2015 Q1 - AXUG Magazine by Dynamic Communities, Inc

Q1 2015

www.axug.com

Business Intelligence Work Your Information

Is it Big Data or Lots of Smaller Data? The New Buzzword:

DWA

contents Q1 2015

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Tweet It! What’s your most important goal related to Microsoft Dynamics AX? Share your thoughts on Twitter #AXUG.

Q1 2015

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Business Intelligence WORK YOUR INFORMATION

IMPLEMENTATION

Tips and Tricks THE NEW BUZZWORD:

DWA

In Every Issue 5 7 8 9 10 19 21 29 30 37 47 50 68 69

From the Director Events Meet the Leaders Welcome to Our New Members Chapter News On Topic Word Find Focus on Education What’s New on the AXUG Website Academy Corner Name That Photo Contest Volunteer of the Quarter: Dawn Johnson Find the Logo Contest The AX List, from The Partner Channel

Features Advertiser Index Altec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Arbela Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 AxSource Global . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 AXUG Summit 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Client Strategy Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44-45 Dynaway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Experlogix, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Globe Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Jet Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 k-eCommerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

12 16

Is it Big Data or Lots of Smaller Data?

20 22 26 32

AXUG Volunteer Opportunities

38 40

VAR Partner Member Showcase AXMentor

NMB Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Perceptive Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 RF-SMART . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Microsoft Showcase TJ Vassar Back to the Basics: Hot Business Intelligence Trends in 2015 New Intelligent CPM Tools Let You Follow the Money and Guide Your Business Thank You AXUG Summit 2014 Sponsors

Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence with Microsoft Dynamics AX

58 60 64

Industry Showcase Public Sector

The Summit Experience

Scalable Data Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 SK Global Software, LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

The New Buzzword: DWA

46 48

mcaConnect, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 28 MetaViewer from Metaﬁle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

User Member Showcase Tempur Sealy International, Inc.

ISV Partner Member Showcase ZAP Business Intelligence

5 Trends for Business Intelligence and Analytics Users’ Perspectives Business Intelligence Implementation Tips

Q1 2015 | 3

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letter

Goingfrom to the the Next Level... axug director Sherry Linares

The Evolution of Business Intelligence

Frank Vukovits, Jr.

wo years ago, in the Q1 issue of AXUG® Magazine, I started my director message the following way: “Business intelligence. The phrase itself always makes me chuckle…what business doesn’t want to be intelligent?” Looking back, I think that statement obviously still applies, and more importantly for the Microsoft Dynamics AX community, business intelligence (BI) is still a hot topic, one that many companies are still addressing at various levels. As such, we decided to make BI this issue’s theme for three reasons: It’s still hot, we continue to have lots of great AXUG Partners whose business is built around BI and Microsoft Dynamics AX, and in 2015, one of the three AXUG FOCUS events will be on BI and reporting. Each year, as the BI and Microsoft Dynamics AX world matures, there are many great Partners in the BI community who continue to provide end Users with the tools to turn data into better, faster, cleaner, and presentation-form-ready information. The power of the Microsoft stack and the evolving products from the Microsoft Dynamics corporate performance management (CPM) team have also provided Microsoft Dynamics AX Users with additional tools to add to their reporting toolbox to truly make sure no piece of data is unturned. In this issue, many of these AXUG Partners share their thoughts about the evolution of business intelligence and the Microsoft Dynamics AX space. These Partners all have great experiences to share; hopefully you pick up a nugget or two of information that will help your current or future BI project. We also highlight the latest from Microsoft around BI, and of course AXUG User Members share their own experiences with BI. One common theme is that BI is more than software; there is a strong non-technical component to successfully implementing BI into your organization. It’s somewhat amusing that this issue is longer than usual. Perhaps that is an indicator of just how hot and important BI and reporting are in the Microsoft Dynamics AX community. Maybe it reflects all the great content AXUG User and Partner Members have to share with the community. Or maybe it just means there is too much BI information out there, and we need a better way to consolidate the magazine content into a shorter form (bad idea if you ask me). In any case, I would be remiss if I didn’t quickly mention Convergence 2015 in Atlanta. If you happen to be lucky enough to be reading this while at Convergence and are not yet an AXUG Member, I encourage you to stop by the AXUG booth in the Convergence Expo to learn about all the great benefits AXUG membership offers. Not in Atlanta? You can always sign up online at www.axugcom/join-axug. Already an AXUG Member? Great! Stop by the Expo and say hi! In closing, BI is just one of the many, many areas that Microsoft Dynamics AX Users like you meet to discuss and learn from each other. AXUG provides the best opportunity for you and your company to maximize your investment in Microsoft Dynamics AX through the objectives of listen, learn, and share. If you are already an AXUG Member, I challenge you in 2015 to leverage the benefits of AXUG to help you and your company maximize your Microsoft Dynamics AX investment even further; you won’t be disappointed.

Frank Vukovits, Jr. Director – Programming, AXUG

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events sessions meetings courses

The event calendar on www.axug.com and the weekly AXUG® Event Guide are your best sources for the latest AXUG event information as this list is subject to change. Events are added weekly, so check back often and get registered for the next exciting AXUG event.

AXUG Focus

May 15 – Managing Your Microsoft Dynamics AX Deployment

May 2015 | Orlando, FL

www.axugsummit.com/reno

Using Sure Step Resources May 22 – Managing Your Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Environment June 5 – Master Planning for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 June 12 – Microsoft Dynamics AX Configuration Series – Inventory Management July 10 – Microsoft Dynamics AX Configuration Series – Sales and Marketing August 14 – Microsoft Dynamics AX Configuration Series – Purchase Order Management

Academy Courses

Chapter Meetings

March 23 – Microsoft Dynamics AX Implementation Project

March 24 – Canada | Toronto, ON

Management March 25 – Understanding the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Security Model March 27 – Advanced Management Reporter April 3 – KPIs, SSAS, & Cubes in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 April 8 – Inventory Costing in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 April 10 – Microsoft Dynamics AX Configuration Series – Accounts Payable Setup April 16 – Process Manufacturing for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 April 20 – Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Development I & II April 22 – Microsoft Office Excel Basic – Moving & Viewing Data, Using Functions, & More April 23 – Microsoft Office Excel Intermediate – It’s All About The Pivot April 24 – Performance Optimization in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 May 8 – Microsoft Dynamics AX Configuration Series – Financial Approvals & Workflows

March 26 – Florida

www.axugfocus.com

AXUG Academy Pre-Conference Training October 12 – 13 | Reno, Nevada

www.axugsummit.com/reno

AXUG Summit 2015 October 14 -16 | Reno, Nevada

April 16 – Sweden User Group April 22 – Italy | Milan May 14 – Arizona | Phoenix

Webinars March 23 – MVP Monday – Ask the Experts Panel March 26 – OneSource Series: Data Migration (Part of an

ongoing series) March 27 – OneSource Series: Excel – Turn Up the Heat with Power Map March 30 – Learn to Take Advantage of Your AXUG Membership with Navigation Tips April 1 – OneSource Series: Excel – Excel Idol April 2 – Manufacturing SIG April 10, May 8, June 12 – Management Reporter and Forecaster Friday – Get Your Questions Answered April 16 – Executive SIG: The Art of Winning More Business with LinkedIn

Q1 2015 | 7

A G U U X X AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU XU AX AX A G A G UG U AX G A G A G UG U XU X AX A G G U U X A X G UG UG XU XU AXU AX AX G A G A G AX A G G U G U XU X A A X G UG UG XU XU AX AX A G A G A G G U U X X A U XU AXU AX AX A G A G UG UG A X U G G AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX A A X U G UG UG XU XU AX AX G A G A UG XU AX AX A G A G UG UG XU XU G UG U XU X AX A A G G XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU XU AX G U U X X A A G G UG AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU XU AX AX A G A G UG UG AX G A G A G UG U XU X AX A U XU XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU G AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU X AX A A G G UG U AX G A G A UG UG XU XU AX AX A A A G G U U X X G UG UG XU XU XU AX AX G A G A G AX A A A G G U U X X X G UG UG XU XU AX AX G A G A UG AX A A G G U U X X A U U XU X AX A G A G A UG UG G G G U G U XU X X A A A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU G G G UG U XU XU AX AX G A G XU X AX A G G U U A G UG U XU X AX A A G G XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU XU AX G U U X X A A G G U AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU XU AX AX A G A G UG U AX G A G A G UG U XU X AX A U XU XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU G AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU XU AX AX A G A G UG AX G A G A G UG U XU X AX A G G U U X A X G UG UG XU XU AXU AX AX G A G A G A A

leaders mee t your a xug le aders

AXUG® caught up with two members of the Board of Advisors to ﬁnd out... What are you most looking forward to with AXUG in 2015?

Dave Coombs

COMPANY Harman Management Corp

TITLE development services manager

COMPANY Microsemi

TITLE ERP solutions architect

EMAIL Grant.wilson@ microsemi.com

8 | AXUG Magazine

More development training and understanding of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3. Knowledge and experience that can only come from meeting my peers is well worth the eﬀort of joining AXUG and attending related functions/training. You won’t get this kind of experience anywhere else.

EMAIL Davec@harmans.com

Grant Wilson

As with each year, I am most looking forward to AXUG Summit in the fall. It is the highlight of the Microsoft Dynamics AX calendar and the best place to learn about Microsoft Dynamics AX and meet other Microsoft Dynamics AX Users.

XU AX AX A G A G G U U X G U U X X A A G G U AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU XU AX AX A G A G UG U AX G A G A G UG U XU X AX A G G U U X A X G UG UG XU XU AXU AX AX G A G A G AX A G G U G U XU X A A X G UG UG XU XU AX AX A G A G A G G U U X X A U XU AXU AX AX A G A G UG UG A X U G G G G U U X X A A A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU G G G U U X X A A G XU AX AX A G A G UG UG XU XU G UG UG XU XU AXU AX AX G A G XU AX AX A G A G G U U X G U U X X A A G G UG AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU X AX A A G G UG UG AX G A G A UG UG XU XU AX AX A U XU XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU G AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU XU AX AX A G A G UG U AX G A G A G UG U XU X AX A G G U U X A X G UG UG XU XU AXU AX AX G A G A G AX A XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU X U G G A G G UG UG XU XU AX AX A U XU AXU AX AX A G A G A UG UG X U G G A X U A X U G G A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU G G A X U A X U G G XU AX AX A G A G A UG UG XU XU G U G U XU X X A A G G XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU XU AX G U U X X A A G G U AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU XU AX AX A G A G A UG U AX G A G A G UG U XU X X A U XU XU AX AX G A G A UG UG X G AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX A X G UG UG XU XU AX AX G A G A UG AX A A G G U U X X A G G U U X A X G UG UG XU XU AXU AX AX G A G A G AX A G G U G U XU X A A X G UG UG XU XU AX AX A G A G A G G U U X X A U XU AXU AX AX A G A G UG UG A X U G G AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX A A X U G UG UG XU XU AX AX G A G A UG XU AX AX A G A G UG UG XU XU G UG U XU X AX A A G G XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU XU AX G UG UG XU XU AX AX G A G A U

members welcome to our new members

Welcome to the new Members who have invested in AXUG® User and Partner membership this year! Each new Member adds value not only to their own organization, but also to the entire AXUG community as they share their knowledge and experiences.

Welcome to one of our newest Members...

New AXUG User Members Biagi Bros., Inc. Borusan Mannesmann Dustin AB European Broadcasting Union Fountain Tire Frontier Airlines Gaffney Kroese

HNTB Iovate Health Sciences International Inc. Kason Industries Kotahi LiNA Medical ApS Micro Matic USA Inc. PMC Group

PSM Healthcare Trading as API Consumer Brands Quality Manufacturing Corporation Scania Sherry-Lehmann, Inc Stena Metall AB Trygg-Hansa

State Road & Tollway Authority The State Road & Tollway Authority (SRTA) is an independent state-level authority created by the Georgia General Assembly to operate tolled facilities

New AXUG Partner Members

within the state and act as the transportation ﬁnancing arm for the State of Georgia. SRTA manages programs

Bagge Consulting Services

Dynamic Acuity LLC ERP Solutions, Inc.

Joseph Christensen Logan Consulting

such as the I-85 express lanes, Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank (GTIB), transportation bond management, the Peach Pass Customer Service Center,

Thank you to the following Members for participating in the AXUG Member Get A Member Program:

and project planning, ﬁnancing, and development for

AnnCharlotte Sjosten

for the public sector,” says Linda McLeroy, director of

Jill Robinson Mahesh Bokil

Sami Hamdonah

Visit www.axug.com/membership/mgam to participate in the AXUG Member Get A Member Program.

new roadways, such as the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes, I-75 South Metro Express Lanes, and more. “AXUG provides a Special Interest Group (SIG) just budget and procurement for SRTA. “This provides a forum for questions, answers, problem solving, and communication for Customers in the public sector. Also, with an increase in public sector Customers, we feel that Microsoft has a better grasp on our needs and is able to address them more concisely.”

AXUG

Q1 2015 | 9

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Up-and-Coming Chapter

KENTUCKY Chapter Leaders Stephen Shackelford

Kelly Kane

manager IT SEKISUI S-LEC AMERICA, LLC Sshackelford@s-lec.us

information systems specialist Algood Food Company Kkane@algoodfood.com

The Kentucky Chapter in session and in gear for a tour of Algood Food Company. Stephen Shackelford of ORG contacted AXUG® just one year ago to find out if there was a Kentucky chapter. The answer was no, but not for long. Kelly’s desire to become a leader was spurred on by meeting fellow Microsoft Dynamics AX Users at a networking lunch at AXUG Summit in St. Louis. “Everybody wanted a chapter, but nobody wanted to be the leader. I volunteered and told the group that I would seek out more information if they supported me and the chapter. Everyone was agreeable, and I think our turnout at our first meeting speaks volumes to the dedication of this group,” says Kelly. “Since Stephen had also shown interest in having a Kentucky chapter, we decided to be co-chairs. This is actually very good because we make a pretty good team getting things done for the chapter.” The Kentucky chapter is off to the races, with a first meeting on December 11, 2014, at Kelly’s office, Algood Food Company, a Louisville-based peanut butter manufacturer that uses Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. “I wasn’t able to attend the first meeting because of an upgrade,” says Stephen. “But Whitney (Derks, AXUG chapter coordinator) and her crew have been very helpful, and thanks again to Kelly for her work. We are planning a Q1 meeting in March, and I hope to be able to attend even though my go-live date for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is April 1.”

Chapter

HIGHLIGHTS 10 | AXUG Magazine

» 35 people from all over Kentucky showed up for the ﬁrst chapter meeting. » In 2015: Meeting quarterly in diﬀerent parts of the state so the travel is equal for all Members. (Here’s looking at you, Lexington, Owensboro, and Louisville!)

» One of the big draws was the networking, another was the tour of the peanut butter facility. Who doesn’t want to see how peanut butter is made?

» Great ideas from Members on future topics.

G UG UG XU XU AX AX A A G XU AX AX A G A G UG UG XU XU G UG U XU X AX A A G G XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU XU AX G U U X X A A G G UG AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU X AX A A G G UG UG AX G A G A UG UG XU XU AX AX A U XU XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU G AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU XU AX AX A G A G UG U AX G A G A G UG U XU X AX A G G U U X A X G UG UG XU XU AXU AX AX G A G A G AX A XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU X U G G A G G UG UG XU XU AX AX A U XU AXU AX AX A G A G A UG UG X U G G A X U A X U G G A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU G G A X U A X U G G XU AX AX A G A G A UG UG XU XU G U G U XU X X A A G G XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU XU AX G U U X X A A G G U AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU XU AX AX A G A G A UG U AX G A G A G UG U XU X X A U XU XU AX AX G A G A UG UG X G AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX A X G UG UG XU XU AX AX G A G A UG

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Up-and-Coming Leader

JIMMY STEWART

director, financial operations Shentel James.stewart@emp.shentel.com The Virginia chapter in session. Jimmy Stewart is the on-fire leader of the Virginia chapter, which had its first meeting in September 2014. With 15-20 active Members from four different organizations, the chapter is on the move with three meetings under their belt by the time this issue is published. As a new chapter, Jimmy shared that the secret to their success was setting up a casual meeting where discussion and participation were encouraged. “The agenda for the first meeting was too structured and packed,” says Jimmy. “The agenda for the second meeting was not as full so we didn’t feel as limited.”

“At the risk of sounding cliché, I enjoy getting to know other folks and sharing ideas,” says Jimmy. “It’s fun to see how other companies utilize Microsoft Dynamics AX to meet their unique needs, and it’s even more fun to help solve problems and improve processes.”

» Save the date: Third Wednesday of the middle month of each quarter (that would be February, May, August, and November) » Hottest topic: Accounts Payable (module used by each company in attendance) » “Everyone is at diﬀerent points of their Microsoft Dynamics journey, but we all took away useful information.” Jimmy Stewart

Leadership

HIGHLIGHTS Q1 2015 | 11

story by Garth Laird , AXUG Partner Member Zap Business Intelligence illustration by Shawn Olson

or many readers of this article, business intelligence (BI) will not be a core experience, and, in many cases, it has likely become a confusing, costly, and risky business exercise during or after the deployment of Microsoft Dynamics AX. With a market that is red hot in BI, supported by the analysts saying it should be and is currently a CIO’s greatest focus (as surveyed), it becomes so easy for the BI industry to find ways to differentiate offerings. However, in doing so, some BI companies can sell capabilities that might not have any business value at all to Users and the issues they currently face. Now, such as all discussions around a market, there will be exceptions to the rule, but I am hoping to provide a little focus and some direction as to what is important in most cases and what to look out for. One of the incredibly strong characteristics with Microsoft Dynamics AX as a solution is its flexibility. It is designed to support not only smaller businesses that have fairly discrete business practices, but also the largest of global organizations to manage across countries, currencies, and a multitude of business practices. All of this now is currently available on-premises and soon in the cloud on Microsoft Azure with Microsoft Dynamics AX 7. Although this characteristic will ensure Microsoft Dynamics AX continues to grow and dominate, it has also allowed an open tide of BI vendors from every walk of life to claim capability in this ecosystem and to market their products as capable of supplying and supporting a consistent, continuous, and economically-viable solution. What I intend to do through this article is simply provide a perspective to those who have (or are) investing in Microsoft Dynamics AX, explain the wider BI market and the various “waves” as we see it, look at the risk in terms of business continuity, and then relate that all back to the premise: Is it big data or lots of smaller data?

12 | AXUG Magazine

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feature

The BI Market With analytics and data now being at the forefront of so much of what we do, BI is a fastgrowing market and has experienced a massive growth in vendors. Some vendors have history back through the late ’80s and early ’90s, others no more than a couple of years, some with thousands of customers, some with no customers but big ideas and growth projections. We like to look at this in “waves”, and I am hoping this will help you as well. There are no conclusions, just observations. WAVE 1 After the growth of ERP in the mid to late ’80s, there were a number of enterprise BI vendors that found a great market servicing larger businesses and their needs. These vendors were the true pioneers of ERP BI and developed large, complex, and functionally-rich solutions to service their customers, many of whom were Fortune 500 caliber. More than 30 years later, these vendors (many of which have been acquired) have continued to re-invest by adding a vast array of solutions to their portfolios. From the transformation of data to building the data relationships, from the requirement for reports, dashboards, and scorecards to the need for enterprise controls and self-service, and now

recently the need for servicing a mobile User, these vendors now have a huge number of solutions that they oﬀer all across varying technologies and architectures. However, with this diversity of time combined with this diversity of solution comes massive risk for a User (maybe like you) who knows only too well the challenges around enterprise upgrades combined with the world’s steady march towards the cloud. WAVE 2 With these initial Wave 1 vendors being extremely focused and experienced in the true enterprise arena, many lower enterprise and mid-market Customers were left to consider what they could do to support the needs of their Users. At this point, which was early this century, two things happened: One being that most of these businesses took to building out their own BI consisting of great cost, risk, and a continual re-work of applications due to staﬀ turnover; and two, we saw the advent of the Wave 2 vendor being a new type of BI company that could provide a group of Users or a department with

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a quick, less expensive and politically easy solution to sell under the corporate radar to get a range of folks using a solution to solve their data needs. Over the last five years, these vendors have had a very steep growth curve, and many are now publiclylisted organizations delivering departmental BI out to thousands of Customers. These Wave 2 vendors have feasted on the market’s need for data by providing good solutions that are very visual to those who have operational budgets and can invest quickly. However, when relating this back to the Microsoft Dynamics AX marketplace, the hundreds of Customers that are using the ZAP solution have always been very clear: They want a single solution that can cover the needs of the CEO to the needs of the shop floor, they want this solution to provide an enterprise data warehouse where self-service Users using Microsoft Excel to corporate Users utilizing web portals and embedded BI can all pull from the same enterprise data store, and finally, they want a solution that can be used on a seamless mobile platform. Although the Wave 2 vendors have satisfied the need for self-service, they have not at all satisfied the CIOs’ and CFOs’ needs for a BI solution that integrates to the business, and one that builds on the returns that the C-level needs to justify the expense of after the distraction of a major ERP introduction. Having a range of Wave 2 self-service BI tools in an enterprise has become a CIO’s nightmare as the controls implemented by an organizational-wide ERP deployment are totally lost, the ability for there to be “many versions of the truth” are abundant, and the ability to better manage the business to improve business insights are lost. WAVE 3 The major variation with Wave 3 from the previous two waves is that these vendors have (and will) align to the true needs of the 21st century business, delivering solutions in a single architecture that manage all aspects of a BI deployment from the initial data to the rendering on a tablet. These solutions realize that analytical outcomes hold the value, not the plumbing it takes to create it, and realize that corporate governance is aligned to BI deployment and the two cannot be separated. Wave 3 is all about closing the gap between the technology and the outcome, creating analytics that are aligned to industry and function out of the box, delivering a solution that reduces the consulting risk and one that creates outcomes quickly for the business that have rapid return to result and support the management team’s initial decision to invest. In this 21st century we are surrounded by downloadable applications in our everyday lives that deliver value from the first time we turn them on. However, in our enterprises we have come to NOT expect that. It is true that the businesses we work in are often extremely complicated and often steeped in history, but the deployment of an excellent solution like Microsoft Dynamics AX should be the start of how a business can and should re-think complexity, and how a business can expect outcome-driven data to produce better insights. As such, Wave 3 is all about understanding that paradigm change, understanding that the C-level must mitigate risk and must provide capability across the business from a single, trusted BI application that is a single modular modern solution at its technical core but also an industry-focused solution at its commercial core, supplying and providing the analytics out of the box that a business needs to truly achieve a return from its BI investment.

So Then – What Kind of Data? Having explained the market as we see it over 30 years, I would like to be able to now refer back to the premise of this article – big data or lots of smaller data – and use this to really focus in on what is important to you as a User or prospective Customer of Microsoft Dynamics AX.

