Sunrise awarded, and new post from Kees Hertogh

I hope that everyone has been doing great, myself with school back in action, I was taking out of action --- first bug from school came rampaging through our home. Seems that everything is mostly back to normal now.

With that, it's been a week since my last last post, and a lot is going on. So let me start off by saying congrats to my fellow Sunrisers for another year of being awarded in the Accounting Technology's 2010 VAR 100 list!



You can see the full press release, at the following location.: Sunrise selected to Accounting Technology's 2010 VAR 100 list

From the PR.:
“The Accounting Today VAR 100 list is comprised of top accounting and ERP software resellers throughout the country, ranked by revenue,” says Seth Fineberg, Technology Editor of Accounting Today. “This select group represents those in the world of accounting software resellers that are truly ahead of the pack and we are pleased to honor them in this special report.”

And...
"We are very pleased to be recognized as one of Accounting Technology's VAR 100 list," states John Pence, President of Sunrise Technologies. "Our continued commitment to Microsoft Dynamics AX, customer service, and technical excellence is proving to be a winning combination in the marketplace."

Again a big congrats to my fellow Sunrisers on another award!

Now moving forward, Microsoft's owns Kees Hertogh, from the Microsoft Dynamics AX Product Group blog, just recently posted about how Making complex things simple is rewarding.

From his recent post.:
"The classic pitfall for a ‘one solution’ approach is the danger of complexity or disparate software often accompanied with a horrendous cost of ownership experiences. However, there are some things we fundamentally do different then our competitors:

- We have a continued focus on something what we often to refer to internally as “innovation from within.” Due to the unique transparent architecture of Microsoft Dynamics AX, we’re able to make fundamental changes or improvements in the application without sacrificing on upgradeability or maintainability. However, you’ll find applications out there which build a lot of redundancy in their data models because they’ve grown over time and the new functionality was literally bolted on.

- We extensively use the application platform capabilities built in the Microsoft application platform and closely work with these teams to continue to improve these offerings for ERP scenarios. Some examples: the Microsoft server OS offers a built-in workflow engine (the Windows Workflow Foundation). Competitors offer their own workflow/BPM stack capabilities that ride on top an OS, adding to integration complexity and cost. Microsoft SQL Server offers great BI and Reporting technology built in to the database, which means there’s no need to attach a separate BI environment to your transactional ERP system.

- Balance on what should be covered in core AX and what should be available in a vertical solution, is determined by us together with our partners and customers. Through different forums like industry advisory boards, we’re continuously working with our partners and customers to ensure we find the right balance between providing ‘business processes integrity’ across common processes, industries and vertical specific features that service unique needs.

“Making complex things simple“ for our customers and partners is hard work… and incredibly rewarding. We are honored by this recognition from Forrester."

You can read the full post here.: Making complex things simple will be rewarded..

Kees is speaking directly about the vision that drives Microsoft innovation with Dynamics ERP product line, and specifically to Dynamics AX. His words are right in line with the thought paths of what we have been talking about for the past few years with Dynamics AX and topics like BI, the Cloud, Extending Dynamics AX to other LOB Applications, etc. etc. Fits right in with my last post, covering this Forrester award, found here.: Microsoft Dynamics Cited as an Order Management Hub Solutions Leader

Well that's all for now! I would like to thank Kees for sharing his thoughts on the recent award for Dynamics AX, and how the work his team has done, and their focus, is what made the Forrester award the reality in which Dynamics AX lives in.

I am also going to take the time here to wish everyone a safe and fun labor day weekend in the U.S. This is College kick off week as well, so I have to say Roll Tide! I will be taking some time off, but be back post second half of next week. There is a lot to talk about over the next 12 months, and I will be covering as much of it all as I possible can. Till next time!

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The Executive Blog: Putting the Dynamic in Microsoft Dynamics

Kirill Tatarinov, one of the top Microsoft Executives for the Dynamics Line of Business at Microsoft, posted a very nice article on The Executive Blog, at Microsoft.



The full link to that post can be found here.: Microsoft's The Executive Blog: Putting the Dynamic in Microsoft Dynamics

From the post.:
"It’s no secret that business applications are an integral part of running an organization and, when used to their full potential, can enable us to exist in this desirable Dynamic state – a state where we can achieve breakthrough success."

