Will My Current Investment in Microsoft Technology Work With a New ERP System?

Most businesses today start with a Microsoft platform of system software and business applications.  So, if you are looking for an ERP system to take advantage of what you already own, then I suggest you read further and take a look at Microsoft’s continuing blog series and Twitter Discussion #ERPONYOURTERMS.  This series has covered top considerations by businesses looking for a new ERP system and this week truly gets into the meat of the discussion of utilizing your current investment in Microsoft software (a couple of acronyms you may want to know before reading that article - “LOB” = Line of Business and “CRM” = Customer Relationship Management Software). 

 Here are some thoughts and a summary response on the question of using your existing Microsoft investment:

1.  You may already have a server running Microsoft Windows or Microsoft.NET as a platform.  Great, since most of the leading applications use that technology as their required platform.
2. Perhaps you already use SQL databases and Sharepoint Portals to hold and share your data.  Check, most ERP applications these days utilize both of these as their data repositories and access points.
3. Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook are used by all users in the organization.  Again, since most Windows PCs ship with this software, many ERP systems take advantage of the applications and utilize them within their processes.

 So, which ERP application best utilizes the technology listed above?  Well, considering Microsoft Dynamics GP and AX (ERP application), along with Microsoft Dynamics CRM (for customer care) - are developed and maintained by Microsoft, the windows, ribbons, panes, and the overall user experience within these products will be familiar to your staff.  They will be able to adopt the system faster and utilize it more readily because they know where to look, which keys to press, and even how to use and modify the document production (Word), import/export spreadsheets (Excel) and emailing features (Outlook) – because they use the products they already use!

 If you are looking for an ERP or CRM replacement for your organization, contact someone who is an expert with these Microsoft Dynamics products, like Collins Computing, Inc.  You can download our whitepaper “Why Collins” for an overview of adding a Microsoft Certified organization (Collins Computing) to the mix with the best Microsoft products, (Platforms, Databases, Applications, and Dynamics)!

By Abra Lynne Gilman, Collins Computing, Inc.  Microsoft Gold Certified Partner - "Count on Collins, Count on Success"