Webcast of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 & Personal BI

Well I hope everyone is doing well this fine Tuesday. We are very close to the summer equinox and that means the longest day of the year! I love summer time, it's full of fun times, water activities as well as opining for the beach!

With that, I wanted to post a link to the recent webcast I lead via MSDynamicsWorld.com. The link to the web cast can be accessed from the following resource.: The Power of Personal BI with Dynamics AX 2012: PowerPivot and Power View



Now there is for sure one point that I need to clarify from this webcast. Specifically the question was asked around what version's of SharePoint & SQL Server are needed in order to enable specific aspects of what we reviewed during the webcast. When looking at this from a Microsoft Office Excel 2013 perspective, then the topic of SharePoint & SQL Server version for that matter in what was shown, is not relevant. Meaning, it does not affect what you can do with Excel 2013 in context to what was covered.



However when we look at enabling PowerView from SharePoint, launched within Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 then we need to better understand what versions of software do impact what functionality. Thus we have the above pictured diagram from Microsoft. It shows that indeed we do need more than standard versions of MOSS & SQL Server for different levels of functionality, including that last part of the webcast around PowerView & SharePoint.

I hope that this is helpful to people. During the session we have a lot of great questions, and feedback. Keep in mind, this is not edited but is a full capture of the entire webcast itself. Finally, I encourage you to send me any questions around this and just think about how Personal BI can help craft a reporting story for your company! If you would like to know more, you can contact us here.: Sunrise Contact Page.

Well that is all for now. I know that I'm behind a bit in getting some of the previously targeted topics posted. It's a sign of the current times, with being busy. It's good to be busy, and so there will be plenty to cover soon. Til Next Time!


Visit Hillstar Business Intelligence (www.HillstarBI.com) in order to truly unlock your data trapped in your Microsoft Dynamics investment. With our value driven business intelligence strategy Hillstar help you transform into a data informed company.


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Spotlight: Top Reasons Companies Implement an Automated Data Collection Solution

Companies choose ADC because their industry demands it, either by regulation or voluntary standards compliance. With our research we found the top reasons companies choose an ADC solution:

Implement Industry Regulations – think of food and beverage traceability initiatives and Pharmaceutical ePedigree requirements:

• The recent Food Safety Modernization Act Section 204 is dedicated to enhancing tracking and tracing of food and recordkeeping
• PTI or the Produce Traceability Initiative is Voluntary. Tracing starts in the field, when the produce is removed from the field and put in the carton.
• One RF-SMART customer packages produce, they use RF-SMART to capture carton number in the field and throughout their entire process, satisfying the PTI.
• The ePedigree for pharmaceutical is a record in electronic form containing information regarding each transaction resulting in a change of ownership of the given prescription drug, including returns
• We have several Pharmaceutical customers coming to us to satisfy the new ePedigree requirements

Empower your Warehouse Team – We all like to be able to make decisions and be accountable, RF-SMART’s ADC will make you workers feel empowered
Reliable Information- Is everyone in your organization able to rely on information they pull from their ERP or do they worry that it is not accurate or timely Capture Metrics – Providing important Key Performance Indicators, such as Inventory Velocity by location and Picking Performance by worker is possible with ADC. Selection of an Automated Data Collection solution must use real time validation, and real time updates to the ERP system. If it is architected with a redundant database no one will know which system to believe. Soon everyone will be second guessing the system.

There is nothing that keeps a CFO awake at night like not knowing if the information they are relying on to make major decisions is valid, accurate and timely. For these reasons RF-SMART is architected to use only the Dynamics AX database so there is a single source of truth. All data resides in the AX database. RF-SMART leverage Dynamics AX business process to provide top-notch warehouse management functionality validating against AX in real-time and all updates occur at the point of the activity.



Touch it once. If I can capture at the point of activity I can trust the input the first time. For Example: Many times we find an as-is process like this: Print the pick list; distribute to the workers in the warehouse; the workers use the paper to find the items and then mark the quantities, batches, serial number, and locations. The paper is turned into the packing/staging station.

