Is Electronic Health Records (EHR) in Dynamic's future?

Recently I had a fellow blogger email me about a great new article, talking about not if, but who and when --- Microsoft will fully enter into the EHR, or Electronic Health Records business.

We have all heard about the spanning news stories with Companies like IBM, Oracle, GE, and others focusing in on this, espically since the Federal Government has put out a mandate that all health records must be electronic by 2015.

Part of those headlines, we have also heard both Google and Microsoft, with Microsoft HealthVault, target personally managed medical information.


(Note: The above logo, is the current Microsoft "Health" branding, with it's HealthVault and Amalga products.)

Still Microsoft has not shown that it has a full on EHR that can compete with the established brands. If you look at Dynamics, Specifically Dynamics AX, their is a Life Sciences Vertical, however these focus primarily on Biotech firms, Pharams, etc.

So with this, Austin Merritt, from Software Advice wrote the following article.: Microsoft EMR: It’s Not Just a Matter of When, It’s a Matter of Who

This article is very well done, and actually good timing with Convergence coming up, and the big push with the EHR news flying left and right. It also compares the EMR question for Microsoft, to what existed back in the late 90's and early 2000's when Microsoft entered into the ERP market space with purchases that ended up creating the Dynamics ERP / CRM line.

From the article.:
"Microsoft Dynamics is largely present in just about every software market but medical. And they’re missing out big time. The United States healthcare IT market is growing at about 13% per year and is expected to reach $35 billion in 20111. The biggest opportunity for growth in the industry is among ambulatory care physician practices, partly due to the Stimulus Bill requiring the use of electronic health records (EHR) systems by 2015"

And...
"[Microsoft's] entry into the medical market would mimic the acquisition spree that Microsoft conducted between 2000 and 2002, when it acquired Great Plains, Navision, Damgaard, and several related vendors. These systems were re-branded and offered as Microsoft Dynamics. Before these acquisitions, Microsoft was not present in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) application market. Its only ERP presence was as an infrastructure vendor, licensing SQL Server databases and related platforms to support application rollouts. However, this lack of application presence gave competitors such as Oracle and SAP the opportunity to squeeze Microsoft out of the ERP infrastructure market by pushing Unix, Oracle databases and IBM DB2. By acquiring several applications, Microsoft was able to drive sales of its SQL Server and Windows Servers directly, in addition to the Dynamics applications themselves. This strategy proved effective in giving Microsoft a multi-billion dollar share of the lucrative ERP market.

Setting its sights on the medical market, Microsoft is starting to squeeze its way in with a few smaller acquisitions and developments of its own, mainly Amalga and HealthVault. However, these current medical offerings are on the periphery of the market and do not really target the sweet spot: electronic health records for physician practices. An intelligent acquisition of a large EHR player would provide a key piece of the puzzle for Microsoft’s entry into the medical market."

This article then moves into a comparison of the current possible companies that Microsoft could purchase, to help them enter into the EHR space, as Microsoft did with the ERP space.

If even goes on to mention about a specific company, among others, named: Eclipsys.

In the article, and breakdown for the compare for Eclipsys is stated.:
"Eclipsys acquired MediNotes in 2009 in an attempt to move users to its Peak Practice EHR. While Eclipsys is fairly popular among hospitals, Peak Practice has not achieved similar success among small to mid-size outpatient practices. Existing MediNotes users are not thrilled about being forced to purchase Peak Practice and we’ve seen quite a few seeking a new solution from a new vendor. We think the success of the MediNotes deal is unclear and Microsoft would steer clear for now."

So it's Austin's thinking that Microsoft would not purchase Eclipsys, until the success of MediNotes purchase by Eclipsys is a proven item. Now that we are focusing on Eclipsys, I am not sure I agree with Austin on this point, though he could be right.

Recently though Microsoft and Eclipsys entered into a highly touted partnership, covered well by the following article.: Eclipsys, Microsoft partnership looks to open platforms, interoperability

From the article.:
"Under the agreement, officials said both companies plan to integrate key components of Eclipsys' Sunrise Enterprise suite of integrated software applications with Microsoft Amalga Unified Intelligence System (UIS), a data aggregation platform that integrates clinical, administrative and financial data from disparate information systems. Officials said the goal of the planned integration is to give providers improved analytic capabilities and help connect estranged and disparate data repositories."

