It is undeniable that you need Microsoft Dynamics 365 Partners in order to license and implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. At the same time, it is important to make sure that the implementation partners are reliable and efficient. You might think that there is little chance to be sure about the quality of services provided by implementation partners. We beg to differ. Even though you cannot be sure, you can be partly assured if you look into certain factors, before hiring a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Partner. Here we are going to discuss the basic factors you must consider before hiring an implementation partner: 1. Experience: no matter which Microsoft Dynamics app you are enrolling with, you must make sure that the implementation partner has enough industry experience. Experience of a service provider states that he is used to the complications or the particularities that are associated with licensing and implementation of Microsoft Dynamics Business Central and other Microsoft Dynamics apps. The more the work experience would be, the more skilled would be the employees. 2. Competency: Microsoft Dynamics Partners are tagged by Microsoft with competency logos, based on their competency level. The partners are associated with one or more areas of specialties. This is specified with their badge of competency. After going through the Dynamics 365 Business Central Demo, you can determine your area of requirement and thereby select a partner who is specially trained with the technicalities. Choosing a partner who excels in your area of requirement is always a head-start. 3. Reputation: a company or organization earns its reputation from the previous projects that they have taken up and the results they have provided. It is generally the responsibility of the previous clients to the service of the concerned Microsoft Dynamics 365 Partners. Thus, if a company has an intact reputation in the market, you can expect to get a decent service from them. Thus, doing a background check on the client-review might be a good idea. 4. Support: Microsoft Dynamics Implantation partners are, after all, individual service providers. One cannot expect to find the same kind of service in terms of performance or support under different service providers. The responsibility of all the partners starts with Dynamics 365 Business Central demo but does not end on the same point. Some partners have better support team and benefits than the others. Thus, while choosing your implementation partner, you must take it under consideration. Thus, when you choose your implementation partners, you should do some background research on the above-mentioned factors. The decision may not be easy or cent percent accurate all the time, but you would have better chances of gaining satisfaction and prospect. SUMMARY
There are a lot of implementation partners out there in the market. All of them promise the same thing, but only some of them end up providing their clients with satisfactory results. This article points out certain factors which the interested clients must consider , before hiring a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Implementation Partner.
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When it comes to select the perfect Dynamics 365 partner in US, it is quite tricky task. With so many options available making a choice is challenging. If you are in such a situation where making a choice of Microsoft Dynamics partner is confusing you, check out the following points. These are the essential which you must look for in a Dynamics 365 partner in order to take the perfect decision. So, without wasting your time, scroll down and check out: Technical expertise in terms of Microsoft Dynamics: Having technical knowledge is one thing and having the expertise in Microsoft Dynamics is other. So, do not get confused in both. There is an assortment of features and functions in Microsoft Dynamics, so while making your choice, you must make sure to evaluate the expertise of the Dynamic partner like if they are proficient in offering the integration with multiple systems also they are well aware of the capabilities as well as the challenges. Along with that they must have successful track record in implementing Microsoft Dynamics. Are they capable of keeping it up with the demand? Irrespective of your industry, it is a tough thing when it comes to keeping it up with the demand. You must check the competency and scalability options of your potential Dynamics 365 business central California. Check if they fit according to your requirement or not. Find out their specializations, if any and also ask for the testimonials given to them by their previous clients. It will help you in evaluating their worth as your Dynamics 365 business central California. Also it will give you an insight of how they deal with their customers in terms of quality and time management. Check their knowledge in your industry: While looking for Dynamics 365 partner California you must keep this in your mind that each and every business is different and if the Dynamics 365 partner you have shortlisted has no experience regarding the areas of your business, it is better to not consider them. They might be proficient in other business type but you cannot risk your time and money on them. Having specific and detailed experience in your industry is an asset because they will be in a better condition to deliver their services to your company as they are aware of the consequences, challenges and the prospects in the specific market. They will also have the proficiency in understanding the various methodologies that can help in the betterment of your business.