Some of you may not have considered Automated Data Collection as a tool that can be used to empower employees but it can do just that. By using RF-SMART workers can be guided through their daily task. An example is to guild a worker through the warehouse to pick sales orders. The worker can be guided, by highest priority, through an optimum route, to pick orders. And since RF-SMART offers real-time validation they will be notified if the data is valid, not only in content but in context. For example, the location is validated as a valid location for the warehouse and then the item is validated not only as a valid item but that it has inventory in the specified location. AX setup such as location blocking, optional dimension settings, batch dispositions, expiry dates etc. will be validate at the moment the worker touches the inventory, stopping the worker before a mistake happens.

Imagine how valuable preventing the use of expired or quarantined inventory for a Food and Beverage manufacturer is! Workers also can make decisions on the spot, because useful information is provided to them while they do their task. They can’t just write down what they have done and the pass the paperwork on, blaming someone else for mistakes. They are totally accountable. And that makes them feel good. They are autonomous!

Workers can review the progress of the transaction they are performing on mobile devices only when they need to, thereby keeping the mobile device screen crisp and clean unless they need to refresh their memory. To allow workers to make informed decisions at the point of activity, almost every field in RF-SMART has a lookup. And best of all, today you can let your workers BYOD (Bring your own device). Now instead of just texting on the smartphone, they could use it to do a quick inventory lookup or maybe you have a warehouse supervisor and a store manager that wants to work on their RF-SMART dashboard from their own device.



That is not a problem; good mobile solutions are not constrained by devices. RF-SMART is ahead of the trend, we are not constrained by device and we have many customers using multiple devices, such as an industrial device in the warehouse and a smartphone for a supervisor.



Now that is empowering a worker!

Reliable information is important and is probably one of the reasons that you have or are implementing AX. Why would you want to have business process that put the integrity of AX information at risk? It is important that your employees, whether in the warehouse or in the boardroom, trust the information they use.

I would like to thank RF-Smart for being such a supporter of the Dynamics Community at large, and further being a sponsor of this blog. That's all for now but check back soon as I continue to add more post around Dynamics AX & BI. Til Next Time!
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Beyond Dynamics AX with Business Intelligence

I hope everyone is having a blessed day, and you find yourself productive in our Dynamics filled world. May is once again here, and that means we tilt ever so closer towards our solar systems star - in the northern hemisphere that is. That also means planning for summer time vacation, baseball / softball, as well as an assortment of water related activities. The march towards summer begins, and that means the world around us continues to come alive.

With spring in full force, I thought it was time to talk about the needed topic of beyond Dynamics AX with Business Intelligence. Lets face it, more and more projects are being sold & implemented well, that has Microsoft Dynamics AX only acting as an operational ERP element. It's one spoke in the total solution for larger companies. When you have this reality, Dynamics AX is no longer the single data mart from which analytic's & insights are derived from.



As we see from the above image, when Dynamics AX is the data mart in which such BI artifacts solely are crafted around, then you have a very compelling story in which a companies total reporting needs can be told by. This is Sunrise's standard offering for business intelligence needs. That is: Office+SharePoint+SQL Server.

Are focus is expanded however, when the needs of the customer expand. To help facilitate the understanding of when and where this might be the case, let's start by listing a high level set of topics, that in turn will be used to guide into greater business insights for customers. Further, how each of these topics would drive to a more complete or total BI story that is crafted for a customer. All the while, keeping in mind that the tool is the last thing you focus on for a real BI project.

• Dynamics AX is a spoke, not the hub - Here we have a total solution scenario, where Dynamics AX is an operational ERP element in a customers total solution. This means 2:n possible line-of-business applications that complete an end-to-end solution for a customer. When this is the case, items like real data warehouses, ETL, Master Data Management across the systems, and more must come into the picture. This further means that what tools are best for achieving the ultimate end goal might need to be extended beyond the Office+SharePoint+SQL Server.
• Security & Exposure beyond the Dynamics AX walls - Here we have a need for an organization that has reporting requirements. These reporting requirements however dictate that there are business insights needed for employees that will not have, nor should not have access to Dynamics AX at all. When this is true, again, then we have directive for something that extends beyond the walled garden of Dynamics AX.
• Mobile BI across a multitude of platforms - There is a very compelling story that can be told with the BI stack of Office+SharePoint+SQL Server. Mobile is very much apart of this, specifically with the release of Office 2013 and SharePoint 2013. However when you want a mobile BI platform, that needs to reach beyond the Microsoft world, in a more native way, then extending beyond the BI stack that comes with Dynamics AX is needed.
• Abstraction - This last point is more focused around that true executive information system, or dashboard. With the continued improvements being made for Dynamics AX, and those improvements driving more technology and model churn, the need for abstracting away the C & B level executives from such churn is a valid one. Having something that extends beyond the Dynamics AX BI stack, can help abstract out the executive's and their analytical needs. Reality is, these might change some, but not at the rate in which technology, and further Dynamics AX is changing.

