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Microsoft Business Solutions rebranded Microsoft Dynamics

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8th Sep 2005
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Microsoft Business Solutions is no more. Long live Microsoft Dynamics!

At a summit meeting in for midsize customers, Microsoft this week unveiled a new name for its applications division.

In place of the somewhat unwieldy MBS brand, Microsoft Dynamics will now encompass all of the company's ERP and customer relationship management product families, which will go under the following names:

  • Microsoft Business Solutions-Great Plains becomes Microsoft Dynamics GP.
  • Microsoft Business Solutions-Axapta becomes Microsoft Dynamics AX.
  • Microsoft Business Solutions-Navision becomes Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
  • Microsoft Business Solutions-Solomon becomes Microsoft Dynamics SL.
  • Microsoft CRM becomes Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

    Other products developed by the applications wing such as Microsoft FRx, Microsoft Point of Sale, and Microsoft Retail Management System will remain as they are and not incorporate Microsoft Dynamics, explained Tami Reller, corporate vice president of Microsoft Business Solutions Group.

    In its press announcement of the new brand, the company explained it "represents Microsoft's strategy to align its products with its research and development roadmap, formerly referred to as 'Project Green', which centres on a people and process-centric design approach to deliver breakthrough innovation in two significant release waves."

    Reller expanded on the theme: "It suggests the idea of flexibility and adaptability of the product because something that is dynamic is always changing and reflects the environment they are asked to perform in. Microsoft Dynamics is consistent and aligns with Microsoft's naming convention, thus strengthening the entire portfolio of Microsoft brands."

    Microsoft Dynamics brand is derived from the old Great Plains Dynamics name, which suggests that the strategy is being driven mainly by north American rather than European or international market needs. The new branding will take on a more tangible shape in 2008 with the "second wave" Dynamics release. This will be an entirely new product that brings all of the ERP families together into one family.

    Each of the individual ERP product families will go through "wave one" releases as Microsoft Dynamics variants, Reller explained.

    "These products will embrace more of the same look and feel, with elements such as contextual business intelligence, a more similar and intuitive user interface and user experience, and a greater emphasis on portals, with an increased integration with Web services."

    All of the best features of Axapta, Great Plains, Navision and Solomon will be consolidated into the second wave release of Microsoft Dynamics in 2008. Users will be able to continue running their existing code and decide if and when they want to migrate to the new generation family up until 2012-13. Under Microsoft's "transformational assurance" programme, customers will get the equivalent functionality of their existing software from the new version of Dynamics at no additional license cost, Reller said.

    Microsoft CRM will continue as part of the Microsoft Dynamics business management suite and will continue to be sold standalone, she added.

    John Stokdyk

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