Microsoft Great Plains/Dynamics GP Upgrade
– Alba Spectrum
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We want to present you
new version of this article, where we are stating old and giving you highlights
on new features. This article, written in question/answer/FAQ style to give IT
Director/Controller balanced top level information on Microsoft Business
Solutions Great Plains/Dynamics GP upgrade. If you have Microsoft Great Plains
as main accounting and ERP system you need to know some technical details on
Great Plains version upgrade and what is going on behind the scenes, which
options do you have in case of Dexterity, VBA, SQL customizations, ctree/Pervasive
migration to MS SQL 2005-2000/MSDE. As of right now it is reasonable to upgrade
to Microsoft Great Plains 9.0
Is upgrade required?
Not actually, but you have to consider these factors
- Technical
Support discontinuation - the
old version may not be supported - currently if you are on version 6.0 -
support is already discontinued. You can not have Microsoft Business
Solutions help you, but obviously you have MBS partners who can still help
you. If you are on Ctree or Pervasive SQL, then your support expires
December, 31 2004.
- Tax
Updates/Magnetic media expiration
- if you have US Payroll module and depend on it with W2 and other forms -
you must stay with the version, which is supported and has tax updates. If
you are on Ctree or Pervasive SQL - then you will not have tax updates for
these platforms at the end of 2004 and your W2s maybe inaccurate. If you
have a lot of employees - you may have issues with government.
- Following the
Technology and Microsoft rules
- Microsoft wants you to be on the newest platform and provides you the best
support when you follow this rule
- If you do have
heavy customization - we
recommend you to skip one version, for example if you are on version 8.0 -
do not upgrade to 9.0 and wait for the next version
What is the upgrade
technology? Upgrade has server
and client sides.
- Server side
- upgrade converts tables from old format to the new one. In general words
- Microsoft Business Solutions developers may change table structure, append
additional fields to add new functionality, things like that. Upgrade
copies the table with changes to temporary table, then drops original table,
recreates it with new structure and copies all the data from temp table to
the newly created one.
- Workstation side
- workstation is written in Great Plains Dexterity and has Dynamics.exe -
engine and DYNAMICS.DIC - dictionary. These two plus all the additional
files will be replaced with the new ones. Other dictionaries, such us
REPORTS.DIC and FORMS.DIC should be also upgraded and upgrade will try to
deal with them automatically. In some cases modified reports (in
REPORTS.DIC) could not be upgraded and need to be recreated in the new
version.
What is customization
upgrade? You should consider
different types of customizations: Dexterity, VBA/Modifier, SQL, ReportWriter,
Crystal Reports
- SQL
- you may have some stored procs for data integration, EDI or the like - if
the addressed tables will be changed in the new version then you need to
analyze your SQL code. The good news is - Microsoft Business Solution
doesn't make a lot of changes since version 7.0, because Microsoft is now
trying to merge the products it owns: Great Plains, Solomon, Navision and
Axapta - and so has different priorities
- Crystal Reports
- the nice thing about Crystal Report - it doesn't need to be upgraded (if
the fields in the tables exist in the new version - which is usually true
statement)
- MS SQL Server
Reporting Services. We assume
that if you upgrade from version 8.0 to 9.0 – you don’t have these new
Microsoft Dynamics GP reports yet.
- Dexterity
Customization - being very
short - Dexterity may have so called Custom Forms - these do not need
upgrade - they should work as is. Then Dexterity may alter existing Great
Plains forms (so-called Alternate Great Plains forms) - in this case
Dexterity customization should be redone for these forms/screens. Plus
additional consideration should be given to Dexterity triggers, shadow
tables, etc.
- VBA/Modifier
customization - Modifier
allows you to modify existing Great Plains windows - it creates so called
modified Great Plains windows, stored in FORMS.DIC. Usually modification is
placing new buttons or fields, which in turn will be given VBA scripts
(stored in DYNAMICS.VBA). VBA scripts may call something nice, like Crystal
Report, or have some data access logic. Usually the old version of
DYNAMICS.VBA workds with the new version. You may need to rearrange buttons
on the modified form.
- ReportWriter
- MBS doesn't change tables, but it keeps changing Dexterity formulas used
in ReportWriter original reports - this is the problem in so-called Modified
Reports upgrade - usually you have these reports modified: SOP Blank Invoice
form, SOP Blank Picking ticket, etc. If report can not be upgraded - it
should be redone in the new version with some exceptions.
Third-party modules?
Your Great Plains may have so-called third party modules: Mekorma, Kampdata,
Horizon light manufacturing, Wennsoft, Avalara, Truepay, Trinity, Intellisol to
name a few
Third party modules may
have their own utility for upgrade. You just need to know that your third-party
is ready for the new Great Plains version - if not - you just wait and stay on
the old version.
Migration from
Ctree/Pervasive.SQL 2000 to MS SQL/MSDE.
We give you this information just in case of outdated version being used.
Support of Microsoft Great Plains 7.5 and prior version on Ctree/Pervaisive was
terminated in December 2004. MBS has migration tool. You need first to install
Great Plains on SQL Server with exactly the same account/segments structure and
then install migration tool (it is Dexterity chunk) on your ctree/Pervasive
workstation - then, when you integrate the chunk - you will map it to target
SQL-based Great Plains Company, select all system and company tables, click the
button and it will move all your tables one-by-one. In the case when your Great
Plains ctree/Pervasive has third parties - you need to check if the vendor has
migration tool - otherwise you have to do manual move, use SQL Linked server to
your legacy data
Do I need consultant?
It is probably good idea to have consultant to do the upgrade. We strongly
recommend you to use consultant in the following cases
- You don't have
support - in this case you have to select your Microsoft Business Solutions
Partner and pay for the annual support/enhancement plan - you will get new
registration key and will be ready for the upgrade
- Your Great Plains
has more than 20 users and you have to have upgrade done over the weekend -
if it fails - you have business problems
- You are doing
migration from Pervasive/Ctree to Microsoft SQL Server/MSDE, especially when
you have third-parties without migration tools
- You have Dexterity
customization
- You have a lot or
ReportWriter Modified Great Plains Reports
- You have old
version of Great Plains: Dynamics or eEnterprise 6.0 or prior - in this case
you can not appeal to Microsoft Technical Support - it is discontinued
Alba Spectrum Group (
http://www.albaspectrum.com http://www.greatplains.com.mx
http://www.enterlogix.com.br
http://www.ronix-systems.de ) Microsoft Business Solutions: Microsoft Great
Plains (Microsoft Dynamics GP), Microsoft CRM (Microsoft Dynamics CRM),
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Financials,. We serve US Nationwide: IL, CA, NY, WA, TX, FL, OH, CO, AZ, AL, OR,
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Alba Spectrum
Group
USA:
+1-866-528-0577 or
+1-630-961-5918, Europe: +44-20-8123-2580 or
+45-36-96-5520, México DF: +52-55-535-04027
help@albaspectrum.com skype:
albaspectrum