Dynamics Ax Performance team Blog

Well March has been a great month for Dynamics AX news. All about convergence, and the DAX 2009 coming out. With all this, some deeper questions exist from different levels about performance tools, and testing. SQL Server is the main place in which to have tuned for performance, and then the AOS, and so forth. With that, a new blog was started this month, by the 'Dynamics AX Performance Team'.

The blog link is here:
Dynamics AX Performance Team Blog

I will also add this to the links on the left, as I hope to see some great things from this blog, as we have some good things from the X++ team blog as well. (X++ Team Blog)

Make sure to check this blog out from time to time and add it to your reading list for Dynamics AX sites!

Check back soon!

Happy Easter!

Well today is the first day of the week. The day in which we celebrate the third day, in which Yeshua / Jesu / Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

No matter where you are, physically, emotionally or mentally --- Out Savior lives, is alive, and it's all because of the love of our Creator... pure love, the greatest love, 'Agape'.

The love in which can be seen in many ways, and seen all around us. So I wish you a blessed, and wonderful Eater celebration. May we keep with us this day, for the rest of the year, until this day to celebrate comes to pass again next year. And then when this day comes again, may you be renewed in your spirit, through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. May you continue your walk on this world, knowing that your Creator loves you... so much, that the Son of Man died for you.

Happy Easter!

Wrapping up Convergence 2008

Alright, so the smoke and light show is over, and we have what is left. All the information to sift through from Convergence 2008. In a word, for Dynamics AX 2009, it all about the LOVE. That's right... Love, being to where driving the User Experience (UX) User Interface design for Dynamics AX 2009. See here:

'Jakob Nielsen, who has the intriguing title, "Principal User Experience Manager" of Microsoft Dynamics.

He defined his mission as "to create a Microsoft Dynamics people love." Then he raised this obvious question: "What makes people LOVE certain products?"

He said his group in Copenhagen has seven studies going on, involving some 300 to 400 people via surveys, focus groups, and "cognitive walkthroughs" to gain "a deep understanding of the people who use our software," with particular emphasis on "emotional aspects."'
[Read the full MSDW Article here: Reflections on Convergence 2008-Is Microsoft About to Become Warm and Cuddly on Us?]

So the big focus, was about what we thought it would be. Role Tailored User Experiences, in the new Role Centers for the newly Designed UI of DAX 2009. I would like to point to the article I did for MSDynamicsWorld.com on this exact topic, found here: An Advance Peek at Dynamics AX 5.0—and the Emergence of Role Tailored User Experiences (UX)


I wrote this, and it was posted on Jan. 13th of this year. Now we can see fully why this has seen so much focus. Microsoft is really putting a lot into the User Experience, and making sure that the users will truly have an intuitive flow of their business processes inside the new Dynamics AX 2009.

We also had a lot of prep work, talking about the new Software+Services, which I have also recently posted about. And the crystal ball was kept in check with CRM Live being a big focus as well. All in all this years convergence, really put focus on the items we were looking for in the next release of Dynamics AX 2009. The usability at the user level, upgrading paths, and deeper functional areas covered more and more by both Microsoft and the IBI partners.

I would recomend you also check out the following MSDynamicsWorld.com post found here: AX 2009 Update: At Convergence Sessions, Dynamics Team Pushes Improved User Experience, Upgrade Path

Check back soon here, as time permits we will continue to look in depth at DAX 2009, along with all the new information that will become relative to this next Release as soon as it comes out this coming Late Spring / Summer!

Convergence Sessions Round-up

Well, the fine folks at MSDynamicsWorld.com have posted some details informational post about Convergence that is going on right now in Orlando!

Check the following post out:

- Convergence Roundup for Wednesday

- Convergence Attendess express anxiety about upgrading to DAX 2009

I am sure there will be more, like the post about CRM Live that up there on MSDW. Check them all out, and check back here for post convergence, real world talk about what was learned and showcased really means for this Dynamics space we are in!

Convergence 2008 is here!

Well, I hope everyone is really getting a lot of great information right now in Orlando, Fl. down at Convergence 2008!

