Microsoft Dynamics AX Diagnostic Framework (Beta)

I hope everyone is having a great and productive Dynamics week thus far! I wanted to write about something brand new Microsoft just released on InformatioSource.



What I'm talking about is the recently released Diagnostic Framework for Microsoft Dynamics AX. This new framework, targets Dynamics AX 2009 & Dynamics AX 2012. You can find more about this framework, from the following resource.: Diagnostic Framework for Microsoft Dynamics AX User Guide [AX 2012].



From the User's guide.:
"The Diagnostic Framework for Microsoft Dynamics AX, beta version, helps administrators diagnose the health of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. The framework assesses the health of Microsoft Dynamics AX and its components, such as Application Object Server (AOS), Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, and Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services."



I'm actually in the process of looking into this today, and getting use from it already for a client. Keep in mind, this is a pre-release, so expect some issues. However Microsoft talked this framework up a good bit for the past few months, and I expect it to be a great tool. After working with it, I will review the process for setting this up, and talk to it's use cases.



I really think this shows that Microsoft is serious about its commitment to the Dynamics Ecosystem. Providing needed tool sets for customers & partners alike. For this framework, beyond the referenced user guide, there is a nice video that walks through the setup and use of this tool on InformationSource.

Well that's all for today's post, check back soon as more to come! Till Next Time!
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Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 - At your Service

Yesterday, I talked about Business Operations Framework for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

This touched on a new concept, that will take us away from RunBaseBatch, and other concepts in AX, and move us towards some of the new features, that have never existed before, with the SysOperations Framework, and into true SOA approaches within, and extending AX.

Today, a new post from Microsoft, that continues a series well into the launch event for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, has arrived. I'm talking about the following post.: At Your Service: Microsoft Dynamics AX2012 Integration and Web Services


Caption: In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, inbound ports provide a logical grouping of services, which model specific integration points between the ERP solution and an external system.

From the post.:
"Standards-based web services are undoubtedly the programming model with the widest possible reach across platform boundaries. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, we have greatly emphasized the role of services, both in integration with other line-of-business applications and as a programming model to expose the rich functionality of the application. We believe these enhancements will benefit our customers by significantly reducing the time it takes to develop custom applications and by enabling the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to reach the entire organization."

Service are for sure the future with development, inside Dynamics AX, as well as extending AX, and other LOB applications reaching into AX. This is the vision and the desired goal.

Embracing this now, as an Architect, Developer, and general AX consultant or company, will help you and your clients reach their full Dynamic Potential that drives business value, while taking advantages of the latest technology advancements.

Is critical, that we take into consideration all that Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 brings to the table. Doing so will help shape the business world, from the older, strict, and cumbersome business systems of the 90's that so many Dynamics Competitors shove down their clients throats, and bring to the forefront what end users, and business users need, today. Dynamic, Flexible & Scalable business processes, that adapt and grow, as the business that implement and need them.

That's all for now, but check back soon, as a whole lot more to come, including interviews, blog spotlights, continued dives into AX 2012, and more! Till next time!



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Why your Brain needs Vacations

With the summer season upon us, and for those in the Dynamics Ecosystem, the closing of the FY for Microsoft next month, it means go time. Everyone is working on several projects, demmand is hot, and work, work, work is the call.

However, I think all to often, especially in the U.S., we don't put enough value on downtime, and how important that downtime is for our families, and of course our brains.

So check out the following read.: CNN Health: Why your brain needs vacations

"Detaching from a familiar environment can help get new perspectives on everyday life, says Adam Galinsky, professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Consider that when you get advice from a friend, his or her suggestions are often more creative than what you would have decided for yourself -- and scientific studies have confirmed this. That's because your friend has psychological distance from the situation at hand. When you're in the middle of a problem, it's sometimes hard to untangle yourself from it to think about it clearly.

Similarly, many people have epiphanies when they travel because they can view their life back home from a more detached, outsider's view."

Now I know I've directed this at the Microsoft and Partner level, but this is for you the customer as well. Make sure and take time out, plan a vacation, go through with it, and do not work while on it.

So today, everyone stop for a bit, take a break, think about your vacation coming up, and if you don't have one plan one, even for a 3-4 day get away. It's very important to balance life, and this is something that should be considered of high value.

That's all for now, but I will be back with more AX directly related post tomorrow. Here's to the beach, and much deserved vacations!



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Another Sunrise Award and customer win

Sunrise Technologies, Inc, the Microsoft Gold Partner I am a part of, recently had two press releases.