14 | AXUG Magazine

BI is a complex discipline, one that is vital to invest in if a company is to understand its market and its competitors. To look around at the marketplace, like many sectors, BI is caught up in jargon and buzzwords, much of which only serves to confuse those charged with making what is in most cases a serious investment for their business. Big data is a great example as it relates to the subject matter for this article, BI for Microsoft Dynamics AX. By deﬁnition, big data consists of “extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behaviour and interactions.” There needs to be no discussion that there are many Customers at a Fortune 500 level who have massive data-stores that are exploding exponentially every year, and that for them the term big data is absolutely real. As I said above, there are always exceptions to the rule, and there will be Microsoft Dynamics AX Users looking to understand how they will manage massive data growth, especially in industries such as retail, much of which the Microsoft stack of technology handles perfectly. However, if a vendor starts talking to you about big data, I would ask if they truly understand Microsoft Dynamics AX and Wave 3 and what is important and relevant to you as a User in 2015 and beyond. Having been involved in BI investments with literally hundreds of Microsoft Dynamics AX Users, globally and of all sizes, I can tell you that if you are reading this, you are more likely to be worrying about lots of disparate data than big data. Microsoft Dynamics AX Users almost across the board are more likely to be struggling with data from legacy systems, data from forecasting, data from online feeds like currencies, and now data from Microsoft Dynamics AX. Although in many cases all of this can add up to a reasonable amount of data, what is really the focus for these Users is the integration and alignment of many data sources, not the management of one large one. Examples of this User type are easy: a User with 20 years of legacy ERP data who requires this and Microsoft Dynamics AX to be reported on as one, a User with three external web feeds daily that requires this data to align to Microsoft Dynamics AX and then create reports with calculated capability, a User with four individual instances of Microsoft Dynamics AX, a User with Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL, and Salesforce, a Microsoft Dynamics AX User with specialty third party logistics engines, and a User with global budgeting and forecasting solutions that are apart from Microsoft Dynamics AX. This list can go on and on but is basically the story of most (if not all) Microsoft Dynamics AX Users. There seems to be a lot of data but in A LOT of places. In summary, the BI road for Microsoft Dynamics AX Users has for a long time been a confusing one. There appears to be many vendors offering solutions that can apparently all do the job, and then there are the offers from others to build it all as “your” business because “Mr. Customer” is so different. I wrote an article back in 2013 for this same publication discussing how crazy it would be for a business to build its own ERP in 2013 and applied the same concept to BI. Here we are two years later, and more and more Users are realizing that investing in consultants and tools when there are Wave 3 solutions already built to do what is needed is a massive risk to the business and to the executives who make those decisions. After 30 to 40 years of the focus being on the implementation of ERP and the alignment of data processes as a result of this, we are entering an era where this is now changing to be all about the insights and all about the outcomes that management can use to better manage their business. In this incredibly competitive age for your business, BI may become a major diﬀerential between acceptable growth or not. The BI solution you invest in must be able to future-proof you across new versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX as well as support your need for more data, more analytics, and more Users as those who truly embrace data and BI will undoubtedly provide their business with the best chance of success. AXUG

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G G U XU AXU AX AX A G A G G G G U G U XU X A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A U G G G U U X X XU AX AX A G A G UG U G UG UG XU XU AXU AX XU AX AX A G A G G G U U X X A A AX A G A G UG UG XU X U XU XU AX AX A G A AX G A G A G UG U XU U XU XU AX AX G A G A G AX A G A G UG UG XU U XU XU AX AX A G AX G A G A G UG U XU G G X A G UG UG XU XU AXU AX G AX A XU AX AX G A G A UG U G A G G U G U G XU XU U XU AXU AX AX A G A G G G G U G U XU X A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A U G

user member showcase

JOE SPINELLE

PAUL MARTIN

COMPANY Tempur Sealy International, Inc. INTERVIEWEES Joe Spinelle, director of ERP; Paul Martin, senior ERP analyst WEBSITE www.tempursealy.com

A Standard View Makes for Successful Operations

PHONE 336-861-3647

s the world’s largest bedding provider with more than 6,500 employees around the globe, Tempur Sealy International, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets mattresses, adjustable bases, pillows, and other comfort products in more than 100 countries.

EMAIL Paul.martin@tempursealy.com

Custom Work Versus ISV Solutions

HEADQUARTERS Lexington, Kentucky

ESTABLISHED 1992; Tempur-Pedic acquired Sealy in 2013 and subsequently renamed itself Tempur Sealy International, Inc. to recognize the transformational nature of its combination. NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 6,500 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX USER SINCE 2011 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX VERSION Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2; planning to upgrade to R3 in May NUMBER OF USERS 700

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Tempur Sealy uses Microsoft Dynamics AX in everything it does: from its manufacturing plants to handling its ﬁnancials, to managing its purchasing and sales. Its Microsoft Dynamics AX environment is dynamic to its business and fairly pure without a ton of customization. “We try to implement ISV solutions to integrate various parts of the business instead of initiating custom work,” says Joe Spinelle, director of ERP. “With a basic standard view, we can stay up to date with technology and adopt it as soon as it comes out instead of dealing with inﬂexible customizations.” This view has played a huge role in the successful acquisition and subsequent integration of Sealy into Tempur Sealy International, Inc., and it continues to help the company in other areas, including upgrades. Tempur Sealy is on track for upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics AX R3 in the May timeframe and is excited about a number of

features in that solution as well as recent releases. “The new forecasting functionality in Microsoft Dynamics AX is super exciting and has never been available out of the box from Microsoft before,” says Paul Martin, senior ERP analyst. “Being able to pull in historical sales data and run algorithms against that data will definitely help us build our sales position, month to month, year to year.” Joe adds, “The eCommerce upgrade and new warehousing module in Microsoft Dynamics AX are both very compelling. And there are new role-based reporting features that we’re just starting to play with out of the box, all of which are exciting for us to unpack and see how it works with our organization.” When it comes to business intelligence (BI) and reporting best practices, Tempur Sealy focuses on using the right tool for the right need. “For example,” Paul says, “We made a conscious decision to not use analysis cubes within Microsoft Dynamics AX because it wasn’t as powerful as the solution offered by Halo BI. This is unique to our business, and we had to make that determination instead of just going with what is offered out of the box.”

A Successful Acquisition As Tempur Sealy prepares for its upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, the company will make sure to bring along the lessons learned from its recent acquisition of Sealy.

“It’s very important for our systems to be standard across our entire business. That includes going through every piece of the process that is currently there, and then mapping that against what Microsoft Dynamics AX does,” Joe explains. “Once we have a standard view of processes, we can look at the all-up business and determine opportunities for improvement.” As a large organization, analyzing every part of the business is challenging, to say the least. But Tempur Sealy has established a sound process to gather the whole story, even within a large organization. “No one really loves change, especially when it comes to a signiﬁcant business acquisition,” Joe says. “So, it’s important to join eﬀorts between IT and operations to really strengthen the business relationship.” Case in point: Tempur Sealy brought its internal business analysts from various departments into the IT department and trained them on day-to-day business using Microsoft Dynamics AX. The business analysts remain in IT and serve as liaisons back to the business Users to make sure business requirements are met by using and totally

understanding Microsoft Dynamics AX. This structure has been a huge success at Tempur Sealy and continues to build a strong business. “Do not make assumptions or short-check yourself from analysis,” Paul says. “It’s that data that completes the story of your business and how Microsoft Dynamics AX ﬁts in.”

AXUG®: Concentrated Learning Environment In addition to the conferences being a big hit with the technology department, Tempur Sealy has taken advantage of all the resources and training available. “It’s a concentrated learning environment where our Users can learn deeply how to use Microsoft Dynamics AX for their speciﬁc roles,” says Joe. “The webinars, Summit, Academy, and forums have all been tremendous resources.” Additionally, Paul is getting involved in the Carolinas AXUG chapter and serves on the board. “AXUG has stayed true to its original mission,” Paul concludes. “It is a group of Users for the Users, and everyone helps each other be successful.” AXUG

DŝĐƌŽƐŽŌ ǇŶĂŵŝĐƐ y ϮϬϭϮZϯ dD^ ǁǁǁ͘ŶŵďƐŽůƵƟŽŶƐ͘ĐĂ

&ĞĚ yΠ͕ hW^Π ĂŶĚ <ĞǁŝůůΠ ŶŐŝŶĞ /ŶƚĞŐƌĂƟŽŶ ŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐ͕ /ŵƉůĞŵĞŶƚĂƟŽŶ͕ dƌĂŝŶŝŶŐ͕ WŝůŽƚƐ ĂŶĚ ŶŚĂŶĐĞŵĞŶƚƐ

ǀĂůƵĂƟŶŐ Žƌ ŝŵƉůĞŵĞŶƟŶŐ ŵƵůƟͲĐĂƌƌŝĞƌ ƉĂƌĐĞů ĂŶĚ >d> ŝŶ ǇŶĂŵŝĐƐ y͍ ZĞƋƵŝƌĞ y dD^ ĐŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐ͕ ĂŶĂůǇƐŝƐ͕ ƚƌĂŝŶŝŶŐ Žƌ ŝŵƉůĞŵĞŶƚĂƟŽŶ ĂƐƐŝƐƚĂŶĐĞ͍ WůĂŶ/d WĂĐŬ/d ^ŽŌǁĂƌĞ ^ŽůƵƟŽŶƐ ĨŽƌ &ĞĚ yΠ͕ hW^Π ĂŶĚ <ĞǁŝůůΠ WůĂŶ/d WĂĐŬ/d tŽƌŬďĞŶĐŚ͕ ĂƌƌŝĞƌ /ŶǀŽŝĐĞ ZĞĐŽŶĐŝůŝĂƟŽŶ ĂŶĚ , D d ĨŽƌ ǇŶĂŵŝĐƐ y ϮϬϬϵ ĂŶĚ ϮϬϭϮ ǇŶĂŵŝĐƐ yϮϬϭϮZϯ dD^ ƉƌŽĨĞƐƐŝŽŶĂů ƐĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ͗ &ƵŶĐƟŽŶĂů ŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐ Ͷ ƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ŶĂůǇƐŝƐ KŶͲƐŝƚĞ dƌĂŝŶŝŶŐ tŽƌŬƐŚŽƉƐ WĞƌƐŽŶĂůŝǌĞĚ WŝůŽƚ tŽƌŬƐŚŽƉƐ ƵƐƚŽŵ ƐŽŌǁĂƌĞ ĞŶŚĂŶĐĞŵĞŶƚƐ ĐĐĞůĞƌĂƚĞ ǇŽƵƌ ĞǀĂůƵĂƟŽŶ ĂŶĚ ŝŵƉůĞŵĞŶƚĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ǇŶĂŵŝĐƐ y ϮϬϭϮZϯ ǁŝƚŚ ƐŽŌǁĂƌĞ ĂŶĚ ƐĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ ĨŽĐƵƐĞĚ ŽŶ WĂƌĐĞů͕ >d> ^ŚŝƉƉŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ǇŶĂŵŝĐƐ dD^ ZĞŐŝŶĂůĚ ,ŽǁĂƚƐŽŶ͕ ŝƌĞĐƚŽƌ ^ĂůĞƐ Θ DĂƌŬĞƟŶŐ ͮ ƌ͘ŚŽǁĂƚƐŽŶΛŶŵďƐŽůƵƟŽŶƐ͘ĐĂ ͮ ϴϬϬͲϱϲϯͲϭϬϬϳ

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topic on

We reached out to AXUG Members and asked what tips they have for fellow Users for saving money through better BI and reporting. Here’s what they had to say:

...with AXUG® Members

Brian Cates CFO, Copper State Bolt & Nut Co. Bcates@copperstate.com

Joris de Gruyter partner, technical services manager, Sikich LLP Jdegruyter@sikich.com

My perspective has always been that true business intelligence is having the right information available to the right person at the right time. In most cases throughout business, this is having very relevant, applicable information available to a User during his/her workday, in his/her workspace. To us at Copper State this means having the information available to Users in the Microsoft Dynamics AX form they are working in, whether that be a sales order, a customer inquiry, an item inquiry, or something similar. While BI analysis may be valuable periodically in a robust cube or BI reporting tool, day-to-day intelligence comes from on-the-spot information presented in a simple way. We have devoted a lot of time to pulling information and summaries forward to the User entry screens, so that Users have speedy access to information relevant to the task they are performing. We have found that this helps them make better decisions, more informed choices, and enables them to assist customers, vendors, and employees much more eﬀectively.

Start small and try to get quick and easy wins. You can empower smart Users with easy (and free) tools like Power BI in Excel, and show them how they can access Microsoft Dynamics AX data using OData, Excel add-ins, and more. Your money is initially better spent providing data to Users than investing in fancy tools, since the data will be needed no matter what you end up choosing to do. Users will find their own way and come up with great analytics and reports they can use on a daily basis. Then think about deploying those to a team or organization level, potentially using more advanced tools. From there you can start thinking dashboards and other jazz to roll out. You don’t know what you don’t know, so starting small with free tools will help you get informed and comfortable with your Microsoft Dynamics AX data and the concepts of analytics and reporting. You will find many reports are similar in nature with differences only in detail or grouping and sorting, and this is where well-researched business intelligence can shine and save you money.

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D Y N A M I C S AX U S E R G R O U P

WHAT’S NEW ON AXUG.COM?

YOU CAN VOLUNTEER! The AXUG® community brings together professionals of all backgrounds and experiences who share a powerful goal: To share knowledge, information, and expertise. As a community designed by Users for Users, the volunteer efforts of Users help it grow and flourish. AXUG offers many opportunities to get involved. You can choose the role that is best for you: Speak, write, present, facilitate, or lead. There are many professional and personal reasons to volunteer, including the opportunity to:

» Nurture new Users and help them become the next generation of experts » Lead discussions and share your Microsoft Dynamics AX experiences

» » » »

Help coordinate or lead local learning opportunities Expand your organization’s visibility Take your skills to the next level Urge others to participate: The more you give, the more you get

AXUG.com now features a section dedicated to volunteerism. Visit it today, learn about the available opportunities, and sign up!

VOLUNTEER Once you are signed in to axug.com, there are two easy ways to access volunteer opportunities. You’ll ﬁnd a link under Learn & Engage in the main left-hand navigation, or you can simply click the Volunteer icon on the home page.

IT’S EASY TO GET STARTED... Search available opportunities by Interest Area, Travel Required, Time Commitment, Level of Effort, and Volunteer Category. Get set up to automatically receive notiﬁcations when a new opportunity is added.

SIMPLY CLICK ON A VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY... ...to access a detailed description about the volunteer opportunity, and who to contact for additional information. Click the Sign Up button and you are on your way to making a positive impact in the AXUG community.

Signing up is quick and easy. Visit www.axug.com/volunteeropportunities today! 20 | AXUG Magazine

Congratulations to Chris Marks of Performance Contractors, Inc. for winning the last issue’s

Academy

Word Find. Your prize is in the mail! Below are 25 words that relate to the topics and theme

AxMentor

in this issue of AXUG® Magazine. These words can be found in the grid horizontally, vertically, diagonally, backwards, and forwards. Submit your completed Word Find for a chance to win

AXUG

a gift certiﬁcate; simply scan and email your entry to Wordﬁnd@axug.com.

Business Intelligence

B U S I N E S S I I B R O F S D N E R T E V I F N

T D A T A W A R E H C N E W B U Z Z W O R D T I P

J C M U N I L V O B O R S K C I R T D N A S P I T

V H M T Y T E M N U M N O I T A T N E M E L P M I

A A O I D N A O S Z M I C R O S O F T T P A H C S

S P C P T N R N N Z U T Y E N O M G N I V A S I R

S T N S L E N E H W N J O H N S O I S G S C I P E

A R O L R L I Y O O I V E V E N T N P N E A M S S

R E S N E S N S J R T A L R L E L T I I C D P A U

A T N R S K G A N D Y S E S T N M E T S T E L T C

X P H O T U R V W D R S A A R S M L N U O M E E O

A A O T O C M I A W S N R T X T U L O O R Y M M M

W H J N O I S M D A T L N S R U S I I H S E E P M

D C N E L R T N I M I C R O S O G G T E O E N U U

D N W M S T N G S T M G N I V A S E A R R D T R S

R I A R O F S D N E R T C I D E P N T A C A A P L

O S D A T A W A R E H O U S I N G C N W I C Z E O

W S S R E P O R T I I G N I T R O P E R M A E D O

Z E A U T O O L S M O N E Y S A V I M N P L N I T

Z N V P A X M E N T O R O S N H O J E L E A R C M

U I I M N M E D A C A S R E E T N U L O V R S T P

B S N E P U B L I C S E C T O R S T P N U L O V C

W U G T D A T A W A R E H O U S I N M T I P S A N

E B E C N E G I L L E T N I S S E N I S U B T S R

N K C I R T D N A R O T C E S S D N E R T E V I F

Chapter Community CPM Tools Data Warehousing Dawn Johnson Events Five Trends for BI Implementation Tips Learning Microsoft New Buzzword DWA Public Sector Reporting Saving Money Summit Tempur-Pedic Tips and Tricks TJ Vassar Users Volunteers ZAP

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22 | AXUG Magazine

G G U XU AXU AX AX A G A G G G G UG U XU X A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A U G G G U U X X XU AX AX A G A G UG U G UG UG XU XU AXU AX XU AX AX A G A G G G U U X X A A AX A G A G UG UG XU X U XU XU AX AX A G A AX G A G A G UG U XU U XU XU AX AX G A G A G AX A G A G UG UG XU U XU XU AX AX A G AX G A G A G UG U XU G G X A G UG UG XU XU AXU AX G AX A G G UG A X A G UG UG XU XU AX AX A G G U U U XU AXU AX AX A G A G U G G X AX A G A G UG UG XU A X U G U U X X A A

SQL SERVER INTEGRATION SERVICES

[SSIS]

story by Jon S. Oesch, AXUG Partner Member Jet Report | illustration by Shawn Olson

survey by IDC and DM Review Magazine gives us these scary statistics: 17 months is the average implementation time for a business intelligence (BI) project 5 months needed on average to deploy the first usable BI artifact $1.1 million is the mean, annual expenditure on a BI project for companies with more than 1,000 employees 31% of BI projects are declared successful » 36% confidence rate that the right data is available to the right people at the right time¹ Those numbers seem unrealistically horrible, yet as a company that builds and deploys BI environments for hundreds of companies each year, we see IT groups and business Users facing them all the time. That is why data warehouse automation (DWA) is such an exciting concept. DWA uses technology to gain efficiencies and improve effectiveness in data warehousing processes. It is more than the automation of ETL (extract, transform, and load) development; it automates the entire data warehousing lifecycle, from planning, analysis, design, and development, even extending into operations, maintenance, and change management.² The idea behind DWA is to automate each part of the data warehouse lifecycle that can be automated, so that the project team can focus on the parts that require more intellectual input than raw technological horsepower. DWA does this by minimizing manual code writing and automating the repetitive, labor intensive, time-consuming tasks normally associated with a data warehousing effort. Proponents of DWA claim that using it will accomplish an initial BI implementation up to five times faster than traditional methods. This results in a higher success rate for BI projects, and most importantly, it allows for faster, better, and more cost-effective delivery of BI output to the business. One of the widely accepted pitfalls of traditional data warehousing methodology has been that building a BI project is a long, tiring, and expensive process. DWA offers a way to avoid those, and in fact, it has been doing so since 2006. The Data Warehousing Institute (TDWI), a think tank devoted to all things data-related (and a great resource for education and training), started teaching DWA classes in 2014 and has included the technology as one of the emerging trends for 2015 and beyond.

» » » »

COST OF GOODS SOLD

[COGS]

Data warehouse automation will thrive: Data warehouse architecture and implementation has transitioned from an art to a science. When combined with the increasing demand for analytics and User frustration with delays, automation will drive the development of new and/or additional products to automate the data warehouse life cycle, including design, creation, operations, and change management.³

EXTRACT TRANSFORM LOAD

[ETL]

What this trend implies is that we can change the way we think about building a data warehouse. The expected practice of extensive up-front analysis, design, and modeling is left behind. The mindset changes from “get it right the ﬁrst time” to “develop fast and frequently.” Enough of the theory! Let’s go back to the scary statistics and use them to discuss the practical applications of DWA. Their root causes can be broken down into three categories: technical issues, data issues, and organizational issues.

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

[BI]

Q1 2015 | 23

Technical Issues Building a data warehouse and set of OLAP cubes is largely an effort in writing masses of SQL code. Code is what moves data from a source system (like your ERP) to a target system (like a data warehouse). Code is used to define metrics, create data structures like product hierarchies, and conduct calculations both simple and complex. Building a data warehouse with manual code is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and error-prone, sometimes taking a skilled SQL programmer hours to move a single field from a source database to a target destination. You can think of any DWA platform as a code-generating machine. Instead of writing a block of SQL code, you use a mouse click. The substantial amount of code that comprises a SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) transfer package to move a field from the transactional database (such as Microsoft Dynamics AX) to a data warehouse is generated in the background. The same underlying tools and processes are used as if it was done by hand, but the difference is that it takes about a second to complete the operation instead of an hour of coding. The raw speed advantage is obvious, but since the process is programmatic (i.e., done by a machine the same way every time), human error is eliminated, testing time is greatly reduced, and re-working the code to fix errors is not necessary. Time and money are saved, and results are delivered faster.

You can think of any DWA platform as a codegenerating machine. Instead of writing a block of SQL code, you use a mouse click. Data Issues Data is messy. Any large data set is guaranteed to have gaps, errors, and duplications, among other atrocities. These need to be discovered, understood, and rectified before the data can get used. This exercise is often time-consuming because there is usually a need to combine several data sets in order to get a full view of company operations. For example, combing CRM information (the date a sales opportunity was entered) with the ERP financial module (the date a first invoice was posted) will give you sales cycle times and allow for financial projections. Now there are two messy data sets to deal with, and in the real world, we usually end up dealing with many more. A typical multi-database scenario involves trying to get data from multiple source systems to match. One system records a specific type of revenue transaction, but for whatever legitimate business reason, this is not the system of record for the company. Turns out that the system of record has a different chart of accounts structure than the other system. In order for the revenue transactions to flow into the correct revenue accounts, a mapping exercise must take place. If you were using traditional methods, you would need to write and maintain SQL code to handle this mapping. This is a great example of a time-consuming, repetitive task that doesn’t require human creativity and is better accomplished through automation. DWA software would do this with a mouse click – generating the code in the background – in seconds. It is the same for other field transformation tasks, scheduling jobs, and generating documentation – all are candidates for automation.

24 | AXUG Magazine

Organizational Issues This is often the hardest. A shared vision and understanding of the data and the numbers must be created in order to deliver a BI product that business people will use. It is vitally important to get everybody on the same page about what data is important and how it is to be used. Everyone must understand and agree on which individual pieces of data will come together to tell the story of the organization and how it is operating. For example, it doesn’t really matter if gross profit is defined as sales minus COGS (cost of goods sold), or if it is defined as sales minus COGS plus SGA (selling, general, and administrative expenses). What matters is that everybody comes to an agreement on the method – and that can be hard. Obviously a piece of software is not going to create a shared vision. But the ease, and speed, at which results can be delivered using a DWA platform can help. DWA allows you to combine disparate pieces of data quickly, take them through a complete BI development cycle, and deliver the result to the business to see if it works. This exercise would be unthinkable in the traditional model because it would take weeks, if not months, to do. The potential time waste and failure would be catastrophic to the project. With DWA, this can be completed in hours, and in essence, it allows you to fail fast. Results can be tested by business Users immediately and changed quickly if they are incorrect. IT and the business typically find themselves going through a collaborative process to design, build, and deliver BI products. That’s right, IT and the business working together on a shared vision about data and how to make it most useful.

