MicrosoftDynamicsAXCustomerSOD June07

VISION
Microsoft Dynamics AX
Statement of Direction
June 2007
Table of Contents
BUILDING THE CONNECTED BUSINESS .......................................................................... 5
1. Software that adapts to your business ............................................................................................................................... 5 2. Regional features for a global economy ........................................................................................................................... 5 3. Works together with other Microsoft technology ........................................................................................................ 6 4. Performance and scalability ................................................................................................................................................... 7 5. Software that fits your needs ................................................................................................................................................. 7 6. Connecting people with data ................................................................................................................................................ 8 7. Connecting your company with your community ..................................................................................................... 10 7.1 Dynamics Live Surround Services .................................................................................................................................10 7.2 Microsoft Dynamics and SaaS .......................................................................................................................................10 7.3 Microsoft Dynamics online community .....................................................................................................................11 8. Rapid implementation support: Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step ........................................................................... 11
MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX FUTURE ROADMAP ......................................................... 12

1. Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0: Industry and verticals .................................................................................................... 13 2. Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0: Core enhancements ....................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Role Tailored user experience .......................................................................................................................................14 2.2 Business intelligence and reporting tools .................................................................................................................16 2.3 Improved support for compliance ...............................................................................................................................20 2.4 International companies and Enterprise support ..................................................................................................21 2.5 Web services and Service-Oriented Architecture ..................................................................................................23 2.6 Reducing TCO for the application life cycle ............................................................................................................26 3. Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 - Scope ................................................................................................................................. 26 3.1 Financials in Microsoft Dynamics AX ..........................................................................................................................27 3.2 Supply chain management in Microsoft Dynamics AX .......................................................................................28 3.3 Customer relationship management in Microsoft Dynamics AX .....................................................................30 3.4 Human resources management and payroll in Microsoft Dynamics AX ......................................................32 3.5 Project planning in Microsoft Dynamics AX ............................................................................................................32 3.6 Expenses in Microsoft Dynamics AX ...........................................................................................................................33 4. Beyond Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 ................................................................................................................................. 35
CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 36
MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION
EXCECUTIVE SUMMARY
Microsoft Dynamics AX is a highly customizable, global business management software solution. This document outlines the future direction of Microsoft Dynamics AX through the year 2010 for our customers. By leveraging the planned innovations in Microsoft Dynamics AX, organizations can connect your business vision with your software, connect your people with your processes, and connect your company with your community. This is the value we are committed to delivering to our customers, and this is the vision that guides our investments in Microsoft Dynamics AX. Core enhancements planned for Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 include a RoleTailored user experience, new workflow engine and rules configuration capabilities, enhanced business intelligence and reporting tools to enable improved personal and team insight, corporate performance management, developer productivity, improved support for compliance, improved multinational/enterprise support, and an expanded set of Web services that support the most common business-to-business and application-to-application scenarios. In addition to these enhancements, Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 will include substantial new functionality. Major functional areas, such as Financials, Supply Chain Management, Customer Relationship Management, Human Resources Management and Payroll, Project, and Expenses will be expanded to deliver best-in-class feature breadth. In addition, tools are planned to help make implementation, migration, and upgrade quicker and more reliable to complete the product offering. For example, Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step will provide rapid, reliable implementation, migration, and upgrade of Microsoft Dynamics AX solutions and can help deliver quicker implementations and savings to our customers. Enriching the application with integrated hosted services, Web services, communities, and tools are our priorities to enable our customers to realize their full potential through their business software. A key product strategy for Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 is to provide industry-enabling features as part of the core product and have independent software vendors (ISVs) and partners build vertically relevant solutions on top of the core product. Five industries have been selected as key markets to be addressed with the Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solutions: Manufacturing, Distribution, Retail, Public Sector, and Professional Services. We will continue to deliver on the commitment of Microsoft Dynamics Wave 1 and 2 for major improvements in usability. Design improvements are targeted at all points in the application life cycle, from installation to everyday use, maintenance, and upgrade. New features and enhancements are already being planned for future releases beyond Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 in the areas of Web services, mobility, contextual business intelligence, and collaboration. To provide a comprehensive solution to international companies as well as larger organizations, Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 plans include enhancing Enterprise-capable features by increasing user capacity, transaction volumes, localizations, and industry specific solutions. Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 will support new business scenarios, deployment strategies, and localizations, and can be an important piece of your IT Governance Model providing a single solution to your IT strategy. The flexibility, integration with the
3 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION
Microsoft family of software products, and capacity to connect to legacy systems through its Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) can enable your company to fulfill your IT and business requirements. As we develop future Microsoft Dynamics AX functionality, we remain committed to extending and supporting the broad horizontal capabilities of the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform. We will continue to encourage our partners and ISVs to do what they do best: design, build, and implement the specific functionality that you need to run your business. The Microsoft Dynamics AX Team
BUILDING THE CONNECTED BUSINESS

Microsoft Dynamics AX is a highly customizable, global business management solution that supports a comprehensive range of business processes based on the latest advanced technology. When combined with the familiarity of the Microsoft product line, Microsoft Dynamics AX can help you build a truly connected business. For mid-size and large corporations, Microsoft Dynamics AX can be a key component of your IT strategy and provide the solution to meet your goals. This is the value we deliver to you, our customers, and the vision shared in this document.
1. Software that adapts to your business