One if for a new award that was given at the very end of 2009.:
Sunrise Technologies named to the Accounting Technology 2009 Pacesetters

From the Press Release.:
"The Technology Pacesetters are leaders in the field of reselling accounting and related software, chosen for their innovation, their cutting-edge technical expertise and their success in helping their clients build better businesses. A spot on the list indicates a VAR that is operating at the top of its game," states Daniel Hood, Managing Editor, Accounting Today.

And...
"We are very pleased to be recognized as one of the Technology Pacesetters for 2009," 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."

Congrats to all my fellow Sunrisers on yet another award that shows how hard we all work!

Now, Sunrise also had another press release, this time for a new customer in the apparel vertical.:
Camp David chooses an apparel business solution that fits: Microsoft Dynamics™ AX and Sunrise Technologies



From the press release.:
"With the economy changing as it is, we didn't want to react like most of our competition by cutting quality and service; we wanted to step up and serve our customers better." states David Willson, President of Camp David, Inc. "With Microsoft Dynamics AX, we can accept and process orders quicker with a much higher degree of accuracy; this translates to faster more accurate customer deliveries. In addition, our forecasting is better; enabling us to ensure product is on hand when our customers need it." "Through the Microsoft Dynamics AX e-portal, our sales representatives are further empowered to sell and service their customers with up-to-date product information, inventory, purchase history and promotions." adds Mark Willson, Vice President - Sales and Marketing. "The bottom line for Camp David is that with Microsoft Dynamics AX, our customers are receiving even better products and services during a time when their other suppliers are cutting back."

And...
"We are very pleased and proud to add Camp David to our strong list of customers, particularly in the apparel industry", states Mike Pereira, General Manager of Sunrise Technologies. "Microsoft Dynamics AX will serve as a great compliment to the superior product and service offered by Camp David. The team at Camp David recognizes the power and flexibility of Microsoft Dynamics AX to model their business the way they need to and offer better visibility to inventory, order status, and continued customer service. We look forward to working with them on improving their business systems overall."

The Apparel and Footwear industry is just one of the main verticals Sunrise Technologies is known for, and I am excited for both Camp David and Sunrise in this new Dynamics AX implementation!

Thanks all for now, but check back later as I have more post coming soon!






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Microsoft's Vertical Strategy for Dynamics AX

Yesterday, a lot of news broke about Microsoft in a buying mode for Vertical solutions from four different Microsoft based ISV's.

The offical Microsoft Press Release can be found here.:
Microsoft Dynamics Acquisitions Accelerate Industry Innovation for ERP Customers

Also over at MSDynamicsWorld.com, they covered this as well, with similar content and reference.:
At Long Last, Microsoft Unveils Its Verticals Strategy for Dynamics AX

Those two cover the broad, overall purchasing that is taking place. The two entries I did yesterday, were focused on what will be called "AX For Retail"

Those post can be found here.:
- LS Retail’s Industry Solution for Microsoft Dynamics AX Acquired by Microsoft
- AX For Retail - More news!

The coverage of this has been pretty good, with Microsoft's Crispin Read going over the high level benefits and vision to these moves. Once thing that I want to point out, and focus in on, for more detail is the following quote.:
"Partners will be able to focus on other more specialized functionality to serve companies that need additional customization, and will reduce their time to market and lower their investments"

That above statement comes from the MSDynamicsWorld.com article on this, which the link for that article is posted above.

So, Microsoft has been saying for years that more vertical solutions is promised, and in the making. Also for years, the Dynamics AX ecosystem for vertical solutions, has been delivered by the partner channel. Microsoft has always been a platform company, and wanting to provide a platform in which it's partners develop solutions on top of.

With this move, Microsoft raises it's own IP foot print up into the vertical solutions area. There are some great benefits to this, for example those mentioned of having these verticals have the R&D money and impact only a company the size of Microsoft can bring.

This also changes the game a bit, to where the support for these will move more in-house, more in-house MS knowledge will exist for these verticals, and it will also mean that certain partners will be able and feel more free, to make use of these verticals for thier customers or possible customers and not have a second partner involved.

So now, what we see in Dynamics AX is Microsoft is no longer just the platform provider, but also the major vertical solution provider as well. This will cause a shift in companies, like To-Increase, FullScope, etc. ISV's that had broad vertical focus, to switch gears, and focus into what is called Micro-verticals, that sit on top of these broader vertical offerings.

