Microsoft officially launched Dynamics AX 2012 R3 this week via a virtual event hosted by AX General Manager Christian Pedersen.
Dynamics AX which adds significant new capabilities and sets the stage for a major architecture and interface update with the next major release.
Microsoft showed R3’s mobility capabilities, which gives developers a platform for building out more apps.
Hal Howard, corporate vice president, Microsoft Dynamics ERP Resource and Development, talked about tools such as Power View and Power BI as well as out-of-the-box reports and KPIs for businesses in a variety of industries.
“We have also delivered a number of amazing new experiences along with R3, including the device experience and we continue to update to update those new experiences for new BI apps with Business Analyzer, new work that that we’ve done around timesheets and expense, and approvals and the new warehouse apps,” Howard said. Part of Microsoft’s strategy is to deliver rapid business intelligence (BI) and reporting value to customers. To that end, Business Analyzer, a touch enabled, tablet-friendly, report viewing tool …allows customers to connect to and report on ERP data so you can easily consume it, said Errol Schoenfish, director product management at Microsoft, in a recent webcast
Business Analyzer is available on Windows 8 and 8.1 tablet or PC and on Windows 8 phone for Dynamics GP, AX and SL. It will be available for iOS devices with the R7 release in the July time frame and further down the line on Android devices.
Currently Excel content is not available for Dynamics AX. From the AX perspective we have SQL Analysis Services Cubes, financial cubes for the CFO role, project cube for the practice manager role and Management Reporter content for financial reporter.
“…there’s nothing on the roadmap for NAV but we continue to have those discussions.”
Business Analyzer is one of a growing list of mobile apps the Dynamics ERP product teams have taken on. On the AX side there are new mobile apps for expenses, time entry, and approvals.
Other new functionality in Dynamics AX 2012 R3 also includes a “beautiful, new, modern point-of-sale experience” for the retail industry and warehouse and transportation management functionality that ensures customers can be more efficient, delivering the right product at the right time to their customers. This is developed in html 5 which gives a peek into what to expect from the UI in Ax 2014.
Customers that are already using the Dynamics AX 2012 R3 solution include: Lotus F1 Team, Delta Airlines, outdoor clothing retailer Kathmandu, US craft brewery New Belgium Brewing and furniture manufacturer Ashley Furniture.
