Spotlight: Is EDI Driving your business up or downhill?

Recently I had the change to virtually sit down with Glenn McPeak - Principal Architect for Data Masons. The focus of this spotlight could not come at a better time, with Convergence 2013 kicking off for some of us this weekend! Glenn takes us into a valuable point, one that Data Masons can truly help answer. To their credit Data Masons is the only Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CFMD) EDI solution within the Dynamics Ecosystem. This is an attribute to their expertise in the field.


Glenn McPeak - Principal of Data Mason's

Now that Dynamics AX 2012 and AX 2012 R2 have hit the road, we’re engaging with more and more customers who are making the move to these latest versions, whether it’s an upgrade or a new implementation. Selecting the ERP is the hard part, but from an ISV viewpoint, we hope that AX customers apply the same level of evaluation they used when considering the ERP to selecting their add-on solutions. Microsoft put a tremendous amount of resources into creating a product that stood behind its strategy, and to insure your investment, it’s critical that the ISVs you engage share the same strategy.

Making quick decisions, or cost-based selections, or even just applying the “it gets the job done” attitude to choosing ISV solutions can lead your business downhill, causing you to lose the competitive ground for which Dynamics AX sets you up. To fully-leverage your Dynamics AX investment and to move your business forward, we encourage AX customers to take the time needed to put their ISV solution providers to the test.

How You Can Determine the Uphill Drivers When it Comes to EDI?

Have you ever met an EDI solution provider who did not claim to offer “tight integration” and “ease-of-use” among other commonly claimed capabilities? When it comes to selecting a Microsoft Dynamics EDI solution you have to know what questions to ask in order to differentiate between all of the available technology options. If talking with a salesperson, you can easily get confused as to which solution is the right choice for your business when they all seem to claim the same capabilities. But this perception could not be farther from the truth, as there is a wide gap between Dynamics EDI offerings, from the technology model through to the customer support guarantee.



The EDI for Microsoft Dynamics Evaluation Check List is designed to take you beyond the product data sheet and software demonstration to uncover the distinguishing factors between various Dynamics EDI options. For example, do you know if the solution is flexible enough to be deployed in the cloud or on-premise? If deployed in the cloud, is there any local software component? Does the solution provider offer a fully- outsourced compliance management service and the ability for you to manage your own mapping and compliance?

Is EDI Driving Your Business Uphill or Downhill?

No matter where you are with EDI – currently using a solution, evaluating different options, or considering an EDI implementation – we challenge you to put EDI solution providers to the test. By asking the right questions, you can save yourself time and resources in making the right choice for your business and set your business up for long-term, uphill success with Dynamics AX EDI.

I would like to take this time to thank Glenn as well as Data Masons as a whole. Thank them for the great value they bring to the Dynamics Ecosystem and for being a sponsor of this blog.

Well that is all I have for this post. Check back soon and often as I cover the upcoming Convergence 2013 event. I will be heading towards NOLA this Sunday morning, so I wish all of you that are going safe travels. Til Next Time!
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Dynamics AX Users Changing Course in How They Manage EDI Requirements

With most any Microsoft Dynamics AX project, a focus around EDI needs for such projects is always a hot topic. In the past, there have been a slew of ways to solve the challenges that EDI represents for customers. Like most things, the entire drive is towards value and the act of reducing time to value for customers.

With this in mind, I thought it was time we visited back with Data Mason's own Glenn McPeak, to get their feedback on the trends they are seeing in the market place. Being the leader for EDI within the Dynamics Ecosystem, it would make sense that they have the most to share around this topic. With that, the following is the information Glenn sent me on the matter.


Glenn McPeak - Principal of Data Mason's

We’ve been seeing a rapidly growing trend in the Dynamics community when it comes to how companies want to manage EDI. Up until now, it seemed that companies were selecting one of numerous options to meet their EDI mandates, but now we’re seeing a shift in what they are looking for when it comes to EDI for Dynamics AX.

Here’s What’s Trending:

#1 – End to end automation
Pushing a button to integrate a transaction used to be great as it saved time over manual entry. But now users are asking, “Why do I have to push a button and who is going to do it at 2am?” They want automation of key EDI process that gives them the flexibility and security they’re looking for.

#2 – Manage EDI by exception
Dynamics users don’t want to deal with every transaction, only the issues that need attention. Managing by exception lets the transactions without discrepancies continue without interruption and eliminates unnecessary manual touch points.