This means possible big changes for the development staffs that created those verticals at the companies mentioned. A change in direction, or a refocus.

So the partner, in this vision, is more focuses in on the services side, after the software sale, and the Dynamics AX Partner ISV offerings will continue to be more specialized, micro-vertical focused.

It's going to be interesting to see how this ripples through the entire ecosystem. I will end on I think this is mostly a positive move, looking at the benefits and all. Still there is a part of me wondering how far Microsoft plans to go up the Vertical in the future... interesting times for Dynamics AX either way.

You can say this, that for the Customer, it's a win. And for the Partners that already focused heavily in the Services side, and already did Micro-Vertical focus, it's a win. It's the larger ISV's that will have to re-invent themselves, and their staff.

Check back soon, as more to come!




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Atlanco Makes Tactical Decision to Upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0 to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009

Sunrise just had a recent press release, talking about one of our clients making a tactical decision to upgrade from Dynamics AX 3.0 to 2009.

A direct link to the press release can be found here: Atlanco Makes Tactical Decision to Upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics AX 3.0 to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009

From the press release:
"Atlanco was running the Microsoft Axapta 3.0 ERP solution when the company made the decision to upgrade to the migration Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 version of the product, which was released in June 2008. The upgrade provided many benefits to the company such as a more intuitive user interface and a more robust integration platform (AIF). Atlanco is also making use of the new SQL Reporting tools and Analysis Services to quickly and easily create reports in a variety of formats. The upgrade also gave Atlanco the opportunity to clean up any erroneous data that existed in the system and to take advantage of some of the new features of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, such as integrated credit card processing. Users and management have a greater trust and confidence in the accuracy of their data."

And more...
"Atlanco chose Microsoft partner Sunrise Technologies to complete the upgrade process. Andy Laurance, Director of IT for Atlanco, stated “I have been involved with many major upgrades/conversions in my IT career and this upgrade has been the smoothest, most efficient, and error free project I have experienced….The diligence and expertise of the Sunrise Technologies Team assigned to us definitely provided us an advantage which I do not feel we would have gotten from any other Microsoft AX channel Partner.”

Sunrise Senior Technical Architect Don Ramsay used the Microsoft Dynamics AX migration tools and process provided by Microsoft to upgrade the data and heavily-customized code from Atlanco’s 3.0 version to the new 2009 version. Don commented on these tools: “I’ve performed many [Microsoft Dynamics] AX upgrades in the past, dating back to version 2.5, and this was easily one of the smoothest upgrades that I’ve performed. The enhanced data conversion and code comparison tools facilitated an aggressive implementation timeline.”"


Way to got Atlanco and Sunrise teams! This is great news, and it's great to hear of a smooth upgrade from 3.0 to 2009. So if your out there wondering about upgradring, and thinking your just stuck with 3.0, you don't have to be. Let us know and we can help you out: Sunrise Technologies, Inc. Web Site link.

Check back soon...






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Layered Adds Automation Platform

Well I had someone send me a link to a very interesting press release about a Sunrise Technologies, Inc. customer: LayeredTech (Click for Layered Home page.)

LayeredTech is in what we would call the Hosting Vertical. This is something that Sunrise really has great expertise in, and really delivered a great implementation for.

The LayeredTech press release talking about the new automation platform that Layered has deployed can be seen here: thewhir.com: 'Layered Adds Automation Platform'



From the Press Release:
"Pozadzides notes that to fully relize this platform, Layered Tech had to lay the groundwork for it by unifying its back-end systems over the course of nine months, using Microsoft Dynamics AX. "Essentially what it did was unify all our separate systems into one so things like billing and accounting are merged together with inventory management, provisioning, CRM, etc.," he said. He added that this is the only company in the industry with this level of integration."

I just want to say, way to go LayeredTech! This is actually pretty amazing stuff they are offering their customers with this. To get great insight into how well this is, and what the goal is check out the Video: GeekBrief.tv Video

Like I said, it's pretty dang cool! What's interesting, and the fact of the mention that Dynamics AX was part of what made this all possible, as pointed out in the above from TheWhir.com press release covering this.

