Microsoft Great Plains worldwide help & support

By Andrew Karasev

Alba Spectrum Technologies

1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918, help@albaspectrum.com   

Microsoft Great Plains ISVs, VARs & Microsoft Business Solutions consultants has now official Great Plains Strategy Guide, which reassures customers worldwide in Great Plains version 9.0 support to be available for at least 5 years.  Microsoft Great Plains 8.5 release is cancelled and version 9.0 should be available shortly.  In this small article we’ll give our highlights to our current and potential customers through our worldwide newsletters and articles subscription channel

• Microsoft Dexterity source code subscription reopening.  Here is our opinion as long time Great Plains Dexterity development company.  In order to boost Microsoft Great Plains ISV and third party product development & integration – former Great Plains Dexterity source code should be available.  Well – you should not expect the same openness as it is for Microsoft CRM SDK – but if you are not MBS Source code ISV partner (especially new companies, who does Great Plains remote support from India, Philippines, Pakistan, China) should benefit from this program.  The price is a but higher than in was in the 1990^th – but it is still a good launch up opportunity.
• German, Continental French and Iberian Spanish GP.  It will not be translated into these languages.  GP customers in these countries (in Quebec – it will be supported – Canadian French) should migrate to MBS modules suites.  Microsoft reserves the right to make a statement later on.  In our opinion – the migration path will be from Great Plains to Microsoft Navision and/or Axapta – these two products are positioned for complex international taxing and languages.  Of course – Project Green might be the final solution, if it will be ready by 2010
• Latin America, USA, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Asia, Western & SouthAfrica.  All the counties with English language, Canadian French and Spanish speaking South America will be supported
• XML Web Services.  Similar to Microsoft CRM SDK – Great Plains will be exposed to web developers.  For now we are not sure about the fate of eConnect – if it will become of the foundation of these web services and if web services will allow you to post transactions in Great Plains or not.
• SQL Server Reporting services.  Again – this is our hope – that Microsoft will try to get away from Crystal Reports recommendation to its own SQL Server reporting.  Our company had been supporting Crystal Reports design and development for our clients for the very long time – since 1996 and we see very good opportunity to switch to Microsoft native solution.
• Microsoft CRM & Great Plains tandem incentives.  If customer purchases a bundle of two products – it should have incentive discount.  We should applaud this decision, as being both – MBS Great Plains and MS CRM customization, implementation and support company.
• Great Plains Verticals.  Microsoft Great Plains version 9.0 will have vertical supports: Food & Beverages. Distribution, Sate & local government, etc.

You can always appeal to our expertise.  Give us a call: 1-630-961-5918, 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer at Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ) - Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, Navision, Axapta MS CRM, Oracle Financials and IBM Lotus Domino Partner, serving corporate customers in the following industries: Aerospace & Defense, Medical & Healthcare, Distribution & Logistics, Hospitality, Banking & Finance, Wholesale & Retail, Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Placement & Recruiting, Advertising & Publishing, Textile, Pharmaceutical, Non-Profit, Beverages, Conglomerates, Apparels, Durables, Manufacturing and having locations in multiple states and internationally.

We are serving USA Nationwide: CA, IL, NY, FL, AZ, CO, TX, WI, WA, MI, MA, MO, LA, NM, MN, Europe: Germany, France, Belgium, Poland, Russia, Middles East (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, OAE, Bahrain), Asia: China, Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, South & Central America: Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Chili, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico