Microsoft’s annual Worldwide Partner conference (WPC) is always an energizing event for us as it gives us an opportunity to broadly engage with our partner community, share innovations as well as learn from each other to better serve our customers.

This event comes on the heels of a significant announcement that introduced our next generation of business applications, Microsoft Dynamics 365.  I’m excited about this new offering as it delivers the best of productivity and business processes in the cloud. Dynamics 365 also introduces new common data model– a single platform for building new solutions across all your business apps (sales, service, operations, marketing, finance) giving people a unified view of their business data to figure out the right actions, maximize productivity and deliver amazing experiences for their customers – we are making this real and it is truly ground breaking.

Dynamics AX, Microsoft’s enterprise cloud ERP service built on and for Azure, powers the complete operations business process as Dynamics 365 for Operations – it is a core component of Dynamics 365 that will be available in the fall of this year.

The new Dynamics AX has seen a tremendous response from our customers and partners. The adoption of Dynamics AX in the cloud is the fastest we have ever seen for this product with customers such as AccuWeather, Hagler Systems, Umbra Group, Carglass, Renault Sport F1 Team and other leading organizations in nearly every region across the world deploying the new service to run their business.  For Canadian organizations we announced the availability of the service in preview from the Canadian datacenter regions.

Cloud computing is gaining momentum with 88% of organizations using the public cloud today[i]. To meet this growing need for cloud solutions we are committed to further strengthen the cloud capabilities of Dynamics AX.  One of the key requirements of our customers when it comes to ERP business applications is a need for a mixture of cloud and on-premises solutions – in fact, according to a IDC report more than 80% of enterprise IT organizations will commit to hybrid cloud strategy by 2017[ii].

From an ERP perspective, the notion of a solution that is purely disconnected from the cloud in any way, shape or form is not a realistic view in today’s business environment. It is business continuity that is critical and a priority for organizations. This continuity is enabled by a “hybrid cloud” that gives our customers the ability to run business processes and store data across the cloud and their own data centers.

For example, a retail store can’t afford to be down for even a minute… they need to ensure that they’ll be able to run even if they lose connectivity for just a few seconds. Another example – customers with extensive analytics needs – can’t and shouldn’t just rely on data that resides in their own data centers for intelligence – the cloud is now a rich and necessary source of information and to get the best analytics, businesses need to leverage all available data sources.

A true hybrid cloud, is pragmatic and combines the best of cloud and on-premises environments. We are committed to delivering a solution that supports that hybrid cloud strategy; from customers that want a pure cloud ERP system to customers that want to run their ERP system in their own data centers complemented with cloud services.

To deliver on the promise of hybrid cloud, the key investments we are making in the new Dynamics AX include:

• Giving the solution elastic scale so the largest customers can run their complete business in the cloud.
• World-class privacy, security and compliance to give customers peace of mind that their information and data are safe.
• Providing customers an unmatched service experience that enables their people to focus on what matters most to their business.
• And of course, enabling hybrid cloud scenarios.

Stay tuned as we will share a lot more details about each of these areas in the upcoming weeks.

Last week, we also announced Microsoft AppSource, a new destination for business users to find and try out line-of-business SaaS apps developed by Microsoft and our partners. At launch Microsoft AppSource contains more than 200 business SaaS apps, add-ins and content packs, including 50+ solutions that are designed for the new Dynamics AX.

We are also continuing to invest in our current on-premises solution in the market, Dynamics AX 2012 R3. Earlier this month we released Dynamics AX 2012 R3 CU11 update.  We are also extending mainstream support for Dynamics AX 2012 R3 an additional three years until October 2021 so customers can be confident that their investment in this solution is secure for years to come.

It’s never been a more exciting and opportune time to be in the business apps space and I look forward to the upcoming year and what we can do with our partners to help our customers achieve more.

You can view the full recording of my session at WPC, Driving Enterprise ERP Business, below.

