Last week, Microsoft announced the kickoff for the latest release for its enterprise ERP, Dynamics AX. Reimagined for a “cloud-first, mobile-first” world, the ERP will no longer have a separate release name or year, reflecting the realities of a continuously improving and updated product on the cloud.

Mike Ehrenberg, Technical Fellow, Microsoft Dynamics ERP, talked with our partner portal, ERPsoftwareblog, and explained that a preview would be open to the public and general availability will be made in Q1 2016.

The only constant is change and this is extremely true in manufacturing.  In order to meet business goals, effective project planning, proper resource utilization and efficiency in tracking costs for different projects are essential. Extremely disparate systems can make this seem like a lofty dream but for every problem, there is a solution. The latest technology solutions and ERP systems can enable manufacturers to successfully manage inventory and schedule their production to exceed these demands. Enterprise systems like Dynamics AX ERP are built to meet the dynamic needs of complex, project-driven companies and help augment and optimize business processes. They unify the highly disparate systems that are central to most project-driven companies and offer an integrated platform that enables them to achieve business process efficiency.

Businesses are increasingly faced with an astounding amount of complex mandatory regulatory requirements. Compliance can be a complicated and costly endeavor for many organizations as they try to juggle all of their requirements without fail. An ERP software with an out of the box compliance module can ease the burden of this challenge. You’ll find that compliance management can be simplified and streamlined – resulting in lower costs, increased overall efficiency, and better control of the associated risks.

With organizational growth, complete visibility into important business processes across all of your teams is essential to make effective decisions. Successful implementation of ERP software enables you to integrate core functions into a single software application, streamline workflows, and improve business efficiency. In order to sustain in a competitive environment, ERP systems need to be agile, cost-effective, and innovative. While the latest ERP systems offer various benefits like unified reporting, automated tasks, improved integration and collaboration, centralized management, and improved visibility, there are numerous organizations that will fail to take advantage of these benefits due to the below 5 misconceptions.

With enterprises operating from across the globe, disparate departments, systems, and data silos can hamper business growth. This provides motivation to invest in enterprise systems that help improve operations and enhance business process efficiency. While you may recognize the need for an ERP system, and the benefits it can offer, ERP implementation projects can either make or break your enterprise. Although deploying an ERP system is a costly and time consuming activity, proper implementation can enable you to experience increased growth and substantial benefits. Here are some questions that every CFO should ask before choosing an ERP:

As organizations grow, business processes become more and more complicated. An enterprise resource planning (ERP) software must be able to evolve alongside your organization if you’re hoping to maintain operational efficiency and remain competitive in your industry. There’s no denying that AX is the most versatile ERP software in the Dynamics ERP family. While GP and NAV offer important functionalities for small businesses, they simply don’t compare to the scalability and functionality of AX.

 

Microsoft’s mantra is to do great things and their newest ERP release is making a significant shift from past versions in order to accomplish this. The newest Microsoft Dynamics release, codenamed “AX 7”, will be taking full advantage of cloud computing in order to position itself as a powerful and versatile ERP system by running on Microsoft Azure, leveraging an HTML5 interface, and continuing its current Lifecycle Services functions. These three features will pave the path for ERP software to become more innovate and intuitive than ever before – starting with AX 7

 

Choosing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system can be challenging and filled with many anxious moments. Since ERP spans the entire enterprise and will forge the course of how you do business for at least the next five years, you can imagine the anxiety it creates for the person responsible for the outcome. Nobody wants to be responsible for something going wrong which often encourages businesses to put off implementing a new ERP – even if they really need it. Since an ERP system affects every unit of business, the pressure is even greater to ensure that the system works.

Within the Microsoft Dynamics family, there are several different branches of ERP systems - NAV, GP, and AX.  All have unique functionalities, strengths, and weaknesses, but the efficacy of these ERP systems depend on the business size, industry, and what you hope to gain from the ERP software. Some ERP systems offer simple and limited functionalities, making them better suited for small businesses. Other software is more complex, but also allows room for growth into midsize and large enterprises. There are numerous differences in the functionalities of these ERP systems, so finding the ERP system that is the best fit for your organization may be challenging – especially if you’re uncertain about the differences between options.

There are many reasons why your business might be looking to implement new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. You might be migrating from an outdated system, consolidating multiple applications into one, or implementing an ERP for the first time. Regardless of your reason for implementing a new system, utilizing new ERP software can present your company with numerous opportunities and benefits. With ERP providers focusing more on usability than ever before, businesses are able to use the software to its full potential – increasing your ability to maximize benefits.