Microsoft moves dynamics ERP to Azure cloud Platform

Microsoft is now migrating its Dynamics ERP (Enterprise resource Plan) application software to the Azure Cloud Platform, the company announced at the Atlanta Fusion (convergence) Conference recently. This belated move means a major change in the way Microsoft sells dynamics: Dynamics has historically been sold through partners in the form of an internally deployable version and a managed version.

Microsoft said in a statement that the next major version of Dynamics would run on Azure, and that customers would "be able to migrate to the cloud environment on their own terms." ”

Industry watchers have been wondering for years whether Microsoft will make such a move, and Kirill Tatarinov, a corporate vice-president at Microsoft's Business Solutions Department, has mentioned the industry's speculation in a recent keynote address.

He tried to calm down partners and clients attending the meeting, as they feared that the cloud's choice would adversely affect their business. "Whatever we do, we will not forget the ecosystem," Tatarinov said. It is very important for us to bring the whole ERP ecosystem to the cloud environment. All those who make these changes and dynamics to you will be successful in the Cloud field. ”

Microsoft also plans to discuss how partners can profit from the Azure deployment model this week. First, partners will be able to sell "cloud-enabled" vertical applications, services, and add-ons to the dynamics market. Microsoft also launched the Cloud Partner profitability guide for Partners (Cloud Partner profitability Guide).

Still, Microsoft has no choice but to actively attract partners to provide cloud-based ERP, because of the complexity of the software, plus the general need to fine-tune each customer. It would be unwise for Microsoft to put its partners aside altogether, as partners have brought in a huge source of in-situ sales.

The eventual addition of Azure deployment mode will enhance the competitive power of Microsoft and NetSuite and SAP companies; NetSuite sells cloud-based ERP systems, and SAP has launched the on-demand software suite business bydesign.

Tatarinov told reporters and analysts after the keynote speech that the first Dynamics ERP application software to be migrated to the Azure platform would be nav, with the major version currently scheduled for launch in 2012.

The deployment of Azure dynamics will take the multi-tenant architecture, which differs from the traditional hosting architecture, because the Multi-Tenant architecture allows many customers to share the same instance of the application and keep their data private. This allows developers to deliver upgrades to their customers frequently and easily, and to provide economies of scale, which is expected to reduce costs.

Marc Benioff, chief executive of Salesforce.com, is one of the industry's most active supporters of the cloud computing model, which he likens to office buildings: many different companies have secret, confined offices, but share wires, pipelines, structural brackets and other infrastructure components.

Tatarinov that while the multi-tenant architecture is still an important technology for cloud computing, the importance of the technology is slowly becoming smaller as the industry, including Microsoft, is making progress in the area of virtual machine management.

He said Microsoft's experience in providing CRM online on a large scale, coupled with technological advances, would help reduce the cost of ERP in the cloud.

But did not disclose the cloud version dynamics ERP price too much information. "We may have different approaches for different products," Tatarinov said. He stressed, however, that many customers have purchased the software through a partner to order the service. Azure Dynamics products will also be sold in the form of service ordering.

Tatarinov said Microsoft did not expect customers to migrate to the cloud in large numbers. "In terms of ERP, you will see that workloads are mainly in mixed deployment mode." "For example, a customer might want to deliver ERP to a Field Service representative via Azure, but keep the core back-end ERP system within the enterprise."

Tatarinov says the process of customizing Dynamics ERP for Azure should also work well for partners currently developing extensions and vertical applications for other deployment patterns. He said a new Configurator tool would be geared toward the upcoming release of Dynamics AX 2012 (which would also run on Azure), providing "powerful features" that could be used to tweak software without having to write code. He says developers can also continue to use C # or something else. NET language to adjust the software.

He said that Microsoft plans to provide partners and customers with guidelines and methodologies for writing code that can be run in an internal deployment environment or in a cloud environment. However, the existing custom environment may not always be perfectly compatible with the deployed cloud environment, depending on how the custom code is written.

Overall, cloud deployment choices will have an impact on new sales or when existing customers are looking to adopt new products, said Frank Scavo, an executive partner of the IT consulting firm.

But current dynamics users may be familiar with the implementation of the dynamics system, "it is not an urgent requirement to migrate those systems to the cloud environment." ”

Scavo said that, however, NetSuite and other manufacturers are exerting pressure on Microsoft to deal with this pressure.

Microsoft also let the attendees get a glimpse of Dynamics AX 2012. Microsoft said the beta version of the ERP application will be available this month and is expected to be released to the public in August.

The features of AX 2012 include a series of "unified Natural Models", which Microsoft calls "business process libraries, where business processes reflect the actual situation." ”

AX 2012 is also characterized by providing a "custom-tailored" user experience that Microsoft has been incorporating into its business software. This method configures the look and feel of the application based on the task of a particular user.

In addition, Microsoft announced that Dynamics SL 2011 and Dynamics CRM 2011 of the internal deployment version have been delivered, Dynamics GP R2 will be delivered on May 1.

While Microsoft has a grand plan, ERP and CRM software currently account for only a small portion of the total revenue, mostly from Windows operating systems and office software.

But the company wants to make use of dynamics's unique position in Microsoft's many other technologies.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive, said in a keynote speech: "Dynamics may be seen as an independent business unit, but it actually benefits from other aspects of Microsoft's products." It is also a major integration point. ”

Ballmer said the software would benefit from other Microsoft products, such as the Bing search engine, the Lync Unified communications technology, and even the Kinect motion controller for the Xbox gaming system, but he did not say when or how to get the benefit.