The post Innovating with Business Apps in the Cloud appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

In every business decision he makes, Thomas Mayer, Chief Operating Officer of Renault Sport Formula One Team has a key question: Will this make our cars faster? Sure, you’d expect decisions about materials and design to impact the speed of Renault’s top-tier race cars. But enterprise resource planning tools? It’s not the first thing that comes to mind.

In a recent conversation I had with Thomas, he explained why Microsoft Dynamics AX, a cloud ERP service built on and for Azure, is a clear fit for some of the world’s fastest cars and his company. “Dynamics AX is a hosted cloud-based system so I don’t have to worry about infrastructure and can shift my IT resources to do other work—more performance-related work,” Thomas told me. “This directly correlates with the performance of the car because I spend the money on the car and not IT systems. Combined, it has a very significant impact.”

Renault Sport Formula One Team is no stranger to Microsoft technology—they’ve been using both Microsoft software and hardware such as Office, SharePoint, the Surface Pro tablet and Lumia phones for a few years. But the team recognized it was time for a complete transition to the cloud, starting with Dynamics AX.

We worked closely with Thomas and Renault Sport Formula One Team not only as a customer, but also as development partner through the creation of the new Dynamics AX. They were one of the first customers to test out the new Dynamics AX service and they proved to be a great fit and test case for us. In addition to diverting valuable resources from IT, Microsoft Dynamics AX helps Thomas accomplish his goals by supplying intuitive analytics in a user-friendly interface available on his phone and in the cloud. These capabilities allow him to keep a constant pulse on his business wherever he is in the world.

Renault Sport Formula One Team is an example of a complete end-to-end business, from manufacturing to retail to everything in-between. They also have a unique need—speed. Renault Sport Formula One Team needs to get their products and services ready and out to market a faster than nearly any other business, and they do it while the world is watching. As a result, efficient business decisions are integral to the company’s success.

With Dynamics AX’s seamless integration of Power BI, Skype, Yammer, and other facets of Office 365, Thomas can effortlessly analyze data in real time to determine whether an investment, partnership or strategy will be profitable. “We need to always make decisions about how we apply the funds best,” he said. “That’s where AX helps us a lot, because now we can make a qualified decision in terms of ‘Do we want to invest in this kind of important project, or this kind?’ and then track the cost against it. We’ve never been able to do this before.” 

Dynamics AX also delivers a sleek user interface that works like other familiar applications, making implementation simple. “It’s a very new way of engaging the user,” Thomas said. “It’s a user interface that you’re very much used to because it’s browser based, so it’s something [users] know from their daily life . . . they want to work this way because it’s the way they are most comfortable working.”

But a superb user interface isn’t enough. Today’s leaders also need to be able access ERP systems on their phones and in the cloud—two factors that directly influenced Thomas’s decision to use Dynamics AX.

This flexibility is part of a long-term strategy to make Dynamics AX relevant to the modern business leader. As the world becomes more mobile, phones are increasingly used for work as well as personal use. To meet business leaders where they are, a lot of the work we’ve done around Dynamics AX has focused on how to enable people to access information and more importantly, run processes on mobile device just as they would on a desktop computer.

From Thomas’s perspective, Dynamics AX not only fills a need, but also opens up new possibilities for his company. “It’s something people want—they see a business benefit because it gives them a lot of different opportunities to work which they were never able to work before,” he said. “There’s a very big demand from the user, from our side, to get this new version up and running.”

I’m excited about the delivering the capability to people so they are able to get business insight when and where they need it.  This week we published the first two Power BI content packs for businesses at www.powerbi.com. These first content packs are: (1) Financial Performance and (2) Retail Channel Performance. Users can select the desired content pack from the services catalogue and deploy in minutes, so try it out for yourselves today.

This is the latest in a series of blogs leading up to the new Microsoft Dynamics AX virtual launch. To learn more about how the latest cloud release of the Microsoft enterprise ERP solution can help take your business to the next level, register today to attend the virtual launch. For more information about Microsoft Dynamics AX visit, www.microsoft.com/dynamics/ax.  

