2 June 2008

Microsoft has announced the general availability of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, the latest version of its enterprise resource planning (ERP) application suite.

Microsoft says that AX 2009 offers new multisite and shared services capabilities, enabling customers to manage complex financial and supply chain processes more easily. For example, the new software can run multiple legal entities on a central installation and provide a single, integrated view of financial and supply chain information from facilities around the world, helping organisations simplify global planning. Advanced planning and reporting scenarios, such as consolidation and budgeting, are offered through integration with Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server.

“With its innovative role-based user experience, improved reporting and BI capabilities, and improving platform harmonisation, Microsoft Dynamics products should be on ERP selection shortlists for a variety of SMBs, particularly those that use Microsoft’s server-based products,” wrote R Wang of Forrester Research in the firm’s report Microsoft Dynamics Gets Renewed Focus in April 2008. “Multisite companies should consider Dynamics AX.”

Growing companies face increasing pressure to meet global and local regulatory compliance. Microsoft says that AX 2009 delivers core features to help companies limit these risks and lower total cost of compliance, including:

•         A compliance centre that provides one central, integrated view of internal controls, key performance indicators (KPIs) and other compliance data
•         Embedded workflows that automate business processes, enforcing standard operating procedures to limit organisational risks while still enabling organisations to quickly respond to changing market needs
•         Country-specific functionality to help customers more easily comply with local regulations in 36 countries.

“Managing risk is an integral part of my job, and Microsoft Dynamics AX makes my job easier,” said John Elmer, vice president, information systems, and controller of the New York-based Rodgers & Hammerstein Organisation. “I can access critical company information from within the Executive Role Centre and see a 360-degree view of our global IT and finance operations, ranging from compliance risks to how the company is tracking against forecasts.” 

“Dynamics AX 2009 signals a new chapter in ERP user productivity,” said Mogens Elsberg, general manager for Microsoft Dynamics ERP. “Employees using traditional ERP systems have had to wade through inefficient, time-intensive steps — enter transactional data, run reports, analyse reports — before they can do their jobs effectively. Through AX 2009’s Role Centre, employees from the executive suite to the warehouse have access to role-relevant business intelligence to help them make decision more efficiently. The Role Centre provides a centralised view of each person’s prioritised work lists based on their organisation’s configurable business processes and clearly identifies specific steps to take, thereby optimising productivity.”

Microsoft says that AX 2009 is already available in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States and will be available in additional countries at a later date.