And...
"I want to take a moment to briefly describe the three pillars of the Dynamic Business:

1. People – the lifeblood of an organization. People will always be at the heart of everything that we do, it is through their individual unique qualities and strengths that success emerges. Whether it’s the back office order processor, the field service agent, the factory shop floor worker, or even the CEO, hidden pockets of productivity can be unlocked via intuitive and familiar designs that provide a great user experience through the business solution.

2. Process – the backbone of business. Every unit of execution in a business can be distilled into some kind of process. It could be an order approval, an expense report submission, a workflow, the fact of the matter is that process is everywhere! When it comes down to it, getting process right is a tough thing to do. It’s a complex world that we live in and as businesses grow and change, things like agility and flexibility are highly important. Processes need to be structured enough to enforce efficiency, while at the same time flexible enough to provide adaptability. Again – effective usage of a business solution can truly enable the kind of agility that today’s businesses require.

3. Ecosystem – in today’s world we simply cannot exist on islands. With the advent of the cloud especially, it’s increasingly becoming, to use a common phrase, a “small world”! We are all connected to each other, whether it’s suppliers, distributors, vendors, manufacturers, partners, customers or anything in between, today’s business environment is one that that is highly interdependent. Those connections are vital – and they require us to break free of an isolated inward focus and become “business extroverts”, seeking ways to improve these dependencies and relationships. It’s about recognizing the connections that exist in the ecosystems that surround us and using technology to strengthen and maximize the value that those connections provide us. A modern business solution taking full advantage of the three Cs of Cloud, Collaboration techniques and Communities can help business reach the fourth C of ultimate Connectivity."

Now this is a very good post by Kirill, getting everyone ready for this new year ahead of us. What I wanted to point out, is on the mention of ecosystem.

He talks about we can not be on isolated islands anymore. And the fact that there are the three C's or Cloud, Collaboration techniques and Communities.

This is for sure a focus for Microsoft, and as I point out in my last post, What can the Cloud offer you in 2010?, 2010 is for sure the year of the cloud. We have been prepping for years for the cloud, and I have been writing about it since 2007. Now the cloud is here, with real possibilities, and solutions ready for use with Dynamics AX.

I agree with Kirill, in that we have to be 'business extroverts', and can no longer live in isolated pockets of technology.

So there is a lot coming out this year, and a lot to focus on. I think this year is going to be one of the best years for Dynamics AX, and the Microsoft Business Platform.

That's all for now, but check back soon as I have more post coming, including another book review as well that should be out at the end of this month. See you next time!




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Dynamics AX 6.0 - aka 2011 - X++ Editor

I saw on twitter today, a link to a blog post done in October of last year now, about some screen shots of the Dynamics AX 6.0, aka Dynamics AX 2011, X++ editor.

Here is the direct link to that blog post.:
Vincent's Blog - Dynamics AX6 – The new X++ editor



From the post.:
"This editor is based on the same framework than the Visual Studio editor... ...The line numbering and the gradient marking are the first visible signs of a new UI. The rendering is WPF based, so that gives some opportunities for cool graphics."



And...
"Things to notice, that are new relatively to the existing editor are:

-Support for multiple fonts and styles (comments are in a different font in italic).
-Differentiated coloring of strings and numbers.
-Operators coloring (in pink here, but don’t worry I’ll most likely change it before we release !).
-Change tacking margin."

So it looks like we have some good updates coming to the X++ editor, including being based on WPF rendering. This means, a move more and more to Visual Studio?? Possibly having X++ editor, be a part of Visual Studio in the next couple of releases?

I thought this was a good post, and though it's from October, I have not seen these anywhere else yet, so good stuff to note.

It also seems that the following.: multiple methods in the same window, outlining, screen split, comment away multiple lines, snippets, Ctrl+Space to complete partly written code.. etc.

Are in the works as well, which makes X++ editor more and more like Visual Studio.

That's all for now, thanks Vincent for sharing!




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Blog spot lioght: Gotdax?

I try to spotlight great resources I find from time to time. Places on the web that has some great peices of information, spanning the entire Microsoft stack, and how that relates to Dynamics AX.

In doing so, I will do these Blog spot light posts. Well today is one of those post, and I want to spotlight a blog called: Gotdax? - click here to visit.

This blog, was recently started this year it seems in July, by a one Jacob Sørensen who seems to be from around the north sea area of Europe, where AX was actually born.

His post, some we have see similar at the SysDict Blog and I myself have posted about, focus on the 'out of the box' ways to get things done inside Dynamics AX.