Past posts in the series:

The New Dynamics AX for Retail & Commerce Brings the Power and Intelligence of the Cloud to Retailers

It All Adds Up: New IDC Analyst Connection Discusses the Value of ERP

Is this the Future of Financial Data Visualization?

The post Microsoft Dynamics AX Powers Faster Cars and Business Decisions appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with John Milazzo from Kodak Alaris and a few thousand of our closest friends at Convergence EMEA 2014. The Kodak Alaris team blogged about Convergence here. Kodak Alaris are a fascinating company with an interesting origin story. They are both a customer and partner of Microsoft. John joined me to discuss Kodak Alaris’ decisions around the cloud, business transformation and Microsoft Dynamics AX.

As a partner, one of Kodak Alaris’ software solutions can be used as an onramp to Microsoft SharePoint. It’s called the Kodak Info Activate Solution (KIAS), a tremendous way for businesses to get critical data off of paper, into SharePoint and then routed into a business process or workflow (see it in action) – “You’re more than just an IT guy, you’re the person everyone counts on to make things happen quickly.”

That’s enough about IT, let’s get back to business…

A Fascinating Company

Kodak Alaris are on a unique journey. Their business is sometimes referred to as “The $1.2B Startup”, consisting of two business units, formerly of Eastman Kodak, creating their own company. It wasn’t a traditional divestiture by any means. According to the Turnaround Management Association (TMA), a global non-profit organization comprised of turnaround and corporate renewal professionals, the creation of Kodak Alaris is “one of the most innovative in the history of cross-border restructurings.” Their parent company is a UK based pension fund for existing and former Eastman Kodak employees in the United Kingdom. The fund saw great value in the capabilities of what was to become “Kodak Alaris” and opted to take these as payment for the debt.

Building a billion dollar company from the ground up

Unlike most divestitures who have some formal structure and process in place, for Kodak Alaris it’s all brand new: from CEO and board of directors to software, networking and computer systems. This has enabled Kodak Alaris to design their business with best of breed, from the ground up. Kodak Alaris has an inbuilt focus on delivering the best products, service and strongest possible relationships with their customers.

“The corner stone of our IT environment revolves around our chosen ERP solution,” says John Milazzo, CIO, Kodak Alaris. After a robust selection approach which involved close consideration of Gartner’s research, Kodak Alaris chose Microsoft Dynamics AX for their ERP needs, Office 365 for productivity and is excited for what the Azure cloud platform offering brings to the business.

Putting together an A-Team

John heads up an amazing team and applies that people passion outside of work as an educator; he spends evenings and weekends teaching Computer Science at his local community college. In this challenge he sees opportunity– not just in technology one-up-man-ship but also the career and personal growth of his team. And it’s paying dividends. The board is pleased with what John and team have been landing. “When I deliver a message to the board and they are happy with it, that it aligns to what they want the company to be, that tells me we are on the right track”.

Simplicity and Business Value

John works with and coaches all of his people to seek out and understand in detail what their business partners are trying to achieve. He then encourages everyone to pursue simplicity. “Do we have to do this in a unique way or can we do it in a way which the technology can provide out of the box?” When differentiation and competitive advantage can be gained by customization that’s OK, but equally don’t rewrite how a PO is processed just because “this is how we have done it in the past.” Simplify and add value using technology to help business partners create the best possible customer experiences. Set up the company to be able to benefit when vendors such as Microsoft bring out improvements in the technology.

At the end of the day, for Kodak Alaris it’s all about helping customers unlock the power of images and information.

In the past, heavy customization of the company’s SAP implementation meant taking advantage of upgrades became challenging. Upgrading would require going back and modifying prior customization. A cost prohibitive exercise.

With Microsoft Dynamics, John’s plans for Kodak Alaris are for the organization to be able to benefit from what is offered in software and to be able to customize business processes without customizing code or implementations. Predictability and repeatability are critical for the company’s long term goals. As a part of this, Kodak Alaris are planning on utilizing Lifecycle Services to manage both the life cycle of their deployment and their business process which make Kodak Alaris unique.