DWA allows you to combine disparate pieces of data quickly, take them through a comlete BI development cycle, and deliver the result to the business to see if it works. Maybe that is what is most intriguing about the promise of DWA: It is a technology that solves longstanding problems and has a ripple eﬀect on non-technology issues. It allows us to get to what is important from a BI project: The ability to respond quickly to changing business conditions. Business Users are getting what they want, when they want it, as opposed to what they asked for six months ago. Rapid time-to-value is consistently realized since new BI and analytic functionality can be delivered in days instead of months. Big Data. In-Memory. Self-Service BI. Data Discovery. Cloud BI. Mobile BI – so many exciting things are happening on the BI landscape, and so many new buzzwords are popping up. We think data warehouse automation is one of the most practical we have seen in a long time. If you are looking to avoid becoming a “scary statistic” yourself, I invite you to take a closer look at DWA to see if it is right for you. AXUG 1

DM Review & IDC Business Intelligence Survey, October 2004 & 2006 TDWI – Dave Wells, April 15, 2014. http://tdwi.org/Articles/2014/04/15/Data-Warehouse-Automation. aspx?Page=1 3 That Was the Year That Was: Major Data Warehousing Events of 2014 (and Predictions for 2015) – December 16, 2014, TDWI.org 2

Q1 2015 | 25

microsoft showcase

TJ Vassar senior program manager

J Vassar is a senior program manager with the Microsoft Dynamics AX business intelligence (BI) and reporting team. He’s been with Microsoft since 1994, starting out on Microsoft Money, and has been on the Microsoft Dynamics AX team for the past seven years. TJ focuses on the reporting framework and BI visualizations using aggregate data, so we took the opportunity to visit with him about BI today and tomorrow.

now have mobile phones, laptops, and tablets to accompany their personal computer. Of course, this dramatically changes the way that people are conducting their business practices. And, we’re working hard to support this evolution by leveraging the power of the cloud to promote smarter processes and improved methods for completing tasks. Speciﬁcally with reporting, we’re making sure that Users have access to the information they need, when they need it, and wherever they need access to it.

AXUG®: How does your team approach BI and reporting in Microsoft Dynamics AX? TJ Vassar (TV): Our approach to BI and reporting is focused on reducing technical barriers and enabling broader adoption throughout enterprise resource planning. We are deeply committed to role-based BI while empowering people to continue using familiar tools. Through persistent Customer and Partner engagements, we are able to identify new opportunities in the market and routinely work with industry experts to help redefine what it means to have an immersive BI experience in ERP. The road ahead is well-defined, and our goals for the next release (dubbed Microsoft Dynamics AX 7) are clear. Our passion revolves around enabling people to be more productive in a “mobile first, cloud first” business environment, and this has a profound impact on the services and tools we build. The world around us is quickly changing, and we’re doing our best to make sure we’re prepared to take advantage of all that it has to offer.

AXUG: You mentioned that you’re engaged with Customers and Partners to identify opportunities. Tell us a little about those engagements. TV: By far, the two most influential sources of information are our developer community and our Customers. We spend a great deal of time working directly with developers to understand their challenges and get first-hand insights into application requirements. Beyond that, we talk directly with Customers, both large and small. We’re not focusing just on enterprise Customers, but also on small to midsize organizations as their requirements vary greatly. We truly value direct community feedback through channels like Yammer groups, our MSDN blog, and YouTube channels. In fact, I dedicate a large percentage of my time to these communities to keep a pulse on discussions that are trending in the field.

AXUG: Let’s talk about the “mobile ﬁrst” part of that statement. Can you talk at all about mobile advancements to Microsoft Dynamics AX? TV: We recognize that people are doing their daily activities using multiple devices. Where before, people were limited to a workstation, they

26 | AXUG Magazine

AXUG: Let’s talk a little about Microsoft Dynamics AX 7. How have the BI reviews been from Users and Partners in the feedback programs? TV: I’m quite proud to say that the initial reviews from Partners have been extremely positive. We believe this is the result of three key advancements. First is the fact that we’ve really made BI and

aggregate data a first-class citizen of the application. We’ve made huge leaps in terms of making BI available to everyone in an organization – not just those who know how to construct complex business models. Second, we now offer a comprehensive and easy-to-follow application methodology through Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services, and people are finding it very helpful as they prepare to gauge the amount of work required to migrate to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Finally, we’ve lowered the barrier for deploying Microsoft Dynamics AX, effectively reducing the overhead in managing development, test, and production environments. Just the idea that you can outsource much of your deployment IT offers Customers a huge opportunity. Microsoft Dynamics AX 7 really is a best-of-breed platform allowing businesses to scale deployments as the organization grows.

witness how quickly things are evolving in this space, from services like Power BI to our ability to support hybrid deployments, we’re on the verge of a major advancement in the world of ERP. It’s a great time to get involved, and I’m excited to come to work every day so that I can be a part of it. AXUG

AXUG: Do you have any advice for Users who are looking to either improve or begin a BI practice within their organizations? TV: It’s really about understanding a process end to end, not just the technology used to support it, but also the ﬂow of information and how to identify the potential bottlenecks that exist. It’s about bridging a holistic understanding of business processes and leveraging the right technology to simplify Customers’ lives. We believe BI, when used appropriately, will be intuitive to the User, a natural part of the process, and ultimately it should augment the experience, making for more informed decisions throughout the organization. That’s BI in a nutshell. However, I must stress that it takes a lot of thought and planning upfront to provide people with that type of experience. AXUG: That’s for sure! Is there anything else you’d like to share with Users? TV: I’d like to reiterate how exciting it is to

Q1 2015 | 27

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G UG UG XU XU AX AX A A G XU AX AX A G A G UG UG XU XU G UG U XU X AX A A G G XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU XU AX G U U X X A A G G UG AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU XU AX AX A G A G UG UG AX G A G A G UG U XU X AX A U XU XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU G AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU XU AX AX A G A G UG U AX G A G A G UG U XU X AX A G G U U X A X G UG UG XU XU AXU AX AX G A G A G AX A G G U U X X A A X G UG UG XU XU AX AX G A G A UG AX A A G G U U X X A U U XU X AX A G A G A UG UG G G G U G U XU X X A A A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU G G G UG U XU XU AX AX G A G XU X AX A G G U U A G UG U XU X AX A A G G XU AX AX G A G A UG UG XU XU AX G U U X X A A G G U AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX U XU XU AX AX A G A G A UG U AX G A G A G UG U XU X X A U XU XU AX AX G A G A UG UG X G AX A G A G UG UG XU XU AX AX A X G UG UG XU XU AX AX G A G A UG

learn focus on education

BUILDING CONFIDENCE from a

COLLEAGUEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ADVICE KRISTINE GREENLEE 0ROVIDE #OMMERCE s DIRECTOR ENTERPRISE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS s +GREENLEE PROVIDECOMMERCE COM

ristine Greenlee, director of enterprise business

recalls her most recent Academy learning experience with Murray

solutions at Provide-Commerce, got some great

Fife. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Murrayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ConďŹ guration Series on AXUG Academy has been

advice at Convergence 2014 and hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t looked back!

invaluable to us.â&#x20AC;? She continues, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The timing is perfect as we prepare

Kristine says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;My colleague and I were advised by fellow

for our initial go-live on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3. And to top

Convergence attendees that they would never think

it oďŹ&#x20AC;, each class includes Murrayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Barebones ConďŹ guration guides

about going through a Microsoft Dynamics AX go-live without AXUGÂŽ.â&#x20AC;?

which are very detailed, step-by-step guides. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth the price

They got the hint, joined AXUG, and soon were hit by a wealth

of the training alone!â&#x20AC;?Â

of information impacting their use of Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Kristine is feeling more and more conďŹ dent in her role by learning

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t regretted signing up so quickly,â&#x20AC;? says Kristine. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I really

how Microsoft Dynamics AX operates so she can make eďŹ&#x20AC;ective use

appreciate the informative forums and website, plus the access to

of it for her company. â&#x20AC;&#x153;AXUG Academy gives Users such a valuable

other Microsoft Dynamics AX Users to learn from their experiences.â&#x20AC;?

opportunity to really see how Microsoft Dynamics AX works for

In addition to routinely accessing information online, Kristine

speciďŹ c roles.Â Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quality hands-on training at a great price.â&#x20AC;? AXUG

Q1 2015 | 29

What’s New

ON THE

AXUG Website

Focus on Profile The AXUG® website (www.axug.com) is a great place to ﬁnd information, register for events, access recorded webinars, and connect with others. It also includes a Proﬁle section where you can upload information about yourself, control your account settings, and access your history with the Microsoft Dynamics AX User Group community.

Why is it important for me to update my Proﬁle?

What is my Profile? The Profile section of AXUG.com is a central place on the site for all your information. This area contains your contact information, registration history, community subscriptions, and company information. It also includes biographical information that you’ve chosen to include, such as education background, social networks, and professional experience. You are the only one who can update your profile and you control the privacy settings for who sees the information.

Updating your information is an important aspect of being part of the Microsoft Dynamics AX community. In this area you control: » Mailing Address » Billing Address » Areas of Interest » Change Your Password » Join Another User Group » Renew Your Existing Membership You can also add your primary role and job title. This is especially important for the Member Directory advanced search feature. The more information you include, the more you increase your ability to connect with other like-minded professionals. It’s a great way to build your contacts and expand your network.

Does the Proﬁle section list events I am registered for as well as events I have attended?

Are there privacy settings?

Yes, the amount of information shared is controlled by each User. You can choose to only share information with contacts you have made, with other Members, make it open to the public, or choose the setting that only you can see. These setting choices apply to each piece of information you have included. To access your privacy settings: » Sign into the www.axug.com site » Click on Proﬁle from the drop-down arrow in the top right (next to the photo area) » Scroll down the page and click on My Settings >> Privacy Settings

Yes, it includes your entire registration history with AXUG. You can view upcoming events you are registered for and access a list of past events. To access your registration history: » Sign into the www.axug.com site » Click on Proﬁle from the drop-down arrow in the top right (next to the photo area) » Scroll down to the blue bar on the page and click My Registrations When you view your upcoming events, you can click on Details for the event and view your receipt or download an iCal/ICS reminder to your calendar.

Take a moment to visit your Proﬁle and update your information. It will help you make more meaningful connections, enable you to share your experience and credentials and bring depth to your online presence. Updating your proﬁle only takes a few minutes and can make a great difference in the connections you make in the Microsoft Dynamics AX community. Visit www.axug.com today and get started. AXUG 30 | AXUG Magazine

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This is my third year attending AXUG Summit, and I have found it to be an invaluable source of knowledge. - Alison W.

Learn more today about this must-attend event:

axugsummit.com

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feature TO THE BASICS: BACK Hot Business Intelligence Trends in 2015

DAVID WICKETT director of analytics, Hitachi Solutions

ULRIK PEDERSON COO, TARGIT

NOAH KLUGE senior manager of business intelligence, Armanino

AXUG®: What do you foresee being the next hot business intelligence (BI) topic in 2015? Dave Wickett (DW): Let me start out by saying that I found it very helpful that Ulrik recently posted his BI predictions for 2015 on his blog. So, there’s a little intro; Ulrik, you can go first. Ulrik Pederson (UP): Haha! Thank you, Dave. Yes, I do have three predictions that I believe will get some press in 2015. 1. Embedded BI, which is driven by mobile BI and wearable devices that I see pushed directly into manufacturing equipment, point of sale systems, and also throughout the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform. 2. A larger focus and discipline on data governance. And 3. User-driven data visualization and experimentation. DW: Ulrik hits some great points, but I have a slightly different perspective on what’s next in 2015. All the big names are in the game of BI; we have great User-interfaces, feature rich visualization and dashboards, and huge capability, but instead of chasing the next shiny object, businesses will rationalize how to take their data and do something with it. I think they now realize it’s time to stop opening the floodgates and shift to rationalize what data they can and should maintain. Once they do that, they can reach the predictive modeling phase where mid-tier business tools are starting to match the capability of Google and Facebook. UP: Yes, I agree. Users are now beginning to understand that they can benefit greatly from access to external data that means something to their business, like competitor intelligence and publicly available data, i.e. the U.S. Census Bureau. Noah Kluge (NK): To expand on what Dave was saying, I think businesses will address the fundamentals more in 2015. Ulrik shared a few forward-looking trends, but a lot of the companies aren’t even doing the basics. The economy is starting to open up where companies can now feel comfortable tackling some fundamental projects. I think companies will implement data warehousing to address the basics before they move on to the next “big” thing. Nils Rasmussen (NR): Hotness comes in many different flavors. Instead of focusing on what will make the biggest headlines like Dave and Noah mentioned, I think Users will focus on what’s hot in the real world. And that is self-service BI. In 2015, Users will expect to do it all on their own without much IT help. They need to: A. Be able to write their own reports on demand and set up auto distribution of that data. B. They will be able to configure and manage their own budgeting

32 | AXUG Magazine

NILS RASMUSSEN principal, Solver

KEITH PETERSON CEO and president, Halo BI

ROB SHILLINGER consulting manager of analytics, Hitachi Solutions

forecasting models. C. They will be able to define and deploy their own dashboards and tools. And D. Be able to empower their end-Users to answer their business questions on their own with minimal training using data-discovery tools. Keith Peterson (KP): Yes, BI end-Users have become much more sophisticated. The demographic trend of hiring younger MBAs that are more quantitative and more demanding of the tools means that general-purpose BI isn’t sufficient. So I think providing and implementing tools targeted to their industry with KPIs and analytics that are specific to their business and their job will take high priority. 2015 will also be much more predictive. We’ll see more KPIs and dashboards based on forecasting algorithms. Rob Shillinger (RS): I think the BI perspective is changing. It really comes down to “stories”. People are going to be telling stories using data visualization versus numbers. Accomplishing this takes a lot of governance, so it’s easy to match up and is accurate. Data governance is thus underlying the foundation of telling your story accurately with data. Businesses need to see where they’ve been and where they’re going. That can only be achieved by teaming up a marketing person and a data scientist to find the competitive advantage or trend that they can take advantage of. KP: Yes, when we do reports or create stories for clients, they’re much more ROI-focused. Companies are starting to leverage BI and focus on sales and operations planning. By bringing that data together, they are balancing sales and demand forecasting with operational forecasting planning to be a more efficient business. UP: Basic BI and P&L reporting is as important as ever in the understanding of a company’s vision. I, too, am still seeing companies get basics in place to achieve predictive analytics. It’s not a new discipline by any means, but there is a new focus on that recently. KP: Now that organizations have plenty of data and technology to work with, there will be a much deeper focus on leveraging algorithms and predictive analysis. This will take higher priority during ERP deployments. DW: Predictive analytics is also getting much more visibility in the marketplace. Just look at all the cool stuff they do for elections, bringing in real-time data along with social media information. It’s getting more main-stream and well-known. Data sciences has made it easy for people to use data in a meaningful way, and this was a rare occurrence just five years ago.

Q1 2015 | 33

“...don’t get too distracted by shiny objects or sexy demos. There are lots of fancy dashboards and visualization, and it’s easy to get caught up in that.” AXUG: How do we get Users back to the basics? NR: Because the market is flooded with BI tools, it can be easy to lose track of a company’s core BI needs. Users need to manage their processes in a simpler fashion through self-analysis of their business. The first step is to figure out the highest area of ROI for a BI project and then find the right tool for the job. Pay attention to the simplest way to deploy, maintain, learn, and use. Modern BI suites are starting to meet those needs; if not in one solution, a few best-of-breed (BOB) products can do the trick. DW: The questions they should always have front of mind are, “What is the objective? What business problem are you trying to solve?” NK: Users should never implement technology simply for the sake of it. Make sure you can state your business reason for what you’re implementing. Knowing that will bring you to square one when it comes to your data. UP: Big data can confuse more people than help them. In the space we play in, it’s not all big companies. So no matter how big your company is, make sure to dissect your data to see what actually affects revenue. There’s no reason to pull in data that doesn’t affect your business. KP: To add to that, Users need to blend big data with structured information and then manage that efficiently. You can move data back and forth and yet never get to leverage that information effectively. Blending big data and traditional data provides algorithms to address specific areas of business. RS: Technology is no longer about the shiny objects. Avoid the distractions to really understand your goals and the ROI that you want to achieve. And then define what information you need to help drive the attainment of these goals, such as increasing revenue. This will then help define the technology needed to support goal attainment. NR: Yes, don’t get too distracted by shiny objects or sexy demos. There are lots of fancy dashboards and

34 | AXUG Magazine

“The ‘one version of the truth’ has not died out yet, and I don’t see that ever falling to the wayside.”

visualization, and it’s easy to get caught up in that. Look inward first and see areas where you’re suffering, prioritize them, and then look to see if there’s one complete BI solution or a BOB solution available. AXUG: Looking back over the years, what has consistently been a high priority for Users when it comes to BI? UP: The “one version of the truth” has not died out yet, and I don’t see that ever falling to the wayside. DW: Definitely agree. Single source of the truth and the right data for the right purpose. NK: Yeah, Ulrik hit it on the head. The initial focus of BI was to replace manual spreadsheets that companies struggled with, better known as “Excel Hell.” The fundamental impact of BI technology today has taken us out of that world or at least given us more options to deliver the objective of “one version of the truth”. RS: Data quality and credibility. All clients need to see credible information. KP: Yes, I agree. BI aggregates and displays, but it doesn’t always validate. Data quality is the key underlying factor, especially when you’re pulling from multiple data sources. That’s always a priority, but it’s a hard factor to streamline. NR: Although these continue to be high priorities for Users, many variables have spanned the life of BI making it what it is today. The ’90s were the birth of BI, focused more on completely automating manual budgeting, reporting, and analysis tasks, and that is also when the first dashboards and visualization were released. Then BI began to mature during the 2000s with data warehousing and more web-based functionality. Now in the third decade of BI, self-service is a major requirement. After the financial crisis of ’08 and ’09, finance teams have slimmed down and realized the need to do things faster and on their own without BI experts. Through the use of modern Excel add-ins and web portals, cloud deployments, and mobile apps, BI is getting easier and more accessible. Tools are now built to be managed by business Users, not just IT people or dedicated product experts. We’re at a great point in the evolution of BI! AXUG

Q1 2015 | 35

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learn academy corner

Microsoft Dynamics AX

CONFIGURATION

SERIES M

icrosoft Dynamics AX may seem like a complex business system, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be complicated. Join Murray Fife, a Microsoft Dynamics AX MVP, for the Microsoft Dynamics AX Configuration Series as he shows you how easy it is to set up a company within Microsoft Dynamics AX with all the core elements to run your business. This is a great starting point for your own ERP implementation as well as for gaining an understanding of the key features within Microsoft Dynamics AX. Through hands-on exercises, you will learn how to set up your own Microsoft Dynamics AX company from scratch and configure the base modules such as General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, and Accounts Payable. You will continue to build on what you have learned to configure Inventory Control, Sales, and Purchasing, giving you a great foundation of the capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics AX.

The AXUG® Academy Microsoft Conﬁguration Series classes include:

Dynamics

» » » » » » » »

Company and General Ledger Setup Cash Management Setup Accounts Receivable Setup Accounts Payable Setup Financial Approvals and Workﬂows Inventory Management Sales and Marketing Purchase Order Management Visit www.axug.com/academy for more details; the “Get Help on This Page” link provides registration information. Murray has developed additional training resources and has made them available for download from the Microsoft Dynamics AX Companions website www.dynamicsaxcompanions.com. AXUG

Q1 2015 | 37

var partner member showcase

AXMentor

COMPANY AXMentor INTERVIEWEE Lauge Mathiasen, CEO WEBSITE www.axmentor.com PHONE 646-201-4560 HEADQUARTERS San Diego, California ADDITIONAL OFFICES IN Southern California Seattle London Copenhagen ESTABLISHED 2006 AXUG® PARTNER SINCE 2009

38 | AXUG Magazine

XMentor is an international Microsoft Partner that provides cross-vertical solutions and advanced support solutions for Microsoft Dynamics AX. From manufacturing and distribution, financial and professional services to public sector, AXMentor has been the trusted advisor for medium and large national and international companies since 2006. AXMentor delivers a full suite of services including Microsoft Dynamics AX implementations, upgrades, and support as well as Microsoft Cloud and Infrastructure Solutions. AXUG: How did AXMentor get its start? Lauge Mathiasen (LM): AXMentor started out in 2006 focusing primarily on international clients, addressing their unique needs for building Microsoft Dynamics AX solutions that could be rolled out to their subsidiaries in a fast and secure way. We all had strong Microsoft Dynamics AX experience, and given our European backgrounds, we opened our first offices in Copenhagen and London. After working closely with Microsoft and a few large Microsoft Dynamics AX Customers, we established a U.S. office in 2008, and I moved to California in 2009. We have been successful ever since due to the Microsoft Dynamics AX market growth and with the help of Microsoft’s product investments. AXUG: Tell me a little about what AXMentor does. LM: First and foremost, we are solution advisors to our clients. We help them navigate and deploy

what’s coming from Microsoft – new versions of the product, the cloud, Microsoft’s product roadmap, and more. We also build and deliver end-to-end implementations for Microsoft Dynamics AX, taking clients from discovery to go-live with their solution. This includes upgrades as well, since our clients look at upgrades as a business case and almost as a re-implementation to get all the beneﬁts out of Microsoft’s R&D. We also support our clients with a set of services to help with installation management, performance optimization, data management, and end-User training. We are basically a one-stop support desk for our clients, supporting more than 6,000 Users today. Additionally, we build and design infrastructure while helping clients choose between on-premises, cloud, or hybrid deployments. AXUG: Your passion for educating Users is very apparent from AXUG eyes. You’ve been very involved with us over the years. LM: Yes, we’ve presented at AXUG Summit every year since 2009. Like many years before, we presented at AXUG Summit 2014 in St. Louis, had 25 employees attend, and also sponsored 25 tickets to clients so they can stay knowledgeable as to what’s current and what’s coming. We have true partnerships with our clients and want to give them the tools they need so they can keep learning, and we ﬁnd AXUG a valuable part of that. We’ve also had the opportunity to present and participate at chapter meetings in London, Rome,

Southern California, Utah, and throughout the Midwest. We find these events to be very valuable because they provide great learning environments in smaller groups, where attendees aren’t shy to ask questions, and we, as presenters, get to go over real-world scenarios and help Users find answers to questions that really matter to them. AXUG: Since we’re focusing on business intelligence (BI) in this issue, how does BI play a role in your implementations? LM: When we look at BI, we basically start with a reporting requirements conversation in general. BI means very different things to different people. We begin by mapping reporting needs by persona, using Microsoft’s role-driven reporting approach, to define what type of needs people have across the organization. From there, we marry reporting needs with the tools available within Microsoft Dynamics AX as well as add-on tools. We typically see that in addition to Management Reporter, Atlas is a very relevant tool. When it comes to BI, we like the TARGIT solution, which we also use internally. AXUG: You’ve seen Microsoft Dynamics AX through the years. What do you love most about the product today? LM: From a feature-set point of view, it’s now so rich. With the right consulting advice, there’s so much you can do out of the box. It’s also

easier and faster to deliver now because of the new capabilities. It’s a great time to be a User! AXUG: What’s next for AXMentor in 2015? LM: We’ll be heavily focused on building out frameworks to deliver mobile capabilities, which is in line with Microsoft’s product roadmap and strategy: mobile first, cloud first. We’re excited about how we can leverage Microsoft’s Life Cycle Services (LCS) to implement projects faster and safer to give clients that one-portal view of the implementation, and how to manage their environment after the solution is live. Historically, we’ve always been the first to implement the new versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Once Microsoft releases a new version, we go live internally so we can learn all about the new solution for our clients. We don’t just talk the talk; we also walk the walk. Our goal is to be one of the first to go live with Microsoft Dynamics AX 7, currently set to release in Q4 of this year per Microsoft’s roadmap. In order to get ready for that upgrade and to keep up with our steady growth, we’re hiring additional top talent to join our team, especially as we move into the cloud and the world of app development. 2015 will be and already is an exciting year for us! AXUG

“As our Partner since 2010, AXMentor truly lives up to its name by mentoring our development team and our Users, an approach which brings long-term value, not short-term fixes. With AXMentor’s assistance, we have been able to move the majority of our business processes into Microsoft Dynamics AX, unlocking the value of our investment in ERP. Additionally, Microsoft Dynamics AX provides a comprehensive, yet flexible platform and an easy-to-leverage database. Together, AXMentor and Dynamics AX give us a real advantage in the marketplace.” Brian Millsap, senior vice president and chief information officer, Hampton Products International Corporation

Q1 2015 | 39

40 | AXUG Magazine

feature

New Intelligent

CPM Tools Let You Follow the Money and Guide Your Business story by Luanne McPherson, AXUG Partner Member deFacto Global illustration by Dave Swang

t’s no longer business as usual for business planners as new roles, tools, and methods have come into play. The new normal is reflected in the new breed of CFOs, whose role has stretched beyond the traditional boundaries of accounting and reporting and who are now responsible for guiding the strategic direction of their organizations. Effective decision making in today’s business environment requires the agility to respond rapidly to changing business realities. To forecast, plan, budget, and manage their businesses, planners must be able to not only track the flow of money throughout their organization, but also to build a comprehensive model of the business that allows them to assess potential directions and weigh decisions. Unfortunately, as Gartner reports,1 while the new breed of CFOs is assuming responsibility for steering their organizations in forward-looking directions, the tools at hand are not always up to the task. CFOs, Gartner explains, have been dealing with aging systems and struggling to make progress with business intelligence (BI) and analytics.