#3 – Leverage standard Microsoft integration framework
Writing directly to tables and bypassing business logic is not best practice. By leveraging integration tools such as Microsoft’s e-Connect, Application Integration Framework(AIF) and XMLports/Web Services, users can avoid custom routines that populate data and bypass standard business logic.

#4 – Deeper and broader integrations
Users need more advanced logic, such as touching specific values in a sales order or handling advanced three-way matching logic. They also need broader document integrations so they can get new documents integrated quickly and easily to avoid jeopardizing trading partners relationships.

#5 – Avoid transaction fees
EDI data is a lot like email – would you pay to send an email? Right, then why pay for transactions when you don’t need to, especially when your trading partners support direct connect?

#6 – Audit the transactions
Too many companies complain about the lack of tools available that can identify issues before they become problems. They wonder why they can’t find out that an invoice was not transmitted and/or received by a partner before it is overdue. They would rather receive an email alerting them when a document has failed.

#7 – Guaranteed support turn-around times
In the world of EDI where delays and errors in transacting data can result in unnecessary and costly expense, organizations don’t have the flexibility of waiting for support responses.

Answering the Trends Responding to these trends is an innovative EDI technology model that Dynamics users are rapidly adopting. Users are looking to an EDI solution that is based on leveraging the native integration framework of the ERP platform while providing all of the EDI transaction functionality outside the application¸ not inside like other EDI technologies. With this approach, companies can:

• Implement a plug-and-play, truly integrated solution that doesn’t utilize 3rd party translator tools;
• Leverage a fully-automated EDI solution with predictable ownership costs; and
• Benefit from a non-embedded design and XML data storage within SQL that avoids ERP requirements and customizations, simplifying daily use and providing flexibility when managing ERP update/upgrade projects.

The Next Step with EDI Learn more about this growing trend in Dynamics EDI and what your EDI solution should deliver. Read how other companies have successfully implemented a new strategy to increase the impact EDI has on their business and how they have exceeded their expectations in simplifying EDI integration and compliance.

I would like to thank Glenn, and the Data Mason's team for being sponsor's of this blog and for always helping add great value added information, content & solutions around EDI to the Dynamics Ecosystem at Large.

That's all I have for this post, make sure and check back soon as we continue our dive into the Dynamics filled world, and further drive towards value! Till Next Time!

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Spotlight: To the Cloud with EDI via Data Masons

Today's, I wanted to do a spotlight post on EDI and specifically options for EDI in "the cloud." In looking to have more information on this topic, I always revert to blog sponsor and top ranked ISV Data Mason's. They are the true experts when it comes to EDI and Microsoft Dynamics AX and the defacto choice for EDI needs by Dynamics customers.

With that in mind I virtually sat down with Glenn McPeak - Principal of Data Mason's about their EDI solution, and vision for the cloud. The following is the result of that interview.:


Glenn McPeak - Principal of Data Mason's

1.) When we think about cloud solutions, scale & agility are two attributes that typically take focus in people's minds. Can Data Masons speak to the scale their EDI cloud solution offers customers?

"Interestingly, our largest volume EDI processing customer is cloud-based and has processed more than 5 million sales order lines in a single day into Microsoft Dynamics AX. This customer receives point-of-sales data from thousands of retail stores each day. The customer then has to transform those sales transactions into invoiced orders in order to relieve inventory that needs tracked at the store level so that they can control and plan inventory replenishments. Fortunately, the processing power of the cloud-based data center could be leveraged to handle the spikes in transaction volume that is inherent in EDI relationships. Replicating this processing power in an on-premise environment would have been prohibitively costly.

As far as agility is concerned, there are actually pros and cons that many cloud-based solutions bring to the table. In a multi-tenant environment, where many organizations share a single application instance, the ability to customize the solution can be quite restricted and there is no control over software updates and releases – the software updates and releases are executed at the timing of the solution provider – which is not necessarily beneficial to the customer. The advantage of the multi-tenant solution is that the cost of maintenance is lower for the software provider, which can be passed on to the customer.

Data Masons provides the best of both worlds – a cloud-based EDI solution that can be run in a multi-instance or a single-instance scenario. While the multi-tenant solution has slightly lower operating costs, either option is available based on the needs of our customers. We think it’s important for mission critical solutions to offer this level of control and flexibility for our customers."

2.) Another focus for a lot of companies is making sure their data is secured. Can Data Masons speak to the security that helps govern within the application, as well as access points for the solution in general? Further how was security considered, when thinking about creating the "EDI for the Cloud" offering?