Combining Business Productivity (with Dynamics), individual productivity (with Office) with the power of the cloud (Azure) Kodak Alaris are on track to leverage the key pillars of the Microsoft Cloud for Business. “The scalability and flexibility of Azure are really exciting. Previously if we needed more computer power for any reason we’d have to go through a complex internal process to make the request. Being able to scale up and down as needed based on capacity is a big deal for us being able to support the business with agility,” says John.

It’s all about the business

At the end of the day, for Kodak Alaris it’s all about helping customers unlock the power of images and information. “We believe we can always find a better way,” says Milazzo. “We strive to be customer centric and to be trusted, nimble, creative and driven in everything that we do.” To achieve this Kodak Alaris needs the tools they select to be customer centric as well. This in turn enables Kodak Alaris to do the best possible job providing the solutions their customers’ needs. This shared perspective with Microsoft on customer centricity is a common ground that has helped fuel the partnership between the two companies and resulted in Microsoft being chosen as the technology foundation.

—

If you missed the Dynamics AX General session from Convergence Europe 2014 you can watch it here.

The post Kodak Alaris and Microsoft Dynamics AX: Business Transformation on the Cloud appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

A recent survey by Ovum research reveals a significant trend in the ERP space: Global enterprise organizations overwhelmingly identify Microsoft Dynamics as the preferred vendor for their next ERP investment.

What does this mean for SAP customers? Well, if the best run businesses run SAP, soon many will join the growing list of customers who will be running Microsoft Dynamics AX right alongside it. Within the Ovum report, Lead Analyst Warren Wilson espouses the view that side-by-side ERP deployment is becoming the norm rather than the exception:

“Microsoft’s strong showing in Ovum’s ICT Enterprise Insights survey is hardly surprising. The company’s Dynamics product line is an increasingly attractive option for organizations looking to augment their legacy ERP systems with capable enterprise applications that are easy to deploy and integrate.”  

The chart is an excerpt of a study of 6700 across industries, geographies, and segments, from mid-market to enterprise and shows Microsoft Dynamics ranked as the most likely option for future ERP investment.

I’m sure this trend has something to do with ease of use, ease of deployment and configuration, and low cost of ownership of Microsoft Dynamics AX. But it also indicates the growing realization that most organizations can benefit from a two-tier ERP model. Even companies that have invested heavily in SAP recognize that they can enhance and extend their legacy systems by adopting Microsoft Dynamics AX as a platform for operational ERP. 

If your organization relies on SAP as your core ERP solution, Microsoft Dynamics AX can help you make the most of your investment by optimizing and connecting your operations—increasing agility of operations and delivering ERP functionality to all subsidiaries and business divisions, while maintaining the single source of enterprise business information that you benefit from with SAP.

Gartner shares this opinion, presenting the potential benefits of the two-tier model in a recent report. And some of the biggest brands in the world have proven it—with amazing results. Where will you make your next ERP investment? If you’re running SAP, your future might include Microsoft Dynamics AX. Join us at booth #700 @ SAPPHIRE NOW in Orlando to see for yourself.

The post Ovum Research Highlights Trends in ERP Spending That Might Surprise You… appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

If you’re heading to SAPPHIRE NOW looking for ways to increase agility & drive innovation while lowering TCO and increasing user adoption, you may be wondering whether a two-tier ERP model could help your company gain agility and reduce implementation costs. Since Gartner Research reported that “companies are seeing a 33% reduction in implementation costs and a 50% decrease in total time to full implementation when a two-tiered system is executed,” many CIOs are actively exploring options for secondary ERP.

The Gartner report offers compelling evidence in support of the two-tier model, as do testimonials from some widely recognized global brands that have chosen to extend their SAP implementation using Microsoft Dynamics AX. Click through the links below to learn more, or browse additional customer stories on the Microsoft Dynamics customer stories page. 