Where Old Performance Management Tools Fall Short Effective business planning requires assembling and analyzing a large set of data that tends to be spread out across an organization in disconnected silos. While ERP systems such as Microsoft Dynamics AX are able to collect certain types of data and perform processes like transaction processing, they lack the business modeling and analysis capabilities of corporate performance management (CPM) tools that are designed for business modeling and planning. The current generation of aging performance tools is buckling under the weight of surging volumes of data and data sources that must be aggregated and analyzed to make effective business decisions. The systems’ inability to handle large volumes of data can cause several crippling problems: » As data volume increases, the software’s performance suffers. » As the number and variety of data sources grows, the systems become cumbersome to use and deliver less reliable results. » Because the window of opportunity to collect data tends to be small, more pressure is put on the system, resulting in poor performance at the most important “crunch” times. » End-Users must log out of the system while processing takes place, resulting in the loss of many hours of productive work time. The scalability and performance limitation of older performance management systems also restrict their capability to perform analysis and planning at a granular enough level to make precise decisions and plans.

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G G U XU AXU AX AX A G A G G G G UG U XU X A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A U G G G U U X X XU AX AX A G A G UG U G UG UG XU XU AXU AX XU AX AX A G A G G G U U X X A A AX A G A G UG UG XU X U XU XU AX AX A G A AX G A G A G UG U XU U XU XU AX AX G A G A G AX A G A G UG UG XU U XU XU AX AX A G AX G A G A G UG U XU G G X A G UG UG XU XU AXU AX G AX A G G UG A X A G UG UG XU XU AX AX A G G U U U XU AXU AX AX A G A G U G G X AX A G A G UG UG XU A X U G U U X X A A

feature The New Reality Is Real Time The traditional method of business planning has been a yearly exercise that has been hampered by a long, laborious, and inefficient data collection process. By the time the data is collected, aggregated, and analyzed, the data has become obsolete, and business conditions have changed. In today’s rapidly moving environment, CFOs must not only have faster access to data, but also a new generation of higher-performance CPM tools that can give them complete business models that can be updated within minutes of new data becoming available. From a manufacturer’s point of view, that means CFOs are making important operational decisions based on real-time market conditions impacting the shop floor and throughout the entire supply chain. This need is reflected in Gartner’s latest CFO surveys, which show that business applications and business analytics are the top two investment priorities of the CFO.2

Where Traditional BI and CPM Systems Fall Short To achieve the best performance, every business must be able to quickly assemble and analyze a broad range of internal and external factors that uniquely influence that business. Although BI systems are very good at data visualization, they do not offer a complete and fully integrated approach for analyzing the impact of decisions, strategic planning, and managing a business. BI systems are limited in this capacity because they are intrinsically data-centric. They utilize standalone sets of historical data that do not reflect all aspects of a business and require subjective interpretation. Outdated CPM products are also a problem. For instance, in the case of one manufacturer, its aging performance management tool was causing a number of impediments. It took hours to accrue and process large volumes of data, sales and purchase data were out of sync, ad hoc reports were difficult to create, and drilling down into data was not possible. All of these problems were alleviated when the manufacturer switched to a modern performance management system.

New Intelligent Performance Management Tools Fortunately, as Gartner, CPM Partners, TEC, and other analysts note, help is arriving in the form of a new generation of business analytics tools that enable CFOs to analyze decisions and create plans based on all influencing factors. Rather than operating on historical data, the tools provide a business model-centric system that intrinsically represents the business. This model gives CFOs a single point of reference for analyzing the financial impact of decisions, strategic planning, and managing their business to achieve the best performance. The new generation of performance management tools complements and enhances many ERP systems, including Microsoft Dynamics AX. In manufacturing operations, for example, the data can be rolled up through the ERP system from the shop floor to the CPM system to calculate key performance indicators (KPIs) based on almost any aspect of the production process, such as days of inventory, materials costs and usage, and margins. Planners can also drill down into ERP systems to retrieve detailed information at the most granular levels, such as invoices and cost-of-materials data. In each of these cases, the data flows back to the model, so it gets updated automatically, as do all the calculations that use that data (KPIs, forecasts, budgets, etc.).

Universal Benefits Businesses of every stripe can reap similar benefits. For media planners, real-time data can be accessed continually to enable the most cost-effective media buying. Similarly, telecom, Internet, and cloud-infrastructure providers can build complete business models that enable them to test end-to-end network scenarios. By embracing the new generation of intelligent performance management tools, businesses across all industries can build business models and perform analyses that enable them to achieve more accurate and timely forecasting and planning capabilities. AXUG 12

Gartner, “Leveraging CPM Innovation With Leading Trends in Technology,” John E. Van Decker, Christopher Lervolino, October 29, 2014. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reﬂect the views of AXUG.

42 | AXUG Magazine

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NAME THAT PHOTO

CONTEST

Caught in conversation, what do you think these AXUG® Members are discussing?

Q4 CONTEST WINNER: VE Chip Thiel of Ohio Gratings, Inc. “Where’s the Filter button…?”

Simply email your submission to Captioncontest@axug.com. The winning submission will be printed in the magazine’s next issue.

Q1 2015 | 47

G G U XU AXU AX AX A G A G G G U G U XU X A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A U G G G U U X X XU AX AX A G A G UG U G UG UG XU XU AXU AX XU AX AX A G A G G G U U X X A A AX A G A G UG UG XU X U XU XU AX AX A G A AX G A G A G UG U XU U XU XU AX AX G A G A G AX A G A G UG UG XU U XU XU AX AX A G AX G A G A G UG U XU G G X A G UG UG XU XU AXU AX G AX A XU AX AX G A G A UG U G A G G U G U G XU XU U XU AXU AX AX A G A G G G G U G U XU X A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A U G

isv partner member showcase

ZAP Business Intelligence

COMPANY ZAP Business Intelligence INTERVIEWEE Garth D. Laird, chief operating ofﬁcer PHONE 415-900 6769 EMAIL Garth.laird@zapbi.com WEBSITE www.zapbi.com HEADQUARTERS San Francisco, California ESTABLISHED 1999 AXUG® PARTNER MEMBER SINCE 2011

48 | AXUG Magazine

AP is focused on delivering rapidlydeployed, business-focused business intelligence software and solutions for Microsoft Dynamics.

AXUG: Tell me more about ZAP Business Intelligence. Garth Laird (GL): We specialize in the provision of business intelligence (BI) solutions for the Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Dynamics CRM marketplace. ZAP is one of 25 global ISVs working directly with Microsoft to provide industry solutions and support for Microsoft Dynamics AX development. Out of those 25, we are the one and only global ISV for BI in the Microsoft Dynamics AX space. Our goal through this global ISV initiative is to be the one-stop-shop for all Microsoft Dynamics AX Customers, providing one BI solution so Customers can avoid confusion when undergoing discovery for their Microsoft Dynamics AX BI implementation. By aligning our ZAP solutions directly with Microsoft Dynamics AX, we mitigate risk for Customers and streamline functionality since it’s integrated directly to their ERP software. AXUG: In 2013, Microsoft became a ZAP Customer. Can you tell me a little bit about that relationship?

GL: Yes, Microsoft purchased a ZAP solution to assist with BI integration of Microsoft Dynamics and non-Microsoft Dynamics data sources. AXUG: What are the underlying trends or basic needs for companies when it comes to their BI? GL: As Microsoft Dynamics AX has matured over the years, it has become a very complete ERP solution, allowing smaller Customers right up to large enterprises to successfully improve their process flows and management of their financial and operational systems. This is why AXUG and the Microsoft Dynamics AX channel have grown so much, but one underlying trend that results from that is the need from Customers to see actual outcomes produced by financial transactions and supply chain processes that ultimately help Users manage their business better. Customers are looking for information to better manage their business, and ZAP provides that quick and tangible return for all parties with direct integration into Microsoft’s solution. AXUG: Given the complexity of Microsoft Dynamics AX, how do you simplify BI for Users? GL: Some may think you can buy Microsoft Dynamics AX and then magically, BI will be available out of the box. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Microsoft Dynamics AX is much more complex now, and most, if not all Customers, have

ISV solutions to complete their solution. In addition to that, lots of Customers are customizing Microsoft Dynamics AX to their own business processes. Once you’ve deployed all of that, the data model is not standard. We’ve spent years and lots of money to create a data environment that perfectly aligns with a Customer’s entire solution, including all ISV solutions and more. Only then can these Customers deliver realtime information back to their organizations through KPIs, analytics, and dashboards, including the integration of non-Microsoft Dynamics AX data. In addition, ZAP has spent four years integrating thousands of analytics and calculations on top of Microsoft Dynamics AX, all available out of the box, which can be deployed right away. The time to value with ZAP solutions is so incredibly short, and our Customers get instant value from it. AXUG: What is the #1 reason Microsoft Dynamics AX Customers love your solutions? GL: We are very focused on aligning to Microsoft’s future to mitigate risk for end-Users. With ZAP, Customers can get what they need in terms of BI and implement it quickly without taking on the risks, which makes a huge diﬀerence for all global Microsoft Dynamics Customers.

AXUG: What’s next for ZAP in 2015? GL: We’re starting to see a BI focus everywhere we turn. It’s becoming a prerequisite for a Microsoft Dynamics AX Customer to understand BI and what they can get from it. In 2015, I believe BI in Microsoft Dynamics AX will take high priority and be central to the ERP buying decision. This is exactly why we’re placing a strong focus on community building to create more educated Customers that know the best options for their business. We’ll be making major announcements at Convergence in Atlanta around product direction and getting more involved within AXUG as well as providing a place for Customers to learn best practices for BI. Stay tuned! AXUG: What do you love most about the Microsoft Dynamics AX community? GL: The best part about AXUG and the Microsoft Dynamics AX community is the focus on adding value back to the Customers, and it’s wonderful to be a part of that. The AXUG local chapters are really starting to take oﬀ, and it’s becoming easier for Customers to ﬁnd the information they’re seeking. It’s also been a good catalyst for us as we get some great referrals from the AXUG community. Other Customers recommending our products tells us we’re doing something right. AXUG

“Apart from providing a product that continues to inspire, ZAP has a focus on Customers that spans its entire business, and it is this aspect that makes us believe we invested in the best solution for enterprise Microsoft Dynamics AX Customers on the global market today.” Al Mendes, senior vice president of information technology, Martignetti Companies

“Where ZAP excels for us is that it’s self-maintaining, so when we close a month, we’ve already given the Users the reports. We no longer have to publish every month.” Gary Arnold, accounting director, Regal Entertainment Group

Q1 2015 | 49

MINUTES WITH AXUG’S VOLUNTEER OF THE QUARTER

Dawn was selected for the important role she played in forming the AXUG® Public Sector Special Interest Group (SIG). She was integral in coordinating the initial meetings, helping this industry have a voice and opportunities to learn from each other through intriguing meeting topics. She ensured that Microsoft supported her efforts, and most importantly, she helped spread the word to AXUG Members in the public sector industry so that they were aware of the opportunity to connect with each other. Dawn’s efforts are the essence of what a great volunteer entails: giving of time and knowledge for the betterment of the community. Thank you, Dawn! Who interests you on social media right now? How could I live in Seattle and not be following the Seahawks right now! On my desk right now are... An implementation of lean business processes and alignment of those business processes with our technology solutions, with a current focus on improving the manner in which we leverage the functionality in the Project Management and Accounting as well as the Procurement modules. My top three goals for 2015 are… 1. Continuing to promote awareness of Microsoft Dynamics AX in the public sector. 2. A Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 CU8 upgrade. 3. Completing my Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certiﬁcation.

Dawn Johnson senior business systems analyst City of Redmond

What I do when I’m not at work… The list is so diverse! But at the top of it, I love being with my grandkids, and if I can find a quiet moment, I’ll read, write, pick up a skein of yarn to get creative with, or even create my own skein of yarn. I’m definitely a fiber enthusiast. The best advice I ever received… You can catch more flies with honey.

50 | AXUG Magazine

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feature

DATA WAREHOUSING and

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE with

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX story by Michael Simms, AXUG Partner Member Client Strategy Group, LLC illustration by Dave Swang

mplementing data warehousing and business intelligence (BI) with Microsoft Dynamics AX can be a challenge. There are a number of considerations to take into account and any number of vendor solutions to chose from. At the heart of any data warehouse/BI solution is one core concept: Timely delivery of actionable information to decision makers within the business without depending on a technical resource to provide the information. There are several reasons for businesses to implement a data warehouse and/or BI system, and this system should be customized to meet the analytical and reporting needs of the organization. With so many options available, choosing the option that is correct for your business can be nearly as daunting as selecting an ERP solution. Given this, and while there are indeed many approaches to data warehousing and BI, there are three main approaches that can be taken:

52 | AXUG Magazine

Q1 2015 | 53

The approach ultimately should now and in the future. Th consumers and business strate busin » Using the out-of-the-box cubes and key performance indicators (KPIs) » Purchasing a data warehouse/BI solution » Building a custom data warehouse The approach ultimately should meet the information needs of the business now and in the future. This requires involvement from the information consumers and business strategists in order to understand the direction the business is taking in both the near and long term. For example, if the business decides that it must forecast sales using data from Microsoft Dynamics AX and other external systems, then the long-term data warehouse and BI strategy might be diﬀerent than if the data is single-sourced from Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Using the Out-of-the-Box Cubes and KPIs Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 ships with a number of out-of-the-box cubes and KPIs. These are extremely feature-rich and comprehensive in the respective Microsoft Dynamics AX modules. The base cubes should be deployed in order to utilize role centers and some of the other base reporting and analytical functionality. It is important to remember that the Microsoft Dynamics AX BI solution is a framework; that is, the solution can be deployed as-is for the role centers, KPIs, and reports that are part of the base offering, but they can and should be customized to utilize custom data and meet individual client requirements. One of the first things to consider when utilizing the out-of-the-box solution is if there are any dimensions, measures, and/or measure groups that can be eliminated in order to simplify the end-User analysis. Utilizing this model does not provide for a true data warehouse; the structures for the cubes and reports are part of the OLTP production database. Scale considerations for this model should be taken into account, and it is typically recommended that the cubes are deployed to a separate OLAP server. Lastly, it can be difficult to incorporate non-Microsoft Dynamics AX data into the standard Microsoft Dynamics AX cubes.

Purchasing a Data Warehouse/BI Solution There are a number of solutions in the Microsoft Dynamics AX space with pre-designed data warehouse and/or BI solutions. In addition to their own cubes based on Microsoft Dynamics AX metadata, many leverage ETL (extract, transform, and load) to create a data warehouse. In some cases, this ETL is a “simpliﬁed” interface that simply wraps SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS). In other cases, the data warehouse/BI backend is a black box of proprietary software that must now be maintained. These solutions, while providing excellent options, can present challenges to clients that purchase them. Some of these challenges include: » Learning the solution, including the analytics layer, reporting tier, ETL tier, and backend is something that should be taken into consideration when purchasing a solution. » Licensing is also something that should be closely analyzed prior to purchase. If the software has a server component, for example, does that server component include ALL of the components necessary for your businesses requirements or are there other “add-on” items that are necessary to meet those business requirements? » Flexibility and maintainability of the solution are other key components to analyze. Is it easy to add or delete dimensions in the cube or to alter the ETL process? If the vendor oﬀers pre54 | AXUG Magazine

d meet the information needs of the business his requires involvement from the information gists in order to understand the direction the ness is taking in both the near and long term. packaged cubes, how easy is it to add additional cubes? How does the solution accommodate the custom data in your Microsoft Dynamics database? How does the solution meet your data latency requirements? » Adding data from non-Microsoft Dynamics AX data sources is a key requirement for many implementations. How well is this handled in the purchased solution?

Building a Custom Data Warehouse Building a custom data warehouse requires knowledge from a number of diﬀerent technical and business disciplines. Database design, ETL design, and knowledge of how to design cubes and reports are the minimum requirements. At design time, business requirements for the KPIs, measures, and dimensions as well as any reports must be obtained. In addition, key decisions about non-Microsoft Dynamics AX data integration, standardization, and data latency requirements can begin to be formulated. Since there are so many considerations for building a data warehouse/BI solution, clients will many times ask for a “jumpstart”; that is, a knowledge transfer from a vendor that builds the initial ETL infrastructure and cubes to one of their staﬀ. Sometimes clients prefer to have an outside vendor build and maintain their data warehouse entirely. Other times, clients have the luxury of being able to handle this task themselves. The tool utilized to build a data warehouse in the Microsoft Dynamics AX space is typically Microsoft SQL Server and its components. This is also

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Regardless of the approach, without proper plannng, the project will not meet its goals and may even fail. referred to as the SQL Server stack and consists of Management Studio, Integration Services, Analysis Services, and Reporting Services. There are very creative topologies currently deployed in the data warehouse/BI space, ranging from SSIS to transactional replication to SQL Server AlwaysOn. But again, all of these topologies and tools should be utilized with one goal in mind: Timely delivery of actionable information to business Users without depending on a technical resource to provide the information.

Planning for a Data Warehouse/BI Solution This is perhaps the most important part of the project. Regardless of the approach, without proper planning, the project will not meet its goals and may even fail. A data warehouse/BI solution is not about tools; it is about actionable information. Just as you would not paint the shutters on a new house before you actually drew up plans, built a foundation, and constructed the house, you should not choose a frontend tool prior to understanding your business requirements. Just as maintenance and changes to your house are never complete, your data warehouse/BI solution should not be viewed as finished but should be looked at as continuously changing and adapting to business information needs. As you build your strategy for your data warehouse/BI solution, consider the following: » Executive “buy-in” is key for success in a data warehouse/BI initiative. The most successful projects have strong executive buy-in. These business leaders have an understanding of the key metrics that need to be measured and the action to be taken with that information. » Set realistic expectations for the project and what a solution will provide to the business. A data warehouse/BI solution is not a silver bullet; it will not magically solve business problems. It will, however, provide insight into business problems and provide decision makers with information to solve them. » Understand the business requirements. Identifying comprehensive business requirements is key to understanding the state of the business and solving business problems. Requirements should be gathered across the entire enterprise so that the solution can provide the greatest impact. » Understand your company’s data quality. Poor data quality is the hidden “gotcha” with reporting and data warehouse/BI solutions. Everything starts with the data. If the source data is inconsistent, missing, or just plain wrong, this will translate into the reports and/or solution. The GIGO (Garbage In = Garbage Out) equation fits here. Poor data quality not only can cause business Users to lose confidence in the solution, but it can also lead to disastrous business consequences. However, DO NOT fix the data in the solution; fix it in the source system(s). A solution should not be utilized as an authoritative data source. » The data warehouse/BI solution build process is iterative and never really finished. However, you do want to avoid “analysis paralysis”. Build the solution in phases and start small initially. Finance, Sales, and Inventory cubes are a typical starting point for many organizations.

Conclusion Undertaking the task of building a data warehouse/BI solution can provide a myriad of short-term challenges and long-term rewards for a business. There are a number of diﬀerent approaches to building these solutions. Understanding your organization’s current and future requirements is the key to ﬁnding the right solution for your organization. AXUG 56 | AXUG Magazine

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industry showcase

Public Sector: Established to Serve F

rom developing properties to ensuring occupational health and safety, the public sector industry keeps society running without a hitch. Museums, housing providers, pension fund organizations, and more, these AXUG® Members are serving the public in a number of diﬀerent ways.

CANADIAN MUSEUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is the ﬁrst museum in the world solely dedicated to the evolution, celebration, and future of human rights. Creating inspiring encounters with human rights, the Museum provides an immersive, interactive experience for visitors of all ages.

FINNISH INSTITUTE OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH Helsinki, Finland Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) is a research and specialist organization in the field of occupational health and safety. Creating solutions, offering client service, and influencing through knowledge, FIOH aids both public and private decisionmaking.

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HOUSTON FIRST CORPORATION Houston, Texas Houston First is a local government corporation that manages more than 10 city-owned building, plazas, and parking facilities. Properties include Miller Outdoor Theatre, the Wortham Center, George R. Brown Convention Center, Jones Hall, and Hilton Americas-Houston.