"Data Security is paramount to the types of transactional data that is the norm in an EDI processing environment. We employ AS2 communication and PCI compliant transaction handling (when appropriate) through our Value Added Network solution (VAN). Data Masons is thoroughly committed to the Microsoft Azure platform and our application follows all of the best practices set forth by Microsoft."

3.) The next major focus for customers, when they start to evaluate cloud solutions is the service level. What kind of service level agreements exists for the "EDI for the Cloud" offering?

"Service level agreements for cloud-based applications are more definable as the solution provider is responsible for application, data and infrastructure. As a result, cloud-based options are more appealing to organizations that want to limit the points of failure and have those failures rest on a single (or a few) set(s) of shoulders."

4.) In looking towards the future, what is Data Masons doing for investments towards their "EDI for the Cloud" offering?

"Our architecture and technology design enables our solution to be run on-premise or in the cloud using the same code set and data. If a customer decided to utilize Data Masons’ cloud-based offering and later bring it ‘on-premise’ there would be no loss of data or functionality. The same applies in reverse – an on-premise instance of our solution can be moved to the cloud in a multi-tenant or single instance scenario. "

Further the following are closing words from Glenn & Data Masons.:

"We look forward to sharing more information on this subject with the AX community in a few weeks at the AXUG Summit. If you’re making the trip to Seattle, email us and let us know if you would like to schedule some time to see a product demonstration or to just talk further about your own EDI-related projects. Or you can stop by expo booth #233 to see one of EDI experts.

We also invite you to join us during our ISV Partner Showcase, “EDI Trends: The Outlook on What EDI Should Deliver.” During this informative session, you’ll learn the latest trends in EDI that are driving customers to adopt an innovative technology model that eliminate common inconveniences and streamlines EDI integration and compliance requirements without AX platform customizations. Check the AXUG Summit agenda for times and locations."

I would like to thank Glenn and the team behind Data Masons for the taking the time to sit down and talk about EDI and what the cloud means for EDI customers. As stated, make sure and connect with them, and further schedule a time to speak while attending AXUG Summit! I know I will be there as well!

That's all for this post, but check back soon as more to come. Till Next Time!
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Conv12 Update

I hope everyone is enjoying #Conv12 and are able to connect and learn from all the great sessions going on. There are a number of updates I wanted to share with everyone, and if your not able to attend, no worries, there is plenty of current and post coverage.

One of the main focuses that I have is around driving value for customers. This is the whole reason that a customer buys into the Dynamics Product Line. With that, I'm seeing a lot of traction, for some ISV's that are presenting at the Expo hall, whom I trust and I've seen bring real value to new and existing customers of Microsoft Dynamics AX. With that in mind, the following are some updates and highlights I find interesting, and know that for existing or new customers, some of these products can really help drive the most value our of your AX investment.



First update, Datahaven for Dynamics AX is getting a lot of attention in the Expo hall. You can find out more about their solution for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, by going to the following resource page: Datahaven for Dynamics AX.

From their resource page.:
"Datahaven for Dynamics AX offers the most innovative, compelling document management for any organization using Microsoft Dynamics AX—from lower volume organizations with dozens of AX users up to the highest volume, most complex, multi-national organization with millions of annual transactions and thousands of AX users."



You can visit Brad, Gary & Daniel at booth 1352 in the Expo hall. Make sure to tell them I sent you, and get a chance to win a free iPad3 in the process!



Moving along, a sponsor of this blog and a trusted partner Data Masons announced that it has attained the Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CfMD) AX distinction for its Vantage Point EDI solution.



Here is a direct link to more information about this exciting news.: Data Masons Software Earns Certified for Microsoft Dynamics Accreditation for Vantage Point EDI

From the release.:
"“By requiring the software solution to meet our highest standards, Microsoft is assuring customers that these certified solutions work with their investments in Microsoft Dynamics,” said Doug Kennedy, vice president, Microsoft Dynamics Partners. “Microsoft congratulates Data Masons on earning the Certified for Microsoft Dynamics designation.”"

Continuing with more updates, lets go to more Convergence specific information. Today, first off all is packed with a lot of great sessions. A very specific session that has caught my eye, because of my focus on SQL Server 2012 and the value it can bring is: "Taking Advantage of Microsoft SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn for Microsoft Dynamics" - Hilton Ballroom B, 11:00am-12:00pm.

