Microsoft Dynamics is uniquely placed to solve Solvency II Solvency II is Europe’s Sarbanes-Oxley and in particular is the Insurance industries Basel II. Not least is it similar in the way that it has set out to facilitate the development of a single market in insurance services in Europe. The EU have set out to reduce the possibility of consumer loss or market disruption in insurance, in order to do this Solvency II requires insurers to accept and work with strengthened EU-wide requirements on capital adequacy and risk management for. This means that even though the more than 5000 European insurers affected are still not quite out of recession, they must set about adhering to the new policy, and to comply with the regulations, and to prove they have achieved this through greater transparency showing once again that a company that is transparent can more readily comply with compliance requirements. The rush to delivery has been led by the large auditing companies, but these companies have so far been finding their way and have been delivering a very unique solution for each insurer they have been working with. No platform has yet to surface as the go to platform to work with when it comes to implementing Solvency II and yet one platform stands out amongst them all, that of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The key technical areas of a successful implementation requires real-time reporting, auditing, security and control, data management with centralised data stores becoming a key for reporting. The reporting is essential in delivery of the three pillars that are defined in Solvency II and it is already designed within Dynamics CRM that there is compliance with Solvency II enabling risk versus strength of Balance Sheet. The opportunity to integrate Dynamics CRM with BI technologies are also essential for solving the problems that will occur when implementing the technical strategy to work with Solvency II and it is here that the added benefits of matching the standard integration with SQL Server 2008 and the myriad of BI add-ons with Dynamics CRM that means that the Microsoft Stack out performs any other technical solution available today. The combination of a true automated solution putting in place an effective risk management system, identifying financial and organisational weaknesses and ensuring compliance with the directive requirements allowing insurers to concentrate on capital adequacy and risk management is only available through Dynamics CRM and utilisation of the Microsoft Stack. Solvency II was announced last year and so far less than 25% of European Insurers have a true solution in place and with just 2 years left until compliance in mandatory the clock is ticking and there are 4000 potential clients that need to learn more about Microsoft Dynamics can help them get through the minefield that is Solvency II.

To Host or not to Host? This is the question that has been exercising Dynamics CRM end users and VARs during 2010 and in 2011 the battle between hosted and on premise will be taken to greater levels. There is no doubt that in terms of market share Microsoft has a vested interest in being able to offer both and there is also little doubt that the pushing of hosted Dynamics CRM has seen a boom in the number of end users, in July 2009 Dynamics CRM passed the 1 million user after 5 years of trading, 18 months later we are about to pass the 1.5 million mark and of the new 500 000 it estimated that 200 000 are already part of the hosted revolution. With the on-premises and partner-hosted versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 globally available on February 28, 2011 the battle lines have been drawn. The debate has always been what is the best way to go, should you as an end user go with the hosted option and therefore take advantage of the faster time to value, due to the smaller investment needed, the more frequent ability to update and the ability to free your workforce from IT and give them independence. The added advantages although such as savings on hardware and potentially staff with just the need for an internet connection and browser to get you under way. However this is balance against the fact that for most companies the truth is that ownership of the applications is important to them and then in this case then on-premise is the only way to go. On-premise CRM can also deliver more control around customisation and integration than on-demand CRM as well as allowing much greater hands on control of the implementation. The answer surely has to be a mixture of the two, what is very clear is that although “The Cloud” could well eventually make the answer hosted CRM, but at the moment “The Cloud” is not the answer. Microsoft is finally launching an app store which is now the inevitability when launching any new platform or software service. But what is an app store, and what is that could not as easily be replaced with a netbook, a terabyte credit card sized external hard drive and a fast connection from home. The obvious argument is that with hosted services and app stores then the ability to work from mobile appliances phones, hand helds and scanners. But how many developers will be reaching for their HTC to develop on, or how many managers will really be reviewing reports on their Nokia? When Blackberry’s allow simple integration between Outlook and anything else then there could be some results but until the hardware is allowed to develop we will always use laptops and servers for the critical elements of any project we are working on. So Microsoft and VARs should be looking to develop a mixture of Hosted and On-Premise, why should a client not be …

