Who is to blame for this ERP implementation failure?  That is for you to decide! 

In each blog, a different committee member provided input regarding their role in this fiasco. We have heard from them all:  assistant controller Julian, staff accountant Dimitri, project manager Consuela and finally the controller Troy – who in preparation for the ERP implementation, compiled a detailed list of key business processes and reporting requirements.

(You) The jury’s unanimous verdict:: Troy is Innocent! Proper upfront planning and discovery will result in the successful deployment of an ERP system like Microsoft Dynamics GP and minimize the chances of failure.

Consuela – Guilty of implementation failure for not using an effective implementation methodology, such as Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step, to manage the ERP deployment.

Dimitri – Guilty of implementation failure for trying to teach himself the new system and not obtaining adequate and structured training.

Julian – Guilty of implementation failure for not identifying business process requirements upfront and assuming the ERP solution was “one size fits all”.

Thanks to the jury for your verdicts.  Case closed!

By: The Knaster Technology Group, Colorado based Microsoft Gold Certified Partner

The Case of the Failed ERP Implementation – Solved! is a post from: ERP Software Blog

Related Posts

1. The Case of the Failed ERP Implementation – Part 2
2. The Case of the Failed ERP Implementation – Part 4
3. The Case of the Failed ERP Implementation – Part 3

This highly anticipated next release of Dynamics GP (scheduled for May 2010) is based on three broad “pillars” or principles : enhance insight, make it easier and extend connections. All three principles have valuable benefits; this blog will focus on those associated with Insight.

Insight – the ability to see clearly and intuitively into the nature of a complex person, situation, or subject. This common definition provides a good starting point in understanding the underlying value of the Insight objective.  Within this category are three core benefits that succeed at providing more visibility to meaningful and relevant  data within the business organization: 

• Delivers role tailored insight
• Streamline access to information
• Enables advanced business intelligence capabilities 

Delivers role tailored insight. The ability to see clearly and intuitively into the nature of a person.  Or more so in this case, the ability of a person to interact more effectively with the business solution based on their role within the business institution. Over time it is natural for business systems to become more complex, sometimes as the expense of relevancy.  Not all information is needed by all (unless you are an organization of one). Rather, each person within a business enterprise typically performs a few distinct roles and gaining access to just that specific information is what enables a person to perform their job effectively.  Dynamics GP 2010 allows users to dictate exactly what information is relevant to them while eliminating distracting data that isn’t.

Streamline access to information. The ability to see clearly and intuitively into the nature of a situation. Role tailored insight addresses relevancy, streamlined access addresses efficiency.  Executives need to be able to quickly react to ever changing conditions within the business ecosystem and therefore need easy access to information.  The home page within Dynamics GP 2010 can display over 100 metrics that measure financial health and provide a real time situational analysis of the organization.  From these “in your face” analytics, decisions can me made quickly, so that corrective action can occur timely.

Enables advanced business intelligence capabilities. The ability to see clearly and intuitively into the nature of a subject. The goal of business intelligence is to maximize your knowledge regarding a certain topic. Imagine hundreds of visual cues available within SharePoint or reports within Excel that on the surface provide a high level recap of areas such as cash position or past due receivables while also allowing users to drill back to the underlying detail within GP 2010 for further analysis.  Executive dashboards, key performance indicators, SQL reporting services – all of these provide customizable views of data that allow for countless hours of productive analysis.

Is Dynamics 2010 the new way to do business?  Without a doubt the answer is yes and I would also add that it is the only way for businesses seeking growth, profitability and success.

By The Knaster Technology Group, Denver, Colorado Microsoft Gold Certified Dynamics GP Partner for over twenty years

Why Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Is The New Way To Do Business! is a post from: ERP Software Blog

Related Posts

1. Dynamics GP 2010 R2 Business Analyzer: One New Feature That We Love
2. Business Intelligence in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010
3. Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 R2 Takes Business Insight to a New Level

It used to be that when selecting a business ERP solution, it was rare that any product would remain relevant for too long and it was typically expected that after only five years or so the business would  “outgrow” the solution and began searching for a replacement.  It was unlikely that a particular business software solution would remain applicable beyond that timeframe. 

However, with Dynamics GP (Great Plains) it is very likely that the investment you make today in the software will last far longer than five years.   In fact, I have several current clients who purchased the Great Plains solution over fifteen years ago and it still remains an ideal fit for tracking and reporting on their business processes. There are four primary reasons for this durability: 

Scalable.  From 1 user to 1000, Dynamics GP adapts (scales) easily to however large your business becomes.  Based on the Microsoft SQL database, performance degradation is minimal, even as file sizes expand and future users are added.  I have many clients who initially purchased just a few users and now have over fifty users, with no noticeable decrease in performance. 

Expandable.  Business ready licensing for Dynamics GP provides growing functionality.  With several dozen applications (including financial, distribution, business intelligence, human resources, project costing) it becomes less likely that your business will outgrow the functionality provided. Many businesses initially implement only a fraction of the modules available and then over time, as the business grows and processes become more sophisticated, they then deploy additional modules already licensed. 

Independent.  Does it matter what the operating system (if any) of the future will be?  Great Plains in its early days ran in both DOS and MAC environments.  Then Windows came along and now online versus on premise operating systems are the up and coming trend. But regardless of how users ultimately access and interact with the software, the applicability and functionality of the Dynamics GP software has and will continue to remain relevant. 

Evolving.  The user experience is key when evaluating and utilizing accounting software.  Whether it be by typing, touch or voice, efficiency of data entry and information accessibility are many times the two most important traits when evaluating ERP solutions.  Microsoft is the industry leader when it comes to committing research and development funds towards enhancing and improving the “look and feel” experience of the Dynamics GP product. Every eighteen months or so new releases provide better ways for end users to communicate, navigate and extrapolate business intelligence from the accounting applications. 

This idea that an ERP solution is at best a five year investment is, in my opinion, nonsense.  Dynamics GP has a proven track record of changing with the times, all the while continuing to provide meaningful informaton and usable functionality to its users. And while its legacy, unlike that of Michael Jackson’s, might not endure forever, you can rest assured that your initial investment will continue to be relevant and valuable for many, many years to come. 

By The Knaster Technology Group – Colorado Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner

Dynamics GP – The Beat Goes On is a post from: ERP Software Blog

Related Posts

1. We Beat Epicor, Prophet21, and SysPro with Microsoft Dynamics® GP
2. How Microsoft Dynamics GP Beat Sage MAS 500