Corporate ERP/MRP selection might be tough one, especially considering very turbulent ERP world and fierce competition between Microsoft Business Solutions (Great Plains, Navision, Axapta, MS CRM), Oracle (Oracle Financials, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards), IBM (including Lotus Domino), SAP, Microsiga (Brazil, Portugal). We recommend you, IT director of large corporation, make your home work and decide on Microsoft or Java/EJB/J2EE platform (however you should consider vendor dependence minimization, and stake on both with XML streams integration between the two). In this small article we will concentrate on Microsoft Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics/eEnterprise/Great Plains Accounting
? Database Platform. Current trends in the IT applied science are biased toward reliable and standard database platform. If you look at such product as SAP (Abap) or Navision (C/Side native database). This is probably reflection of the future multiple OS harmony: Linux, Windows, Unix systems will coexist communicating via XML (pure text) inbound and outbound streams. We'd say you should be looking for ERP which sits in the standard database: Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, IBM DB2, Ingress, Sybase, Unidata. SQL is the survivor and it will stay for a very long time. It should be possible to query your data via SQL queries ? this will make your life easier when you face integration, customization and reporting needs. Microsoft Great Plains uses MS SQL Sever.
? ERP Maturity. Each application has its lifecycle: from inception and initial fighting for the "place under the sun", to maturing and then slowly or rapidly declining. Great Plains Software Dynamics, which is prototype of our days Microsoft Great Plains was released in 1994-95 as the first Graphical Accounting/MRP application, working on the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. Plus Great Plains Dexterity ? Dynamics platform was designed as both computer graphical platform as well as database platform independent (to some extent of course, especially when we talk about tuning it to the database platform for performance reason). So, technically Microsoft Great Plains has 10 years of history and is currently in the maturity phase.
? International Aspects. If you are in the USA ? you should know these facts about Microsoft Business Solutions. First jewel, that was bought by Microsoft was Great Plains Software, in fact Doug Burgum, GPS leader was old friend of Bill Gates. Few years before acquisition by Microsoft GPS bought Solomon Software, its old and major competitor. Currently Microsoft Solomon is targeted to Project Oriented Business ? Construction, Consulting, etc. Few years after Great Plains acquisition, Microsoft Business Solutions purchased Denmark based Navision Software. Navision had long presence in the USA, especially in the manufacturing ERP market. But, as we believe ? and this is our private opinion ? Navision acquisition allowed Microsoft to gain substantial portion of the European ERP market. We think that if you are in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Latin America and your are not a construction company ? then Great Plains is good choice for you.
? Industries. Microsoft Great Plains should be considered as ERP platform ready for tuning to your business needs and so, you should make your decision if you would prefer customization or purchasing so-called rich-functionality ERP. Great Plains is the platform for the customization. It fits to all the spectrum of industries: apparel, medical, pharmaceutical, distribution, logistics, aerospace, defense, wholesale, metals, chemicals, retail to name a few.
Good luck with selection, implementation, customization and integration and if you have issues or concerns ? we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 866-528-0577 or 630-961-5918! help@albaspectrum.com
Andrew is Great Plains specialist in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ) ? Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Microsoft CRM Partner, serving clients in California, Minnesota, Illinois, Washington, Florida, Arizona, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Canada, UK, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland.
shuttle to Midway Beardstown .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareMicrosoft Great Plains is main mid-market application from Microsoft Business... Read More
If you copy something from a Web site or elsewhere...... Read More
I started using PIP (Picture It Publishing) Platinum 2002 right... Read More
Sales are all about leverage, because there is only so... Read More
When Windows fails to boot it is normally caused by... Read More
Beginning with Domino version R4 it has integration with the... Read More
Bad News - the Threat is Bigger than it SeemedHow... Read More
Spyware is like the new technological nuclear weapon on the... Read More
It's not very often I get excited about a software... Read More
Usually workflow & messaging is realized in CRM and then... Read More
Now is the time to look at an alternative to... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics, eEnterprise has... Read More
Mapping Software Improves Data VisualizationFrom the outset, it is important... Read More
Whether you need to close a sale, gather end-user feedback,... Read More
... Read More
If you are software developer or database administrator - we... Read More
In part III of this ISDN primer, we learned that... Read More
Great Plains Fixed Assets Management module is a robust tool... Read More
Microsoft PowerPoint has dramatically changed the way in which academic... Read More
How many steps does it take you to locate and... Read More
A few months back I really got sick of my... Read More
It won't matter how effective your WinRunner Team is if... Read More
Executive SummaryAn effective plan for entering, cleaning and updating the... Read More
In the new era of internet marketing the problem of... Read More
Is your PC is slow and wimpy? Then you need... Read More
Green Bay Hummer H2 SUV rentals ..Microsoft has never released a service pack for Windows98 SE,... Read More
Spyware is software or hardware installed on a computer without... Read More
Fleet Maintenance Management is a critical position in any company... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains has full-featured Manufacturing suite of modules: Capacity... Read More
Have you noticed WordPerfect is gearing up for a comeback... Read More
Healthcare facilities such as clinics, hospitals, and biomedical laboratories can... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains is now standard mid-market ERP application, serving... Read More
Think of this, first we had the HAM Radio, then... Read More
MicroWorld Technologies, Inc. the leading solutions provider in the area... Read More
In our opinion, traditional approach when you select ERP/MRP system... Read More
When Windows fails to boot it is normally caused by... Read More
.NET platform does not support multiple inheritance. Do not confuse... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics... Read More
The stakes are high when considering security, privacy, and savings,... Read More
TCO (Total Cost Ownership) is the buzzword in... Read More
With many manufacturing shops heading over seas in favor of... Read More
Learning how to program software seems like a daunting task... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has many years of successful... Read More
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy and processes used... Read More
Every organization which creates collaborative documents, whether they are budgets,... Read More
2005 ? Back to the Future.What does the future hold?... Read More
Should one use Windows Update?This topic has good and valid... Read More
In the previous ISDN article, we looked at how and... Read More
Hey Guys! Don't raise your eyebrows or fear by hearing... Read More
Whether you are an experienced web programmer or a complete... Read More
Software |