This week's MVP is Arijit Basu who is responsible for the fantastic blog http://daxguy.blogspot.com

 

 

My first job in Microsoft Dynamics was in 2004 when I joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Consultant. At that time it was called Axapta. It was a small team and due to scarcity of AX resources I had to learn it all by myself, something which I really enjoyed. I started off as a technical consultant working on implementation and maintenance projects in Axapta 3.x, and slowly migrated into a more generic role managing Business Development, Project Management, Functional modules, architecture and technology as well.

 

 

Well there have been a lot of people who have inspired me. My colleagues who used to challenge me with unique problems in AX, some members of the AX product team in Copenhagen & Redmond, community users and the Dynamics AX community team members who pushed me to perform. I’m really thankful to everyone.

 

What is your biggest achievement/s in Microsoft Dynamics?

 

When I first started to work with AX, there were very limited resources available and I had to learn it the hard way. However I received help from the few online communities which existed then and realized the importance of communities. After some time, I felt that it was time to return back something to the AX community and started my Blog (http://daxguy.blogspot.com) so I could reach out to the community and contribute my two cents. I had to take time out of my personal schedule to maintain the blog and after a while I realized that this was worth it. I made new friends, helped people who I never met, increased my contacts and learnt lots of new things. This has been my biggest achievement, to share knowledge because I have realized that the more you share, the more you learn. Other than this, I have also reviewed the entire book “Inside Microsoft Dynamics AX2009”, taken active part in Microsoft Convergence (Ask the Expert) which has also been significant achievements.

 

 

Microsoft has realized the power of the Community and has put in a lot of resources. Sites like the Dynamics Community, Online newsgroups, MSDN blogs, involvement of the product teams in these communities has really inspired confidence of people in these communities. I hope to see more involvement from the product teams.

 

Some key factors while considering the procurement of an ERP system are functionality, costs and agility. The current version of AX includes a rich set of functionality which fits most business processes. On top of the base functionality, ISV solutions complement the base functionality with industry specific functionalities. Hence from functionality perspective AX gives users the benefit of a rich set of functionalities. Later releases of AX will be adding up significantly to these functionalities. The real cost of an ERP comes after the implementation. These costs are attributed to system maintenance, up-grads, change requests, training and these are significant which is often ignored when making an ERP implementation decision. This is an area where AX scores over its competition. In today’s rapidly changing world, businesses also undergo changes in structure, processes and other parameters (mergers, acquisitions). An important factor to consider while making an ERP purchase is the ability to incorporate changes quickly with minimal effort. AX scores high in this perspective. The flexibility of AX to be developed, configured & deployed rapidly allows businesses to incorporate change in minimal time & effort.

 

 

I interact with a lot of customers and thus get to know a lot about the market pulse and client sentiments. When I first started selling Axapta (2004), most people were not aware of this product. Gradually things started to change and people became aware of AX. However some key points which still remain a challenge are: Brand Equity (Need to be perceived as a Tier -1 ERP) Awareness of the product capabilities Industry best practices Controlled flexibility I’m aware that a lot of work is being done on the above areas and I’m sure that soon these challenges will be overcome.

 

 

I want to see AX as the first choice as an ERP solution for clients all across the globe.