft Dynamics AX released in 1998 brought forward a new object oriented technology within the reach of midsize companies that needed scalable, powerful, business management suite to run their operations. The Microsoft dynamics ax features include more than 1000 new features and enhancements across the core enterprise resource planning (ERP) and industry capabilities. Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP software with its latest version of 2016 has been introduced with a completely new user experience and Azure native architecture.

Features of Microsoft Dynamics AX – A Summary

Microsoft Dynamics AX is now a cloud first application that will be updated and maintained continuously without the necessity of companywide downtime for cumulative updates or the necessity of waiting out for the next version for upgrading to the latest versions. Microsoft Dynamics AX is also known as Dynamics AX7 with simple, transparent and flexible per user licensing on monthly AX subscriptions. The Microsoft Dynamics AX allows companies to have analytical tools to see a holistic view of their business to make faster and more accurate decisions.

The combination of intelligence tools such as Excel, Power BI, and scalable computing through the cloud enables finance professionals in uncovering the deeper insights effectively to make an impact on the bottom line. The BI or Business Intelligence features in Microsoft Dynamics AX brings with it standard visualizations that are specific for target roles. The newer features of Microsoft Dynamics AX include :-

1. Updated user experience – The focus is now on mobile –‘first’ strategy with users no longer required to tie up to the Windows computer. The flexibility of the new dynamics ax allows the users to access it from a variety of devices that include Windows, Android, iOS and even Xbox. As microsoft dynamics erp software is written in HTML5 is now accessible through the web based client.

2. Cloud Model – Microsoft is firm on releasing the Dynamics AX first as a cloud-based model with an improved sign up experience and near instant provisioning.

3. Pricing and Licensing – The other feature of dynamics ax is the subscription model, which is of two types – user based and device based. Organization are no longer required to pay for unused licenses

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations is the cloud-based ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution that provides cutting-edge business productivity tools through its browser-based touch-enabled HTML user interface. The latest offering from Microsoft has pushed the limits for ERP for both private and public and clouds, in addition to on-premises solutions. It influences the speed, expediency, and cost-efficiency of functioning in the cloud while utilising the latest technology from Microsoft.

What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 comprised of ?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 packs up diverse Microsoft Dynamics services into a single cloud-enabled offering. The Software-as-a-Service system merges the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for small businesses and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) of preceding editions of Microsoft Dynamics with further features such as Microsoft PowerApps and Microsoft Flow. The Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations include Financials, Project Service Automation, Operations, Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, and Field Service solutions. IT professionals can use Dynamics to deploy features, monitor and adjust environments, and keep up with the hottest fixes.

What can you achieve with Dynamics 365 for Operations ?

With Dynamics 365 for Operations, you can look forward to obtaining the following results:

1. Reorganize your business productivity goals and push yourself to accomplish them with valuable real-time insights on practically any device. 2. Manage your business across diverse IT settings on a highly secure and reliable cloud platform. 3. Catch on industry-specific ERP knowledge and integrate with the entire Microsoft technology package including the Dynamics CRM for small businesses and Office 365. 4. Boost your business performance with the latest intelligence technology tools and achieve extraordinary results by implementing best practice models at all levels. 5. Freedom to choose cloud usage to suit your requirements – use public cloud with the power of private cloud or hybrid cloud.  In this way, you can make optimum use of the cloud capabilities. 6. MS Dynamics has the ability to alter the economics of operations, deployment, and support so businesses can use Dynamics to leverage new technology. 7. Small to medium-sized businesses can cut their costs and enhance productivity through Microsoft’s cloud-based software. CRM for small businesses can easily import data from previous systems into Dynamics 365. With data in the system, they can go on with their business processes.

Released in October 2016, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 is the latest version of NAV. It is an Enterprise Resource Planning solution that rationalizes your business entity by optimizing the management operations and automating the basic functions of your organization. Microsoft endeavours to release an upgraded version of its software, every year and NAV 2017 is an upgrade of NAV 2016.

Trends change, technologies change and demands change. To keep up with the changing demands and give better facilities NAV 2017 with Microsoft Dynamics Support is all set to revolutionize your business management operations. Let’s sneak-peek into the latest Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017:

1. Linked to Office 365

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is directly connected with Office 365, which implies that you can easily analyse and share your data. Not only this, you can also now effortlessly traverse between NAV data and your office tools like MS Outlook, MS Excel etc.

2. Assists with set-up wizard

Being a time-saving software it avoids irrelevant labour. It assists you in data import and has an integrated Office 365 setup. The setup wizard simplifies your experience and mentors you through the setup scenario making your tasks simpler and faster. It is also upgraded with an improvised support for better cash supervision which is easy to setup and also has an adjusted cash flow prediction source that provides you with an inclusive impression of the complete cash transactions of your company.

