Microsoft Delivers on Wave One of Microsoft Dynamics Business Solutions

An independent research firm’s report states that Microsoft business applications are “one step closer to product convergence.”

A while back I already predicted the strategy of Microsoft. Forrester Research is now on the same track and visualizes the roadmap in the next picture.


REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Corp. today reaffirmed that Microsoft Dynamics™, a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions, is successfully delivering on the company’s vision of roles-based productivity that enables the “People-Ready” business. A recent, independent report provides prospective customers with an assessment of Microsoft’s progress in delivering on Wave One and combining its enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. An excerpt from “Microsoft Dynamics Emerges From Wave 1,” Forrester Research Inc., April 20, 2006, states, “With its financial strength, ubiquitous Office environment and improving analytics capabilities, Microsoft is in a unique position to redefine business application usability, and is doing so.”

The first wave of Microsoft Dynamics innovations, announced at the company’s Convergence 2006 event in March, focuses on extensive collaboration functionality and powerful business intelligence through deep integration with Microsoft® Office and Microsoft SQL Server™. Customers around the world are seeing tangible results and business value from the first wave of Microsoft Dynamics products and solutions, which includes Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics SL and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

“Switching to Microsoft technology is allowing us to build a platform that is universal,” said Steve Lenz, vice president of Information Systems for LifeNet, the nation’s largest nonprofit, full-service organ donation agency and tissue banking system. “When you consider that saving a life or helping a patient in surgery often depends upon our ability to immediately and accurately transfer information, it’s crucial that we have a fully integrated system our staff can easily use, whatever role they play in delivering our services, and whether they are in the office or in the field. We are seeing functionality we haven’t experienced with other vendors’ solutions, and we anticipate the additional benefits of upcoming Microsoft Dynamics product releases.”

In addition to integrating traditional business applications, Microsoft is delivering on its vision of Web-services-based customization that leverages the functionality of Microsoft SharePoint® Products and Technologies. As the Forrester report further states, “With each new product release, Microsoft Dynamics delivers improved support for Web services … . With roles and personalization, SharePoint enhances the overall user experience across the Microsoft Dynamics product lines and moves the applications from a client/server, fat-client paradigm to the Web.”

“Our mission with Microsoft Dynamics is simple: technology innovation that delivers the most usable, flexible and forward-looking solutions on the market while also providing the best return on investment,” said Jennifer Bogdalek, general manager of U.S. Sales Strategy at Microsoft. “Customers of all sizes continue to come to us because that is a value proposition they aren’t finding elsewhere. We are on track, and will stay on track, to ensure that the Microsoft platform continually delivers upon this promise.”

An electronic version of Forrester Research’s “Microsoft Dynamics Emerges From Wave 1” is available at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/itanalyst/default.mspx

Find below an excerpt of the report:
Closer alignment with Office and SharePoint, tighter integration of Microsoft middleware technologies, and a role-based approach to software design bring the Microsoft Dynamics application product lines one step closer to product convergence. As Wave 1 enhancements near completion, Microsoft plans to deliver an increasingly role-based user experience, portals and collaboration, contextual business intelligence, and Web services-based integration. Wave 2 will include enhancements that drive further standardization across the product lines, including data, business processes, and roles. More importantly, Microsoft plans to double its investment in partner ecosystem development and has begun a $140 million Microsoft Dynamics and a $500 million Microsoft "people-ready" advertising campaign. However, the dependence of future Microsoft Dynamics applications on underlying Microsoft technology releases will continue to delay the time-to-market of the next-generation, converged product.