From Fullscope Inc. in Athens Alabama, US is Dynamics AX for High Tech Industries Microsoft Dynamics AX for High Tech & Electronics Industries is a solution for those AX end users who are involved in the high tech manufacturing and distribution verticals. There are a number of aspects that mark out these industries as difficult to integrate an ERP system completely and the need for add-ons has been long been understood. It is easier for companies to reproduce updates for add-ons than for an entire ERP system and with the speed of innovation and change in high tech manufacturing meaning business processes require constant tuning and optimisation across what can be a global supply chain. Microsoft Dynamics AX for High Tech & Electronics Industries has managed to encapsulate this need and deliver more. The amounts of detail within the add-on show that the delivery is based around a vast amount of knowledge of the manufacturing sector that has been harnessed for the ERP market and in particular for Dynamics AX. The add-on shows the details that are prevalent within the supply chain, sales, and production, with particular attention to contract manufacturing and trading partner management. From the add-on it is possible to have a defined support structure for both a discrete BOM and reverse BOM production environment. Central to this is the ability to use a hefty tracking structure, which allows for the ease of support and management of all aspects of production costing, yields, and planning. This tracking also allows for end users, through the supplier portal to publish a defined programme to the web allowing for customers to have greater access to end user details than ever before. Microsoft Dynamics AX for High Tech & Electronics Industries provides a new visibility that enables the end user to manage all arenas of the supply chain, with emphasis given to the maintenance of creating the optimum inventory levels and meet customer expectations profitably. It is this increased visibility and control of the supply chain enables there to be a more simplified way for the end user to help gain control and optimise any production operations, this cannot be understated as it can simply transform the way the operations are run. The simplistic viewing of the reporting and results that are possible to attain allow for a much deeper of understanding of the end users supply chain and of its processes. The results of this allow for there to be significant increased forecast precision by allowing for extra functionality that end users need to balance inventory levels to maintain customer service levels for products in an explosive demand phase while maintaining the visibility needed to adjust forecasts and reduce inventory write off. It is the exhaustive knowledge behind Microsoft Dynamics AX for HighTech & Electronics Industries that allows those within manufacturing to assemble a stable environment in which to improve the efficiency and profitability of the end user.

Business Networking by Stephen Allan The business card industry has for a long time been in decline, and the power of networking is making the decline even sharper. We all carry business cards, and although many years ago we may have had a rolodex on the desk containing any number of business cards, and now cards can be scanned in and drawn straight into AX or CRM, but when was the last time you actually picked up the card of somebody you did not already have their contact details? At the recent convergence we hosted a stand and the bar code scanner that beeped everybody that came anywhere near our stand, and within 2 days of the return from convergence the data was in our internal AX system, as it would have been for everybody hosting convergence. We met and made some great new contacts and it will bring more new business for us in the future, yet through Plaxo, Linkedin and Xing as a company we are already connected to 85% of the new connections that we made. This has highlighted 2 things for us, one that we need to take more advantage of online networks and secondly we need to understand who and why we are connected to those we are connected. The influence gained through forming strong networks, and by becoming a sphere of influence, can ensure our ongoing success and it needs to be nurtured by those in our organisation that can most take advantage of our network. It is doubtful that anything will ever take away from the personal contact and the benefits that the enthusiasm that can be conveyed either over the phone or in a meeting or demonstration but the advantages of the 24 hour 7 days a week 365 days a year networking that online business networking sites can provide allow for a truly exceptional route to change the way that any organisation markets itself and business networking utilising the ability to connect people from all over the world. Social business networking serves many purposes: sales, general marketing, recruiting, job-hunting, knowledge exchange, and business development in the sense of strategic alliances, joint ventures and channel sales. Of all these, business development is the one that it supports best. In fact, business development and Social business networking are closely related. Online networking sites offer unprecedented ways for entrepreneurs to identify and connect with potential partners, it is this ability to transform names on a site into a business development opportunity that means that online networking is rapidly becoming a skill that needs to be taken seriously. Smart networkers work at creating relationships with spheres of influence; they know that a positive word about them from one of these key players carries a lot of weight and influence. Bill Gates has spoken of a trilogy of trust – the trust that one person has in another, that is then passed on to the third party. For example, Bob knows, likes and trusts Sue, who …