I'm keen to hear how this is going to be positioned, specifically in how it relates to Microsoft Dynamics AX. More specific, there are right ways to do things, and wrong ways to do things. To often I've seen the design of AX by-passed, when it could have been better utilized. On this a little more, I feel that Microsoft will get this right for Microsoft Dynamics AX. What I'm wondering however, is does this mean it will be a native use technology with RC2, and what is being shown today is with RC2 for AX 2012? Or is it a not-so-native use of AlwaysOn technology from Microsoft SQL Server 2012?

Right after that session, I will be leading a Birds of a Feather round table, in the main expo area located in the Community Experience section. This is in the BFAX03 from 12:30PM-1:30PM. The session is labeled reporting gurus, and it was a great round table yesterday. We covered topics from approaches in reporting with AX 2009. Performance consideration, and pain points for getting to data. What are the best options, in terms of upgrades to AX 2012 around report development decisions that need to happen before the upgrade. Finally, we covered Creating a true BI story for your company with AX 2012. Make sure to come by, and join in the conversation - so you can take away real value around BI & Reporting for AX 2012.

My final update, is around what was shown for the general sessions Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Both Hal Howard and Kees Hertogh talked about some of the updates that were coming in AX 2012 RC2. First off, I've heard conflicting reports of when this will be released. I've heard anywhere from end of this year in 2012, and also within two hours later from a different source, 1st half of 2013. With that, we can say then we will not know for sure what the release schedule really is, most likely until this summer. My bets on such things are be conservative.

With the actual release date aside, as expected one of the huge improvements for AX 2012 RC2 is around the use of SQL Server 2012 BISM.



For those of you that are not that familiar with this topic, I've started covering this and it's real value points for AX 2012 on this blog. My most recent post about this topic, can be found here.: Understanding Business Intelligence Semantic Model (BISM) & Future with AX 2012.

Further, building from Conv12 and the post I've been creating here, I will be putting on AXUG webinars, as a three part series that focuses specifically on this topic. You can find out more information and sign up for the first session at the following resource page.: AXUG Academy - BI With Dynamics AX 2012: Options, Development, And Delivery I (Apr 2012)

Well everyone, that's all for this update. I'm heading back to the Conference for more networking, learning and connecting right now. Feel free to tweet me at @DynamicsERP and if I have time, I will stop by, network, and connect. Till Next Time!

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AX 2012 - Leveraging EDI Technology to Eliminate Unnecessary Platform Customizations

Here we are coming up on Convergence 2012, nearly a year since Steve Ballmer and Kiril Tatarinov delivered the message loud and clear that Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is the ERP for everyone with its commitment to "simplicity". From installation through deployment, implementation, customization, user experience, and upgrade, this release’s design bares the mark of simplicity. And with Microsoft’s theme of power, agility and simplicity around this release, doesn’t it make perfect sense that Microsoft’s ISV partners follow suit?



When considering an upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, it’s best practice to work with your VAR and ISVs to analyze all customizations and create a precise plan to manage your code and data upgrades. It’s a given that some customizations will still be required in AX 2012, but when it comes to accommodating EDI, you can forget about customizations – it’s that simple. Customizations to handle EDI requirements are an unnecessary hassle and without them you can avoid EDI roadblocks that can potentially disrupt your business and delay your AX 2012 upgrade project.
While evaluating the code customizations currently required to accommodate your EDI mandates, it’s important to understand the three most frequent approaches to integrating EDI with Microsoft Dynamics AX:

• Customization – the client / partner has decided to develop a one-off, non-commercial solution using a tool such as BizTalk or Gentran with custom ERP code;


• Commercial solution within Microsoft Dynamics – (i.e. built inside Dynamics via customization by an Independent Software Vendor) – EDI solution is built within inside Microsoft Dynamics AX;


• ISV built outside Microsoft Dynamics – solution is built outside of Microsoft Dynamics but augments the native functionality and integration framework of the Dynamics AX platform.

The first approach has its challenges: understanding how to construct the solution to meet the challenges of an unpredictable environment; how you’ll cope with future service packs or even upgrades beyond AX 2012; who writes and manages the customization when trading partners change their requirements; and where is all the EDI information held that is passed back and forth, even if that information is not needed for internal requirements?

The second option – using a commercial ISV solution that is fully-built inside Microsoft Dynamics – can also run into challenges: how do you and the ISV manage patches, service packs, external mandates and AX version upgrades; how do they coexist with other solutions or customizations that are vital to your business?
Neither option provides a simple approach. By using a well architected solution that tightly integrates EDI without customization – you don’t have to worry about unpredictable costs in development and updating from one Microsoft Dynamics AX version to another. But beware – many companies claim integration without customization but very few actually deliver.