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV vs. Microsoft Dynamics GP – Which one is for you? With the growth in the size of your business, the need for an ERP system increases significantly to ensure smooth coordination amongst various functions. But with numerous ERP systems available in the market, the decision to select the most suitable one has become more difficult. Two of the most prominent ERP systems in the present times is Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics GP. Let’s have a look at their key benefits that have made them popular with the users. Microsoft Dynamics GP Although not highly adaptable, with the option of quicker implementation and availability of a number of add-ons it offers excellent functionality. Following are some of its benefits that make it a favorite amongst its users: - 1. Management of multiple units and companies 2. Unified payroll functionality 3. More features than standard accounting packages 4. Manufacturing Accounting Software functionality 5. Support for long-term growth Microsoft Dynamics NAV (formerly known as Microsoft Navision ERP)
It is an ideal solution to meet your organization’s customized functionality requirements and is highly adaptable according to your varying needs. Some of its key benefits are: - 1. Highly customizable with ease of use 2. Suitable for management of Multi-Country operations 3. Customizable user interface 4. More functionalities than standard accounting packages 5. Support for the manufacturing process 6. Support for long-term growth Both offer excellent functionality and adaptability to enhance the productivity of your organization. But it might be possible that you are unable to decide as to which ERP system is more suitable for you as they have many features in common. Let’s have a look at the key differentiators which shall help you decide which one is suitable for your requirements. You are free to select from either of the above two high performing ERP systems according to your budgetary constraints and organizational requirements. As both are a part of Microsoft’s ERP Portfolio, they are entirely adaptable to all Microsoft systems and services and have a similar user interface. There is no doubt that Microsoft products are expensive. Unless the enterprise is good enough with the future goals, there is no use of investing a huge amount in the office products. If you are an independent user and do not require the premium features, then you can use the Microsoft Office 365 for free. Steps for getting Microsoft office for free 1. Online office apps If you are not a premium user, and the lighter version is enough for your use, you can go on to use the online office apps. Microsoft offers an interesting package with its Microsoft office 365 products. The package allows you to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, One Note, Calendar, and many more traditional apps from Microsoft. 2. Free office mobile apps If you are looking for free versions of Microsoft office, then you can get them on your mobile as well. In order to you the mobile app, you need a big screen smartphone with an Android or iOS system. The free versions give you an excellent version of all the important Microsoft office software. 3. Educational versions Whether you are a student, a teacher or someone related to education, one can use the office 365 educational version for free. The version includes free downloads, installation and exchange accounts. The user can get the educational version for a registered school through the online websites of the Microsoft sites. 4. Trial Version
The trial version of all the software is usually free of cost. Users can download the trial version from Microsoft’s websites itself. However, there is a big downside to the trial version. Microsoft automatically charges form your credit card as soon as the trial period ends. Thus, always remember to cancel the trial subscription before it ends. 5. Free with PC or laptop Numerous desktop and laptop companies have collaborated with Microsoft and gave away Microsoft Office 365 for free. Thus, while purchasing your computer, check with the manufacturer, and find out if they are providing you the office package for free. Many of the manufacturers also give the office package for additional discounts. 6. Evaluation program Many times, Microsoft runs its evaluation program to test certain office software from time to time. During such evaluation period, they give away the packages for free to its users. The evaluation period generally ranges from 30 to 60 days. It is just like the trial version in another form. However, there is a difference between evolution and trial period. Under the former, the subscription automatically ends and you can no longer use the software. 7. Public reviews This method is more or less like the evaluation period. When a certain version of the Microsoft Office 365 is launched, Microsoft gives away the software for free to get public reviews. This helps the company to evaluate the product as per the public demands and you get chance to use the software for free. Thus, with the above mentioned processes, you can get Microsoft Office 365 for free. Microsoft Dynamics is a powerful platform for ERP and customer relationship management. When the Dynamics is combined with Microsoft SharePoint, it becomes compatible to manage data and documents in a comprehensive way.