3. Everything is electronic

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 makes e-payments easy and traceable. It facilitates your customers with an easy payment system and supports numerous ways of accepting payments like credit cards and Pay Pal accounts. The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) aids in tracking the incoming items.

4. Cortana power

The latest version of NAV has an integral Cortana smartness that helps you in better management of stock and customer services.  The software works on the best predictions system as it uses different algorithms and evaluates results and returns the forecast of highest quality and credibility.

Microsoft has introduced New NAV Development Tools. These help build extensions and apps in and for Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

 The first one is the In-Client Designer with an appropriate screenshot given below.

This development tool in Microsoft Dynamics Navision helps make an extension in the client itself. Business consultants and UX designers will have the time of their lives working on this drag and drop interface. They will be enabled to rearrange fields, rename groups and reposition elements. All this, in order to build the ideal extension which supports an industry-specific solution and does its bit to endorse business process optimization.

 The other one is Visual Studio Code. A snapshot of the same, has again been given below:

Visual Studio Code

This development tool in the premier ERP Software for Small Business enterprises facilitates use of the AL Extension, which helps build powerful extensions based on tables, pages and code units with the help of new objects such as Page Extensions and Table Extensions. End users get to build rich extensions which can be reused. They also get to extend core business logic in their applications.

 Both of these tools in the premier enterprise resource planning solution for small business enterprises are available in Azure VM. Hence, there is a need to create a New VM in Azure. Microsoft has already created a deployment template for end users, a snapshot of which has been given below. As it happens, once that deployment template has been created, the blanks have to be simply filled up and after that VM will automatically be deployed.

The entire process has been bifurcated in steps.

1. Create Azure Subscription: In case the end user does not have an Azure account, then a free account can be tried out. A new free subscription can be created on  https://azure.microsoft.com/free/.

2. Deploy Azure VM: All that the end user has to do is click on the below link, which will redirect him/her to the custom development template on Azure. Doing this will prompt the end user to enter his Azure Subscription login credentials. The link would be http://aka.ms/navdeveloperpreview.

The moment the deployment process is complete, it will halt for 10-15 minutes before the Virtual Machine is initialized and VS Code gets installed and configured.

Connecting to the Virtual Machine: The Virtual Machine has to be selected (Server 1), a screenshot of which has been shown below and the screen below it shows that the next thing to do is simply click on “Connect”. The moment this gets done, the download of the “Remote Desktop Connection” begins.

The “vmadmin” password has to be entered to connect to the Virtual Machine.

Once this has been done, then the desktop icons visible below will help you to open the Web Client of Microsoft Dynamics NAV and also that of Visual Studio Code.

Most organizations across the world have started migrating from Microsoft Dynamics AX to Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations. This being the newest avatar of the premier enterprise-segment Microsoft Dynamics ERP, it is obvious that organizations were bound to be curious going forward. Some though, still continue to work on the most recent MS Axapta upgrade. Microsoft has made it pretty clear that companies already using the most recent Microsoft AX upgrade can continue doing so and the moment they feel that Dynamics 365 for Operations beckons, they can plan a migration.

 What all options are there for organizations in terms of hosting the enterprise resource planning solution?

 Companies that continue to use the current version of the premier enterprise segment ERP can consult with their nearest Microsoft Dynamics Partner in Australia and will most likely be suggested 2 options.

 1. Private Cloud: Hosting AX on Private Cloud means that companies get to enjoy higher levels of security and customizations. They get access to greater resources at comparatively lower costs. Private Cloud accounts for a better performance as the infrastructure is dedicated completely to the business and is not a shared service. Moreover, there are automatic and managed backups and upgrades. Also facilitated, is offsite data storage to support business recovery and emergency contingency plans. Some service providers also offer a hybrid option which can be combined with lower-cost solutions for greater flexibility.

 2. Azure: Microsoft’s premier hosting option is another way of hosting AX, and just for the record, this can also be used with Data Resolution. Compatibility or Configuration will not be an issue since Azure happens to be a Microsoft product and the nearest Microsoft Dynamics Partner can be contacted in case issues do arise. Some of the tools and services available through Azure include the IoT Suite, Cognitive API, Bots, Machine Learning and several compliance offerings. When Azure is used alongside Data Resolution, companies can increase data storage, keep adding users, have a single bill coming in for both software and infrastructure, seek support 24/7 and store data across multiple locations through robust Microsoft backbone server architecture.