And...
"Clinicians have been frustrated by not having critical information available to them at the point of care because either the information resided on disparate systems or they were unaware that patient data was available," said Philip M. Pead, Eclipsys' president and chief executive officer. "The new federal regulations surrounding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and achieving 'meaningful use' are a tipping point that will drive a rapid amount of change in how healthcare information is accessed."

So we have here a focused Partnership with Microsoft and Eclipsys, which suite happens to be named Sunrise (The name of the VAR I am apart of), that is directly focusing in on what Austin is bringing up.

So has Microsoft actually started down this path already? Will they purchase Eclipsys, and move into the EHR / EMR space as they are now in ERP space with Dynamics?

It seems to me, for now, they are lining up to partner they Amalga suite with products like the Eclipsys Sunrise Suite. Staying on the infastructure and platform side of the equation. But for how long?

I agree with Austin that Microsoft will purchase, and most likely it will target two or more product lines, that offering size varations for the different possible clients from the small to enterprise sized. It makes sense then that Microsoft would partner with Eclipsys, and then foster a channel with them, which would lead to a purchase down the road.

What do I see as the ultimate delivery of a EHR / EMR solution? Dynamics will be involved, but I see a possible Dynamics ERP / xRM combo, where the Amalga and Future Products combine to sit beside the Dynamics ERP / xRM stack, which all sit on top of the Microsoft platform, including SQL Server, SharePoint, Office and Azure Cloud Platform.

So to answer my own question, is their EHR / EMR in Dynamics line future? Yes, I believe so. How far into the future, I believe will depend on where Microsoft and the Eclipsys partnership ends up. I believe this is a real push by Microsoft and this partnership will really shape what EHR will mean for Dynamics line in the future.

Think otherwise? Leave your comments!




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Dynamics AX in the Cloud. When & why?

Recently over at MSDynamicsWorld.com an article was posted by one of my peers, Jeff Onesto. The article is: What Is the Future of Microsoft Dynamics AX in the Cloud? Being Upfront About the Obstacles

He brings up good points, of how this is looked at from an OpEx point of view, for controllers and also risk that are involved with this, that are not being addressed, including security.

I think the following two sentences sum up the article well, though I recommend a full read of it.:

"Unfortunately, when it comes to mission critical business applications such as ERP, the model appears to be bit immature for many customers, and with too many questions left unanswered regarding security, control, regulation and speed."


And...

"Until many of the other issues I have discussed are resolved, though, I don't forecast the demand for enterprise business applications in the cloud will change and without demand I don't anticipate Microsoft offering Dynamics AX on-demand."


And to Jeff's points in the article I agree that total AX in the cloud is not something that will be in demand, and actually just does not make sense really at this point. May in the very distant future, or to some level like ERPLive.com will possibly offer to smaller instances.

I have wrote a good bit actually about the Cloud, and Microsoft's platform, Azure. The following are some of those post.:

• The Hybrid Cloud - Enterprise 2.1? (2007 Post)


• Microsoft's Cloud Computing Platform (2008 Post)


• Microsoft Azure Cloud Computing Platform (2008 Post)


• Arch. Journal: Mapping Applications to the Cloud (2009 Post)


• ZDNet: Microsoft to integrate Twitter into its Dynamics CRM (2009 Post)

There are more post, but these post actually show and talk about what Jeff points out. We see already AX consuming services and can consume cloud based services. We also CRM / XRM already in action with the same thing, and offering up as being hosted in the cloud if desired.

What must be stressed, just with anything else, is common sense. The post I did in 2007, the very first post was my vision for what I thought the cloud would mean for AX and the enterprise. It would be a Hybrid approach, to where some services and possible LOB applications will / would exist in the cloud while others remain on-premise.

What functionality makes sense to live in the cloud? This is determined by a lot of factors at times, and technology is actually most of the time least, unless the technology is limiting.

Functional ends should drive the means for what exist in the cloud. So it makes sense to have restful data stores in the cloud, that is common shared data among partners and customers. Like Jeff points out EDI for example, and credit card applications / consumptions and processing.