What is SharePoint? Microsoft SharePoint is a web-based platform which integrates with various Microsoft office sectors. Microsoft SharePoint helps in storing and managing the documents at the SharePoint server. The software is highly configurable and uses the substantiality of the organization. It is a content management application that simplifies the storage procedure and helps people to find and share information. The software also helps people to collaborate effectively by having secure access to documents and information as well. Apart from storage, the SharePoint configuration system integrates with Microsoft dynamics 365 to view the version history of the documents and change the properties of the document. Microsoft dynamics 365 in relation to SharePoint integration Vividly, Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a great opportunity to develop the business ERP using various management solution. However, one question arises in the minds of the users- where to save the data and documents? The CRM is not designed to record or save the data. The lack of document management for a business may lead to various loopholes in the system as well. Microsoft dynamics 365 with integration to SharePoint is a great combination for the people who ask document management in the organization. The built-in integration helps in focusing on storage and managing documents in the SharePoint document libraries. Benefits of integration – Overview 1. Simplified document management Since many organizations deploy the Microsoft Dynamics SharePoint for document management, it has to have easy user-interface. The integration helps the businesses in maintaining simple documentation of contacts, records, and accounts of the customers and the business entities. 2. Improved data security The dynamic CRM and the SharePoint collaborate together to give high-class data security. They allow the users and the non-CRM users to view the saved data but does not allow any type of editing. The user requires adequate permission and authorization to enable editing the data. 3. Better team collaboration Every company has a robust and technical document management system. Therefore, in order to maintain and utilize the data with all the departments, the data has to save on a simplified platform that is user-friendly. The Microsoft SharePoint and dynamics 365 integrate fruitfully to help team collaboration. The users can use the data, maintain them and share easily with various members of the team effectively. Microsoft Dynamics 365 works with Microsoft Power BI for Office 365 cloud services to basically provide analytical solutions and self assistance. It works on refreshing the Microsoft Dynamics 365 data which is displayed online. To work with Dynamics 365 data, Power BI Desktop refreshes data and personnel services in a new and powerful way. It makes it easier to analyze sales, services and marketing data when we use Dynamics 365 content pack for Power BI cloud services. Stated below are the instructions that one needs to follow to create Power BI dashboard- 1. First thing is to register with Microsoft Power BI. After this, go sign in and in the datasets area click on Get Data, and thereafter in the services section click on get and start by selecting from the options available i. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales manager ii. Microsoft Dynamics 365 service manager iii. Microsoft dynamics marketing 3. To go through the service manager and manager service content packs you just need to enter the specific URL, wherein the organization name appears and then click on next. In case you need the URL for marketing content pack, follow the same steps. 4. Then under the authentication head, you have to select OAuth2. 5. Now the data of your Microsoft Dynamics 365 has been completely imported and visualizations can be made easily visible. In case the content pack that you have selected does not appear in your web browser, go to the left pane of Power BI workspace and click on the content pack. To know more about content packs, let’s discuss the few content packs that are available for download- i. These content boxes generally support out of the box entities. ii. But you can also customize them by downloading their. PBIX files and then using Power BI Desktop of further customization. iii. This basically helps in creating a report that displays the live condition of the connected devices on Power BI network. The second thing to do is enable the Power BI visualization tools on personal dashboards. Before you do that check on the organization wide settings. By default the embedding by Microsoft Power BI is disabled so it must be enabled in personal dashboards. And how to enable it-
You can also use the Power BI desktop to directly connect it to Microsoft Dynamics 365. This can be done by following these simple steps-
Another option is using Microsoft Power BI with Microsoft Dynamics 365- on premises. This can be used to publish visualization which are easily accessible.To start with follow these steps to configure Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Power BI-
Last year somewhere in September an announcement was made by Microsoft that they would be releasing a preview of the developer tools that will allow a new generation of developers to begin building extensions for Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Financials. Then somewhere in December 2016, Microsoft made an Azure gallery image available containing the product and tools which would help learn about what would be Extensions 2.0. This is the name that has been given by Microsoft to the new versions of extensions, which are not based on the DELTA File Design. As it happens, it is easy to make extensions with the new tools rather than using the current suite with which you may have greater familiarity. Thanks to Extensions 2.0 in Microsoft Dynamics Navision, end users will get to code and write new objects describing the additional capabilities wanted in the system. Not only that, end users will also get to use Table Extensions and Page Extension objects to describe new fields and UI elements and get to work on the in-client page designer to make necessary changes in a WYSIWIG manner, all being stored as extensions under the cover. Are extensions some sort of customizations? In a certain way, yes they are. Those familiar to the MS Dynamics NAV Customization model must be knowing that changes can directly be made on objects. As it happens, the extension model prompts end users to design changes differently and make ones by extending core objects and linking to code through events. So instead of adding that field which represents the customer’s birthday to the customer table, the end user can put it into a table extension. If there is any intention of writing code, then it is important to put in an event subscriber which can check for the birthday and perhaps then do something about it.