Microsoft is now migrating its Dynamics ERP (Enterprise resource Plan) application software to the Azure Cloud Platform, the company announced at the Atlanta Fusion (convergence) Conference recently. This belated move means a major change in the way Microsoft has sold dynamics, dynamics historically through partners, in the form of an internally deployable version and a managed version.

Microsoft said in a statement that the next major version of Dynamics would run on Azure, and that customers would "be able to migrate to the cloud environment on their own terms." ”

Industry watchers have been wondering for years whether Microsoft will make such a move, and Kirill Tatarinov, a corporate vice-president at Microsoft's Business Solutions Department, has mentioned the industry's speculation in a recent keynote address.

He tried to calm down partners and clients attending the meeting, as they feared that the cloud's choice would adversely affect their business. "Whatever we do, we will not forget the ecosystem," Tatarinov said. It is very important for us to bring the whole ERP ecosystem to the cloud environment. All those who make these changes and dynamics to you will be successful in the Cloud field. ”

Microsoft also plans to discuss how partners can profit from the Azure deployment model this week. First, partners will be able to sell "cloud-enabled" vertical applications, services, and add-ons to the dynamics market. Microsoft also launched the Cloud Partner profitability guide for Partners (Cloud Partner profitability Guide).

Still, Microsoft has no choice but to actively attract partners to provide cloud-based ERP, because of the complexity of the software, plus the general need to fine-tune each customer. It would be unwise for Microsoft to put its partners aside altogether, as partners have brought in a huge source of in-situ sales.

The eventual addition of Azure deployment mode will enhance the competitive power of Microsoft and NetSuite and SAP companies; NetSuite sells cloud-based ERP systems, and SAP has launched the on-demand software suite business bydesign.

Tatarinov told reporters and analysts after the keynote speech that the first Dynamics ERP application software to be migrated to the Azure platform would be nav, with the major version currently scheduled for launch in 2012.

The deployment of Azure dynamics will take the multi-tenant architecture, which differs from the traditional hosting architecture, because the Multi-Tenant architecture allows many customers to share the same instance of the application and keep their data private. This allows developers to deliver upgrades to their customers frequently and easily, and to provide economies of scale, which is expected to reduce costs.

Marc Benioff, chief executive of Salesforce.com, is one of the industry's most active supporters of the cloud computing model, which he likens to office buildings: many different companies have secret, confined offices, but share wires, pipelines, structural brackets and other infrastructure components.

Tatarinov that while the multi-tenant architecture is still an important technology for cloud computing, the importance of the technology is slowly becoming smaller as the industry, including Microsoft, is making progress in the area of virtual machine management.

He said Microsoft's experience in providing CRM online on a large scale, coupled with technological advances, would help reduce the cost of ERP in the cloud.

But did not disclose the cloud version dynamics ERP price too much information. "We may have different approaches for different products," Tatarinov said. He stressed, however, that many customers have purchased the software through a partner to order the service. Azure Dynamics products will also be sold in the form of service ordering.

Tatarinov said Microsoft did not expect customers to migrate to the cloud in large numbers. "In terms of ERP, you will see that workloads are mainly in mixed deployment mode." "For example, a customer might want to deliver ERP to a Field Service representative via Azure, but keep the core back-end ERP system within the enterprise."

Tatarinov says the process of customizing Dynamics ERP for Azure should also work well for partners currently developing extensions and vertical applications for other deployment patterns. He said a new Configurator tool would be geared toward the upcoming release of Dynamics AX 2012 (which would also run on Azure), providing "powerful features" that could be used to tweak software without having to write code. He says developers can also continue to use C # or something else. NET language to adjust the software.

He said that Microsoft plans to provide partners and customers with guidelines and methodologies for writing code that can be run in an internal deployment environment or in a cloud environment. However, the existing custom environment may not always be perfectly compatible with the deployed cloud environment, depending on how the custom code is written.

Overall, cloud deployment choices will have an impact on new sales or when existing customers are looking to adopt new products, said Frank Scavo, an executive partner of the IT consulting firm.

But current dynamics users may be familiar with the implementation of the dynamics system, "it is not an urgent requirement to migrate those systems to the cloud environment." ”

Scavo said that, however, NetSuite and other manufacturers are exerting pressure on Microsoft to deal with this pressure.

Microsoft also let the attendees get a glimpse of Dynamics AX 2012. Microsoft said the beta version of the ERP application will be available this month and is expected to be released to the public in August.

The features of AX 2012 include a series of "unified Natural Models", which Microsoft calls "business process libraries, where business processes reflect the actual situation." ”

AX 2012 is also characterized by providing a "custom-tailored" user experience that Microsoft has been incorporating into its business software. This method configures the look and feel of the application based on the task of a particular user.

In addition, Microsoft announced that Dynamics SL 2011 and Dynamics CRM 2011 of the internal deployment version have been delivered, Dynamics GP R2 will be delivered on May 1.

While Microsoft has a grand plan, ERP and CRM software currently account for only a small portion of the total revenue, mostly from Windows operating systems and office software.

But the company wants to make use of dynamics's unique position in Microsoft's many other technologies.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive, said in a keynote speech: "Dynamics may be seen as an independent business unit, but it actually benefits from other aspects of Microsoft's products." It is also a major integration point. ”

Ballmer said the software would benefit from other Microsoft products, such as the Bing search engine, the Lync Unified communications technology, and even the Kinect motion controller for the Xbox gaming system, but he did not say when or how to get the benefit.