Rens van Vught entered the Navision world in 1997. He was co-founder of ICM Solutions, where he performed the roles of COO and CFO. After selling the company to Qurius in 2007, he started working as a freelancer, offering services as an independent freelance Dynamics Nav specialist and project manager.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB IN MICROSOFT DYNAMICS?
The first time I got acquainted with the application, we now know as Dynamics NAV, was in 1997. Me and my business partner attended a product demonstration of Navision Financials version 1.10. We were immediately swept away by the flexibility and openness of the software, which at that point was revolutionary. We signed up to become a Navision Solution Center, paid our entrance fee, and off we went. By the end of that year, we sold 3 licenses, and I started to implement and develop the application.
WHO HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCES IN MICROSO\FT DYNAMICS?
In the beginning, there was very little knowledge in the market, training material was non existent, and the manuals for developing in C/SIDE were insufficient. So we looked for co-operation with other solution centers. In a group of early adopters, we had monthly meetings, sharing knowledge and experience. These were very inspirational sessions. To mention a few of the participants: Arthur van Dijk, Rick Blom, Jos van de Werken and Andries Tijssens. From Navision at that time, we got supported by Derk Jan Oelemans and Dick Beekman.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENTS IN MICROSOFT DYNAMICS?
In 1999, we were the first Dutch company to achieve the status Independent Add-on Product (IAP) for our add-on. I was the project manager, wrote most of the specifications, functional designs and documentation and did some developing as well. I’m happy to see that the product is still alive, and is now called the PRIMA suite.
Nowadays I’m working as an independent project manager and Nav specialist. Most of the times I get hired by end users. It gives me the opportunity to combine my knowledge of both software and market, with my (project) management skills. One of my major achievements as a project manager is the implementation of Dynamics Nav 2009 for the Coolrec Group, part of Van Gansewinkel. This company recycles domestic electronic appliances in 7 plants, divided over 4 countries. The project had a duration of less than a year, and was finished within time and budget, with full scope.
WHAT IS THE BEST THING MICROSOFT HAS BROUGHT TO THE COMMUNITY?
Microsoft brought a lot to the community, on all levels. After buying Navision, they started treating it immediately as a product line, with a clear release path and improvements on both functionality and technique. In 2002, a typical Nav implementation had about 60% standard software with 40% tailor-made software. With version 5.01 in 2007, this had evolved into a 90 to 10 ratio. Recently I finished a small implementation for 5 users. The only objects that I had to adjust were reports, the rest was standard.
WHY SHOULD AN END USER PURCHASE MICROSOFT DYNAMICS?
Microsoft Dynamics Nav brings broad standard functionality for fair prices. This makes it attainable for small and medium-sized companies. It’s got an attractive time to profit, because the time and duration necessary to implement the product is short. The software is still extremely flexible and easy to customize. This enables a company not to make any compromises to their competitive advantages.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING MICROSOFT DYNAMICS IN THE ERP MARKET TODAY?
There is more than one dimension to that question. First of all, there are a lot of old versions running in the field. To transfer this to the latest versions will involve some major investments for the end user. This can be a potential risk for the Microsoft partner to lose clients.
Besides that, the whole new partner program is a big challenge. It can be the beginning of a shake-out, but it can also lead to overselling. If a partner sells more than it can deliver, dissatisfied end users are likely to occur.
Last but not least, the pressure to deliver a good project is rising. With the cloud coming up, and a different licensing model, Microsoft partners will have to rely more on chargeability of the workforce. A bad project will immediately have consequences for the profitability. Good project management will be a necessity.
WHICH ADD-ON HAS MADE YOUR CLIENTS LIFE EASIER?
Every add-on is developed for a reason; standard functionality doesn’t fulfill a functional need. So it’s quite logical that an add-on makes the clients life easier, because it stands closer to his business the client is running. Unfortunately, not all add-ons are of high quality. Sometimes you can see that customer specific software is integrated in the add-on, or that the modifications are developed in a way which makes an upgrade vary difficult. To mention a two examples of good quality add-ons: Mercash (HRM) and Enwis) (environmental industry).
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE HAPPEN WITH MICROSOFT DYNAMICS IN THE FUTURE?
More emphasis on project delivery quality. Sure Step is a beginning, but a successful project is more than entering all settings in the software. It’s much more about improving and changing the business and the organization.