JENAN REAL ESTATE Saudi Arabia Jenan Real Estate Company was created to meet the burgeoning demand for stylish and contemporary, yet aﬀordably priced housing for the young professional Saudi Arabian. Jenan develops properties to not only meet, but to exceed their expectations.

OHIO POLICE & FIRE PENSION FUND Columbus, Ohio The Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund (OP&F) was created by the Ohio General Assembly in 1965, replacing 454 separate local police and firemen’s relief and pension funds in Ohio. OP&F members include more than 28,000 active police officers and firefighters, more than 18,000 retired members, and nearly 8,000 beneficiaries and survivors.

OREGON LOTTERY Salem, Oregon The Oregon Lottery was established in 1984 by Oregon voters. Since its inception, more than $9 billion in lottery funds have gone to support public education, economic development, state parks, and watershed enhancement.

STANDARDS NEW ZEALAND Wellington, New Zealand Standards New Zealand is New Zealand’s leading developer of standards and standards-based solutions. They are governed by the Standards Council, an appointed body with representatives from a wide range of community sectors, and operate under the Standards Act of 1988.

YARLINGTON HOUSING GROUP Yeovil, United Kingdom With a strong vision of “Building Communities”, Yarlington Housing Group, one of the leading housing providers in the southwest United Kingdom, has a commitment to enhance the lives of its residents and their neighbors, and to provide communities in which people choose to live and work and have the opportunity to improve themselves if they so choose.

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G G U XU AXU AX AX A G A G G G G UG U XU X A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A U G G G U U X X XU AX AX A G A G UG U G UG UG XU XU AXU AX XU AX AX A G A G G G U U X X A A AX A G A G UG UG XU X U XU XU AX AX A G A AX G A G A G UG U XU U XU XU AX AX G A G A G AX A G A G UG UG XU U XU XU AX AX A G AX G A G A G UG U XU G G X A G UG UG XU XU AXU AX G AX A XU AX AX G A G A UG U G A G G UG UG XU XU U XU AXU AX AX A G A G G G G UG U XU X A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A U G

feature story by J. Brandon George, AXUG Partner Member Sunrise Technologies illustration by Shawn Olson

hen one thinks of business intelligence or analytics, many terms and technologies come to mind. Yet the nature of how our thought patterns are formed around these topics needs to evolve away from the old technical-driven conservations and toward a new mantra: “How can I be more productive with my data?” It is with this focus that we then can look at the trends that I believe will help shape 2015. For sure the Chinese need to add a new zodiac member as 2015 will be marked as “the year of data.” This includes all sides of what this might imply. From the newly-deployed end point, breathing its first bits of Ethernet as it streams valuable data to the back office…further going toward the scale of massive amounts of data, accessible and more readily able to help pose new questions and prescribe weighted direction…finally to smarter, more contextual and mobile to wearable…all in the name of bringing forth a true age of informed decision maker and engaged Customer base. This then sets the tone for bringing forth the areas I believe will help create this vision: predictive analytics, embedded analytics, streaming analytics, prescriptive analytics, and mobile data experiences.

Predictive Analytics By far this area will see, as it already has seen, a huge lift into the common psyche of the end consumer and information worker. Advancement in technology has eased the entry point in which the parsing and production of predictive insights is becoming a reality for more and more companies. Technologies like Microsoft’s Azure Machine Learning Services and Studio (http://azure.microsoft. com/en-us/services/machine-learning/) and Analytics Platform System (www.microsoft.com/en-us/ server-cloud/products/analytics-platform-system) are making it possible for Partners and Users alike to complete the perspective loop and add future, along with present and past. Finally through end-to-end analytics platforms like MicroStrategy (www.microstrategy.com), from the boardroom to mobile sales, predictive insights will be delivered proactively and with the correct context for understanding correlation and causation. Alongside the technology advancement exists the explosion of valid use cases as it relates to predictive analytics. Understanding what business outcome a set of predictive metrics is meant to inﬂuence – and further the direction in which a business will execute based on results – creates a road map for value.

Embedded Analytics The ability to create value from data exists through the correct engagement with the Users whom need to make informed decisions and take action. In order to achieve this, adoption rates of business intelligence projects need to be high. The problem in the past for most patrons of the information age has been “yet another thing” to engage with in a reactive manner. Enter center stage the case and cause for embedded analytics (http://dataprimes.com/data/2014/12/16/ embedded-analytics-takes-center-stage-in-bi-adoption/). The concept is not that new, specifically as it has been around for the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem since 2008. Yet like all things, the need for valid business use cases were absent. Combining the need for proactive engagement and being able to do so within the natural workflow of the end consumer has given rise to such examples. Now through contextual data association, products such as Microsoft Dynamics AX, with its well-known fact boxes, stand bestsuited for a stage of delivery for analytics. This means having a Customer service representative interacting with a Customer in a new and engaged way: Having contextual insights that in the past would take reactive report generation, which loses value faster than a lemon sold at a used car lot. This deeper engagement is again further delivered through the Microsoft stack with its Power BI capabilities and social engagement. For retailers specifically, this concept of embedded analytics is taken even further to a new strategy focus of “Customer engagement and brand loyalty” together as one. This means blurring the lines across the Omni-

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channel chasm into a more fertile land of revenue through deeper insights and embedded analytics, creating a reality of a segment of one as a consumer relates to a brand or retailer.

Streaming Analytics The typical perspective that most people work in as it relates to their data is the past. Reactive in nature, this view of data is just one of three that needs attention through this continuous journey so aptly named business intelligence. Another of extreme and equal importance is the present view of data through trends and goals. This typically and correctly implies performance management concepts, tracking towards performance indicators and how that relates to strategy and execution. What’s new in this perspective and will continue to become widely used is the concept of streaming analytics.

Understanding in-store customer patterns, mixed with customer-shared wish lists and activities, gives rise to prescribing for consumers what pairs well with the wine they selected to the store manager understanding new hot spots for associated product placement. Through the advent of everything becoming a valid target for data feeds – from toaster to towel dispenser – streaming bits of data is taking off. Since this reality will only continue to expand the ability for “as of now”, decision making will become critical. Going back to retail and fashion companies as an example, the ability to engage with a customer is the driving force. Understanding in-store customer patterns, mixed with customer-shared wish lists and activities, gives rise to prescribing for consumers what pairs well with the wine they selected to the store manager understanding new hot spots for associated product placement. Finally, capturing customer sentiment through social engagement completes the transaction loop with feedback on product and buying experiences. This is the nature in which streaming analytics operates and will have impact in this year dominated by data.

Prescriptive Analytics Proactive engagement means to have data interact with a User by role for events that need action. This can cross the three perspectives of past, present, and future and should go beyond eluding or assumption. Enter prescriptive analytics and its ability to build upon the maturity path for the business intelligence journey a company is on. The result enables a new level of proactive engagement that turns a new page in data productivity. By far this and streaming analytics could easily star as new kids on the BI block. Like all the rest, prescriptive analytics is now enjoying the ability to see real-world cases that drive towards value. Building upon the establishment of questions being answers and goals achieved, using all three perspectives is a requirement for truly being prescriptive with data. This means that typically predictive insights are in place with a speciﬁc focus in which prescriptive can be used.

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feature Not that all other analytic types are needed, yet prescriptive only widens its depth and ability to engage when embedded, predictive, and streaming analytics are employed. This means combining sources from the streaming and two to three predictive models to direct Customer segmentation, product marketing, and steps to reduce Customer churn, all the while being consumed with context via embedded analytics concepts.

Mobile Data Experience With the new being knowledge spanning from streaming to prescribing, mobile is the old man on the block. Yet this dog has a lot of tricks it continues to teach everyone. By itself the concepts and topic of mobile business intelligence could easily allow for endless theory, User, and data experiences. It is this latter part that we tie to our tone and which will be impactful this year. Mobile data experience spans beyond the concepts of report delivery to a phone or a dashboard rendering on a tablet. This dives into the true app experience of understanding how consumers engage with such devices and their expectations. This means taking an outside sales rep from data-to-decision-to-action and recording such action into a company’s system of record. Tailoring such experience to the context and role of a given User, be that internal or external, vendor or Customer, across channels and throughout the given supply chain is key. This builds from the other areas highlighted and takes embedded analytic concepts to a new level, one where Users may not even be aware of what they are seeing. This is actually business intelligence at its ﬁnest. Success is helping them make data-informed decisions that have positive impacts on business outcomes, further helping shape that Customer engagement and brand loyalty strategy that is literally the forefront of brand advocate development and enrichment. To ﬁnd out more, connect with me through

social media, my blog (www.dataprimes.com), or at Microsoft Convergence 2015 in Atlanta. I would be more than happy to continue on these topics and many more. AXUG J. Brandon George is a Microsoft MVP and director of business intelligence at Sunrise Technologies, Inc. (www.sunriseconsult.com/BI). He can be reached at Brandon.george@sunriseconsult.com, @ DynamicsERP, and www.dataprimes.com.

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G G U XU AXU AX AX A G A G G G G UG U XU X A U XU AXU AX AX G A G A U G G G U U X X XU AX AX A G A G UG U G UG UG XU XU AXU AX XU AX AX A G A G G G U U X X A A AX A G A G UG UG XU X U XU XU AX AX A G A AX G A G A G UG U XU U XU XU AX AX G A G A G AX A G A G UG UG XU U XU XU AX AX A G AX G A G A G UG U XU G G X A G UG UG XU XU AXU AX G AX A G G UG A X A G UG UG XU XU AX AX A G G U U U XU AXU AX AX A G A G U G G X AX A G A G UG UG XU A X U G U U X X A A

feature

Business Intelligence (BI) USERS’ Implementation Tips PERSPECTIVES

AXUG®: What are your top best practices for implementing BI in your business? Chris Gray (CG): When you’re gathering the needs of your Users, don’t just deliver reports. For example, we had lists of specific reports but found once we got that data, it wasn’t actionable, and we had to redevelop our cubes and data warehouse. When gathering Users’ needs, look beyond the near-term deliverable. Franz Kistner (FK): As strange as it may sound, find out if you even have the data and dimensions in the system that you want to aggregate. Identify what type of problems you want to solve or which metrics you want to see and what action should come from your data. People will ask for a million reports, but once you have the data, what are your decision points? Asking these questions will streamline the design of the cubes and ensure the BI tool will actually help you make the right business decisions. Steve Hart (SH): A couple of things come to mind for me. 1. Involvement at the highest levels of management makes a big difference. 2. Depending on the size of your IT, don’t bite off more than you can chew. That means doing one thing at a time. Validation of the data takes the longest, but it is definitely the most important. Sometimes you will realize the quality of your data isn’t good, and you need to change the processes of inputting data to make that consistent and valid. CG: Exactly! You can never do too much validation. It’s the most critical piece of the process. SH: It takes a long time to pick through data, but once you have it, you have so much power and can rely on it. After we realized how much more accurate our cubes were than old reports from a few years ago, HaloBI became our gospel instead of the reports. FK: You also have to be clear and specific to what people are looking to aggregate. For example, we didn’t use canned TARGIT cubes; we created one huge cube that includes all different aspects of the business. This allows me to correlate data across pretty much everything. CG: It’s also important to manage User expectations. Maybe the numbers won’t match exactly every minute of every single day, but our Users know they have one version of the truth at specific points in time they can trust. They also understand where that data is coming from. AXUG: You all use BI ISVs to gain more insight. How would you recommend other Users find the right BI tool for their business? CG: Really talk to your upper management and Users to find out what their needs are and to keep everyone on the same page. Try to predict the future by asking, “What are my long-term goals?”, “What am I looking to get out of this?”, and “Where are the gaps?” Having those answers laid out and working closely with your

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CHRIS GRAY

FRANZ KISTNER

STEVE HART

IT director at Swiss Farms: Customer of TARGIT BI and on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 for Retail

vice president of IT at Argo International Corporation: Customer of TARGIT BI and on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009

director of IT at Xtek: Customer of HaloBI and on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009

Key Takeaway “Include your Users in the process, especially your power Users. They should become part of your team and share in the vision as opposed to having to live with whatever is delivered. When they’re part of the process, they’re in it with you and have the same expectations.”

Key Takeaway “Try to establish speciﬁc calls to action. ‘If my data shows me this, these are the actions and tasks I can take’. Also keep in mind that the roll-out of the product is only 10 percent of the work. Ninety percent is creating a good and valid cube. If you deliver incorrect or unreliable data, management and Users will lose trust quickly and not use it.”

Key Takeaway “Start by focusing on one key cube. Spend the time to thoroughly validate the data. Score a success with this ﬁrst cube. Gain the trust and build on the enthusiasm of the Users as they realize the potential of the product.”

Partner to point you in the right direction is a good starting point. SH: In our experience, make sure to shop around and compare tools in the marketplace. We were wary of vendors who said you can take everything out of the box and be ready in a matter of weeks. It’s a red flag if vendors say that. FK: Yes, you can get a head start out of the box, but businesses aren’t the same. I would say it’s criteria for disqualification if your BI implementer says it would only take two weeks. SH: It’s more honest to say a solution can get you 60 percent of the way, but building custom cubes is how you can get data that means something to your business. CG: And the key there is to get beyond that sales process, too. Talk to technical people with the company and relay your needs to get a feel for how they solve problems. AXUG: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned (maybe the hard way) through your experience of implementing BI at your organization? CG: The main lesson we learned is, as Steve mentioned earlier, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Do one thing at a time, and do it well. We did our ERP implementation in parallel with our BI system, and it was a painful mess. We definitely learned a lot, but it was painful. FK: That sounds dangerous, building something on top of something that wasn’t there yet. CG: Exactly! I wouldn’t recommend it. SH: To expand on that point, we aimed for one cube to begin with. Having that one success was a big payoff once Users saw the tool and realized the data they would have access to. It immediately established trust and ultimately increased User adoption. FK: It’s imperative you have a system that Users trust. The minute they point out holes in your data, you lose the trust very quickly. The way we’ve found to establish that trust is giving Users the ability to drill into the data so they can see what makes up that number. CG: That initial validation process is just so critical. Take the time to do that correctly from day one so Users can see that it’s correct. SH: That’s what it’s all about. I’m amazed at how common assumptions are blown out of the water when you can prove your data. CG: Numbers don’t lie! FK: At least that’s what we’re trying to get to! AXUG

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A USER’S PERSPECTIVE

enterprise IT systems Fluidigm

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2014

DENNIS BRUCE director of business development Data Masons Software Data Masons Software has been a Premier Sponsor of AXUG Summit for the past five years and had an excellent show in St. Louis for Summit 2014. With attendance numbers reaching record highs, Dennis Bruce was happy to connect with as many Microsoft Dynamics AX Users and Partners as he did. He recalls, “There were so many great things to share about Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 and how our product supports the new version. We could also address Users’ questions about how our technology model supports Microsoft’s upcoming frequent roll-out strategy for Microsoft Dynamics AX updates. That really enhanced the conversations.” Data Masons had the opportunity to hold two Partner showcases for Microsoft Dynamics AX to feature their products and took an approach that brought value to attendees. “We brought in a few Customers of ours that do what attendees do, day in and day out. Their stories explained perfectly how our solutions helped with their business problems.” Dennis explains, “It’s one thing if I get up and tell attendees the benefits, and something entirely different (and more valuable) if our Customers speak for us. That helps us build trust with the community and gives us a credibility that we could never get to by simply promoting what we do.” In addition to sponsoring AXUG Summit 2014, Data Masons had a major presence as a sponsor of both NAVUG™ Summit and GPUG® Summit in St. Louis. The company co-sponsored the MVP Party with Fastpath and the AXUG Premier Party with RFSMART, and its very own Jon Rivers presented about leveraging LinkedIn to the Microsoft Dynamics Partner community. “We make a big investment around Summit, and it’s proven to be well worth the money and time we spend,” Dennis shares. That investment has a lot to do with the value Summit brings Users each and every year. “As a User attending Summit, you can go in expecting to talk with other Users. This is the one place, nine out of 10 times, that you’re meeting someone that does something similar to you. Users are accessible and everywhere.” Dennis continues, “Other conferences don’t provide the time to drill down on how the product can affect you, but at Summit, you can learn specific details about your process and how technology can help. It’s no wonder the User Groups are growing at a rapid rate!” As a Premier Sponsor again for AXUG Summit 2015 in Reno, Dennis looks forward to continuing the valuable interactions with Users. “We know it often takes multiple visits to our booth to get a feel for what we do and to see if timing is right.” Dennis concludes, “It’s exciting to see people year after year and to build on those conversations each time.”

A SPONSOR’S PERSPECTIVE

AXUG® Summit 2014 was Chris Gawronski’s second time attending the conference. Leading up to Summit 2014, Chris added two employees to his team and experienced an acquisition where Fluidigm had to integrate its IT operations across two entities. Needless to say, Chris had a lot on his mind and took a more strategic approach as an attendee than he had in the past. “In 2013, I focused more on the sessions,” shares Chris. “In 2014, I really needed to check the pulse of the community speciﬁc to the risks other Users were seeing as well as the opportunities and successes they were having relative to the small ecosystem.” As Chris worked to build his Microsoft Dynamics AX team internally and Fluidigm matured as a company, he needed to check in on the Microsoft Dynamics AX ecosystem to gauge its growth and stability, as this impacts his planning from a big-picture point of view. “My experience at Summit 2014 helped further strengthen my plan to build internally and to become more self-reliant in delivering solutions for our Users at Fluidigm.” Chris continues, “It helped solidify what I should look for when hiring talent as well as what to include in our Partner network to diversify ourselves and be successful.” In addition to enjoying time with his new team while in St. Louis, Chris had the opportunity to have lunch with a few Microsoft folks and was interested to hear the paradigm that Dan Brown, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics AX R&D, put forth regarding how Microsoft approaches the allocation of its resources. Like all of us, Microsoft must manage the trade-oﬀs between gaining market share with new products against keeping Customers happy and supported with existing products. Every dollar they put into extending the life of support for older products is a dollar they cannot invest in the current and future products. Chris adds, “It was helpful to understand their point of view.” Summit 2015 is only a three-hour drive for Chris and his team, so Fluidigm plans to have an even bigger presence in Reno. They are also less focused on upgrading as they have been in the past. “Going live on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 has us in a stable place, so we won’t be distracted by those questions or concerns.” Chris says, “Instead, we can use Summit 2015 to really dig into how to enhance our environment and leverage our current solution. I’m looking forward to!”

AXUG SUMMIT

CHRIS GAWRONSKI

COMMODITIES

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will highlight

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issue of the magazine.

Congratulations to our Q4 2014 contest

winner, Jonelle Hockenberry from

Q4 2014 issue of AXUG® Magazine. Let’s

play again. Hidden somewhere between the

covers of this magazine is our AXUG logo.

Can you ﬁnd it?

While our logo shows up throughout the

magazine in conventional spots, it’s hidden

in only one place.

When you’ve found it, send an email to

Logocontest@axug.com with an

explanation of where and on what page it’s

at. We’ll choose a winner at random and

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APi Group Bedrock Manufacturing Co, LLC Blendtec Bowles Fluidics Corporation Canadian Red Cross Decore-ative Specialties Del-Air Delmar International Inc. Fläkt Woods Forest City Trading Group, LLC Forex Capital Markets Fresh Mark, Inc. Genesys Networks Inc.

AXerp Solutions Cobalt Dynamics Edge, Inc.

Kent Sporting Goods Company, Inc. KiZAN Technologies, LLC Lehman’s Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyrå AB Mesa Associates Inc. Modul-Systems HH AB Mott Corporation Ovako AB PCM INC. Physician Partners of America Primera Technology, Inc.

Integral USA JBWS Tech Consulting llc Red Maple

Jonelle found the logo on page 11 of the

Safari House General Trading Company Seagull Scientiﬁc, Inc SGS INTL Skellefteå Kraft Stralfors SweDeltaco AB TEAM Industrial Services Team Olivia AB TenCate Advanced Composites Terra Drive Systems, Inc. The Shepherd Holding Company United Stationers Supply Co Wachter Inc. Woodland Foods

Partner Members Added Last Quarter

Sonata Software Limited Strategic Solutions NW, LLC

members

welcome to our new members

Welcome to one of our newest Members...

User Members Added Last Quarter

gnized pipe manufacturer, is headquartered in ally-recognized

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earby Baytown, Texas. cated in nearby

menting Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. The is implementing

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egan U.S. operations in the spring of 2014 and BMP began

est in pipee manufacturing equipment technology. At full

capacity, the plant will produce 300,000 tons of pipe an-

nually for the energy industry.

AXUG to reach out to other Users for issue resolution

to scenarios. and how-to

ltanen, FP&A manager, and the BMP team use Janet Siltanen,

eetings to learn their successes with situations AXUG meetings

we may want to explore,” says Janet.

ok forward to meeting other Users at our local “We look AXUG

Q4 2014 | 11

Introducing The List MOBILE

Now you can get The List To Go!

Search for the products and services you need with the new Mobile version of The List! Add it to your home screen from: www.thelistmobile.com or simply scan the QR code below:

Table of Contents Industry...................Page 70 Horizontal................Page 75 Services...................Page 82

The List from The Partner Channel® is your tool for finding the solutions available from Microsoft Dynamics® Partners. Review the various industry, horizontal, and service offerings available and you may just find exactly what you’ve been looking for! The List is unique in that it shares only those solutions and services that work with the Microsoft Dynamics product line. We want you to spend time using the solution, not looking for it. If you have a product or service that you would like included on The List, please contact Jane@thepartnerchannel.com. NOTE: The Partner Channel and Dynamic Communities offers no expressed or implied warranty or guarantee for any of the products included in this directory. Support and quality assurance of these software products and services are solely the responsibility of each Microsoft Dynamics Partner. *Due to the nature of the “classified” format used for The List, Microsoft Dynamics brand guidelines may not have been followed. We encourage Partners NOT to follow the example we are setting!

Industry Commodity Trades

Agriculture

DATABASICS, Inc.

INDUSTRY

Total Dynamics Solutions, LLC

http://www.data-basics.com â&#x20AC;˘ 314-282-9561 NEW: DATABASICS Time, Expense and Invoice Reporting DATABASICS offers SaaS solutions for Expense Reporting, Time Tracking and Vendor Invoice Management. Flexible, powerful, easy to use.

Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ commodity-trading-module â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Commodity Trading Complete solution for Commodity Trading companies. Key Features: Contracts, Bulk Logistics, Allocations, Risk Management â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Position, ForEx, Futures Hedging, Mark to Market Reports, Track Costs and Accruals.

http://www.totaldynamicssolutions.com 877-855-8860 CPG Toolkit for Your Entire Organization â&#x20AC;˘ NO User/Seat Licensing Costs â&#x20AC;˘ Item & Customer Profitability â&#x20AC;˘ Multiple Scenario Analysis â&#x20AC;˘ Variance Reporting â&#x20AC;˘ Top-down/Bottom-up planning by skew, cust, category etc.

