Everyone needs something from their company's business software, whether they recognise the abbreviation “ERP” or not. And making that easy to find is the core premise behind Microsoft's launch of its new Dynamics NAV software today.
Until recently, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems tended to treat all users the same way: forcing them to work through mountains of data to find what they needed.
The next generation, including Dynamics NAV, changes that. Not only are they putting more powerful software in the hands of smaller companies, they are offering what Microsoft describes as a “role-tailored user experience”.
“Depending on what you do within a company, the interface you see will display information that's relevant to your line of business,” explains Sandie Overtveld, the business and marketing group director at Microsoft South Africa.
“Sales managers need regular updates on who bought what. Marketing executives want to keep track of their budgets and impact. CFOs need to see revenue, or update the payroll module when raises are given. From a business perspective, role-tailored user experience is a massive boost to users' productivity - it gives you just what you need, just when you need it.”
NAV is already getting rave reviews from early adopters like the Germiston-based engineering firm Trident SA, the world's largest manufacturer of underground mining locomotives. Trident, which employs 300 people, has seen its revenue soar and its processes streamlined since installing the system last year.
“The implementation simplified our operations incredibly,” said Trident CIO Simon Lewis. “It has also given us an accurate picture of our business that we need to support critical business decision-making, and generate the kind of reports we now need to operate decisively in the global arena.”
Lewis says simplicity is key in making ERP systems accessible to end-users. In the case of NAV, the system interfaces with other Microsoft applications, so users did not have to learn a new interface, making training a simple affair, and improvements immediate. To this point, “our staff really liked the ability to run things out of Outlook”, said Lewis.
Depending on how companies install NAV, many users may end up tapping into important business data without ever actually realising they are using an ERP product.
“We also know that people often have dual roles within an organisation. One person might be wearing two hats, so to speak,” added Overtveld. “We have heavily extended what you can do in terms of personalisation. And you don't have to ask your IT department to do this for you - after all, these days, people often want to do things themselves.”
Although other software makers may offer the ability to create role-based ERP, research house IDC says NAV 2009 could speed up time to market among Microsoft's customers.
“There's less customisation, less tweaking and enablement by the system integrator or in-house IT to get people up to speed in their role,” said Nigel Wallis, a research director with IDC.
Trident has been able to create custom designed workflows. However, CIO Lewis says NAV has helped his company anticipate its clients' needs better, creating a more proactive environment and enhancing relationships while growing a secondary revenue stream.
“Through NAV, we are able to get an overview of each customer and their purchasing history, and we can now proactively recommend complementary components to our customers,” he said. “On top of that, smarter production planning and minimal stockholding have a positive effect on the bottom line.”
Trident has also managed to eliminate a good deal of human error in its processes. All shipping documentation and invoices - which were previously handled manually - are now generated and bar-coded by the NAV system, allowing all orders to be tracked and administered efficiently.
Companies choosing to deploy Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 will have access to 21 roles for line of business managers upon installation, and they will be able to create and define roles specific to their business. The product will also allow users to search for information across NAV as well as other systems to which it connects.
Ultimately, says Overtveld, the launch of NAV 2009 is the latest thrust by Microsoft into the lucrative ERP mid-market. “With the top end of the ERP market fairly saturated right now, there's a lot of opportunity for savvy vendors in the mid-market right now,” he said. “A big trend in ERP is for companies to have fewer and fewer diverse systems running, as they look to consolidate their various business applications on one platform. That's an area we believe South African companies will find appealing.”
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