See I am a big fan of reflection, and reflective development. Meta-programming or meta-development as it is sometimes referred too. And Jacob touches some of that with his post.

Here are some of the interesting one's that he has posted so far.:

• Merging code/elements in Layers


• Extracting labels from one labelfile to another


• Generating and running code RUNTIME.

I always encourage my fellow bloggers to continue to push the envolope in being creative, and posting relavent information that helps the Dynamics AX community.

This is for sure some good post, Jacob, and I hope to see more from you! Thanks for taking the time to post!

That's all for now. I have more planned post for the upcoming week, so see you then!




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Dynamics AX 6.0: A look at MFP's write up on the AXModel concept

Recent, MFP has been doing some great post about Dynamics AX 6.0, also currently known as Dynamics AX 2011. This next version is set to be released sometime in Q3 of next year, 2010.



MFP has done a series of post, talking about a new concept, called AXModels. This comes, as part of moving the Application files into SQL server, instead of being a flat file set of information.

Some of he highlighted benefits from this move to the SQL database, and also the introduction of axmodel concept are.:

• You can have as many models per layer as you want.


• You can deploy models from several sources into the same layer.


• Strong Name Signing


• Authenticode Signing

A few examples of uses for axmodels, specifically for development are.:

• If you deliver more than one solution to a layer or across layers


• If your solution is getting too big


• If you write unit testing code and scripts

MFP has done a great job diving into this model concept, and it starts really with the move of the application files to SQL Server database.

So for the full details, check out the following, in order.:
-AX6 sneak preview - SQL AOD
-Introducing AX models - Part 1
-Introducing AX models - Part 2
-Introducing AX models - Part 3

I want to thank MFP for really diving into this topic. This will have a possible huge impact on the development of solutions and code, from a customer, VAR and ISV level.

MFP is planning on diving deeper still into axmodels, and so I recommend that you keep a close eye on his blog.

That's all for now, check back later as I have some great post planned. See you then!




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Featured on 'All About Microsoft'

Recently, my blog, Sunrise and Myself were featured and quoted on Mary Jo's 'All About Microsoft' blog.

The direct link to that entry can be found here.:
Microsoft offers no reasons for discontinuation of two Dynamics mobile products

Here is where I was quoted, and talked about.:
"Brandon George, Senior Technical Architect with Microsoft partner Sunrise Technologies (and author of a blog that covers Microsoft’s Dynamics moves), had some educated guesses of his own as to why the Softies may have decided to pull the plug. His list:

“1.) Most mobile applications for Dynamics AX are either running third party developed solutions or fully customized to the customer needs Mobile UI to DAX processes and business logic.

“2.) There is a purchase a foot, that will lead to easier development of mobile applications for accessing and working with X++ busienss logic, and the DAX controlled data model.

“3.) Microsoft is wanting their partners to continue to be the source for such developments and vertical offerings, and they want to provide, as usual the platform in which those vertical offerings are developed and delivered on.”"


And futhermore.:
"Update: It’s sounding like George’s suggested Reason No. 3 might be behind Microsoft’s plan to discontinue its two mobile ERP products. The aforementioned spokesperson just sent the following update:

“Microsoft believes the most effective mobile solutions will be those that meet specific business and industry needs and can be constantly developed to keep up with changing market conditions. The close contact of Microsoft partners to the market and their unique area of expertise allow them to tailor mobile solutions to the specific needs of their customers. With partner-built mobile solutions, businesses can benefit from the core functionality in Microsoft Dynamics, enhanced by the mobile expertise of local partners. Due to the broad availability of such partner-developed mobile solutions, Microsoft made a strategic decision to discontinue the current development of Microsoft Dynamics Mobile.”

In other (fewer) words: Microsoft decided to drop the products to alleviate conflict with its channel. If I get any more from the company on this, I’ll update this post again."

This is in reference to the post I did, from the article by MSDynamicsWorld.com, found here.: MSDW: What’s Behind Microsoft’s Discontinuation of Dynamics Mobile for AX and NAV?

So it seems that what Microsoft's reasoning behind this, turns out to be part of what myself and others were thinking. Still, from what I understand, there is a purchase that is related to this in the works.

So I am waiting to hear more details about that. Still I do think this is the correct and right move by Microsoft.

Well, that's all for now, check back soon!