Apparel/Footwear

Consumer Packaged Goods

Cross Industry Solution

Sunrise Technologies http://www.sunriseconsult.com â&#x20AC;˘ 336-722-6741 Apparel & Footwear Template Extends the native apparel and footwear functionality in Microsoft Dynamics AX. Order Matrix, Season Codes, Color/ Size/Configuration Scales, Customer Ship-To/Mark-For Addresses, Master Production Orders.

Business Systems Integrators http://www.BusinessSysInteg.com 866-871-2097 EDI BSI provides superior EDI solutions for AX & GP, both on-premise & SaaS.

Automotive Data Masons Software

CuroGens, Inc. http://www.curogens.com â&#x20AC;˘ 317-815-8120 Vehicle Management System for Microsoft DynamicsĂ&#x201A;ÂŽ AX 2012 VMS provides a comprehensive solution for automotive manufacturing companies that works from order placement over VIN/HIN assignment in production to sales/service and managing dealer networks.

Data Masons Software http://www.datamasons.com â&#x20AC;˘ 866-575-1631 Vantage Point EDI for Dynamics Data Masons helps companies leverage EDI into a competitive advantage by providing tight integration with Dynamics, without customizations.

Chemicals Horizons International

http://www.datamasons.com â&#x20AC;˘ 866-575-1631 Vantage Point EDI for Dynamics Data Masons helps companies leverage EDI into a competitive advantage by providing tight integration with Dynamics, without customizations.

Flintfox International Limited http://www.flintfox.com â&#x20AC;˘ 844-876-4276 TPM for Dynamics Suite Flintfox solutions provide a single, integrated platform to manage all trade promotion activity, from client relationships to the financial execution; streamlining information and managing complex pricing with ease. RockySoft http://www.RockySoft.com 970-493-0868 ext. 106 Inventory Management and Supply Chain Planning Pack Light Supply Chain Mgmt SuiteForecasting, Inventory Mgmt, Purchase Order Planning, Vendor Lead Time Mgmt, Retail Store Planning and S&OP.

KEY:

Axapta

Great Plains

70 | AXUG Magazine

Navision

Altec http://www.altec-inc.com 800-997-9921 ext. 1255 doc-link, Integrated Document Management Capture, workflow, output & archive w/doc-link, Doc. Mgmt. for Dynamics. Arbela Technologies http://www.arbelatech.com â&#x20AC;˘ 949-291-4777 Master Data Centralization For Dynamics AX Arbela's Master Data Centralization for Dynamics AX manages product, customer, vendor, employees, and COA master data and their fields across multiple companies for better shared services. Gain from our experience!

Datahaven for Dynamics http://www.datahaven4dynamics.com 757-222-2000 Datahaven for Dynamics Datahaven is the only scanning, OCR, and workflow solution natively embeddedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not simply integratedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;throughout the Microsoft Dynamics user experience and available to non-Dynamics users from Microsoft Outlook.

docSTAR http://www.docstar.com â&#x20AC;˘ 888-docSTAR docSTAR eclipse Smart AP Automation docSTAR is the premier AP Automation solution provider for small to mid-size enterprises. Streamline your AP invoice processing with intelligent data capture, workflow, and integration with Microsoft Dynamics ERP. Greenshades Software

Ariett http://www.ariett.com â&#x20AC;˘ 781-826-1120 Enterprise Purchasing & Expense/ Azure Cloud/On Premise Requisition, PO/Contract Mgmt., AP Automation, Travel/Expense Reporting. AssureSign LLC

http://www.greenshades.com/ 888-255-3815 ext. 2 Greenshades Year End Forms Electronic distribution, print to blank paper, and fully automated mailing services help thousands of Greenshades clients create, distribute and electronically file their 1099, W-2 and 1095-C forms.

http://www.assuresign.com â&#x20AC;˘ 407-670-0400 AssureSign Electronic Signature Software Integrated cloud or on-premise enterprise class Electronic Signatures. Business Systems Integrators http://www.BusinessSysInteg.com 866-871-2097 EDI BSI provides superior EDI solutions for AX & GP, both on-premise & SaaS.

Higher Logic http://www.higherlogic.com â&#x20AC;˘ 202-360-4402 Connected Community The leading cloud-based community platform used by organizations worldwide to bring people together in secure communities designed to ignite knowledge sharing, drive content creation and solve problems. Isis, Inc.

Concur https://www.concur.com â&#x20AC;˘ 425-590-5020 Travel Expense and Invoice Management Integrated travel expense and invoice software for Microsoft Dynamics.

Solomon

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

http://www.getpg.net â&#x20AC;˘ 804-762-4200 Praetorian Guard User Auditing, Network Monitoring & Network Admin for ALL businesses.

Point of Sale

Liaison Software Corp

Solver

http://www.liaisonsc.com 800-811-4618 ext. 201 Liaison Messenger EDD Batch email, fax, print, archive Invoices, Statements, Sales Orders, Purchase Orders to customers, vendors, sales. Attach supporting documentation. Use existing reports (GP report writer, SSRS, Crystal).

http://www.solverusa.com â&#x20AC;˘ 310-691-5300 Solver - BI360 Suite Both Excel & Web-based Financial & Operational Reporting, Budgeting, Dashboards, & a pre-configured Data Warehouse w/ direct integration to Microsoft Dynamics.

Paramount Technologies http://www.paramounttechnologies.com 800-725-4408 WorkPlace eProcurement Solutions for Requisition, Purchasing & Invoice Automation. Options include PunchOut, Check Request, Budget Compliance, RFQ, Requisition, PO Generation, Receiving, Invoice Matching & Vendor Contract Compliance. Paramount Technologies

Equipment Dealers Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Enterprise Asset Management Maintain operations and ensure crucial assets are not offline. Features: Scheduling, Failure Mgmnt, Warranty, Downtime and Maintenance Analysis.

Equipment Rental and Leasing

SYCOR GmbH http://www.sycor-group.com/rental +49 551 490 2491 Sycor.Rental AX 2012 solution for individual & bulk rentals, trade of mobile goods. Full rental lifecycle with key features: graphical scheduling, transport mgmt., service & maintenance, fleet mgmt., flexible billing methods, BI

Finance/Banking AssureSign LLC

http://www.paramounttechnologies. com/Solution_InvoiceAutomation.aspx 800-725-4408 WorkPlace AP Invoice Automation Enforce spend management and approvals for PO and non-PO Invoices. Perceptive Software https://www.perceptivesoftware. com/products/perceptive-interact/ application-integration/microsoftdynamics-ax.html â&#x20AC;˘ 800-941-7460 Perceptive Software Interact for Microsoft Dynamics AX Interact for Microsoft Dynamics AX brings integrated document capture and retrieval technology to the AX environment. Locate relevant content quickly and easily based on a customerdefined folder hierarchy.

ReQlogic http://www.reqlogic.com â&#x20AC;˘ 734-302-2316 ReQlogic ReQlogic is a browser-based employee productivity suite providing solutions for eProcurement, requisitions, vendor invoices, time & expense, and advanced workflow.

http://www.assuresign.com â&#x20AC;˘ 407-670-0400 AssureSign Electronic Signature Software Integrated cloud or on-premise enterprise class Electronic Signatures. Isis, Inc. http://www.getpg.net â&#x20AC;˘ 804-762-4200 Praetorian Guard PG will allow your institution to meet the stringent regulations and auditing guidelines including Sarbanes Oxley, FINRA and more. Perceptive Software https://www.perceptivesoftware. com/products/perceptive-interact/ application-integration/microsoftdynamics-ax.html â&#x20AC;˘ 800-941-7460 Perceptive Software Interact for Microsoft Dynamics AX Interact for Microsoft Dynamics AX brings integrated document capture and retrieval technology to the AX environment. Locate relevant content quickly and easily based on a customerdefined folder hierarchy.

Horizons International SYCOR GmbH http://www.sycor-group.com/fleet +49 551 490 2491 Sycor.Fleet AX 2012 solution for fleet management. Key features: graph. scheduling, transport mgmt., service & maintenance, vehicle data mgmt., vehicle history (costs, repairs, damage), BI & reporting, flexible billing methods

Food and Beverage Altec http://www.altec-inc.com 800-997-9921 ext. 1255 doc-link Integrated Document Management Capture, workflow, output & archive w/doc-link, Doc. Mgmt. for Dynamics.

Appolis http://www.appolis.com â&#x20AC;˘ 612-343-0404 WithoutWireTM Warehouse Barcode mobile traceable lot serial tracked inventory for Manufacture Distributor Pharma Chemical CPG Food Beverage-Field-Supply Chain-Ship-WMS. Arbela Technologies http://www.arbelatech.com â&#x20AC;˘ 949-291-4777 Arbela Technologies Our specialties can align with all your industry-specific and evolving business needs. With minimum customizations, we tailor Dynamics AX to effectively reduce costs and improve efficiency. Gain from our experience! ASC Software http://www.ascsoftware.com â&#x20AC;˘ 937-429-1428 ASCTrac Award winning, scalable, Warehouse Management Solutions (WMS) designed to support the demanding requirements of Distribution, Manufacturing and 3PL operations, covering the entire Supply Chain cycle.

Blue Horseshoe http://www.bhsolutions.com 317-573-2583 Supply Chain Suite for Dynamics AX Gold Certified ERP Partner providing Tier-1 end-to-end implementation services as well as Industry Leading software to fully optimize your Supply Chain. See whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new in the Supply Chain Suite for Dynamics AX. Business Systems Integrators http://www.BusinessSysInteg.com 866-871-2097 EDI BSI provides superior EDI solutions for AX & GP, both on-premise & SaaS.

KEY:

Axapta

Great Plains

Navision

Solomon

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

http://www.qualityessentialssuite.com 866-949-9504 ext. 811 Quality Essentials Suite Quality Mgt. System offers decimal precision, cert. of analysis, non-conformance, material holds, reporting, data export. Integrated to Dynamics, Horizons Manufacturing, also non-integrated application avail. Metafile Information Systems, Inc. http://www.metaviewer.com â&#x20AC;˘ 507-286-9232 MetaViewer Paperless ERP for Microsoft Dynamics Enhance your AX, GP, NAV & SL solutions by adding integrated scanning, OCR, eInvoicing, workflow, and AP/AR Automation. RockySoft http://www.RockySoft.com 970-493-0868 ext. 106 Inventory Management and Supply Chain Planning Pack Light Supply Chain Mgmt SuiteForecasting, Inventory Mgmt, Purchase Order Planning, Vendor Lead Time Mgmt, Retail Store Planning and S&OP. Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ commodity-trading-module â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Commodity Trading Complete solution for Commodity Trading companies. Key Features: Contracts, Bulk Logistics, Allocations, Risk Managementâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Position, ForEx, Futures Hedging, Mark to Market Reports, Track Costs and Accruals.

Government Isis, Inc. http://www.getpg.net â&#x20AC;˘ 804-762-4200 Praetorian Guard User Auditing, Network Monitoring & Network Admin for ALL businesses.

Healthcare

InterDyn BMI http://www.erp4health.com â&#x20AC;˘ 866-264-3249 ERP4HealthÂŽ Financial Management Software powered by Microsoft Dynamics.

Isis, Inc. http://www.getpg.net â&#x20AC;˘ 804-762-4200 Praetorian Guard PG will allow your healthcare organization to meet the stringent HIPAA auditing needs across your entire organization. You can also help to eliminate risk of malpractice litigation by recording your user's actions.

Point of Sale

Q1 2015 | 71

INDUSTRY

PaperSave http://www.PaperSave.com â&#x20AC;˘ 877-727-3799 PaperSave PaperSave is a complete document management, electronic workflow and invoice automation solution, Certified for Microsoft Dynamics GP, SL, AX, & CRM.

Fleet Management

Kronos Incorporated http://www.kronos.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-225-1561 Workforce CentralÂŽ Suite Seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Dynamics to completely automate the essential timekeeping, human resources and financial processes.

INDUSTRY

Paramount Technologies http://www.paramounttechnologies.com 800-725-4408 WorkPlace for Healthcare Drive down costs, control purchases and manage your materials. Supports single and multi-site facilities. Integrate Requisition through Invoice Automation and Inventory processes. Record items using barcode scanners. Sierra Workforce Solutions http://www.sierraws.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-822-0973 Sierra Workforce Solutions Time & labor management solutions optimizing productivity and data integration for payroll, HR & job costing using biometrics, badge, WEB or PC based time clocks. Includes employee manager self service.

Home Furnishings

Life Sciences

Sunrise Technologies http://www.sunriseconsult.com â&#x20AC;˘ 336-722-6741 Microsoft Dynamics AX for Home Furnishings Sunrise provides expertise in managing the complex home furnishings supply chain: container assembly and tracking, product families and sets, item master flexibility, product configuration, and mobile order entry.

Armanino http://www.amllp.com/microsoftdynamics â&#x20AC;˘ 925-790-2600 Armanino A Gold Certified ERP/CRM Partner, we provide award-winning implementation and support for Dynamics to meet your industry-specific needs.

Industrial Equipment Experlogix, Inc. http://www.experlogix.com 805-504-9729 ext. 712 Experlogix CPQ (Configure Price Quote) for Microsoft Dynamics CRM & ERP Experlogix CPQ solutions meet the demands of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competitive marketplace by simplifying the process of selling customized products, accelerating proposal development times and increasing quote-to-order ratios.

High Tech and Electronics Experlogix, Inc. http://www.experlogix.com 805-504-9729 ext. 712 Experlogix CPQ (Configure Price Quote) for Microsoft Dynamics CRM & ERP Experlogix CPQ solutions meet the demands of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competitive marketplace by simplifying the process of selling customized products, accelerating proposal development times and increasing quote-to-order ratios. QBD Systems http://www.qbdsys.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-743-9003 Universal PLM Integration Integration w/ PLM s/w incl. Agile, Arena, Aras, Solidworks EPDM & more. Red Maple http://www.redmaple.com â&#x20AC;˘ 972-980-6963 Red Maple's Advanced Trade and Pricing Adv Trade extends pricing capabilities to include complex pricing structures, extends billing, billing schedules and revenue recognition of complex transactions. Contracts can be generated and managed easily.

mcaConnect http://mcaconnect.net â&#x20AC;˘ 866-622-0669 Microsoft Dynamics AX for Industrial Equipment Manufacturers Leveraging a clear manufacturing industry focus, mcaConnect provides innovative Dynamics AX solutions and services for mid-market and enterprisesize manufacturers, enabling clients to achieve competitive supremacy. Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Enterprise Asset Management Maintain operations and ensure crucial assets are not offline. Features: Scheduling, Failure Mgmnt, Warranty, Downtime and Maintenance Analysis. Vertical Solutions, Inc. http://www.vertsol.com â&#x20AC;˘ 513-891-7997 VServiceManagement CfMD enterprise field service for Asset Management, Contracts/Warranties & BPM, Dispatch & Mobility. On-premises or private/public cloud.

Insurance AssureSign LLC http://www.assuresign.com â&#x20AC;˘ 407-670-0400 AssureSign Electronic Signature Software Integrated cloud or on-premise enterprise class Electronic Signatures.

Lean Manufacturing mcaConnect http://mcaconnect.net â&#x20AC;˘ 866-622-0669 Areteium from mcaConnect Our Lean Enterprise solution bridges the gap between ERP and Lean. Backed by our breakthrough Lean toolkit, Areteium, we enable clients to make data-driven decisions to improve processes and enhance profitability. KEY:

Axapta

Great Plains

72 | AXUG Magazine

Maintenance Management eRPortal Software Group LLC

Vertical Solutions, Inc. http://www.vertsol.com â&#x20AC;˘ 513-891-7997 VServiceManagement CfMD enterprise field service for Asset Management, Contracts/Warranties & BPM, Dispatch & Mobility. On-premises or private/public cloud.

Perceptive Software https://www.perceptivesoftware. com/products/perceptive-interact/ application-integration/microsoftdynamics-ax.html â&#x20AC;˘ 800-941-7460 Perceptive Software Interact for Microsoft Dynamics AX Interact for Microsoft Dynamics AX brings integrated document capture and retrieval technology to the AX environment. Locate relevant content quickly and easily based on a customerdefined folder hierarchy.

Navision

Solomon

http://www.erportalsoftware.com 413-233-5404 eRPortal CMMS Software Suite The eRPortal Software Group provides high performance, web-enabled, Asset Management, Maintenance Management, and Materials Tracking software solutions for managing strategic assets and operations. Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Enterprise Asset Management Maintain operations and ensure crucial assets are not offline. Features: Scheduling, Failure Mgmnt, Warranty, Downtime and Maintenance Analysis.

ASC Software http://www.ascsoftware.com â&#x20AC;˘ 937-429-1428 ASCTrac Award winning, scalable Warehouse Management Solutions & MFG operations.

eNSYNC Solutions, Inc. http://www.ScanWorkX.com â&#x20AC;˘ 913-647-8640 ScanWorkX for Dynamics AX Extend Dynamics AX to nearly any mobile device. More than 75 standard DAX functions with and without barcoding. Custom transactions available. Experlogix, Inc. http://www.experlogix.com 805-504-9729 ext. 712 Experlogix CPQ (Configure Price Quote) for Microsoft Dynamics CRM & ERP Experlogix CPQ solutions meet the demands of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competitive marketplace by simplifying the process of selling customized products, accelerating proposal development times and increasing quote-to-order ratios.

Manufacturing

HighJump Software

Altec http://www.altec-inc.com 800-997-9921 ext. 1255 doc-link Integrated Document Management Capture, workflow, output & archive w/doc-link, Doc. Mgmt. for Dynamics.

Arbela Technologies http://www.arbelatech.com â&#x20AC;˘ 949-291-4777 Arbela Technologies Our specialties can align with all your industry-specific and evolving business needs. With minimum customizations, we tailor Dynamics AX to effectively reduce costs and improve efficiency. Gain from our experience!

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

Liaison Software Corp

Point of Sale

Media and Entertainment

Metafile Information Systems, Inc. KORE Software http://www.KOREsoftware.com â&#x20AC;˘ 480-240-5662 KORE ProSportsâ&#x201E;˘ More teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA & NHL use KORE than any other software. CRM for sponsorships, ticket sales, premium seating & media trafficking.

RF-SMART http://ax.rfsmart.com â&#x20AC;˘ 904-399-8500 RF-SMART Data Collection #1 brand of mobile solutions for AX warehousing, manufacturing, & retail inventory control. "Your Supply Chain: Mobile. Accurate. Real time."

Non-Profit Organizations

Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/ products/commodity-procurementfor-manufacturing â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Procurement for Manufacturing Procurement of raw materials for manufacturing with integrated MRP. Key Features: Contracts, Bulk Logistics, Allocations, Risk Management â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Position, ForEx, Futures Hedging, Track Costs and Accruals.

Paramount Technologies http://www.paramounttechnologies.com 800-725-4408 WorkPlace for Non-Profits Requisition & Expense with GL Distribution, Encumbrance & Audit Trails.

Sierra Workforce Solutions http://www.sierraws.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-822-0973 Sierra Workforce Solutions Time & labor management solutions optimizing productivity and data integration for payroll, HR & job costing using biometrics, badge, WEB or PC based time clocks. Includes employee manager self service. Sunrise Technologies http://www.sunriseconsult.com â&#x20AC;˘ 336-722-6741 Microsoft Dynamics AX for Manufacturing Deep expertise in supply chain implementations. Get a tier 1, omni-channel, global solution for the lowest cost on the market, backed by Sunrise Global Support. Vertical Solutions, Inc. http://www.vertsol.com â&#x20AC;˘ 513-891-7997 VServiceManagement CfMD enterprise field service for Asset Management, Contracts/Warranties & BPM, Dispatch & Mobility. On-premises or private/public cloud.

KEY:

Axapta

Great Plains

Retail Arbela Technologies http://www.arbelatech.com â&#x20AC;˘ 949-291-4777 Arbela Technologies Our specialties can align with all your industry-specific and evolving business needs. With minimum customizations, we tailor Dynamics AX to effectively reduce costs and improve efficiency. Gain from our experience!

Oil and Gas Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ advanced-production-scheduling-module 425-931-9972 Advanced Production Scheduling Review and adjust Prod. Schedule from the Gantt Chart. Key Features: Dashboard View, Additional sort sequences, Reroute to alt. work centers.

Pharmaceuticals Armanino http://www.amllp.com/microsoft-dynamics 925-790-2600 Armanino A Gold Certified ERP/CRM Partner, we provide award-winning implementation and support for Dynamics to meet your industry-specific needs. ASC Software http://www.ascsoftware.com â&#x20AC;˘ 937-429-1428 ASCTrac Award winning, scalable, Warehouse Management Solutions (WMS) designed to support the demanding requirements of Distribution, Manufacturing and 3PL operations, covering the entire Supply Chain cycle. Concur https://www.concur.com â&#x20AC;˘ 425-590-5020 Travel Expense and Invoice Management Integrated travel expense and invoice software for Microsoft Dynamics.

Navision

Solomon

Red Maple http://www.redmaple.com â&#x20AC;˘ 972-980-6963 Red Maple's Advanced Credit Cards for Retail Adv. CC for Retail allows you to process credit cards in retail environments and directly integrate into AX. PCI validated CC solution native to AX. Red Maple has many processor options for CC for Retail.

Avalara, Inc. http://www.info.avalara.com/TheList 877-780-4848 Avalara for Sales Tax Automation Automate and eliminate the complexity of sales tax management with Avalara. A cloud-based sales and use tax calculation, exemption certificate management, filing and remittance solution for Microsoft Dynamics. HighJump Software

mcaConnect http://ax4energy.com â&#x20AC;˘ 877-244-6980 AX4energy Oil & Gas Solutions AX4energy provides a package of software and services designed for Oilfield Services companies and Downstream/ Upstream operations. Includes Upstream Exploration & Production and Joint Venture Accounting.

Red Maple http://www.redmaple.com â&#x20AC;˘ 972-980-6963 Red Maple's Advanced Credit Cards PCI validated CC solution native to AX and Retail for AX. We integrate to 13+ processors. Take payments in SO, AR or Projects. Tokenization is available. Process CC in multiple countries. Handle complex transactions.

http://www.highjump.com 800-328-3271 ext. 4 EDI and WMS Solutions from Highjump EDI and Warehouse Management Solutions for Microsoft Dynamics that streamline the flow of inventory & information from supplier to store shelf. Our adaptable solutions manage the needs of 14,000+ global customers. Kronos Incorporated http://www.kronos.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-225-1561 Workforce CentralÂŽ Suite Seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Dynamics to completely automate the essential timekeeping, human resources and financial processes.

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

Total Dynamics Solutions, LLC http://www.totaldynamicssolutions.com 877-855-8860 Retail Toolkit for Your Entire Organization â&#x20AC;˘ NO User/Seat Licensing Costs â&#x20AC;˘ Integrated Store/Merch Planning â&#x20AC;˘ Ticket/item/employee detail â&#x20AC;˘ Corporate & Store level P&Ls â&#x20AC;˘ Inventory analytics/optimization â&#x20AC;˘ Product life-cycle management

Software

Concur https://www.concur.com â&#x20AC;˘ 425-590-5020 Travel Expense and Invoice Management Integrated travel expense and invoice software for Microsoft Dynamics. Corporate Services http://www.corpservice.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-293-6822 TrakQuip and RTMS Software Solutions Whether you own, rent, or utilize equipment, TrakQuip & RTMS make it easy to track & manage your assets, automate routine business operations, & produce excellent financial information to accurately run your business.