Look at MRP though for example... Master Scheduling. That does not make sense to live in the cloud. When would it make sense? Maybe never. Could be that feeds come into MRP that are cloud based services, but the actual execution, and processing of the outputs from MRP would live on-premise.

Plus adding the cloud, adds actually extra layer of abstraction, and though in cases that makes great sense, sometimes the extra complexity does not.

In the end, Jeff did a great write up, and I think that it's a timely one. It helps bring together what we have been talking about here, over the past two years. The cloud is for sure here, and here to stay. However, like other utilities and toolsets, when and how it is used for ERP should always be driven by the functional ends desired.

Don't get me wrong, being a technically focused consultant I love working with the latest technology. That however does not mean that the latest technology or possibly offering of technology makes sense to address problems at hand.

Thanks Jeff for the great write up, and check back soon here. More Lean coming with two interviews, one from Andrew Rummey the Org. Architect of the Microsoft Lean AX module, from eBECS and also from Dr. Scott Hamilton about is new Lean and AX book.

See you soon!




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Microsoft Talks xRM on PartnerSource

[* PartnerSource Access Required *]
xRM - One Platform : Many Applications

Recently on May 6th, Microsoft did a news post on PartnerSource talking about xRM. I went over xRM in the previous blog post.:

-Convergence 2009 - Wrap up
-What is xRM?

The ParterSource post, provides around the same level of information and knowledge that I posted about in the 'What is xRM?' blog entry.

As you can see, here is from the Microsoft PartnerSource entry on xRM.:
"XRM is the official positioning of the platform components underlying Microsoft Dynamics CRM (which Steve Ballmer talked about as the ‘Titan’ platform at WPC 2008). While the C is equal to customer in CRM, X is equal to ANY relationship that needs to be managed, such as vendors, employees, prospects, dealers, as well as other types of business relationships including properties, assets, projects, grants, legislation, etc. The flexibility of the XRM platform components enables it to be leveraged in a wide variety of ways by many different organizations.

XRM enables organizations to rapidly create and deploy MANY relational LOB applications ON a single platform WITH shared resources & technologies."

and..
"XRM is a business application platform layer that sits on top of – and leverages the power of – the Microsoft Application Platform technology building blocks (Windows, SQL Server, .NET, and Office) and is designed to significantly accelerate the creation of enterprise-class relational business applications by providing IT professionals with reusable ‘application services’ that can be rapidly adapted to fit the unique needs of users and businesses through point & click."

So lets revisit now, why it's important to understand what xRM can do for a Dynamics AX customer. xRM is the use of the Dynamics CRM platform, resources, modules and code to quickly create other LOB, or Line of Business Applications for management of relationships.

xRM is not meant to offer ERP or SCM funcationality. That is best suited for Dynamics AX platform. xRM is not meant for developing high end, custom applications, web based interfaces, or front end's to custom, deep funcationality applications.

xRM is meant, at least in my on thoughts on the matter, to offer a compliment to Dynamics AX, similar to the way Dynamics CRM itself does. To get to the actual bottom of this, xRM makes sense for a Dynamics AX customer that will already be *Also* implementing Dynamics CRM. In making use of xRM in these case as a rapid LOB platform for that company, that can take advantage of the technology stack, platform and license that already have purchased as part of CRM purchase.

This is also not to say that xRM by itself is not a value added possbility for a company, it is. However, my focus is from the Dynamics AX vantage, and in keeping to that vantage xRM is a great extra that companies can get when they choose to implement Dynamics AX along with Dynamics CRM.

Well check back soon, more great post. See you then!





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What is xRM?

This part Friday I got some really great information, from the xRM user group. (www.xrmvirtual.com). They had a great live meeting session with Bryan Nielson from Microsoft.

This call really helped shape for me, what xRM really is, what it should be used for, and what it's not.

That's a very good thing, because my focus is Dynamics AX. For the forseeable future, my focus will continue to be on Dynamics AX. That also means, that as the future becomes the present, the need to understand the vertical and horizontal stacks that Dynamics AX is built with, around and connects to is being more and more a higher priority.

This is why understanding xRM, and Microsoft's stance on xRM and it's position on it, matters to Dynamics AX partners, customers and future customers.

