Released on: January 6, 2008, 4:05 pm

Press Release Author: Alba Spectrum Group

Industry: Computers

Press Release Summary: Microsoft Dynamics GP ERP fits all the spectrum of mid-size
businesses in USA, Canada and other English speaking countries. Please be aware
that is your country utilizes Unicode chars, such as Chinese, Korean, Japanese, then
Great Plains is not the best choice for you and you should check with Microsoft
Business Solutions in your country or region to get info which MRP is marketed and
supported - more likely Axapta and Navision. In this small publication we would
like to give initial picture on Great Plains functional and technical consulting

Press Release Body: Microsoft Dynamics GP ERP fits all the spectrum of mid-size
businesses in USA, Canada and other English speaking countries. Please be aware
that is your country utilizes Unicode chars, such as Chinese, Korean, Japanese, then
Great Plains is not the best choice for you and you should check with Microsoft
Business Solutions in your country or region to get info which MRP is marketed and
supported - more likely Axapta and Navision. In this small publication we would
like to give initial picture on Great Plains functional and technical consulting
1. Consulting methodology. ERP implementation is essential part of GP consulting,
and implementation requires project-oriented approach, where Great Plains specialist
becomes Project leader for your organization. Implementation typically could be
split in several phases: initial system design and business processes mapping
(including GP modules selection and probably sales phase), system installation
(often in test environment), initial data massage and conversion (often referred as
data migration), user training (this is typically your business processes oriented
training, not a formal one), switching to production mode (often with one month of
running two ERP systems in parallel to compare results and end-of-the-month reports)
and then post production support (including service packs, data fixes, check links,
customization and modified reporting, version upgrades, new modules addition)
2. GP Certification requirements. There are several levels of certified consultants
statuses, plus several levels of Microsoft Business Solutions partners. However, if
you are finding certified MBS partner, who is authorized to sell and implement
Microsoft Dynamics GP, this company must carry both GP technical and functional
certifications. Technical certification also requires to have at least one
specialist certified in Microsoft SQL Server administration. Some partners
segregate technology and functional consulting career paths, so you could expect at
least two consultants to be responsible for your ERP implementation - one from
technical and one from application consulting sides
3. Customization, often referred as Integration. As normal mid-size ERP
application, GP modification requires deployment of professional GP developers and
programmers. Traditional programming language of GP is Microsoft Dexterity or
former name Great Plains Dexterity. Great Plains database, which is now supported
on MS SQL Server only has a lot of Dex architecture traces: DEX_ROW_ID, Dynamics.DIC
dictionary, Dex.INI - this is Dex initialization file, etc.
4. Reporting. GP reports could be created with more than one tool: FRX is for
financial reporting primarily, GP ReportWriter is Dexterity based module, where you
customize such reports as Invoice or Purchase Order forms; Crystal Reports and MS
SQL Server Reporting Services or SRS are for advanced business logic reporting.
Andrew Karasev, Alba Spectrum Group, http://www.albaspectrum.com ,
help@albaspectrum.com 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918, serving Great Plains customers
USA and Canada nationwide, local service available in Houston and Chicago. If you
are giving up with the quality of your local GP provider and would like second
opinion from GP technology gurus, please give as a call. Remote support work like
this - we connect to your system via Web session, such as gotomeeting, then we
gather specs by phone, or make short onsite visit to shake hands and establish
relations, then we work closely with your IT team to deliver solution


Web Site: http://www.albaspectrum.com

Contact Details: Alba Spectrum Group, http://www.albaspectrum.com ,
help@albaspectrum.com 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918, serving Great Plains customers
USA and Canada nationwide