• Delta Airlines has run SAP on the backend for many years, but turned to Microsoft Dynamics AX when they needed to rapidly deploy customer-facing retail applications. Today, all of Delta’s inflight transactions run through a mobile application built on Microsoft Dynamics AX. Learn more.
• Nissan runs SAP in their global headquarters. But when the automotive giant needed a solution that would allow them to rapidly onboard dealerships, they chose to build their dealer management solution on Microsoft Dynamics AX. The dealer management solution provides a flexible, affordable solution that helps dealers connect more closely with customers, while enabling Nissan corporate to aggregate data from hundreds of global dealerships for analysis and reporting in SAP.  Learn more.
• European industrial giant, Würth Group also employs a two-tier ERP model, deploying Microsoft Dynamics AX to its subsidiaries and maintaining a legacy SAP deployment at its German headquarters. With more than 400 subsidiaries in 84 countries, Microsoft Dynamics AX helps Würth Group rapidly bring on new businesses, ensures consistent application of business rules, and enables rapid implementation of industry-specific functionality. Learn more.  
• At Microsoft, while we could have chosen to roll-out AX from financials and out we have instead taken a ROI led approach and have therefore started to rollout Dynamics AX in the operational areas where we can get the highest and fastest ROI and are continuing to leverage SAP to run our core financials. We rely on Microsoft Dynamics AX as an “innovation layer” to quickly rollout functionality to employees throughout the organization, while maintaining a single source of enterprise business information in SAP. We rely on the fast configuration and reconfiguration of AX to deploy new applications to support innovation and capitalize on new opportunities. Learn more.

Stop by the Microsoft booth at SAPPHIRE NOW and let’s talk about how a two-tier ERP strategy can deliver the best of both worlds: organizational agility and flexibility for your operations, while maintaining information visibility and transactional integrity in the core SAP systems.

The post Together, SAP and Microsoft Dynamics AX Deliver the Best of Both Worlds appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

SAP announced this week that it will make its core enterprise business offerings, including SAP Business Suite, HANA Developer Edition, and SAP Business All-In-One, available on Microsoft Azure. The announcement wasn’t a surprise— with more than half of the Fortune 500 already using Microsoft Azure many of SAP’s customers have likely been requesting the support for Microsoft Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for some time. The announcement does however add to a growing list of questions around the future of SAP’s platform strategy that to a large part has been attributed to Vishal Sikka who recently left SAP.

At Microsoft, customers have been able to benefit from faster time to value, increased agility and reduced costs of running their solution on Azure since the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3. As a customer that is already running SAP, but perhaps looking for support on specific workloads like subsidiary or divisional ERP or help with specific workloads or LOB strategies, having both solutions run on Microsoft Azure makes it even easier to connect than ever before. Moreover you can expect to see incremental benefit from leveraging Microsoft Dynamics AX on Microsoft Azure IaaS.

Beyond the benefits that AX will bring around increased agility, lower TCO and improved user adoption, you can expect to benefit from management tools that allow your IT group incremental control over, and management of, multiple instances, including those in Azure data-centers around the world so you can best serve your local subsidiaries.

However, as you may expect, our use of Azure expands significantly beyond deploying the solution in the cloud. At Microsoft Dynamics we are leveraging Azure for a number of scenarios, and it’s worth noting that these are available regardless of whether the solution is deployed on premise, in the cloud or using a hybrid approach. Key cloud powered scenarios including:

• Application Lifecycle Management – utilizing Lifecycle Services (LCS) to help customers benefit from cloud powered implementation planning, deployment, management and upgrade support.
• Disaster recovery – protecting customers data from disasters with a real-time, always-on solution in the Microsoft cloud.
• Infrastructure extension – connecting customers with modern apps and devices easily and securely with Microsoft Dynamics AX via Azure Service Bus & Active Directory Federated Services.
• Powering mobile apps – increasing customers’ efficiencies utilizing purpose-built apps including Microsoft Dynamics AX Mobile Time and Expense Management as well as enabling them to easily build, securely connect and manage their own mobile apps.

With both solutions committed to Microsoft Azure there has never been a time where it has been easier to extend your SAP solution with Microsoft Dynamics AX, so why not future-proof your business by adopting the platform of the future?

The post Microsoft Azure is the Platform for SAP and Microsoft Dynamics AX appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.