Customer Intelligence, Networking and Dynamics CRM by David Harris The 2010 decade for IT will be the decade in which we see the true rise of networking. The last decade saw the growth of a plethora of networking sites, from facebook, twitter, xing, and linkedin which have blurred the lines between our social and business networks. Networking has always been fundamental in business and in the last century gave rise to many clichés that included “it is who you know and not what you know”, as well as Frigyes Karinthy’s six degrees of separation, or that if you stood still in Piccadilly Circus, or Time Square, or Tokyo Dome City for long enough you were bound to bump into somebody that you knew. But until now the idea of networking has been made to feel akin to being suffocated in sales, this is because those in the sales function of organisations are traditionally better at networking than the rest of us. Therefore they are more adept in their ability to transfer from a networking environment which is predominately an environment based on a mutual benefit to one in which they have the upper hand. There should though be no fear of networking if the networking is done properly and maintains the pleasantly acceptable idea of mutual benefit. For example the trade off that I have made with bing and google although at first thought is not a networking relationship, but they have dropped the pretence of getting to know me in person, but by my actions and searching they have been able to get to my online presence allowing them to target advertising towards me that is appropriate. It is the amount of information that it is available to everyone that will engage people in networking and provide for the rise in networking in this decade. As we are all aware information or data is just that packets of information that has the possibility to mean absolutely nothing or everything to a company, and that depends upon how the company choose to use the data they have. If the company choose to segment the data along the lines of Customer Intelligence, using historical client data to see why clients have previously ended engaging with the company then there is the possibility to use this to increase the potential of engaging with new clients. Customer Intelligence is a key component of effective Customer Relationship Management, and when effectively implemented it is a rich source of insight into the behaviour and experience of a company’s customer base, but how many Dynamics CRM end clients or VARs or ISV products are geared to produce the Customer Intelligence benefits that can easily be so easily achieved? Yet there is not an element of Customer Intelligence that Dynamics CRM is not designed to excel at Development of customer segmentation model. CI Processes to enable the creation of a “customer behaviour profile” essential for targeted advertising. Consolidation of structured and unstructured data based on unified customer …

Mourning the loss of “Gold” The change in the standard Microsoft Certified and Microsoft Gold Certified Partner brands is proving to throw up some unexpected consequences. For most of the larger Gold Certified Partners it was a simple case of selecting to become an Advanced ERP Competency and avoid the ERP Competency. However this has proved to be confusing for End Clients, recently I was involved in a discussion with an existing End Client, who had instigated the meeting due to his concern that the partner I was representing had “lost” its Gold certification. Although the certifications and competencies are primarily for internal Microsoft uses, such has been the skill in which Microsoft have shown over the years in branding the “Gold” partners it took an entire hour of a meeting to correct the End Clients thinking that Advanced ERP Competency was the same as Gold Certified and therefore there would be no loss of service or discount. If this is what happens when a client is not even trying to cause problems, will there be an unseen damage in which potential clients are put off by the lack of the “gold” standard. I am aware there are far too many imponderables in that statement to be answered, but the hope is that Microsoft will spend as much time, effort and money in branding the Advanced ERP Competency, however I will mourn the loss of the Gold standard given it’s what I grew up, then again I still forever calling Dynamics NAV by its Navision name, so maybe it’s just the dinosaur in me!! A more concerning development in the change in the standard has been the ever increasing move to up the number of certified individuals. I am all for strengthening the quality of those of us that are involved in Dynamics, but just upping the number of certified individuals does on its own not achieve this. The added worry is that with VARs and ISVs now allowed to self certify this surely does not bode well for increasing standards. The opportunity to charge $100 a day more for a certified functional or technical consultant will as day follows night allow the self certification to slowly drop in its criterion. But what concerns me most is that there surely has to be the opportunity for freelancers to become VARs for small companies to exist and compete against the larger organisations on a level playing field. I am not asking Microsoft to bring an NFL style draft, but to allow the smaller budget teams to still play the same game. The number of smaller VARs and ISVs that have produced outstanding add-ons over the years has been what has improved the channel no end. The ability to innovate is not the right of the larger VARs and ISVs alone. In recent weeks we have seen 2 of the ISVs who has serendipity would have it were named last month in this very sites own list of Top Add-Ons for 2011 …