Visit Hillstar Business Intelligence (www.HillstarBI.com) in order to truly unlock your data trapped in your Microsoft Dynamics investment. With our value driven business intelligence strategy Hillstar help you transform into a data informed company.

The above, by far is not a final list but something that hopefully has you thinking in terms of a more complete BI solution. There is hardly ever any truth in we bought (insert product name) now we have BI! Real business intelligence for customers is always about the data first, then reporting need second, and finally the product or products that help delivery on said need last. Take into consideration any of the above points, and you have a more larger requirement - where selecting specific tools first could halt the needed progression that is demanded by the organization.

Over the next several weeks, I will continue to expand upon each of the above topics, and others in how I feel these are best addressed. This includes both the stack that comes with Dynamics AX, and beyond that for a total solution offering.



That's all for this post, I hope you have enjoyed it and your excited to hear more. One final note, I would like to say that I'm honored to have been listed once again this year in the DynamicsWorld Top 100 list. Top 25 again this year! Honestly the amount of work that some of the people put into the ecosystem, that I can be included with amazes me. This community as a whole has grown leaps and bounds over the past 3 years. I can't say enough of how honored I am to be included as part of it. Til Next Time!


Visit Hillstar Business Intelligence (www.HillstarBI.com) in order to truly unlock your data trapped in your Microsoft Dynamics investment. With our value driven business intelligence strategy Hillstar help you transform into a data informed company.


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"Visit the Dynamics AX Community Page today!"

AXUG Community Site - Collaborate, learn, share & more!

I hope everyone is doing well this fine Dynamics filled Thursday! There is a lot of great things taking place in the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem, so much in fact that it's easily to get lost in the noise at times. Enter the newly minted, and very active AXUG Community Site.



This site is well under way in adding value to the community at large, and helps further complete the knowledge story for our ever growing ecosystem. I know for example, I find myself deep into scoping engagement and project work. That is what pays the bills, but at the same time am needing new ways to stay informed connected and focused. I'm finding, personally, that there is a lot of great information and value with my recent use of the AXUG Community site.



There are several ways in which you can join into the conversations taking place. Further creating new blog entries and sharing information that you learn. Getting involved with the many targeted communities that are represented in the collaboration site and more.



You will find topics and tags that are trending right now. As you see in the screen shot about, Business Intelligence is a hot topic right now. This is one near and dear to me, being my new sole focus for the Dynamics Ecosystem.



Further, you can see from the above screen shot and resource link, that clicking on a specific topic can take you to very relevant information. This happens to be one of the sessions I was *not* able to lead at Convergence 2013 due to being out sick. However you can still gain access to my slide deck. This can be of help, and further looking forward to presenting on this for AXUG in the near future.

All-in-all, this post is all about highlighting the value the community site at AXUG brings to our ecosystem. It helps customers & partners connect in a way only AXUG can offer.

Well that is all for this highlight post. I hope that you take the time to join in the conversation and get the intended value that this resource brings! Til Next Time!
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AX 2012 R2 - Till Partition Do We Cubes Part

Well I hope everyone finds themselves doing well this fine Tuesday. There for sure is a lot of great things going on within the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem. Spring is finally here for most of us, and everyone is well into this years projects. With this, I wanted to focus a bit on a new concept that came as part of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2. This concept is around partitioning within AX 2012 R2 and how that relates to the cubes that are built.



Before we get to far into this topic of 'Till Partition Do We Cubes Part', it's very important to understand the concept of the new partitioning that has taking place. To help with this, we can look at the following resources.:

• Data partitioning architecture [AX 2012]
• Partitions, Companies, and Data Isolation in Microsoft Dynamics AX [AX 2012]

Having the above resources, one can start to get an idea - at least technically - the what & how behind the concept of data partitioning in Dynamics AX 2012 R2. Now that we have at least a baseline level of knowledge in which to work from, lets move to the divorce seen in our tragedy.



