Dynamics GP 2013 – Many answers but a few questions still to be answered.


Microsoft has announced the upcoming release of Dynamics GP 2013, and much of what we have heard so far is really exciting.  Microsoft has fully embraced the cloud with this release of GP, and lost the shackles of the traditional client server architecture.  With the release of the new “Web Client” for GP 2013, users will be freed from the desktop, and can now access GP from virtually anywhere.

The release of the Web Client also frees the end-user from a purely Microsoft environment.  The backbone of the system will still be on Microsoft SQL Server, but the end-user will not be limited to just Internet Explorer as the browser.  Microsoft has still not revealed the entire list of browsers that will be supported, but the intention is to be as browser-agnostic as is realistic to support.

This development has several significant implications, among them opening the availability of Dynamics GP to some industries that have traditionally used non-Microsoft systems.  Examples would include entertainment, graphic services, education companies and others.  Second, the new Web Client looks to be opening up nearly the entire Dynamics GP 2013 system to the web.  Earlier speculation had focused the obvious candidates for greater access, like entering sales orders, checking inventory levels, reviewing Customer activity.  It appears now, however, that Microsoft intends to make virtually the entire system web-based:  Human resources, Manufacturing, General Ledger, Bank Reconciliation and the rest.

Licensing is also going to be simplified, with the price list shrunk down to just 5 items:  a “Standard Pack” that is the basis of the system, an “Extended Pack” that includes all of the advanced functionality from Manufacturing, Project Accounting, Field Services and Advanced Distribution, a “Full User” with complete “read/write” capabilities, a “Limited User” with full “read” capabilities and the “write abilities to Payroll Timesheets and Project Expenses”, and a “Configuration Pack” that combines the functions from the Integration Suite and the Customization Suite.

There are some questions remaining, like where do the Smartlist Builder and the Extender products fall?  Will they be part of the “Standard Pack”, the “Extended Pack” or the “Configuration Pack”?  These are two of the most popular extensions to the GP product, and I cannot imagine that GP would not include them somewhere in the mix.

What happens to the Business Portal?  In GP 2010 and older versions of GP, the Business Portal was the place to go for web-based inquiry and reports, and the web-based transacitons of Requisitions, Order Management and Employee Self-Service.  Will all of this functionality now be available thru the Web-client (either with a “Full User” license or with a “Limited User license)?  Following the mantra of “Keep it simple”, I can see Microsoft rolling these functions in to the Web-Client of GP 2013 ad dropping the Business Portal altogether.

Very excited to see the ongoing release of information on GP 2013, and I hope I can share answers to some of these questions soon.

Dynamics GP 2013

Check your calendar, Microsoft has announced that the next version of Dynamics GP will be released in the second half of 2012.  Rumor is that the release will mostlikely be around the September or October timer frame.

Dynamics GP 2013 is the final name for the new release, although is has long been known as GP 12 internally.  (The current release, Dynamics GP 2010, is known as GP 11, which is a continuaiton of the of GP naming convention.  Interestingly, the next version is code-named as GP 14.  What happened to GP 13?  Is Redmond superstituous?  seems like it).

GP 2013 will continue the long tradition of seeing many new enhancements to the product, with the marketing team saying "over 100 new items", while the product dev team talks about over 150 enhancements.  Whatever the number, this is truly a feature rich enhancement, adding tons of functionality to the product.  And when did the marketing team start underselling the number???

A few of my favorite new features for the product include:  Prepayments for Purchase Orders, Analytical Accounting codes for Bank Reconciliation and for Fixed Assets, General Ledger to Inventory Sub-ledger reconciliation report (this has been around for both GL to AP and for GL to AR, nice to get the Inventory sub-ledger added), and reason codes for inventory adjustments and transfers.

The single biggest enahancement, however, is the introduction of a Web Client for Dynamics GP 2013.  Freed from the shackles of the desktop client, Microsoft has separated the Accounting Logic layer from the Presentation layer.  Going forward, the accounting logic resides on the server/host, while the presentation layer is deployed to the desktop OR to the BROWSER.  That's right, GP 2013 is going to be "in the cloud".  Remote access without a vpn, Citrix or Terrminal Server setups, choices on platforms (laptop, tablet, netbook, mobile device) and browsers (no full details yet, but certainly more than just Internet Explorer.  If they include the Safari browser, the Apple world just opened up for Dynamics GP again).

TMC attended the Convergence event in Houston earlier this year, and the energy around GP 2013 was palpable.

Very exciting stuff, can't wait to see more details.  I will share them as soon as I get them!

John

Buying NEW ERP Software and The Cost of “Doing Nothing”

While the US economy has been slowly recovering, many small and midsize companies have been reluctant to invest in upgrading their systems. This reluctance can be based on a number of factors, including limited cash on hand, uncertainty about the current market environment, and others. Conserving limited resources in difficult times may, on the surface, appear to be a prudent course of action, but there may be some “hidden costs” to doing nothing.

For many companies, the last, large effort to modernize their infrastructure and ERP systems may have occurred 5 – 7 years ago. Having survived the (overblown) fear and uncertainty around the dreaded Y2K, these companies did upgrade around 2005 – 2006. However, since then, they may not have had the means, or the desire, to continue to stay current since then. The limited resources available to the company may instead have been focused on expanding their marketing efforts, developing new services and products, or simply trying to remain competitive in a difficult marketplace. Spending additional money an upgrading their systems simply never became a top priority. Doing “nothing” became the default position. This can be a dangerous and costly mistake.

Let’s look at the following “hidden costs” of “doing nothing”.

1. Employee Morale – Every day that passes with the old system, your employees must suffer thru the pains and headaches caused by an inefficient ERP package. Over time this has a corrosive effect on employee performance, efficiency and morale. Over time, your best employees will realize that their talents and efforts might be better served, and better utilized, working for another company.

2. Competitive Position – You cannot count on your competitors respecting your desire to “Do Nothing”.  It is far more likely that they are investing in new systems, empowering their employees to be more effective and more efficient, taking full advantage of the enhanced capabilities of their new system. Can you really afford to be falling further behind?

3. Recruiting new employees – most new hires want to be working with modern systems, as this will keep their own skill set up to date. They have worked hard to develop their skills and want to certain that they can use those skills to the best advantage. Telling a new hire that they will be working on a 10-year old system risks losing their desire in working with your company. Can you afford to be see the best and brightest of your potential new applicants walk away?

4. Falling behind means losing software support – calling your software provider for support with a new problem, and being told that your version of the software is no longer supported, means that you are now in a very precarious position. Sure, you can troll thru Craig’s List, and hope you can find someone with the skill set and the desire to offer you support on your system may work, but this is hardly a strategy to use in building your business.

Far from being a cost effective and rational plan, doing nothing about your aging and deteriorating ERP system will actually expose you to a great deal of hidden costs. As each day passes, the pains caused by the old system will slowly and inexorably increase. While the new pain each day may be very small, over time it will build and build, and eventually, you may be so far behind that your business begins to really suffer.