I am actually not attending, as I am busy on a project, but I will be posting about all the stuff from Convergence afterwards. Until then I will have posts from MSDynamicsWorlds.com covered here, and to Start here is the kicker from yesterday:

MSDW: What users at Convergence will be talking about

Well enjoy and look for some great posts coming soon!

Microsoft Software+Services a Go-Go!

Well early this week Microsoft got a lot or web ink geared around the announcement made (Press Release Here) on Monday about expanding their Online Services for businesses, or better known as Software+Services model.

When Microsoft first started offering this, it was considered beta, and it was only for those companies that had seat numbers >5,000. Now that beta testing is over, and Microsoft is expanding this Software+Services offerings of Exchange and SharePoint to all businesses.

This is the first real big move in realizing the buzz term of 'Software+Services' to a greater user base. This means that instead of talking about what 'Software+Services' could mean, customers have the ability to choose and see what it can mean for them with Exchange and SharePoint.

These offerings, are really a choice to customers, one were they make a decision to either host Exchange / SharePoint on their own managed servers or allow Microsoft to host their instances in the 'cloud' via Microsoft based hostings and partner shared hosting.

When asked in an interview, Bill Gates talked about Microsoft's focus on symmetry between 'Server and Service'. This is actually the focus of what Microsoft what to achieve in the future of these offerings. Meaning, right now when a customer chooses to go with the Service hosted offering of say SharePoint, they actually will loose some ability of customization and configuration options. So Right Now These offerings do pose more than just a host or not question. It's a host and loose some options or own and not loose those options.

So this symmetry that Microsoft is driving towards, means they are pushing for the next level of these offerings, to be in sync as far as options, customizations, etc. etc. to where the choice becomes more about scalability and delivery vs. that plus loosing ability.

With these new announcements, a week before Convergence 2008, in Orlando, one might wonder what this means for the future of Dynamics AX?

Well with the push of MOSS being the front end more and more for Dynamics AX 2009 (And beyond) and the Dynamics AX platform become more agile and having the ability for parts of it to be subscribed too, this means that such an offering for SharePoint to be hosted in the cloud (not just SaaS), could mean that we are very, very close to Hybrid architecture to where half a customers Dynamics AX implementation in on in house owned servers, and have lives in the cloud on services. And to the end user, they have no idea... unless one part goes down. ;-)

Check back soon!

P.S. It was about a year ago when I started talking about the Hybrid offerings that Software+Services from Microsoft would bring. Check this post out from last year: 'ERP Live - Software+Services'. Now we are seeing this type of offering coming even closer, with guess what... SharePoint at the heart of it. ;-)

A Dynamics Sunrise at Convergence 2008

With Convergence coming up, here in just a week, I took some time and sat down with John Pence CEO / President of Sunrise Technologies, and Heather Essic Senior Account Manager of Sunrise Technologies.

With this talk, I asked both of them a few questions about the upcoming exciting events:

• What will Sunrise be showcasing this year at the Dynamics Convergence in Orlando?
  "We will have a demo station at our booth (#807) to show the new version of AX along with our Advanced Warehouse Management solution, our Textile/Apparel/Footwear Solution, and integrations to StarShip, BarTender, and Vertex." - Heather E. / John P.



• What do you each see as something to get excited about for the release of Dynamics AX 2009?
  "The role-based experience of AX2009’s UI will be a big change for many, and hopefully an exciting change. The goal is to give the end user a better feel for his or her workflow process and enhance the AX navigation experience." - Heather E. / John P.



• If you had to pick one customer focused session that you would want possible customers to attend at Convergence, which one would it be, and why?
  "We recommend Session BI09: Reporting and BI in the Next Release of Microsoft Dynamics AX. This concurrent session will be a comprehensive overview of business intelligence and reporting in AX, including PerformancePoint Server 2007 and role-centered reporting. I recommend this session because all AX customers have a need for flexible reporting options. This session gives an opportunity to learn about the future direction that Microsoft is taking in this area." - Heather E. / John P.

So there you have it, a Dynamics Sunrise at Convergence report! You can go see both Heather, John and the rest of the Sunrise crew that will be at Convergence, over at booth: #807.

If you go by, make sure to tell them Brandon sent you, and happy Convergence Going!

Check back soon!