Software Manufacturers NMB Solutions http://www.nmbsolutions.ca â&#x20AC;˘ 800-563-1007 Dynamics AX 2012 R3 Multi Carrier Parcel and LTL Integration for UPS and FedEx Dynamics AX 2012 R3 Multi Carrier Parcel and LTL Shipping Solution Integration: The NMB Solution Module is written using standard Dynamics AX objects and is designed to allow easy interaction with FedEx, DHL and UPS.

Point of Sale

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INDUSTRY

http://www.metaviewer.com â&#x20AC;˘ 507-286-9232 MetaViewer Paperless ERP for Microsoft Dynamics Enhance your AX, GP, NAV & SL solutions by adding integrated scanning, OCR, eInvoicing, workflow, and AP/AR Automation.

Horizons International

INDUSTRY

Red Maple http://www.redmaple.com â&#x20AC;˘ 972-980-6963 Red Maple's Advanced Trade and Pricing Adv Trade extends pricing capabilities to include complex pricing structures, extends billing, billing schedules and revenue recognition of complex transactions. Contracts can be generated and managed easily.

Transportation NMB Solutions http://www.nmbsolutions.ca â&#x20AC;˘ 800-563-1007 Dynamics AX 2012 R3 Multi Carrier Parcel and LTL Integration for UPS and FedEx Dynamics AX 2012 R3 Multi Carrier Parcel and LTL Shipping Solution Integration: The NMB Solution Module is written using standard Dynamics AX objects and is designed to allow easy interaction with FedEx, DHL and UPS.

Warehouse Management

ASC Software http://www.ascsoftware.com â&#x20AC;˘ 937-429-1428 ASCTrac Award winning, scalable, Warehouse Management Solutions (WMS) designed to support the demanding requirements of Distribution, Manufacturing and 3PL operations, covering the entire Supply Chain cycle. eNSYNC Solutions, Inc. http://www.ScanWorkX.com â&#x20AC;˘ 913-647-8640 ScanWorkX for Dynamics AX Extend Dynamics AX to nearly any mobile device. More than 75 standard DAX functions with and without barcoding. Custom transactions available. HighJump Software http://www.highjump.com 800-328-3271 ext. 4 EDI and WMS Solutions from Highjump EDI and Warehouse Management Solutions for Microsoft Dynamics that streamline the flow of inventory & information from supplier to store shelf. Our adaptable solutions manage the needs of 14,000+ global customers.

Wholesale Trade: Durable Goods Data Masons Software http://www.datamasons.com â&#x20AC;˘ 866-575-1631 Vantage Point EDI for Dynamics Data Masons helps companies leverage EDI into a competitive advantage by providing tight integration with Dynamics, without customizations.

RockySoft http://www.RockySoft.com 970-493-0868 ext. 106 Inventory Management and Supply Chain Planning Pack Light Supply Chain Mgmt SuiteForecasting, Inventory Mgmt, Purchase Order Planning, Vendor Lead Time Mgmt, Retail Store Planning and S&OP.

Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ landed-cost-module â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Landed Cost Manage Multiple Vendors/PO's as a shipment to improve efficiency/visibility. Key features: Accruals, Auto Cost Allocation, in transit costing.

Wholesale Trade: Non-durable Goods Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ landed-cost-module â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Landed Cost Manage Multiple Vendors/PO's as a shipment to improve efficiency/visibility. Key features: Accruals, Auto Cost Allocation, in transit costing.

Learn why Karen with ChargeLogic likes The List: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The List provides a fast and easy way for Microsoft Dynamics users to ďŹ nd the perfect solutions to ďŹ t their needs. All the leading solutions are there in one place. Having access to The List on your mobile device makes ďŹ nding what you need easy no matter where you areâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;at the airport, in a meeting, or on the road.â&#x20AC;? Karen Tran ChargeLogic

KEY:

Axapta

Great Plains

74 | AXUG Magazine

Navision

Solomon

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

Point of Sale

Horizontal Barcode Data Collection

Accounting Perceptive Software https://www.perceptivesoftware. com/products/perceptive-interact/ application-integration/microsoftdynamics-ax.html â&#x20AC;˘ 800-941-7460 Perceptive Software Interact for Microsoft Dynamics AX Interact for Microsoft Dynamics AX brings integrated document capture and retrieval technology to the AX environment. Locate relevant content quickly and easily based on a customerdefined folder hierarchy.

Analytics

Total Dynamics Solutions, LLC

http://www.totaldynamicssolutions.com 877-855-8860 Budgeting & Planning ToolKit for Your Entire Organization â&#x20AC;˘ NO User/Seat Licensing Costs â&#x20AC;˘ Financial & Sales Planning â&#x20AC;˘ Procurement Planning â&#x20AC;˘ Trade Management â&#x20AC;˘ Secure input, consolidation, and Versioning; top-down/bottom-up

http://www.totaldynamicssolutions.com 877-855-8860 Business Intelligence Plus Toolkit for Your Entire Organization â&#x20AC;˘ NO User/Seat Licensing Costs â&#x20AC;˘ Dynamic Cubes (GL/Profit/&More) â&#x20AC;˘ Web-based Reporting â&#x20AC;˘ Dashboards â&#x20AC;˘ Admin Tools: Security/Scenarios/ Hierarchy/ & More

Business Intelligence

MT Mobility http://www.mt-mobility.com 641-753-5999 ext. 151 MT Mobility Mobile WMS integrating iOS app & rugged iOS device to extend Dynamics. RF-SMART http://ax.rfsmart.com â&#x20AC;˘ 904-399-8500 RF-SMART Data Collection #1 brand of mobile solutions for AX warehousing, manufacturing, & retail inventory control. "Your Supply Chain: Mobile. Accurate. Real time."

Budgeting

Asset Maintenance/MRO/ EAM eRPortal Software Group LLC

deFacto Global, Inc.

http://www.deFactoGlobal.com 203-894-1789 ext. 221 deFacto Performance Management Premier â&#x20AC;&#x153;All-in-Oneâ&#x20AC;?Dynamics Financial & Operational Budgeting, Forecasting, Consolidation, Analysis and Reporting, Excel/Web-based. Powerful, Affordable.

Backup & Recovery

Client Strategy Group http://www.csgax.com â&#x20AC;˘ 216-524-2574 Dynamics AX Done Right! CSG has proven expertise in: AX Performance Tuning, Business Intelligence, and AX 2012 Upgrades.

Business Process Management deFacto Global, Inc. http://www.deFactoGlobal.com 203-894-1789 ext. 221 deFacto Performance Management Premier â&#x20AC;&#x153;All-in-Oneâ&#x20AC;? Dynamics Financial & Operational Budgeting, Forecasting, Consolidation, Analysis and Reporting, Excel/Web-based. Powerful, Affordable.

Halo Business Intelligence http://www.halobi.com â&#x20AC;˘ 888-300-0219 Halo Business Intelligence Any source, data quality, rapidly deploy, predict, collaborate & mobile. Solver http://www.solverusa.com â&#x20AC;˘ 310-691-5300 Solver - BI360 Suite Both Excel & Web-based Financial & Operational Reporting, Budgeting, Dashboards, & a pre-configured Data Warehouse w/ direct integration to Microsoft Dynamics. Sunrise Technologies

Isis, Inc. Solver http://www.getpg.net â&#x20AC;˘ 804-762-4200 Praetorian Guard PG will backup your PCs and Servers across your entire organization.

Axapta

Great Plains

Navision

Solomon

ZAP http://www.zapbi.com â&#x20AC;˘ 415-889-5740 ZAP Business Intelligence ZAP provides 'Buy, Not Build' business intelligence for companies using Microsoft Dynamics AX, CRM and NAV. With 1000+ pre-packaged analytics, our BI deployments are rapid and deliver immediate business outcomes.

http://www.sunriseconsult.com â&#x20AC;˘ 336-722-6741 Sunrise BI Put data to work anytime, on any device, anywhere; enabling companies to make decisions and take action, empowering users beyond BI. Provides mobile, analytics, and extension/completion of transactional systems.

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

Altec http://www.altec-inc.com 800-997-9921 ext. 1255 doc-link Integrated Document Management Capture, workflow, output & archive w/doc-link, Doc. Mgmt. for Dynamics. docSTAR http://www.docstar.com â&#x20AC;˘ 888-docSTAR docSTAR eclipse Smart AP Automation docSTAR is the premier AP Automation solution provider for small to mid-size enterprises. Streamline your AP invoice processing with intelligent data capture, workflow, and integration with Microsoft Dynamics ERP. Metafile Information Systems, Inc. http://www.metaviewer.com â&#x20AC;˘ 507-286-9232 MetaViewer Paperless ERP for Microsoft Dynamics Enhance your AX, GP, NAV & SL solutions by adding integrated scanning, OCR, eInvoicing, workflow, and AP/AR Automation. Perceptive Software https://www.perceptivesoftware. com/products/perceptive-interact/ application-integration/microsoftdynamics-ax.html â&#x20AC;˘ 800-941-7460 Perceptive Software Interact for Microsoft Dynamics AX Interact for Microsoft Dynamics AX brings integrated document capture and retrieval technology to the AX environment. Locate relevant content quickly and easily based on a customerdefined folder hierarchy.

Point of Sale

Q1 2015 | 75

HORIZONTAL

KEY:

Total Dynamics Solutions, LLC

Check Printing

Greenshades Software

eBridge Connections

Liaison Software Corp

http://www.ebridgeconnections.com 800-755-6921 eBridge for CRM Cloud solution for seamless integration of customer & opportunity data.

http://www.liaisonsc.com 800-811-4618 ext. 201 Liaison Messenger DD Batch email password protected Direct Deposit Statements to Employees. MHC Software, Inc.

Isis, Inc.

http://www.mhcsoftwareinc.com 952-882-3341 Document Express Accounts Payable & Payroll MICR Check Printing MICR checks print to blank stock from standard Dynamics output. Ideal for unique customizations- print virtually any data available in Dynamics on checks. Digitized signatures, positive pay, secure remote printing.

HORIZONTAL

Collaboration Platform

http://www.getpg.net â&#x20AC;˘ 804-762-4200 Praetorian Guard PG will allow your institution to meet the stringent regulations and auditing guidelines including Sarbanes Oxley, FINRA and more.

Cost Accounting Corporate Renaissance Group http://www.crgroup.com â&#x20AC;˘ 613-232-4295 Cost Allocator Perform multi-level account allocations using 1 of 4 methods: percentage values, fixed amounts, cost drivers/measures, or account balance. Integrates with Dynamics, other ERP solutions or as a stand-alone system.

Commissions

Red Maple http://www.redmaple.com â&#x20AC;˘ 972-980-6963 Red Maple's Advance Commissions Adv Commissions is flexible and handles complex commissions. Commissions can be calculated based on many criteria and can be paid at invoice, upon payment or periodically. It can be used in SO, Projects, AR & AP.

Compliance Altec http://www.altec-inc.com 800-997-9921 ext. 1255 doc-link Integrated Document Management doc-link electronic document solutions support compliance mandates.

Credit Card/Check Processing Ariett http://www.ariett.com â&#x20AC;˘ 781-826-1120 Enterprise Travel & Expense Reporting/Azure Cloud/On Premise Personal & Corporate Credit Cards, Currency, Reconciliation & Receipts. Red Maple http://www.redmaple.com â&#x20AC;˘ 972-980-6963 Red Maple's Advanced Credit Cards PCI validated CC solution native to AX and Retail for AX. We integrate to 13+ processors. Take payments in SO, AR or Projects. Tokenization is available. Process CC in multiple countries. Handle complex transactions.

Customer Relationship Management Arbela Technologies http://www.arbelatech.com â&#x20AC;˘ 949-291-4777 Arbela Security Manager Arbela Security Manager allows you to focus on your business and not your technology needs. On average, our customers have gained 90% efficiency in managing and auditing processes. Gain from our experience! KEY:

Axapta

Great Plains

76 | AXUG Magazine

Armanino http://www.amllp.com/microsoft-dynamics 925-790-2600 Armanino A Gold Certified ERP/CRM Partner, we provide award-winning implementation and support for Dynamics to meet your industry-specific needs.

Navision

Solomon

Experlogix, Inc. http://www.experlogix.com 805-504-9729 ext. 712 Experlogix CPQ (Configure Price Quote) for Microsoft Dynamics CRM & ERP Experlogix CPQ solutions meet the demands of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competitive marketplace by simplifying the process of selling customized products, accelerating proposal development times and increasing quote-to-order ratios. mcaConnect http://mcaconnect.net â&#x20AC;˘ 866-622-0669 CRM We are a global leader in delivering Dynamics CRM/XRM solutions. Our success is exemplified by multiple Microsoft Partner of the Year awards and numerous customer success stories.

Data Integration

NMB Solutions http://www.nmbsolutions.ca â&#x20AC;˘ 800-563-1007 Dynamics AX 2012 R3 Multi Carrier Parcel and LTL Integration for UPS and FedEx Dynamics AX 2012 R3 Multi Carrier Parcel and LTL Shipping Solution Integration: The NMB Solution Module is written using standard Dynamics AX objects and is designed to allow easy interaction with FedEx, DHL and UPS. RockySoft http://www.RockySoft.com 970-493-0868 ext. 106 Inventory Management and Supply Chain Planning Pack Light Supply Chain Mgmt SuiteForecasting, Inventory Mgmt, Purchase Order Planning, Vendor Lead Time Mgmt, Retail Store Planning and S&OP. Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ landed-cost-module â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Landed Cost Manage Multiple Vendors/PO's as a shipment to improve efficiency/visibility. Key features: Accruals, Auto Cost Allocation, in transit costing.

Document Management

eBridge Connections http://www.ebridgeconnections.com 800-755-6921 eBridge Integration Solution The leading cloud integration platform for EDI, eCommerce & CRM systems.

Distribution

ASC Software http://www.ascsoftware.com â&#x20AC;˘ 937-429-1428 ASCTrac Award winning, scalable Warehouse Management Solutions & MFG operations.

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

Altec http://www.altec-inc.com 800-997-9921 ext. 1255 doc-link Integrated Document Management Capture, workflow, output & archive w/doc-link, Doc. Mgmt. for Dynamics.

Ariett http://www.ariett.com â&#x20AC;˘ 781-826-1120 Enterprise AP Document Management/Azure Cloud/On Premise Invoice Capture & Approval, Accrual Reports, Intercompany, PO Matching.

CuroGens, Inc. http://www.curogens.com â&#x20AC;˘ 317-815-8120 SharePoint Document Connector for Microsoft DynamicsÂŽ AX 2012 SharePoint Document Connector for Microsoft DynamicsÂŽ AX 2012 is a customized solution that enables companies to merge the best features of Microsoft SharePoint seamlessly with Microsoft DynamicsÂŽ AX 2012.

Point of Sale

EDI AIM Computer Solutions, Inc. PaperSave http://www.PaperSave.com â&#x20AC;˘ 877-727-3799 PaperSave PaperSave is a complete document management, electronic workflow and invoice automation solution, Certified for Microsoft Dynamics GP, SL, AX, & CRM.

Business Systems Integrators http://www.BusinessSysInteg.com 866-871-2097 EDI BSI provides superior EDI solutions for AX & GP, both on-premise & SaaS.

E-commerce docSTAR http://www.docstar.com â&#x20AC;˘ 888-docSTAR docSTAR eclipse Smart AP Automation docSTAR is the premier AP Automation solution provider for small to mid-size enterprises. Streamline your AP invoice processing with intelligent data capture, workflow, and integration with Microsoft Dynamics ERP.

http://www.aimcom.com â&#x20AC;˘ 586-439-0300 AIM Vision AutoSys EDI, AIAG barcode labels, Demand Mgmt, Release Acctg., MMOG-LE/TS16949.

Computer Pundits Corporation http://www.eCommerce21.com â&#x20AC;˘ 888-786-3487 eCommerce21ÂŽ Patented B2B and B2C database driven eCommerce, fully integrated with Dynamics, for automated production of Web Storefront with intuitive navigation, SEO and full Shopping Cart for easier sales from your website. eBridge Connections

Liaison Software Corp http://www.liaisonsc.com 800-811-4618 ext. 201 Liaison Messenger EDD Batch email, fax, print, archive Invoices, Statements, Sales Orders, Purchase Orders to customers, vendors, sales. Attach supporting documentation. Use existing reports (GP report writer, SSRS, Crystal).

Metafile Information Systems, Inc. http://www.metaviewer.com â&#x20AC;˘ 507-286-9232 MetaViewer Paperless ERP for Microsoft Dynamics Enhance your AX, GP, NAV & SL solutions by adding integrated scanning, OCR, eInvoicing, workflow, and AP/AR Automation. MHC Software, Inc. http://www.mhcsoftwareinc.com 952-882-3341 MHC Image Express Electronically archive vendor invoices, HRdocs, POs & more. Automated document entry. Retrieve documents from Dynamics screens or web browser. Retrieve related documents with a single click. Workflow & Report imaging

KEY:

Axapta

Great Plains

http://www.ebridgeconnections.com 800-755-6921 eBridge for eCommerce Cloud integration with 20+ eCommerce platforms eg. Magento, Amazon, eBay

k-eCommerce http://www.k-eCommerce.com 855-k-eCommerce k-eCommerce Integrated B2B, B2C & Sales Portal websites deployed on premise or in a PCI Certified cloud. Built-in CMS, SEO, multilingual / multicurrency capabilities & responsive web design to support mobile & tablet devices.

http://www.ebridgeconnections.com 800-755-6921 eBridge for EDI Cloud EDI solution, no transaction fees, 1000+ trading partners.

HighJump Software http://www.highjump.com 800-328-3271 ext. 4 EDI and WMS Solutions from Highjump EDI and Warehouse Management Solutions for Microsoft Dynamics that streamline the flow of inventory & information from supplier to store shelf. Our adaptable solutions manage the needs of 14,000+ global customers. Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/ products/electronic-documentinterchange â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 EDI Streamline communications between customers/vendors. Key Features: Auto transfer between parties, Orders, Invoices, ASNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s & Multi location.

Electronic Document Delivery (Email)/Faxing Vertex SMB http://www.VertexSMB.com/TheList 855-221-5885 Vertex SMB Cloud-based, fully automated sales & use tax calculation and returns solution for Microsoft Dynamics with pay-asyou-go pricing.

Navision

Solomon

Altec http://www.altec-inc.com 800-997-9921 ext. 1255 doc-link Integrated Document Management Capture, workflow, output & archive w/doc-link, Doc. Mgmt. for Dynamics.

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

Electronic Signatures AssureSign LLC http://www.assuresign.com â&#x20AC;˘ 407-670-0400 AssureSign Electronic Signature Software Integrated cloud or on-premise enterprise class Electronic Signatures.

Expense Solutions Ariett http://www.ariett.com â&#x20AC;˘ 781-826-1120 Enterprise Travel & Expense Reporting/Azure Cloud/On Premise Expense Reports, Travel, Receipts, Credit Cards, Currency, Any Device.

Concur https://www.concur.com â&#x20AC;˘ 425-590-5020 Travel Expense and Invoice Management Integrated travel expense and invoice software for Microsoft Dynamics.

DATABASICS, Inc. http://www.data-basics.com â&#x20AC;˘ 314-282-9561 NEW: DATABASICS Time, Expense and Invoice Reporting DATABASICS offers SaaS solutions for Expense Reporting, Time Tracking and Vendor Invoice Management. Flexible, powerful, easy to use.

Point of Sale

Q1 2015 | 77

HORIZONTAL

Esker Inc http://www.esker.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-368-5283 Document Process Automation Addressing processes like accounts payable, accounts receivable, and sales order processing, Esker solutions enable companies to automate the reception, processing and sending of documents with one platform.

Datahaven for Dynamics http://www.datahaven4dynamics.com 757-222-2000 Datahaven for Dynamics Datahaven is the only scanning, OCR, and workflow solution natively embedded â&#x20AC;?not simply integratedâ&#x20AC;? throughout the Microsoft Dynamics user experience and available to non-Dynamics users from Microsoft Outlook.

Gorilla Expense

Vertical Solutions, Inc.

http://www.gorillaexpense.com 877-973-6737 Gorilla Expense The Gorilla Expense T&E solution includes mobile apps, purchase card & corporate credit card reconciliation, project accounting expenses, multi-currency, VAT/GST capture & robust integration with GP, NAV, AX & SL.

Paramount Technologies

HORIZONTAL

http://www.paramounttechnologies.com 800-725-4408 WorkPlace Expense Web-based Travel Request and Expense entry. Mobile expense and receipt capture with integration to AP and Projects.

ReQlogic http://www.reqlogic.com â&#x20AC;˘ 734-302-2316 ReQlogic Expense Management ReQlogicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Expense Management module enables employees to enter expense reports using a browser or phone interface, or Import expense transactions from a bank or credit card account. Real time integration.

Field Service Management

FieldConnect, Inc. http://www.fieldconnect.com â&#x20AC;˘ 949-428-1540 FieldConnect Mobile Workforce Solutions FieldConnect produces web-enabled tools for mobile field service automation. Work orders, timesheets, dispatch boards, quoting tools and customer portals integrate directly with Dynamics for maximum efficiency.

http://www.fieldone.com â&#x20AC;˘ 201-252-8900 FieldOne Sky An end-to-end platform supporting all phases of field service management including routing and scheduling, work process automation, communications, and business intelligence with support for any mobile device.

Axapta

HR Management Corporate Renaissance Group http://www.employee-performance.com 877-711-0367 emPerform Award-winning employee performance management for Microsoft Dynamics GP & AX HR. Online performance reviews, 360Ă&#x201A;Â° assessments, goal management, succession planning, pay-for-performance, reporting & social feedback.

Paychex http://mystaffingpro.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-939-2462 myStaffingPro Applicant Tracking System Recruiting software to qualify applicants, track jobs, and select hires.

Inventory Management Armanino http://www.amllp.com/microsoft-dynamics 925-790-2600 Armanino A Gold Certified ERP/CRM Partner, we provide award-winning implementation and support for Dynamics to meet your industry-specific needs. ASC Software http://www.ascsoftware.com â&#x20AC;˘ 937-429-1428 ASCTrac Award winning, scalable Warehouse Management Solutions & MFG operations.

FieldOne Systems

KEY:

http://www.vertsol.com â&#x20AC;˘ 513-891-7997 VServiceManagement CfMD enterprise field service for Asset Management, Contracts/Warranties & BPM, Dispatch & Mobility. On-premises or private/public cloud.