An EDI solution that seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, offers a non-embedded design and has XML data storage within SQL will deliver integration without customization, keeping EDI simple. As a result, organizations can be EDI-ready with AX 2012 in a matter of days, not weeks or months, with the ability to implement virtually any new compliance initiative without the need for costly AX customizations.

You can also check out a 3-minute demo video of their Vantage Point EDI solution.:


Microsoft has committed to simplifying their Dynamics AX platform and, in planning your upgrade, continue the simplification process by applying business case justification to customizations, applying them only when absolutely necessary. In the case of integrated EDI, AX code customizations can be eliminated when applying the right technology – one that supports EDI Made Simple®, from Data Masons, a proud sponsor of this blog.

That's all for this post, but check back soon as more to come! Till Next Time!

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Spotlight: EDI Made Simple® courtesy of Data Masons Software

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 now in full swing, one area that will remain a special focus and need for customer implementation projects is around the use of EDI. This is no small undertaking, nor some trivial task that is some pick and choose software, and off you go.

No, this is always a very important part of the success of a project. When EDI is needed based on business requirements, one of the best ones that has been working with AX for many years and is now live for AX 2012 is Data Masons.

Data Masons, a sponsor of this site, has shown their value, project after project for customers, and is ready to go with proven cases studies, like the following one:

“Hydra-Power requested TAP participation from Data Masons and we worked with the Application Integration Framework in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to ensure interoperability for Vantage Point EDI. Data Masons was excited to support Hydra-Power’s TAP participation as we are dedicated to delivering a fully-integrated solution to our clients regardless of their AX version.”

You can download and read the full case study, located here: Hydra-Power Systems Case Study

You can also check out a 3-minute demo video of their Vantage Point EDI solution.


Data Masons is a very active member in the Dynamics Ecosystem and community as a whole, with having several social contributions through their EDI blog, being a contributing member of the ERP SoftwareBlog, and continued support of AXUG through several initiatives.

With this in mind, I virtually sat down with Glenn McPeak, Principal, Data Masons Software, to pick his brain a bit about AX 2012, Data Masons and adding value to customers. Below is the result of that interview.


Glenn McPeak - Principal
Bio: Glenn is a supply chain expert and has over 25 Years of EDI/ERP solution consulting and ERP/EDI software product design and management. Glenn’s has managed and executed over 200 successful ERP and EDI related projects in a wide array of manufacturing and distribution oriented industries.

1. With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, how does Data Masons extend and add value to this game changing ERP platform?

Data Masons has 10 years of functional development that has extended AX since version 2.5. Our technology model has enabled us to continue to expand the functional reach of the solution and enable AX customers to handle advanced supply chain integrations with suppliers, customers, logistics providers, contract manufacturers and more. All of the features that are available in our solution for AX 2009 are already available for AX 2012 – very few changes were required to adapt to the AX 2012 platform. We’ve noticed AX 2012 is even easier for us to build advanced integrations and performance has improved, as Microsoft has done an outstanding job streamlining the architecture underlying the Application Integration Framework (AIF) in AX 2012.

2. What are some new functional features for the Data Masons value-add offering for AX 2012, that did not exist, or maybe was not possible until now?

AX 2012 has added improved shipping features that are even more suitable for outbound Advance Ship Notice (ASN) processing. More fields have been added to the base tables that make it more suitable for EDI cross reference maintenance, thus eliminating the need for additional fields. Also, the global address book has been refined even further making it easier for address creation and validation when integrating documents in and out of AX.

3. Pick one great new highlight of AX 2012, either technically or functional focused, that Data Masons likes, or better used to enable you value add solutions.

Hands down the Application Integration Framework is a home run. The set-up of endpoints is much more straightforward and it is easier to add new services that are not pre-packaged in the base system. The AIF has a more direct channel to the application objects and, by eliminating “hops” that Microsoft deemed unnecessary, performance has improved significantly in benchmark testing.

I would like to thank Glenn for taking the time to share his view points, as I know, like all of us, is very busy helping create happy customers with successful ERP projects.

As I stated before, EDI in a given ERP project is not something that should be brushed over, but it is something that is covered well within the partner community for Microsoft Dynamics. Data Masons by far is one of the best ISV solutions for working with your VAR to satisfy your EDI project needs.

That’s all for now, but check back soon as more to come. Till next time!




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