As far as the Developer Preview in the premier enterprise resource planning solution for small and mid-segment companies is concerned, it is important that the following things be paid attention to: 1. The release, is available only on an Azure Gallery Image. 2. It is meant to be played with and tested, and let there be no expectation that it will come handy in writing production code. Do not even think of using it in production. 3. The Developer Preview in the most popular ERP Software for Small Business enterprises should at no cost be considered to write XMLPorts, Queries, Menusuites and Reports. 4. The existing solution should not be thought of as something that can be converted. There are plenty of unfinished features and if the code does not work, it is going to lead to a lot of frustration. 5. One should by no means think of using the .NET Interop. Let there be no doubt, that it has been disabled for the moment. 6. The in-client page designer should be tried out at all costs. The top right corner will have a little design icon. 7. Code should be written using new object types, which are table extensions and page extensions. 8. Event/subscriber solutions should be written. Existing guidelines should be followed on building extensions. 9. The sample code published should be tried out for greater familiarity. So this was all about the Developer Preview in the premier ERP Software for Small Business enterprises. So this was all about the Developer Preview in Microsoft Dynamics NAV and it is very important that you go through all of these details that have been mentioned above so that you do not struggle going forward. What are Cluster OS Rolling Upgrades in Windows Server 2016? How do these impact Windows Server Hosting? For the uninitiated, it is important that they know something about Clustering. Failover Clustering as far as Windows Server is concerned goes all the way back to Windows NT. The feature was developed to keep servers and their underlying applications and workloads running, even if a node in the cluster were to fail. Clustering ensures that high uptime requirements and Service Level Agreements are met. Also, new capabilities such as live migration make the service running on a cluster more resilient and agile as cluster nodes need to be drained and rebalanced whereas apps, processes and services continue running. The only challenge confronting cluster management until now was upgrading the underlying host operating systems on cluster nodes. Windows Server 2016 Clustering accounts for a mixed OS Mode. This implies that as far as individual clusters are concerned, nodes can run Windows Server 2012 R2 as well as Windows Server 2016. The Mixed OS Node enables the end user to drain cluster nodes and upgrade their operating systems one-by-one until all cluster nodes are at Windows Server 2016. From here on, clusters can be upgraded in-place without having to stand up and migrating workloads into a net-new cluster. A simple PowerShell cmdlet is used to update the cluster functional level. This is good news for both end users as well as service providers offering Windows Dedicated Server Hosting Services.
The process can involve taking a node offline, upgrading it, re-adding the node and subsequently repeating the whole process for each server in the cluster. In case a situation arises where the cluster node cannot be taken offline because of capacity or SLA constraints, then a temporary node can be added to the cluster and the process mentioned above be followed. The added node can then be removed once the job is over by the contracted service provider in charge of Best Dedicated Server Hosting Services. The process as such may seem pretty straightforward but at the same time, what has to be realized is that it might get a little too manual or perhaps script-reliant for use on larger clusters or if there are several clusters in need of an upgrade. To counter this, the System Center Virtual Machine Manager can be used and so can the built-in support for Cluster OS Rolling Upgrade, tasked to automate the entire process and upgrade the functional level. For long, Microsoft Dynamics AX has been the go-to ERP Solution for companies across the world. Its diverse capabilities, whether for Procurement and Sourcing, Project Managers and Accountants, Sales and Marketing Professionals, To Embed Images In Email Templates, Expense Management, Distributors, Insurance or Project Management have all been acknowledged very highly. The premier enterprise segment Microsoft Dynamics ERP is known better now as Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations and there are other capabilities in it as well such as BOM Creation and Calculation Groups for BOMs. Creating BOMs in the latest upgrade of MS Axapta is slightly different as to how it was in the earlier versions and can even deceive an experienced user if not handled with caution. In AX 2012, BOMs were created from the Released Product. After clicking on “Lines” in Engineering on the Action Bar at the top, the BOM screen would appear. The choice would then be made between “New” and “Create BOM”. Calculation Groups for BOMs and setting them up in the enterprise resource planning solution is a customization a Microsoft Dynamics Partner can guide you with. In order to run a BOM Calculation on Dynamics 365 for Operations, end users have to either set up calculation groups and assign them to individual items or set a default calculation group. Calculation settings from the calculation group are used subsequently as default values on the calculation page at the time of BOM calculation.
