Whatever seed you feel Microsoft started out as in the great ERP tournament of modern business technology, they just established themselves as a legitimate title contender. Today’s virtual launch of the new Microsoft Dynamics AX showed that in less than an hour. Here are a few things that stuck out to me:
Azure and LCS
Born in the cloud, the new Dynamics AX is more accesible and more capable than ever before. Azure cloud technology provides global availability, complete scalability and a set of powerful services integrated directly in the application.
Azure Marketplace has almost 50 ISV solutions available for AX, 6 of which I am proud to say are provided by Ellipse Solutions. LCS takes lifecycle management further than ever before, aimed at giving users “best practice and speed in every phase of implementation and deployment.” Utilizing the newest capabilities of PowerBI and SQL Server operational analytics directly in AX workspaces, customers can see the information they need when they need it. They can then take the necessary actions in that same space.
Workspaces Ahh, yes. Perhaps one of the most talked about new features of Microsoft Dynamics AX is the addition of workspaces. Workspaces have come up in nearly every conversation I’ve had about the new Microsoft Dynamics AX – and for good reason, I might add.
A workspace gives you a 360 degree view of a specific business process on any device. They contain tiles, charts, and analysis reports that give users a full, real-time view of a selected business process.
User Experience I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. The new Microsoft Dynamics AX is the sexiest ERP solution out there. The comparison made in the virtual launch was the innovation of airline cockpit design by Boeing. They took what was becoming an overload of flashing lights and simplified it by darkening the distractions, flashing only the buttons the pilot needed. In the same way, Microsoft has simplified its user interface to show the users only what they need, without the unnecessary clutter. Being entirely built in HTML5 allows for greater mobility and can almost make customers forget what ERP used to look like.
The new newly updated task recorder is the real deal, too. Training and user adoption, like everything else in the new Dynamics AX, become much faster as users are able to document business processes and compile them into a training guide. Can it get any better?
Cortana Yes, it can. In a short demo during the virtual launch, the user was able to interact with Cortana through voice commands to enter a sales order. While the abilities of Cortana are still in development, the possibilities are endless in terms of what Microsoft’s virtual assistant can do.
Breakout Sessions Want to know more? Microsoft has the full recording of the virtual launch event and breakout sessions available here! Sessions are available via on demand video for business discussions, finance, manufacturing and retail.
Contact us if you're interested in learning more about the new Microsoft Dynamics AX!
