MS on track with cloud ERP

cloud-enabled" Dynamics ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications by the end of this year, the company announced on Monday during the Convergence conference, in Houston, Computerworld reports.

At last year's Convergence show, Microsoft first discussed intentions to port its four ERP lines to the Azure cloud platform upon the next major release of each product. This will start coming to pass in the fourth quarter of this year, with the release of NAV 2013 and GP 2013, Microsoft said. A beta version of NAV 2013 will arrive in May.

PCWorld writes that Microsoft is also planning to discuss plans for ISV partners offering Azure-hosted services for various verticals, including retail, fashion and equipment manufacturing, according to a statement.

Another announcement will concern the fourth-quarter release of AX 2012 R2, an update that will include new BI (business intelligence) capabilities geared for the needs of individual users, Microsoft said.

Microsoft first moved into cloud enterprise app services with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, InformationWeek reports. The company announced on Monday that Dynamics CRM and Dynamics CRM Online now have 33 000 customers combined, up from 23 000 reported by Microsoft in early 2011. Microsoft does not break out on-premises vs cloud stats, but it says two out of three new customers are opting for the cloud-based version.