You can read the press release about the LayeredTech Dynamics AX implementation, done by Sunrise Technologies, Inc. (Sunrise Website) here:

• 08/08/2008 - Hosting Provider, Layered Tech, goes live with the Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP solution


• 10/23/2008 - Microsoft publishes case study on Sunrise's work with Layered Tech, a leading IT-hosting company

And here is a customer comment about Sunrise from Layered:
“Sunrise was critical to our design and implementation of the Microsoft Dynamics AX-based ERP for our specific corporate operations requirements. Their expertise was invaluable in jumpstarting and helping us manage such a mission-critical initiative.” -John Pozadzides, Chief Marketing Officer at Layered Tech

Again congrats LayeredTech on your new offering, and I am just proud to be apart of the company that helped you get there!

Check back soon!






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Microsoft Publishes Case Study: Selecta, with Microsoft Gold Partner Sunrise Technologies

Well Microsoft just published a new case study about a Sunrise Technologies Customer Selecta, aka: "Dickies Medical Uniforms" and "Dickies Underwear".

From the Case Study:
"Now, we’re able to process orders faster and give customers better information on the status of their orders. That enhances customer retention and helps us expand our market share.
- John King, Senior Vice President of Operations, Selecta"

And:
"The solution enabled us to meet the stringent labeling and on-time shipping requirements at Wal-Mart. In the near future, we expect our Underwear division to expand to other big-box retailers as well.
- John King, Senior Vice President of Operations, Selecta"

And again:
“We sat down with the project team at Selecta, mapped out their ideal warehouse workflows, and then built the supporting functionality and interface,” explains Elif Item, Consultant at Sunrise Technologies. “We implemented inbound shipment processes, wave management, fulfillment-order management, picking, packing, and shipping into Microsoft Dynamics AX.”

Get the full case study here: Selecta - Greater Supply-Chain Control Increases Distributor’s Shipment Accuracy to 98 Percent

And the offical press release from Sunrise Technologies, Inc.: Microsoft publishes case study on Sunrise's work with Selecta, wholesale distributor of medical, chef, and hospitality uniforms and men’s underwear under the Williamson-Dickie brand.

Way to go Selecta, Microsoft and Sunrise! And Check back soon as I have a slew of new and great post coming out soon.






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Dynamics AX project success - Customer Ownership & Expectations

I would like to take some time and talk about some success factors for a Dynamics AX project. Of course some of this can apply to other projects as well, but I believe it's important to understand what makes a complex, or simple implementation of Dynamics AX a success.

So with that said, two of the area's I want to start off with for having a successful Dynamics AX project is Customer Ownership, and customer expectations. These two are for sure key elements in having a successful Dynamics AX project. First let's take a look at customer expectations, since really this is set during the sales cycle of a project.
You see customer expectations are based on what we tell them, and their assumptions from what we tell them. Making sure you do a great walk through, and functionality worksheet with them can really make or break the implementation teams life on the project. Make sure the customer understands what parts are estimated to be mods to fulfill their business needs, what is offered out of the box, and even setting the customers expectations that the real scope of the project can only be done during the discovery phase of the given project. Doing this, the customer expects to have their business processes heavily analyzed, and will expect they have a lot to do in the start of project. Having a customer not understand this, and thinking DAX can do everything they need in 3 months, with hardly no coding means you have an ignorant timeline, wrong expectations, and a very un-happy customer in the end when discovery is actually done and it really took 6 months instead of 3. Now let me break here and say, working out a project budget from past experience with a customer is something very acceptable. Just setting that as a budget awarness, help puts constraints on what the customer might request for the given project, and what the customer will decide as a possible later phase. Also I would like to point out that customer expectations are continued to be developed well into the project. It's not just on the sales & marketing team, but also on the implementation team to keep setting and meeting customer expectations. The proper management of such expectations lead to better understood deliverables for the project, and a happier customer, which translates into a happier project team.

The next part is customer ownership, and just as important as the expectations, can be something that will make or break a project for being considered a success. If a customer takes ownership of the project, then they are involved, understand throughout the process, and when you go live a more prepared solution. This means the solution has had it's new owners hands on it more, understood by the new owner, and again translate to a more successful project. If a customer does not take ownership, then the project suffers from lack of input, and the end result is a solution the customer does not fully understand, and possibly does not even like when going live. Of all the important elements for a successful project, this is sometimes the hardest to work on. The customers attitude towards the change, the user base, the management, all are part of this element. It's up to the project management and entire project team to get and keep the customer engaged enough in the project to where they are taking ownership, and therefore having input.

So there is the first two topics that I wanted to talk a bit about. Of course you can go on and on, show examples, etc. but I believe the point is made. Customer expectations and taking ownership are keys to a successful project.

Well check back soon as I continue to post!

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