Home
>
Software
>
Great Plains Customization Upgrade? Overview For CIO/IT Director

Great Plains Customization Upgrade? Overview For CIO/IT Director

Around the same time Microsoft made its move with .Net introduction and tried to gain portion of cheaper databases market: Pervasive SQL/Btrieve, Ctree/Faircom - and launched free MSDE database program. General direction for all its accounting systems was chosen - Microsoft announced future releases of so called Microsoft suites: Microsoft Financial, Microsoft HR, Microsoft Logistics, Microsoft Manufacturing to name a few. However Microsoft did not announce which product (Great Plains, Solomon or Navision) will become the base or will be transformed into each specific suite. Al these suites will be integrated into web-based Microsoft Business Portal

This move, probably wise in the long run, exposed businesses with heavily customized MBS products to serious customization upgrade problems. We'll give you our recommendation, based on our practice. In this article we'll talk about Microsoft Great Plains.

Great Plains Dexterity Customizations ? Microsoft announced that its products will be moved to .Net platform. This means that Dexterity will be phased out/discontinued. However, even now Microsoft Great Plains 8.0 is still Dexterity-based application. So, if you have Dexterity customization - our recommendation is to phase it out or consider replacing it with these: Crystal Reports, SQL Stored Procs and triggers, Web Publishing (Visual Studio.Net) from Great Plains database, eConnect (SDK created to eCommerce developers to deploy Great Plains as back end)

Pervasive SQL/Ctree migration to MS SQL - If you are still on these old platforms - then you are in trouble - you will be without Microsoft technical support by the end of 2004. When you do standard data migration via migration tool - Great Plains tables are migrated by the tool, however migration tooll has no info about your custom tables - these tables should be migrated manually. You can use MSSQL Server Linked Server construction to link to Pervasive/Ctree data. ODBC drivers can be installed from GP CDs.

VBA/Modifier/Continuum ? all these are good candidates for replacement by newer technologies, because these will not have their place in .Net platform.

Additional notes: When Great Plains Software designed Dexterity as the replacement to its discontinued Great Plains Accounting - it proclaimed that Dexterity is DB independent - which is true to some extent. However there are specifics, and Dexterity customization should be analyzed and tuned to work with MS SQL Server, if it was originally designed for btrieve/ctree. We are talking about customization upgrade for Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 7.0 to Microsoft Great Plains 8.0 or 7.5.

Happy upgrading! if you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies ? USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, based in Chicago, California, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, Canada, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally (help@albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.

shuttle to Midway Beardstown .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

The FBI has issued a warning that scammers are impersonating doctors, police and banks using spoofed numbers as "smishing" texts surge nationwide.

Communities with unreliable internet service stand to gain after Amazon's Project Kuiper launched its first full batch of satellites into orbit April 28.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says unsubscribing from spam might actually backfire. Learn when to avoid it and stop junk effectively.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how the first nonstop beating heart transplant, called zero ischemic time, at Taiwan hospital changes surgery.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson: FBI warns of "time-traveling" hackers.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about a soft, vine-like robot called SPROUT that aids safe survivor rescues in collapsed buildings.

Health insurance giant Blue Shield of California confirmed it had been sharing private health data of 4.7 million users with Google for three years without even realizing it.

Delta and JetZero’s blended wing body aircraft marks a meaningful step toward a cleaner, quieter and more efficient future for air travel.

Recent reports show many common passwords can be cracked in literally seconds. Kurt the CyberGuy explains how to strengthen your passwords.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Iron, a robot that stands 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 154 pounds, combines advanced artificial intelligence with human-like movement and exceptional vision.

Hertz, the rental car giant, recently confirmed that customer information was exposed through a cyberattack on one of its software vendors.

There are a number of features with AirPods you may or may not know about to take your listening experience to the next level. Kurt the CyberGuy explains.

These 35 Chrome extensions have privacy and security concerns. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says to delete them now.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says 329,000 mph fusion rocket promises to be fast, disruptive and enable deep-space missions.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says a new autonomous AI is a game changer that also raises privacy risks. Is your data safe?

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says robots and drones are revolutionizing fruit farming with faster picking and smarter handling.

Landmark Admin revises May 2024 cyberattack scope to show twice as many people were affected. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson gives tips to help stay safe from an insurance data breach.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about how Yamaha’s hydrogen outboard motor could revolutionize boating with zero emissions.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals how to memorialize or remove a deceased loved one’s Facebook account and protect their digital legacy from misuse or scams.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says an Apple Watch saved psychiatrist Amanda Faulkner by detecting deadly leukemia early.

Scammers and fraudsters are increasingly targeting the most vulnerable, especially nursing homes and the personal data of their residents. Kurt the CyberGuy has safety tips.

Infected USB flash drives can spread malware among multiple organizations in ways that can easily bypass traditional security systems.

With a fully automated warehouse system and AI-powered robots, Ocado's Hive picks, packs and delivers grocery store orders in just a few minutes.