Great Plains

78 | AXUG Magazine

Cutwater http://www.cutwatersolutions.com 800-564-8806 (AIM) Advanced Inventory Manager Reporting categories to allow users to gain insight into the cost and efficiency of current stocks. Reports also track order history and analyze and monitor purchasing trends across vendors and product groups.

Navision

Solomon

eNSYNC Solutions, Inc. http://www.ScanWorkX.com â&#x20AC;˘ 913-647-8640 ScanWorkX for Dynamics AX Extend Dynamics AX to nearly any mobile device. More than 75 standard DAX functions with and without barcoding. Custom transactions available. RockySoft http://www.RockySoft.com 970-493-0868 ext. 106 Inventory Management and Supply Chain Planning Pack Light Supply Chain Mgmt SuiteForecasting, Inventory Mgmt, Purchase Order Planning, Vendor Lead Time Mgmt, Retail Store Planning and S&OP.

Invoicing Enhancement

Concur https://www.concur.com â&#x20AC;˘ 425-590-5020 Travel Expense and Invoice Management Integrated travel expense and invoice software for Microsoft Dynamics. Red Maple http://www.redmaple.com â&#x20AC;˘ 972-980-6963 Red Maple's Advanced Trade and Pricing Adv Trade extends pricing capabilities to include complex pricing structures, extends billing, billing schedules and revenue recognition of complex transactions. Contracts can be generated and managed easily.

Job Costing Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ workforce-planning â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Shift & Roster Management Design and implement rosters to meet complex requirements of 24/7 operations. Key Features: Roster Positions, Shift Calendar, Sub Contractors. Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ workforce-planning â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Timesheet - Labor Costing Management Allow real time visibility of costs to current projects. Key Features: Payroll Integration, Workflow Approvals, Total hours or start/end times. Sierra Workforce Solutions http://www.sierraws.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-822-0973 Sierra Workforce Solutions Time & labor management solutions optimizing productivity and data integration for payroll, HR & job costing using biometrics, badge, WEB or PC based time clocks. Includes employee manager self service.

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

Manufacturing Enhancement eNSYNC Solutions, Inc. http://www.ScanWorkX.com â&#x20AC;˘ 913-647-8640 ScanWorkX for Dynamics AX Extend Dynamics AX to nearly any mobile device. More than 75 standard DAX functions with and without barcoding. Custom transactions available.

Horizons International http://www.qualityessentialssuite.com 866-949-9504 ext. 811 Quality Essentials Suite Quality Mgt. System offers decimal precision, cert. of analysis, non-conformance, material holds, reporting, data export. Integrated to Dynamics, Horizons Manufacturing, also non-integrated application avail.

Multi-Entity Management Arbela Technologies http://www.arbelatech.com â&#x20AC;˘ 949-291-4777 Master Data Centralization For Dynamics AX Arbela's Master Data Centralization for Dynamics AX manages product, customer, vendor, employees, and COA master data and their fields across multiple companies for better shared services. Gain from our experience!

Payables Enhancement

Altec http://www.altec-inc.com 800-997-9921 ext. 1255 doc-link Integrated Document Management Capture, workflow, output & archive w/doc-link, Doc. Mgmt. for Dynamics.

Ariett http://www.ariett.com â&#x20AC;˘ 781-826-1120 Enterprise AP Invoice Automation/ Azure Cloud/On Premise Invoice Capture & Approval, Intercompany, Currency, New Vendor Mgmt. Concur https://www.concur.com â&#x20AC;˘ 425-590-5020 Travel Expense and Invoice Management Integrated travel expense and invoice software for Microsoft Dynamics.

Point of Sale

Sierra Workforce Solutions Esker Inc http://www.esker.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-368-5283 Document Process Automation Addressing processes like accounts payable, accounts receivable, and sales order processing, Esker solutions enable companies to automate the reception, processing and sending of documents with one platform.

http://www.sierraws.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-822-0973 Sierra Workforce Solutions Time & labor management solutions optimizing productivity and data integration for payroll, HR & job costing using biometrics, badge, WEB or PC based time clocks. Includes employee manager self service.

Portals

Liaison Software Corp http://www.liaisonsc.com 800-811-4618 ext. 201 Liaison Messenger EFT Batch email & fax EFT Remittances to Vendors pref. Archive internal copy. MHC Software, Inc. http://www.mhcsoftwareinc.com 952-882-3341 Electronic Payment Notifications Email and/or fax remittance advices to vendors rather than printing and mailing. System also can be used for employee reimbursements. Huge cost and time savings. Fast ROI.

Payroll Enhancement Greenshades Software http://www.greenshades.com/ 888-255-3815 ext. 2 Greenshades Year End Forms Electronic distribution, print to blank paper, and fully automated mailing services help thousands of Greenshades clients create, distribute and electronically file their 1099, W-2 and 1095-C forms.

Pricing Flintfox International Limited http://www.flintfox.com â&#x20AC;˘ 844-876-4276 TPM for Dynamics Suite Flintfox solutions provide a single, integrated platform to manage all trade promotion activity, from client relationships to the financial execution; streamlining information and managing complex pricing with ease.

Procurement Management Ariett http://www.ariett.com â&#x20AC;˘ 781-826-1120 Enterprise Purchasing & Expense/ Azure Cloud/On Premise Requisition, Catalogs, PO, Contract Mgmt., Budgeting & Receiving. Liaison Software Corp http://www.liaisonsc.com 800-811-4618 ext. 201 Liaison Messenger EFT Batch email & fax EFT Remittances to Vendors pref. Archive internal copy.

Liaison Software Corp http://www.liaisonsc.com 800-811-4618 ext. 201 Liaison Messenger DD Batch email password protected Direct Deposit Statements to Employees. MHC Software, Inc. http://www.mhcsoftwareinc.com 952-882-3341 Electronic Direct Deposit Delivery Email direct deposits to employees rather than printing/distributing. Password protected PDF attachments are emailed to employee. Fast ROI.

KEY:

Axapta

Great Plains

Navision

Solomon

Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ workforce-planning â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Timesheet - Labor Costing Management Allow real time visibility of costs to current projects. Key Features: Payroll Integration, Workflow Approvals, Total hours or start/end times.

Purchase Order Processing Enhancement ReQlogic http://www.reqlogic.com â&#x20AC;˘ 734-302-2316 ReQlogic ReQlogic is a browser-based employee productivity suite providing solutions for eProcurement, requisitions, vendor invoices, time & expense, and advanced workflow.

Product Lifecycle Management QBD Systems http://www.qbdsys.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-743-9003 Universal PLM Integration Integration w/ PLM s/w incl. Agile, Arena, Aras, Solidworks EPDM & more.

Production Planning Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ commodity-procurement-for-manufacturing 425-931-9972 Procurement for Manufacturing Procurement of raw materials for manufacturing with integrated MRP. Key Features: Contracts, Bulk Logistics, Allocations, Risk Management â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Position, ForEx, Futures Hedging, Track Costs and Accruals. Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ advanced-production-scheduling-module 425-931-9972 Advanced Production Scheduling Review and adjust Prod. Schedule from the Gantt Chart. Key Features: Dashboard View, Additional sort sequences, Reroute to alt. work centers.

Productivity Isis, Inc. http://www.getpg.net â&#x20AC;˘ 804-762-4200 Praetorian Guard Audit your users and ensure they are productive in their work. Locate inefficiencies and take proactive steps to increase productivity.

Altec http://www.altec-inc.com 800-997-9921 ext. 1255 doc-link Integrated Document Management Capture, workflow, output & archive w/doc-link, Doc. Mgmt. for Dynamics.

Ariett http://www.ariett.com â&#x20AC;˘ 781-826-1120 Enterprise Purchasing & Expense/ Azure Cloud/On Premise Requisition, Catalogs, PO, Contract Mgmt., Budgeting & Receiving.

Paramount Technologies http://www.paramounttechnologies.com 800-725-4408 WorkPlace Requisition and Purchasing Includes PunchOut, Check Request, Budget Compliance, RFQ, Requisition, PO Generation, Receiving, Invoice Matching & Vendor Contract Compliance. Red Maple http://www.redmaple.com â&#x20AC;˘ 972-980-6963 Red Maple's Purchase Rebates Purchase Rebates tracks your rebates receivable. Rebates can be triggered and calculated on many criteria. Rebates can be calculated per invoice or over time. Promotional rebates can be calculated as well.

Quality Control

Project Accounting Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ workforce-planning â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Shift & Roster Management Design and implement rosters to meet complex requirements of 24/7 operations. Key Features: Roster Positions, Shift Calendar, Sub Contractors.

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

Point of Sale

Q1 2015 | 79

HORIZONTAL

Red Maple http://www.redmaple.com â&#x20AC;˘ 972-980-6963 Red Maple's Purchase Rebates Purchase Rebates tracks your rebates receivable. Rebates can be triggered and calculated on many criteria. Rebates can be calculated per invoice or over time. Promotional rebates can be calculated as well.

Reconciliation Liaison Software Corp Gorilla Expense http://www.gorillaexpense.com â&#x20AC;˘ 877-973-6737 Gorilla Expense The Gorilla Expense T&E solution includes mobile apps, purchase card & corporate credit card reconciliation, project accounting expenses, multi-currency, VAT/GST capture & robust integration with GP, NAV, AX & SL.

Reporting

deFacto Global, Inc. http://www.deFactoGlobal.com 203-894-1789 ext. 221 deFacto Performance Management Premier â&#x20AC;&#x153;All-in-Oneâ&#x20AC;? Dynamics Financial & Operational Budgeting, Forecasting, Consolidation, Analysis and Reporting, Excel/Web-based. Powerful, Affordable.

HORIZONTAL

Solver http://www.solverusa.com â&#x20AC;˘ 310-691-5300 Solver - BI360 Suite Both Excel & Web-based Financial & Operational Reporting, Budgeting, Dashboards, & a pre-configured Data Warehouse w/ direct integration to Microsoft Dynamics.

Sales Order Processing Enhancement

Axapta

Great Plains

80 | AXUG Magazine

Security

Arbela Technologies http://www.arbelatech.com â&#x20AC;˘ 949-291-4777 Arbela Security Manager Arbela Security Manager allows you to focus on your business and not your technology needs. On average, our customers have gained 90% efficiency in managing and auditing processes. Gain from our experience! Isis, Inc. http://www.getpg.net â&#x20AC;˘ 804-762-4200 Praetorian Guard PG will allow your business to better secure your users & network.

HighJump Software

Arkieva http://www.arkieva.com â&#x20AC;˘ 302-738-9215 (APS) Advanced Planning and Scheduling An integrated solution set that fully supports an organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sales and Operations Planning needs. Modules include Demand & Supply Planner, S&OP, Single & Multi-Echelon Inventory Analyzer and Finite Scheduler. Armanino http://www.amllp.com/microsoft-dynamics 925-790-2600 Armanino A Gold Certified ERP/CRM Partner, we provide award-winning implementation and support for Dynamics to meet your industry-specific needs. ASC Software http://www.ascsoftware.com â&#x20AC;˘ 937-429-1428 ASCTrac Award winning, scalable, Warehouse Management Solutions (WMS) designed to support the demanding requirements of Distribution, Manufacturing and 3PL operations, covering the entire Supply Chain cycle.

Arbela Technologies http://www.arbelatech.com â&#x20AC;˘ 949-291-4777 Master Data Centralization For Dynamics AX Arbela's Master Data Centralization for Dynamics AX manages product, customer, vendor, employees, and COA master data and their fields across multiple companies for better shared services. Gain from our experience! NMB Solutions http://www.nmbsolutions.ca â&#x20AC;˘ 800-563-1007 Dynamics AX 2012 R3 Multi Carrier Parcel and LTL Integration for UPS and FedEx Dynamics AX 2012 R3 Multi Carrier Parcel and LTL Shipping Solution Integration: The NMB Solution Module is written using standard Dynamics AX objects and is designed to allow easy interaction with FedEx, DHL and UPS.

Navision

Solomon

System Enhancement Isis, Inc.

Shipping/Manifesting

Altec http://www.altec-inc.com 800-997-9921 ext. 1255 doc-link Integrated Document Management Capture, workflow, output & archive w/doc-link, Doc. Mgmt. for Dynamics.

KEY:

Supply Chain Management

http://www.getpg.net â&#x20AC;˘ 804-762-4200 Praetorian Guard User Auditing, Network Monitoring & Network Admin for ALL businesses.

System and Network Management Isis, Inc. http://www.getpg.net â&#x20AC;˘ 804-762-4200 Praetorian Guard User Auditing, Network Monitoring & Network Admin for ALL businesses.

Tax Data Masons Software http://www.datamasons.com â&#x20AC;˘ 866-575-1631 Vantage Point EDI for Dynamics Data Masons helps companies leverage EDI into a competitive advantage by providing tight integration with Dynamics, without customizations.

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

Point of Sale

Greenshades Software

Integrity Data

Vertex SMB http://www.VertexSMB.com/TheList 855-221-5885 Vertex SMB Cloud-based, fully automated sales & use tax calculation and returns solution for Microsoft Dynamics with pay-asyou-go pricing.

Time and Attendance

Sierra Workforce Solutions Vertical Solutions, Inc. http://www.sierraws.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-822-0973 Sierra Workforce Solutions Time & labor management solutions optimizing productivity and data integration for payroll, HR & job costing using biometrics, badge, WEB or PC based time clocks. Includes employee manager self service.

Trade Promotion Management

Travel Expense Management

Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ workforce-planning â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Shift & Roster Management Design and implement rosters to meet complex requirements of 24/7 operations. Key Features: Roster Positions, Shift Calendar, Sub Contractors. Scalable Data Systems http://www.scalable.com.au/products/ workforce-planning â&#x20AC;˘ 425-931-9972 Timesheet - Labor Costing Management Allow real time visibility of costs to current projects. Key Features: Payroll Integration, Workflow Approvals, Total hours or start/end times.

Workflow / Notifications Altec http://www.altec-inc.com 800-997-9921 ext. 1255 doc-link Integrated Document Management Capture, workflow, output & archive w/doc-link, Doc. Mgmt. for Dynamics. Datahaven for Dynamics http://www.datahaven4dynamics.com 757-222-2000 Datahaven for Dynamics Datahaven is the only scanning, OCR, and workflow solution natively embeddedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not simply integratedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;throughout the Microsoft Dynamics user experience and available to non-Dynamics users from Microsoft Outlook.

Metafile Information Systems, Inc. http://www.metaviewer.com â&#x20AC;˘ 507-286-9232 MetaViewer Paperless ERP for Microsoft Dynamics Enhance your AX, GP, NAV & SL solutions by adding integrated scanning, OCR, eInvoicing, workflow, and AP/AR Automation. MHC Software, Inc. http://www.mhcsoftwareinc.com 952-882-3341 MHC Workflow Easily route documents needing approval- invoices, HR docs, etc. electronically. Ensures they are not lost, stalled or misplaced.

Red Maple http://www.redmaple.com â&#x20AC;˘ 972-980-6963 Red Maple's Advanced Workflow Email Client Adv. Workflow Email Client allows you to approve, reject or redirect workflows from mobile devices that use Microsoft Exchange Server without having to launch AX. Red Maple's Adv. Workflow is required.

Warranty and Claims Management Red Maple http://www.redmaple.com â&#x20AC;˘ 972-980-6963 Red Maple's Warranty Management Red Maple Warranty Management allows companies to automatically track the purchase and sales of items from vendor to distributor to end user. Generated claims can be tracked and managed.

Red Maple http://www.redmaple.com â&#x20AC;˘ 972-980-6963 Red Maple's Advanced Workflow Adv Workflow enables workflows to launch automatically on defined criteria or events. Includes 50+ predefined Types (2012)/Templates (2009) to expedite rollouts. New records can be locked during approval process.

KEY:

Axapta

Great Plains

Navision

Solomon

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

Point of Sale

Q1 2015 | 81

HORIZONTAL

Gorilla Expense Kronos Incorporated http://www.kronos.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-225-1561 Workforce CentralÂŽ Suite Seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Dynamics to completely automate the essential timekeeping, human resources and financial processes.

http://www.u-linc.com 217-732-3737 ext. 0203 U-LINCÂŽ, Powered By Integrity Data Workflow and notifications anytime, anywhere in Microsoft Dynamics. Works seamlessly within and across your existing system, is flexible and easy to use, improving organizational performance.

Services Application Service Provider/Hosting Reviora http://www.reviora.com â&#x20AC;˘ 813-344-1600 Cloud ERP hosting Cloud hosting for Dynamics ERP/CRM. Enterprise-class delivery. MG Technology Group http://www.mgtechgroup.com/about-us/ partner-program/ â&#x20AC;˘ 866-350-9310 Dedicated Dynamics ERP Hosting Services - 99.999% SLA, SSAE16 11+ years experience, you own the customer relationship, 100% US support.

WatServ http://www.watserv.com 866-531-2598 ext. 2311 Hosting and Cloud Computing for Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM WatServ is one of North America's largest, most experienced providers of Cloud Computing services for Dynamics AX, NAV, GP, SL & CRM.

Myappsanywhere

Custom Development

http://www.myappsanywhere.com 888-636-HOST Premier Cloud Computing Provider Myappsanywhere provides a complete go-to-market integrated cloud solution delivering 99.999% uptime, customizations, no minimums and secure storage in its privately-owned SSAE 16 Type 2 data center facilities.

Client Strategy Group http://www.csgax.com â&#x20AC;˘ 216-524-2574 Dynamics AX Done Right! CSG has proven expertise in: AX Performance Tuning, Business Intelligence, and AX 2012 Upgrades. NMB Solutions http://www.nmbsolutions.ca â&#x20AC;˘ 800-563-1007 Dynamics AX 2012 R3 Multi Carrier Parcel and LTL Integration for UPS and FedEx Dynamics AX 2012 R3 Multi Carrier Parcel and LTL Shipping Solution Integration: The NMB Solution Module is written using standard Dynamics AX objects and is designed to allow easy interaction with FedEx, DHL and UPS. Sierra Workforce Solutions http://www.sierraws.com â&#x20AC;˘ 800-822-0973 Sierra Workforce Solutions Time & labor management solutions optimizing productivity and data integration for payroll, HR & job costing using biometrics, badge, WEB or PC based time clocks. Includes employee manager self service.

Managed Services

Sierra Workforce Solutions RoseASP http://www.roseasp.com â&#x20AC;˘ 858-794-9403 RoseASP Hosted Microsoft Dynamics on Azure/ Private/Hybrid Cloud Solutions. Comprehensive pricing model for SPLA or Subscription Licensing with financially backed uptime guarantee. SSAE-16 audited data centers/SOX compliance.

Cloud Computing

HR & Payroll Implementation & Consulting

SERVICES

http://www.dataresolution.net â&#x20AC;˘ 877-878-9108 ERP Clouds Data Resolution is dedicated to delivering private ERP cloud services branded as the partners brand. We keep all of our cloud customers optimized & working 24 hours a day, worldwide for the last 12 years.

KEY:

Axapta

Great Plains

mcaConnect http://mcaconnect.net â&#x20AC;˘ 866-622-0669 Managed Services for AX mcaConnect customers utilize our industry experts to maximize resources and AX ROI. Our proactive and disciplined approach makes processes repeatable and predictable. Includes AO, Optimization, and Reporting.

Marketing Planning & Services Sierra Workforce Solutions

Looking Glass Marketing

http://www.lookingglassmarketing.com 614-453-5927 Cost-effective Marketing Solutions for Microsoft Dynamics Partners Award-winning outsourced marketing services including lead generation, nurture marketing, email marketing, web design/SEO, content development.

82 | AXUG Magazine

Navision

Solomon

http://www.thepartnermarketinggroup.com 605-574-9432 Microsoft Approved Vendor for Dynamics & R2R Marketing Consulting From strategic marketing plan development to the critical daily execution, this Microsoft experienced team can help fill your sales pipeline. Tornado Marketing, Inc. http://www.tornado-marketing.com 608-213-0377 Marketing Consulting Tornado Marketing offers high-impact, highly effective marketing consulting. 10+ years in the channel. Websites. SEO. Copywriting.

Member Organizations ERP Software Blog http://www.groupbloggers.com â&#x20AC;˘ 888-800-0999 ERP Software Blog/ CRM Software Blog Group blog sites for VAR/ISV partners to increase SEO, web traffic,leads

OnDemand Trials

Implementation Services Data Resolution, LLC

The Partner Marketing Group

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

RoseASP http://www.goERPcloud.com â&#x20AC;˘ 855-ERP-CLOUD ERP Cloud Trials Test drive preconfigured Microsoft Dynamics industry specific demo environments with integrated ISV solutions built for the web. goERPcloud trials help users understand the power of Dynamics and the cloud.

Partner Support Service

Plumbline Consulting, LLC. http://www.PlumblineConsulting.com 419-581-2300 Partner Support Services Leverage our Partner Support Services, including Support, Custom Development & Implementation Assistance to expand your offerings. 25+ yrs.

Point of Sale

Sales Tax Management Service

Vertex SMB http://www.VertexSMB.com/TheList 855-221-5885 Vertex SMB Cloud-based, fully automated sales & use tax calculation and returns solution for Microsoft Dynamics with pay-asyou-go pricing.

SharePoint Development

Training

Social Media

CuroGens, Inc. http://www.curogens.com â&#x20AC;˘ 317-815-8120 Dynamics AX Upgrade Assessor for Microsoft DynamicsÂŽ AX In just minutes, Dynamics AX Upgrade Assessor for Microsoft DynamicsÂŽ AX will estimate costs for your company to upgrade to the most recent version of Microsoft DynamicsÂŽ AX, including the latest cumulative update.

The Partner Marketing Group

Upgrades http://www.thepartnermarketinggroup.com 732-237-8795 Butterfly Publisher Join Dynamics partners on Butterfly, a publishing & lead capture platform that makes your social, blog & newsletter marketing more effective!

Strategic Services mcaConnect http://www.mcaconnect.net â&#x20AC;˘ 866-622-0669 mcaConnect Strategic Services Strategic Services allow our clients to strategically leverage technology to achieve competitive supremacy. Offerings include: business transformation, Lean/manufacturing excellence, and Strategic BI services.

InterDyn BMI http://www.interdynbmi.com â&#x20AC;˘ 866-264-3249 InterDyn BMI Microsoft Gold Certified provider of services and upgrades since 1985.

Writing/Documentation Services The Partner Marketing Group

Client Strategy Group http://www.csgax.com â&#x20AC;˘ 216-524-2574 Dynamics AX Done Right! CSG has proven expertise in: AX Performance Tuning, Business Intelligence, and AX 2012 Upgrades.

http://www.thepartnermarketinggroup.com 605-574-9432 Blogs, Case Studies, Infographics, Websites Use 'content marketing' to build your brand and drive prospects into your sales pipeline.

The List Mobile Search by keyword, or ďŹ lter by Microsoft Dynamics product line, Industry, Horizontal or Service oďŹ&#x20AC;erings with the new Mobile Version of The List! Add it to your home screen from:

www.thelistmobile.com SERVICES

KEY:

Axapta

Great Plains

Navision

Solomon

Customer Relationship Management

Retail Management System

Point of Sale

Q1 2015 | 83

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