Microsoft Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics, eEnterprise has very long, about 12 years customization & integration history. In earlier 1990th ? the customization tool was mostly Great Plains Dexterity, later on when Great Plains was successfully moved to MS SQL Server 6.5, 7.0 and 2000 ? we see more historical custom projects done in SQL stored procedures and front ends coded in VB in Visual Studio 6.0. This was probably wise and natural choice in that time (around 1997-2001), but if you consider Microsoft move to .Net platform and reshaping its own programming environments (ADO, OLE, VB, etc) ? you would nowadays rather be nervous relying on VB 6.0 custom front end, calling stored procs via ADO. Let's consider your options:
? Upgrade to .Net. As natural it might sound and look, however it might not be feasible. The reason is - .Net is the whole revolution to Windows object model (or its introduction, somewhat more revolutionary, than J2EE/EJB/Java). Your old VB code is not object oriented in the sense of .Net and majority of technologies are now obsolete or in phase out mode
? Move Front End to Web Application. Or recreate simplified version as VB.Net or C#.Net web project. If you think your stored procedures are still capable to do the job at the data manipulation level, you can redesign front end as web application. This is preferred way for now, however as business owner you may not like the idea to redo it.
? Complications. You might have additional complications, such as tiered design, when your presentation layer is separated from business layer (or physically these two layers sit on different computers). Then, somebody should carefully analyze and design the upgrade path for both. Unfortunately business logic level may deploy third party vendors logic, and these flourishing ISV of late 1990th might be now out of business
? Integrations. If your Great Plains is integrated with Unix, Oracle, DB 2, Lotus Domino, Siebel or other third party application ? you need to consider synchronous upgrade for integrated applications to avoid retuning integration piece twice.
? Reporting. Since version 6.0, Great Plains is very conservative to tables structure changes, so if your reporting was done in 1999 or later ? more likely you are out of trouble and should use it as it is.
Happy customizing! You can always appeal to us to help you with your system. Give as a call 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com
Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, Microsoft CRM, Navision, Microsoft RMS, Microsoft Business Portal customization company, serving clients in Chicago, Boston, New York, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Toronto, Montreal, Brazil, Mexico, UK, Australia, Canada, UK, Europe, Russia an having small offices in multiple states and internationally.
shuttle to Midway Beardstown .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareI like my software simple. If it's too complex or... Read More
The adware and spyware definitions list is very long. But... Read More
Whether you need to close a sale, gather end-user feedback,... Read More
Just when you thought you were Web savvy, one more... Read More
This article is for advanced Microsoft CRM SDK C# developers.... Read More
We would like to give you several situations, when you... Read More
There are certain pluses and minuses in both cases and... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains is main mid-market application from Microsoft Business... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions CRM is now approaching the phase of... Read More
Since technology changes so quickly, it is hard to begin... Read More
After almost two decades of existence, Quark has become the... Read More
Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More
New post-recession era has new features, which didn't exist in... Read More
Today's business world is fast-paced. No matter what it is... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains fits to majority of horizontal... Read More
Small can be beautiful! Working with Knoppix for the past... Read More
For a windows user like me, just can watch with... Read More
You turn on your computer, and it doesn't look quite... Read More
We live in a post-industrial age where information is the... Read More
IntroductionPHP can be used for a lot of different things,... Read More
Trying to figure out a stream in banning one email... Read More
Is Photoshop CS2 worth the upgrade? You bet it is!... Read More
For a long time now Microsoft's Internet Explorer has ruled... Read More
XML Server can be a Web Server that stores the... Read More
Crystal Reports is the most flexible tool on the market... Read More
Green Bay Hummer H2 SUV rentals ..As you probably know, when Microsoft purchased Great Plains Software... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains fits to majority of horizontal... Read More
Manufacturing in the USA is far away down from mid... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is very good fit for... Read More
OEComplete is a utility for managing the personal information of... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions ? Navision is an integrated solution for... Read More
Around the same time Microsoft made its move with .Net... Read More
The major reason I recommend getting your hands on real... Read More
Remember nice and prosperous Clinton era? When you implemented innovative... Read More
Microsoft CRM is now on the scene and it is... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains as new ERP for multinational... Read More
The term "document management" and "paperless office" is the subject... Read More
This is intermediate level SQL scripting article for DB Administrator,... Read More
When you think... Read More
The Windows registry is a huge database that ensures normal... Read More
The purpose of one of our projects was MS Exchange... Read More
Bill of Lading is required report for Logistics and Freight... Read More
Internet worms. Is your PC infected?If your computer has become... Read More
Executive SummaryAn effective plan for entering, cleaning and updating the... Read More
This article will not attempt to advocate the use of... Read More
Does Microsoft Have any Real Competition? Copyright (c) 2003 Gregory... Read More
Do you remember that frustrating feeling when you find an... Read More
With so many Microsoft Windows related viruses, errors, and other... Read More
How many steps does it take you to locate and... Read More
FTP stands for "file transfer protocol". FTP is basically a... Read More
Software |