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Blog spotlight: DAXDilip - A good Dynamics Resource

I wanted to do a blog spotlight today, and point out a great new Dynamics Resource. This is Dilip, over at DAXDilip.blogspot.com.

Dilip has been posting since October of 2007 on a regular basis, so it's not really that new.

Dilip seems to have a deep knowledge of the Dynamics space, and a lot of that in Dynamics AX focused posted.

His most recent post, that caught my eye, which broke the news about the X++ Web UI Framework in Enterprise Portal is to be Discontinued has some great insights into his take on this move.:

"1. This is a good move as developers with C# and VB.Net can be more productive in designing the web objects for AX. They need not depend on X++ Application Developers

2. Developing and Deploying web-based portals/webparts will be much more easier and rapid and also one can start using the new Web 3.0 framework as well as the power of Silverlight, AJAX etc."

These are great technical points, of why Microsoft is making this move. It's to consolidate on a given single web platform. SharePoint being a big part of that, including the Office System as well.

I recommend adding Dilip's blog to your list of blog to check for information, and helpful post.

Thanks Dilip for adding good content to the Dynamics Community, and please keep it up!

That's all for now, check back as more to come.

See you next time!




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Welcome Back Arijit Basu - DAXGuy

I wanted to kick off this week, with giving some highlights to Arijit Basu, better known as the Guy behind the DAXGuy.blogspot.com blog.

Arijit has come back, it seems, in full force and is already got some great post out there.

The two I want to highlight right now is:

- AX Intelligent Data Management Tool : Inside look



This one Arijit took the time and has taken the pre-release of the IDM tool for Dynamics AX 2009, and has given us a first look. As he points out this should not be used in production.

- AX EP Role Centre inside Outlook



In this one Arijit took and made the Home page of outlook be the Role Center for the RC tied to his given user id. This is actually a great idea, easy to do, and can be done for any clients making use of Outlook along with Dynamics AX 2009 and Role Centers.

Thanks Arijit, for coming back and giving us some great post at the DAXGuy.blogspot.com blog!

Looking forward to seeing a lot more from you!

Also check back here, as I have some great post in the works for you.




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Blog Spotlight: SQLSkills.com - Kimberly L. Tripp

Convergence is wrapping up as I type, with most people thinking about getting back home and getting a little rest. There has been a lot of good information coming out from convergence, so look for my wrap up next week on that.

Now, as promised, I am getting back to some SQL post. This time, what I wanted to do was actually point out, and do a Blog Spotlight for a great SQL resource. I am talking about Kimberly L. Tripp from SQLSkills.com

Her Blog can be found here: Kimberly's - improving my SQL skills, through your questions - blog

She is just a great resource, and post on a regular basis. She covers internals well, and has a post up right now talking about database maintenance best practices. This post is Part I of a series she is doing right now, and I recommend you check it out.

I also recommend you read back through some of her other post. This is a great resource for all around SQL Server skills, how-to and information. This is not directly related to Dynamics AX, but these skillsets and information that you can learn from her post apply to the Databases and Database Servers that Dynamics AX instances run on.

So thanks Kimberly for doing such a great job over at SQLSkills.com and please keep the good posts coming!

Check back here for more, as I do a wrap up of convergence, continue on the SQL Server 2008 path, book reviews, and much more! See you then!




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Honored

I just realized, but this blog has been posted on Microsoft's TechNet for being in the spot light.

Here is a screen shot from the page:


I am honored to have this blog and the work that goes into it spotlighted on TechNet. The direct link to the TechNet community page can be found here:
Microsoft TechNet - Community Home Page

Thanks to the editors of TechNet for choosing this blog, and for picking up what I write from time to time on it.

Check back soon!




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Blog Spotlight: 'C# and AX Development'

I wanted to take this wonderful Friday, and do a little step back from posting directly from me, in order to spotlight a blog I came across.

The blog that I want to spot light is:
'C# and AX Development'

The 'C# and AX Development' blog is ran by Oscar Londono, out of Canada. This blog has had active post since 2007, and has a lot of good information on it. This is a great resource actually for C# post and knowledge, with AX thrown in there as it applies to the C# examples provided.

So if your looking for a great source on C# with AX Development in mind, take a look at Oscar's blog.

Thanks Oscar for taking the time to blog as much as you have, with great examples! Keep it up, and check back here soon for more DAX, Oslo, M, and SQL Server post coming up soon... see you then!




"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"