Now sometimes in my writings I set a bit of flare to it, and this is no different. This tale is less of a tragedy really, but a concept that should be understood in how Microsoft see's Analysis Services working within the context of data isolation. You see, a lot of times it does not makes sense to have everything, including the kitchen sink, in a single cube. There are a lot of reason's, that separate, specifically design cubes would exist for a companies BI story. This happens to help address one of those, especially as you get into larger companies that need isolated data & security elements.

Here is where the value of such a separate plays into the crafting of said BI story for a company. Hence why we see in the examples that Microsoft provides for us. Keep in mind, that the cubes that come with Microsoft Dynamics AX are very generalized, and meant to act as a starting point for OLAP data. They are never meant to address a companies full, specific needs around analytic's.

So, in following with the image we see above partition key plays a role in the number of cube databases that an instance of Dynamics AX 2012 R2 is meant to have. The same cube structure however is found in both databases in the provided example. This implies that you can have similar analytic's that are rendered, but with security & data isolation needs addressed. Finally, if you so desired, you can easily create a cube structure that crossed partitions, or reporting elements that cross partitions. See the below, from so titled 'Partitions, Companies, and Data Isolation in Microsoft Dynamics AX [AX 2012.]'

"-- T-SQL to run in the Dynamics AX database directly in SQL Server: SELECT da1.Partition, pt2.PartitionKey, pt2.Name, da1.ID as [Company-ID] FROM DataArea as da1, Partitions as pt2 WHERE da1.Partition = pt2.RecId ORDER BY pt2.PartitionKey, da1.ID;"

Now do keep in mind what the following is prefaced with, in that: 'If you have sufficient authorization' This means to cross partitions and legal entities. Hence, this is not a technical issue, as much of a functional modeling, data & security isolation need. As you scale up and out with Dynamics AX, and specifically when it's only a spoke in the total solution, such needs exist. Further such possibilities exist, with Dynamics AX 2012 R2, out-of-the-box no other software required!

Well that is all for this post. There is a lot for us to continue to talk about, specifically and we continue down our path of further and further creating Systems of Engagement for Microsoft Dynamics AX customers. Til Next Time!
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Review: "Dynamics AX Performance Optimization Guide"

I hope everyone is doing well this fine Friday! I wanted to spend time today, giving you my insights into a recently published book. That being the title of "Dynamics AX Performance Optimization Guide."



First let me say that the depth on the database & query optimization that is given within the pages of this book is worth the purchase. The focus around optimizing the database, for sure is the right focus. I would say, in the field, 80% of the performance issues I've ran across relate directly to a Dynamics AX instance SQL Server. Further, 60-70% of these performance issues identified, usually relate back to indexes. This could be anything from missing indexes, or not having indexes properly configured and covering for where clauses of select statements.

This book goes into good detail around specific settings, how to trace down resource bottlenecks for a Dynamics AX database and more. It goes into the most commonly used Dynamic Managed Views (DMVs). Further it makes a solid attempt actually on trying to address the virutalization side of performance as it relates to Dynamics AX. Wait types, addressing blocking and other such common performance issues are well addressed in this book.



Now that being stated, like all reviews it can't all be good. You can tell that both Martin Zhen & Daniel Liao have spent time in the trenches chasing down resource vampires. Still even with my recommendation of buying this book already, it lacks in several area's.

First, section 3.11 on page 102 titled "Offload Reporting (SSRS)" is a mere nod at the point of reporting and it's impact around performance. It's a single paragraph, that honestly should have just been left off. There is no depth to this point, and it adds little value to the reader wanting to understand this very important topic.

Finally, it lacks in the focus of performance making use of SQL Server 2012 can bring, and further with it's Always On technology. I would also like to have seen mention around InformationSource. I realize however you can't cover every topic around performance or the book would be about 10 times the size that it currently represents.

Final verdict on this book, 3 out of 5 stars. It's for sure got some really great nuggets of information. It's not just for administrator / DBA / consultant types either. It would benefit well that a Dynamics AX developer, read and understand the contents of this book. It would help them in being able to grasp what their code is doing to the actual underlying data layer from X++ code. Further, helping put forth the practice of using the trace parser when developing anything for Dynamics AX.

Well that is all for this review, many thanks to Martin Zhen & Daniel Liao for completing a very nice book, that helps address and give insight on the majority of where performance issues live - The Dynamics AX Database!Til Next Time!
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