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!


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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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The value of a BI Product outside of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

With the a lot of focus this week around Business Intelligence, including being my entire session load, I keep getting asked the same question.: "Why are there so many BI products in the expo hall?" Another flavor of this is "Which BI Products are good candidates to look deeper into."



Before I give my public answer to this, let me first start with this. When you purchase and invest into Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 you are also getting a BI Solution. It true then, when I state that BI is no longer a separate product or project. With the focus around the BI Semantic model, you can achieve Personal, Team & Organisational BI artifact creation without having any other tool.



You can create compelling executive dashboards, as well as other role tailored user experiences, enabled via SharePoint, Office & SQL Server technologies. This can be viewed without having to access the Rich Client of AX 2012 as well. So having a statement that a "CEO never uses AX" is not valid. Just because they don't make use of the rich client, to enter transactions, does not mean they do not use AX. In fact Role Centers should be front and center for the User Experience modeling for you AX investment.

With that said, there still is a valid reason for adding another BI enabling product to your total solution. First thing we have to focus on is the value such a product brings. If it brings relevant, pre-built, focused artifacts that fit into your business model and needs - then that is functional value. Further, just as important as the functional value, is the fact that whatever product this may be - it should never compete with the Microsoft Dynamics AX BI solution.

This means it should compliment the stack of SQL Server+SharePoint+Office. The artifacts it generates should be easily adding as web parts, so that the targeted Role Tailored user experiences are enabled - not replaced.

Microsoft is committed to the continued development and improvement of having this focus, Role Tailored User Experiences - as part of the out-of-the-box offering. So to answer in short: If the product compliments the stack that represent Dynamics AX, and add value for your company, then it's a possible good candidate for adding to your overall BI story your creating for your company.

That's all for this post. Make sure to join me at 4:00 PM Today, in room 604 for the round table discussion on "Understanding What is Available in Standard AX to Meet your BI and Reporting Needs." This will be an open discussion format, meant to engage the audience and have the audience guide and create the conversation.

Make sure to check back soon and often! Till Next Time!
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Spotlight: Apps for Office 2013 - future value add for Microsoft Dynamics AX Customers

I hope everyone is doing great this week! I wanted to take sometime today and start back a few spotlight series around the different products and technologies that help complete the total solution for Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Microsoft by far, has the biggest single year product release than ever in it's history. There is so much potential to add value for Microsoft Dynamics AX customers, and that has to start with understanding how to target specific technologies and position them correctly within the frame and use of an AX investment for a customer.

With that, lets start with Office 2013, and the following resource.: Apps for Office & SharePoint: Developer Training

From the page.:
"Developer-focused how to training and walkthrough videos about Office 2013 and SharePoint 2013 including changes and new features for search, social, ECM, WCM, and REST. Learn about apps for Office and SharePoint."



As you can see from the resource page, and the above image, there is a lot of great developer training introductions around a host of approaches and technologies based on an earlier preview version of Office 2013, SharePoint 2013, and Visual Studio.

Office without a doubt is a first class citizen client of Microsoft Dynamics AX today, and will continue to be so in the future. With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 alone, the native ability for Office 2010 to enable workloads and processes for users is amazing. Take what is coming with AX 2012 R2, and what we see with Office 2013 and you know this will only continue to be a focal point for truly enabling a system of engagement for Microsoft Dynamics AX customers.

I encourage you to take Office 2013 for a spin, and think about what kind of vertically focused, and value added solutions can be developed - that also increase the overall ROI for the Microsoft Dynamics AX customer base.

That's all for this post, but check back soon as we continue this focus, along with more on the cloud, BI and of course core Microsoft Dynamics AX topics. Till Next Time!
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How to Configure SharePoint 2010 for Microsoft Management Reporter 2012

I hope everyone is doing well today. I wanted to take the time, and point out a very specific walk through, that I believe has not gotten a lot of coverage yet. With a focus around reporting & BI for AX 2012, as well as EP Development that we have had - what a great time to talk about how to Configure SharePoint 2010 for Microsoft Management Reporter 2012



The above link does require ParterSource or CustomerSource Access. Further, if you have access, the following is also a direct link to the word document that is referenced in the above resource page.: How to Configure SharePoint 2010 for Microsoft Management Reporter 2012 - Download

If followed correctly, and I mean to the "T", then you can enable - truly - the publishing of Management Reporter - Report artifacts - to your SharePoint instance. This helps further complete the Financial Reporting piece of the story we are focusing on, in our target to use Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to create a system of engagement.



That's all for now, for this quick highlight but check back soon as so much more to come! Till Next Time!
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AX 2012 - EP Warranty Page Navigation

I hope everyone is doing well today, and have found yourself being productive in our Dynamics based world we all live in. I wanted to continue our series today on development with EP, and a focus on our functional scope, around Warranty Management.

Last we left off, we had created a new warranty page on our enterprise portal instance. We reviewed the steps of this process, which has its focus primarily on the side of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server - site administration. The idea, for this first focus was around creating a home on EP, in which our functional scope for warranty management will mostly live.



In doing this, we selected the default template or style of our page, in which we will come back to later. Having our page created on enterprise portal is the first step for our new scope. Keep in mind, that in some cases for EP development, the functional scope might not drive you in the direction to have a custom page in which to house the new scope on.

However, with that said, the purpose of this series is to try and cover as much of EP development as possible, that you could possibly run into. Further, as I stated in the start of this series, it helps to add functional depth to such walk throughs.

Lets continue now our focus on this series, by adding navigation so that our warranty page will appear on the EP site. In order to do this, we will need to start by creating a URL menu item within Microsoft Dynamics AX itself. We do this by going to the AOT\Web\Web Menu Items location. In doing this, we will want to create ourselves a web menu item, that points to the URL for our new warranty page.



Now if you get an error message, when trying to create your web menu item, that states.: "Error in Url property error", then this is not a Dynamics AX issues, but rather a Windows issue. There is an older update needed, which my fellow blogging peer Joris point out in his article here.: Enterprise Portal Web URL Lookup Error

After having done this, we should be able to proceed with testing out our new web menu item, to see if we are pointing to the right location. In doing so we should see a screen shot, similar to the below.



Now having done this, we have a couple of options on how to proceed. We could place this as a link on the home page, but instead we want this to be it's own Web Module. We can create a Web module, for our Warranty scope, by now associating the web menu item, into our web modules group, as shown below.



You will notice in the above picture, we have placed are new web module, as a sub web module of the out-of-the-box, Home Web Module from the AOT. This will allow us to integrate nicely, our new scope, into the user experience that is expected when using EP for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. After doing this step, we can deploy our web module element, by highlighting, and right clicking on the web module itself. For good measure, as well as the same for the Home web module, as it's been updated.



A final step, after successfully deploying the web modules, is that an iisreset is required. If you do not do this, your new web module will not be displayed. This makes sense, through the nature of IIS and MOSS, however it's worth noting that it's required.

Now that we have deployed, without error, or the customized Home Web module, as well as our new Warranty Management web module, we should then see in our Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, Enterprise Portal Experience, a similar screen shot to the one below.



With this post, we have now created a navigation for our new warranty management scope, and have it deployed to our Enterprise Portal instance. We can now plan for our next steps, which is a focus around AOT management & deployment of the Warranty Home page, as well as start to add functional scope, and specific web functionality for that scope.

Well that's all for this post, I hope your enjoying our focus on EP development concepts - and that this is bringing value to your AX investment, no matter when you actually read it! Till Next Time!
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