Convergence 2009 update

Just came back from Convergence 2009 - New Orleans and found this year quite a disappointment as I didn't see a lot of value to the seminars, GP ver 11 and the future of products around Dynamics GP.

Here are my updates this year:

1) GP ver 11 - The presenter in the kiosk didn't show a lot of functionality as she said they're still finalizing the list but I like the option of printing a form to Microsoft Word which many of us had been requesting.
2) FRx - No goods new here as Microsoft announced last year Management Reporter will replace it. I found that Management Reporter lacks some functionality including XBRL (I hope they've resolve this already), etc. FRx support end on December 2010.
3) Forecaster - The big question - PerformancePoint or Dynamics?
4) CRM - There were a few seminars showing the new integration between this product and Dynamics GP. One presenter said it can now compete with vendors like Scribe.

I'll post more later....

FRx Error - Period not found

It's a new year and you just closed 2008 in Great Plains. You run FRx for the first period of the year and use /BB and @PERDESC header. The report will run without error but you're getting this - Period not found in Company Calendar, as the column header.

So what do you do? Download Microsoft FRx 6.7 Service Pack 10. Here are the links to download the file:

For GP Partners download here.

For GP Customers download here.

PPS Planning Discontinued by April 1,2009

A couple of emails I've received and feedback I've seen from different forums are not consistent with the announcement Microsoft gave last Friday and I want to clarify this.

The PerformancePoint Server 2007 is rebranded as PerformancePoint Services and will still be offered in the market as part of MOSS Enterprise. There are 3 components of the PPS server: Planning, Analytics and Monitoring (PAM). Of this 3 only Planning is discontinued while Analytics and Monitoring will be called PerformancePoint Services like Excel Services, Forms Services and Visio Services in the Sharepoint platform.

My favorite SQL Server sites

Data Mining http://www.sqlserverdatamining.com/ssdm/

Best Practice http://www.kimballgroup.com/

Reporting http://www.databasejournal.com/article.php/1459531 (William Pearson)

Integration http://www.sqlis.com/

Microsoft BI http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/business-intelligence.aspx

SQL Protocols http://blogs.msdn.com/sql_protocols/default.aspx

BI according to Microsoft

The Microsoft BI team presented the new BI stack to the New York Business Intelligence New York Meetup group yesterday. The first part of the presentation was the product demonstration then an open discussion on the product functionalities which got too detailed. A comparison of Excel 2007 and Proclarity was also in the table but was cut short because it was out of content. It was refreshing to see ProClarity working in harmony with PerformancePoint Server and MOSS.

To get more info about Microsoft BI click here. To join the New York Business Intelligence Meetup click here.

Microsoft Convergence 2009 New Orleans Announcements

If you're planning on attending Convergence this year please read this:

• Early Registration discount date has been extended to January 21, 2009. Save $300 by registering early, secure your favorite hotels while they are still available and take advantage of better airline rates.

• The session catalog (containing 225 sessions) is now live on the Convergence marketing site.
  

• The Convergence Customer Excellence Awards recognize, honor and celebrate customers who have achieved outstanding success with their Microsoft solutions as well as Microsoft partners' solutions. Customer Excellence Award nominations are now being accepted through January 20, 2009.

Microsoft Dynamics GP/SL HR/Payroll Offer

For Microsoft Dynamics GP customers licensed under Module Based Licensing Professional Edition or Business Ready Licensing: Receive up to 20% off on Human Resources and Payroll modules purchases over $5,000

For Microsoft Dynamics GP customers licensed under Module Based Licensing Standard Edition and Microsoft Dynamics SL customers licensed under Module Based Licensing or Business Ready Licensing: Receive up to 20% off on Human Resources and Payroll modules purchases over $3,000*

As an additional benefit, Microsoft Dynamics GP customers licensed under Module Based Licensing or Business Ready Licensing can receive up to a 20% discount on a PTO manager module purchase

Click HERE for more information