GP and SharePoint a Marriage There is often a case made by those of us Microsoft Partners that pushes out the integration argument when faced with a competitive tender from a competing platform.  The Microsoft stack is our biggest advantage and it plays well with clients. As a developer the constant challenge is to deliver what you know is possible in terms of the customisation with the actual needs of the clients’ workflow. Every company I have ever gone into has had its unique challenges and idiosyncrasies but the opportunity to solve most if not all of them comes in the form of SharePoint and GP. The loss of PerformancePoint has not been an issue when it comes to workflow in fact it could well be that whatever process you are looking to enhance then it could be that in turning to SharePoint you have the answer. I am aware that I may have been slow to pick up on the advantages of working with SharePoint and GP but now that I am converted I am a true believer. The simplistic way in which it allows you show your client the steps that you have done, and that you are able to demystify the art of customisation is a huge bonus. I have now even begun the pass to becoming certified in SharePoint as well as GP, now as a freelancer all I have to do is convince a recruiter that I can have more than one string to my bow. I know it’s the smallest of points, but why are we always so ready to pigeonhole ourselves. As I was with my resistance to working with SharePoint so are clients. This new found skill has of course been made easier with the vast number of enhancements in the new version of GP10, Microsoft I think claimed more than 150 enhancements, I think so far I have found 116 but then again I am not sure how many are being double counted. As for the integration by using SharePoint I am now able to offer my clients a centralised web based source for their resources and management tools, and therefore able to run SSRS to report on the SharePoint Server. I can see that the more you delve into the Microsoft Stack the more there is to learn and to bring to your clients, I get the feeling that having only working in the industry for 4 years I have a lot more to learn, but not sure I have the time to get to grips with the whole Microsoft stack.

In the previous years in which we have set up and listed the Most Influential People in Microsoft Dynamics it has become apparent that influence or influential is very subjective. As developers we have been very analytical, created algorithms to “simplify” the process and put together a physical definition of an ephemeral subjective ideal. Since we have begun there have been a number of companies that have equally made diagnostic attempts to quantify what it means to be influential. The dictionary definition of influential is “able to influence people” and in turn influence is “having a powerful effect on people”. It is true in that case that everybody is influential and if taken to an extreme, and with apologies to students of Lorenz, a butterfly’s wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that may ultimately alter the path of a tornado, which can be seen to prove Chaos Theory and what makes influence. Therefore we have to try and limit what can actually be described as a sphere of influence. The advantage that we have had in quantifying influence in Microsoft Dynamics is that we are dealing with a group of people with similar interests, and so it is possible to be able to quantify one persons influence over the group against another person’s influence. The influence over groups is a theory that has been taken up by several online companies, none more so that in the social media space and within Twitter there are Topsy, Klout and TunkRank to name just a few, which have all built separate ways to sort Twitter users in order to reveal experts who tweet actively and influentially on a given topic. The measure of influence in this respect is different to the search engines and in this respect lends greater to weight to the information found in this way. The rise in internet influence is growing and as ever is “influenced” by celebrities, and it is a true chicken and egg situation that most of those celebrities that are deemed to be influential because their social media following is so high, but are they gaining such a high following because they are a celebrity. So following the Topsy, Klout and TunkRank rationale Lady Gaga, Ashton Kutcher and Justin Bieber are more influential than Barack Obama and Wen Jiabao. To most of this would be considered heresy but the groups to which they are influential are the ones that the corporations are interested in. More 15 – 19 year olds click through internet adverts than 40 – 80 years old. A recent retweet from Justin Bieber took an ipad app into the the top 10 downloads inside a day. This is the influence that social media savvy companies are interested not in who Barack Obama backs in Egypt or if Wen Jiabao will keep the Chinese currency artificially low. All is not lost for those of who are not celebrities, we can all utilise our “influence” to gain free Virgin America flights or …