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Microsoft gives Navision 4.0 a Windows facelift

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25th Dec 2005
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A slicker Windows XP-based interface and integration with Office tools are the main feature of improvements to the "user experience" of Navision 4.0.

Making its debut at Softworld Accounting & Finance, Navision 4.0 features a customisable Navigation pane on the left hand side of the main screen, along with a Windows Explorer like view of the accounts and organisation hierarch.

As Navision's Jesper Rasmussen demonstrated, the main menu no longer disappears when Navision users maximise their working screen. More importantly, the system is structured into functional areas, with screens and options tailored for financial management, sales, purchasing, manufacturing and so on. New interface tools make it possible for users to set up their own views and to assign users to those views.

"It doesn't look like much, but it has a huge effect on the end-user because it makes life much easier," said Rasmussen.

Aside from the interface changes, there are several functional improvements, including parital allocations of payments, and the ability to unallocate. Another long-awaited enhancement is the ability to reverse general ledger postings.

Microsoft added the Danish ERP software developer Navision to its Business Solutions wing in 2002 and has vowed to support Navision users at least until 2012. MBS executives go out of their way to emphasise the effort that is being put into the separate Great Plains, Navision, Solomon and FRx product families.

Nonetheless, much work has gone into delivering what the developer describes as " deep integration with the overall Microsoft technology stack". In practical terms, this means it exploits the Notification Services capabilities of SQL Server to support business notification and implements an XML handling function so Navision's ERP modules can interchange data with other applications and external users via the internet.

Although not available for view at Softworld, a new set of analytical tools will soon be added to the suite, driven by the Analysis Services and Reporting Services modules in Microsoft's SQL Server database. The developer is planning to provide a package of ready-made analysis tools and graphical views of common key performance indicators (KPIs). Any analytical charting work driven by these tools will be presented in an Excel.

Also promised are industry templates that reduce the time it takes to configure the different modules for different specialist industries. Among the industries that will be supported in the first version of Microsoft Navision 4.0 are furniture, manufacturing and electronics engineering.

Designed for mid-market corporations with up to 100 users, Navision 4.0 includes linked modules to handle financial, manufacturing, distribution, customer management, supply chain, analysis/reporting and e-commerce operations. The estimated retail price (via the Navision reseller network) starts at around '1,995 for a typical configuration.

  • For more details of the new version of Microsoft-Navision 4.0, check out IT Zone's Softworld page during the autumn Softworld Accounting & Finance event before and after 20-21 October.
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