So, what is xRM anyway? Well xRM, according to Microsoft, is actually positioning. It’s the new way the Dynamics CRM is being positioned as a platform for rapid development of x or any, Relational Management application.

This means, that xRM is ready for use today. By buying the correct rights and modules of Dynamics CRM, you can then have xRM to use as a development platform.

xRM appliations are very targeted, LOB or Line Of Business Applications. It’s not designed for website development, e-Commerce, etc. The goal is not to address every kind of possible application. That is what the Microsoft Application Platform is designed for. .Net, SQL Server, BizTalk, SharePoint, Office, etc.

These technologies can connect, are used and can be used with and in solutions that are developed with xRM. And that is a strong point of using xRM as a platform.

So if your looking to develop that fully custom e-Commerce site for your company, you would not consider xRM. However, if your looking to develop an intense government grant management LOB application, and do it quickly, then you could consider xRM.

Let’s make this even more clear, in that xRM is meant to be a ‘noun’ relational management platform, to develop LOB applications around. Noun, meaning: person’s, places or things. Assets, Business Relationship’s, warrenties, students, teaching programs, government contracts, etc. etc.

So now that we know what xRM is, and what it’s basic target is, the next questions for me is how and when this should be used in regard to a Dynamics AX implementation / instance.

Dynamics AX itself can be used as a platform, and is best suited for your ERP and Supply Chain Management. If xRM can offer you a platform for custom LOB applications, for anything Relational Management, then when does it best make sense to bring in xRM, vs. doing a custom module inside Dynamics AX to handle what your looking for?

There are a few ways to answer this. One, a decision to bring in xRM could be because your already going to be using the combo of Dynamics AX and Dynamics CRM. Then you might take a move to develop your custom warranty management program via xRM. The benefits of doing such a thing, would be that your using a Microsoft platform, and technologies. Also if you bought 50 seats for the CRM package, and only 5 users will use your custom warranty xRM LOB application, then those 5 users are covered in the 50 seats, if you so choose to allow them.

That’s right, now extra license would have to be bought. They would have to be bought if you needed a lot more concurrent users.

Lets say though that out of the 50, the 5 warranty managers are part of the 50 users that make use of the CRM piece as well. Then they are covered and switch back and forth between CRM and Warranty Management, only taken up one seat license.

There are a hundred different ways of looking at this, functional, technical, all can be different reason’s for when and why xRM applications should and can be used with a Dynamics AX implementation.

Just keep in mind the intended use of the xRM platform. X or anything Relational Management platform for rapid development of custom Line of Business Applications.

Well that’s it for now, check back soon as I have more great post coming out! See you then!





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Convergence 2009 - Wrap up

Well Convergence 2009 has come and gone. After talking with a bunch of different people from Partners, Microsoft and Customer levels, it seems this years Convergence was a good one. Less people attending, less than 7,000, which is down from more than 10,000 last year. However I have heard the sessions where attended at a better rate, and people were really in tune to what Microsoft and the Partners were having to say.

MSDynamicsWorld.com has a great list of a bunch of different Convergence post, including their overall wrap up, which can be found here: MSDynamicsWorld.com Coverage of Convergence 2009

One thing that I took a big notice too that is not directly AX related is xRM platform, and the Virtual xRM user's group. www.xRMVirtual.com. This is a group focused on the promition of the xRM platform, and it's built on top of Azure while being connected to Dynamics CRM online.

This is something for sure I will be keeping and eye on and posting about, as the xRM platform and Azure start to become tools Partners and customers can use to develop with. So this is going to be very, very interesting to see what direction this goes.

As for Dynamics AX itself, there was plenty of great go lives that we highlighted, and Customers are now in full swing using Dynamics AX 2009. There were some great sessions on Dynamics AX from functional and technical.

Another thing, Convergence 2010 is suppose to be held in Atlanta, GA. So I might actually go to that one, since it will be so close to home. Lets see if that happens!

Well check back soon, and I hope all of those that went to Convergence got a lot out of it. If there are any specific remaining questions by anyone from any level, feel free to leave me a comment and I will do my best to get you the best asnwer possible.

There are some great post coming up soon, this week along, so check back and see you then!

Update:
I wanted to make sure and give the offical home page for xRM: www.xRM.com. More soon on this, and how this can be used along with Dynamics AX.




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