This week Microsoft announced the release of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 and with it signalled that it had embedded roles-based processing even deeper within the product as an aid to user productivity. Talking to FSN, Jan Sillerman, director of product management for Microsoft Dynamics NAV, “We are continuing to focus on what is most relevant to users rather than product features and functions”. But the move heaps pressure on other vendors still grappling with basic roles-based concepts. Gary Simon, FSN’s managing editor, examines the latest developments announced last week at Microsoft’s Convergence 2008 conference in Copenhagen.
Microsoft steals a march on competitors with shift from “roles-based” to “roles-tailored” ERP
Microsoft captured the imagination of the ERP software industry a few years ago by introducing the concept of roles-based processing which more accurately reflected the way people worked rather than the rigid modular approach of traditional accounting software. Furthermore, when coupled with deep Microsoft Office integration, roles based processing within Microsoft Dynamics NAV provided a formidable capability that allowed users to leverage their informal and unstructured communications in email and documents and merge this with the more structured world of transaction processing.
Roles-based processing brought together set pieces of user functionality “Infoparts” appropriate to a particular user's role in the business and allowed users them to leverage the full panoply of Microsoft's technology platform such as business intelligence and reports as well as the ERP system itself.
Microsoft's initial research into the way people worked (which involved more than 2,000 interviews in mid-market businesses and approximately 2,500 hours of video) identified around 53 separate roles but Microsoft’s Sillerman, who is head of the global technical product management team, acknowledges that people in small businesses often have to combine multiple roles. He told FSN, “We had previously defined a number of user roles but recognised that we needed to give users the opportunity to personalise them to reflect more accurately the way that they worked without necessarily involving Microsoft Dynamics partners or the IT department”.
Since the introduction of roles based processing, several vendors have introduced a roles-based style of working but this has often been confined to re-shuffling application menus rather than a genuinely different way of working. In this announcement Microsoft has taken the concept even further, allowing users to tailor the interface and maintain a roles based orientation as they delve deeper into the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 product. The shift from “roles-based” to “roles-tailored” is significant and threatens to leave other vendors even further behind in the race to improve the productivity of ERP products.
The new release which will be available from next month introduces “Personalised Role Centres” corresponding to 21 key job functions. These are designed to provide individual employees with tools, alerts and efficiency capabilities attuned to the needs of their particular role from within a single location, while other Role-Tailored attributes make employees’ jobs easier as their work takes them to other parts of the application.
Kirill Tatarinov, corporate vice president of Microsoft Business Solutions at Microsoft added, “Our customers and partners are facing complex issues today. Customers need to streamline operations and find ways to use resources more efficiently while partners are looking for strong opportunities to create and maintain vertical solutions,” Tatarinov said. “Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 allows us to squarely address the needs of midsize businesses in today’s economic climate and to support our partners’ investments. By using the role-specific user friendly ERP solution, both groups can boost productivity and work smarter, maximising their effectiveness in driving business impact.”
Other announcements around the release of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 include, more sophisticated business intelligence (BI) capabilities based on the new Microsoft SQL Server database layer and enhanced .NET Web Services which allow partners and users to integrate data and business logic from other applications.
“Our employees have enthusiastically embraced Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 because it fits their individual needs rather than force-fitting them into a one-size fits-all system,” said Henrik Dam Jespersen, CEO of Hurup Furniture. “The ease of setup and tight integration with the Microsoft products we already use allowed us to get up and running quickly and smoothly, and we’re already seeing increased productivity, reduced costs and smarter decision-making.”
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 will be made generally available next month in Australia, Canada (English and French), Denmark, France, Germany, India (English), Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, the UK and the US.
Related FSN articles
FSN White Paper - “How can mid-market companies benefit from roles-based processing?”
FSN Product Review - “Turning the tables on ERP” A review of Microsoft Dynamics NAV version 5.0
Microsoft seeks paradigm shift for Dynamics in mid-market accounting and ERP