The default calculation group is required on the Inventory and Warehouse Management Parameters page or the product-specific calculation group is required on the Released Product Details page. The system looks for the calculation group setup on the Released Product Details page and in case does not find it there, looks on the Inventory and Warehouse Management Parameters page. If no Calculation group is found anywhere, users receive an error message during calculation. Calculation Groups contain policies for several models such as Cost Price, Sales Price and Warnings Checklist. Calculation Settings from the Calculation Group are used as default values on the BOM Calculation page at the time of BOM Calculation. There are multiple purposes of BOM Calculation Groups. 1. The Cost Price Model field indicates the source of a purchased component’s cost contribution data during the calculation of the planned cost of a manufactured item. 2. The Sales Price Model field indicates how the item’s data gets used to calculate a suggested sales price. Also, the item sales price of the cost group can be specified. 3. The Stop Explosion field indicates how a manufactured item should be treated as a purchased item for cost roll-up purposes during BOM calculation. Calculation Groups are defined under Predetermined Cost Policies Setup in Cost Management. These groups assigned with items help specify the cost and sales price of components as outlined by the calculation group. It is very important that a default calculation group is set up in the Inventory Management Parameters. This enables companies to have a standard cost group and profit setting for all items. Calculation groups assigned to items override default values set up in the Inventory Management Parameters. The default parameter can be set up at Cost Management > Inventory Accounting Policies Setup > Parameters > Inventory Accounting > Calculation Group. This was all about BOM Creation and Calculation Groups for BOMs in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations. Microsoft Dynamics 365 has been creating ripples even since its release about more than a month back. Organizations are still trying to explore as much as they can about it. Microsoft has re-packaged CRM capabilities very strongly in the form of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Marketing, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Services, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service and Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation and AX as Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations. There is plenty of other stuff as well to keep end users busy and excited. An earlier post introduced you to Microsoft Dynamics 365 . This one has details on Field Service Enhancements and Project Service Automation Enhancements. Dynamics 365 for Field Service Enhancements would be: 1. Connected Field Service: This helps service organizations transition to a proactive and predictive service model from a rather costly break-fix model. It combines monitoring and predictive maintenance with Internet of Things and Machine Learning. By using this, end users get to reduce downtime through proactive alerts from connected devices, address issues faster through remotely monitoring devices, cut down on maintenance costs and empower ISVs and Partners to enable new IoT scenarios on any Dynamics 365 entity. 2. Resource Scheduling Optimization: This helps set up the system to automatically schedule multiple items on a recurring basis to bring down overall travel time. It also considers a number of constraints and objectives while optimizing schedules like resource availability and skills required and priority and duration. 3. Common Scheduling Solution: End users get to schedule whatever they want, besides enabling the same for the entity of their choice including custom ones. This can be turned on to schedule marketing visits for an opportunity and also for booking time to work on a case, bookings, work orders and much more. Organizations using Field Service Enhancements will feel a new integrated scheduling experience. Those using Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation capabilities will feel an improved scheduling experience. Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation Enhancements would be: 1. Add-In for Microsoft Project: These will help you do all of your Project Planning in Microsoft Project. Not only that, you will also be able to publish the Project Plan into Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation. 2. Consolidated Calendar View: This helps get a consolidated view of Personal Appointments, Project Work Booking and Field Service Work Order Assignment on the Office 365 Exchange Calendar. End users will find it relatively easy to manage their day as all meetings, bookings, appointments and tasks will be there in the Office 365 calendar. Also, personal appointments can be captured in Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation Time Entry View to increase employee efficacy and streamline time reporting. 3. Copy Functionality: Information can be copied from Opportunity, Quotes and Project Contracts Forms. Information can be copied from these forms by simply clicking on the Copy button positioned on the Command Bar. 4. Estimated Tax Amount Field: This helps get precise project pricing information which includes tax using the New Estimated Tax Amount Field. The field can be gotten at Quote Line, Quote Line Details, Contract Line and Contract Line Details records. Organizations can explore all of these enhancements the moment they begin working on the Dynamics 365.
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AuthorThe author blogs and expresses his views on Microsoft Dynamics Technologies. Being a consultant himself, he relies on his experience of having worked on them while articulating his opinions. To know more about microsoft dynamics visit @ http://www.dynamicssquare.com.au/ |