To achieve operational and business goals, most companies need a mix of broad horizontal functionality, such as general finance, customer relationship management, and human resource management, as well as unique support for a specific line of business. The highly flexible architecture of Microsoft Dynamics AX allows our partner ecosystem to effectively extend and customize solutions to vertical or industry needs. This is a major benefit over our competitors, as the ability to tailor Microsoft Dynamics AX with add-on functionality while maintaining a low total cost of ownership provides significant and quickly realizable value. Vertically focused ISVs together with our partner ecosystem are supremely qualified to build solutions for various industries. Our partners possess deep expertise and knowledge of customers needs that are required to define business processes and build relevant industry functionality.
2. Regional features for a global economy

Microsoft Dynamics AX provides local and global functionality to meet geographic requirements. Continuously updated as tax and regulatory requirements change, our business solution helps you meet your country-wide, horizontal governmental and financial reporting obligations. We provide this horizontal localization in countries where there is an official Microsoft Dynamics AX release. Our partners focus on providing specific vertical and municipal regulatory enhancements and features. For example, while Microsoft focuses on delivering regulatory enhancements that are required by the majority of customers in a country, our partners provide add-ons and customizations for specific state, provincial, or city regulations and for vertical markets (such as insurance, real estate, and agriculture). With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0, Microsoft added Unicode support and two new regions Peoples Republic of China and Brazil. The localized version for Japan is targeted for release in June 2007. This brings the total list to 40 language versions and 36 country localizations. The strategy for Microsoft Dynamics AX includes continuous expansion into new markets with new localizations. As evidence of our continued commitment to expand into new markets, Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 will include support for bi-directional languages. We expect to enable Microsoft Dynamics AX for additional geographies in future releases. In addition, Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 will take another step forward in supporting multinational organizations by merging or consolidating the Global layer functionality for Iceland and the remaining GLS
features for Norway and Sweden into the Core code layer. We will provide additional detail on our merge and consolidation strategy later in 2007. The complete list of available country localizations and languages is included in the Appendix section of this document.
3. Works together with other Microsoft technology

The three-tier, object-oriented architecture of Microsoft Dynamics AX integrates with other Microsoft technologies, such as Microsoft SQL Server, offering high-speed server-side performance and the ability to easily scale IT infrastructure so that the solution can grow with your organization. Unlike business management systems that force the use of specialized toolsets, Microsoft Dynamics AX uses standard adapters that are based on SQL Server Reporting Services, Visual Studio.NET, and Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006. Microsoft BizTalk Server enables instant access to a wide variety of industry-standard integration protocols and trained integration partners so that you can connect to the systems of your business partners.
Figure 1: Microsoft technology stack In the future, Microsoft Dynamics AX will take advantage of public APIs in the Microsoft Office system, Windows, Windows Vista, and other software to provide even tighter integration between the Microsoft system of products and further enable our customers to realize more value from investments in Microsoft technologies. Note: Microsoft Dynamics AX also supports a version of the Oracle relational database, and we will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
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4. Performance and scalability

Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 combines improved security with enhanced performance and scalability compared to previous releases. These improvements make the latest release of Microsoft Dynamics AX better suited for larger organizations, including enterprise environments. We are committed to continued investment in security and reliability. Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 Benchmark Microsoft conducted the Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 Standard Distribution Benchmark Study to measure the performance and scalability characteristics of Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 in a simulated distribution scenario. This benchmark exercised core Accounts Receivables scenarios from order entry through invoicing, in addition to Procure to Pay processes from purchase order creation through receiving of goods. The scenarios generate load on an Application Object Server (AOS). In a Microsoft Dynamics AX installation, the AOS processes business logic in communication with clients and the database; the database server provides data to the AOS. In this benchmark, each AOS instance was hosted on a separate server. At the 1,000 concurrent user level, server usage and system response times showed good results. Server usage was less than 50 percent and response times were less than one second (with the exception of Sales Order Invoice which was between 1 and 2 seconds). Without the occurrence of locking, the benchmark showcased 55,000+ lines per hour for these scenarios. Additionally, this benchmark provided the results of the 3,000 concurrent user-level, server usage, and system response times including 165,000+ lines per hour for this industry standard benchmark scenario. The Microsoft Dynamics AX 2006 Benchmark report is available at http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/ax/product/hpbenchmark.mspx A benchmark toolkit called the Microsoft Dynamics AX Benchmark Add-in Framework is also available to help with benchmarking. This toolkit works with any .NET-enabled load testing tool to provide extensive load testing and benchmarking capabilities for Microsoft Dynamics AX. The toolkit supports scripting through Visual Studio, data manipulation for concurrent execution, and provides run-time capabilities along with sample scripts for partners and customers to extend for their own specific use. In essence, the framework is a platform for enabling performance testing as a preproduction and run-time phase.
5. Software that fits your needs

Delivering innovative and high-value solutions through our integrated platform is the key driver of Microsoft investment and research. Our Microsoft Dynamics AX research and development efforts are focused on addressing customer pain points. We gather requirements through communities, special programs, working groups, and events.
The features in Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 will map to the following categories: Improved application fundamentals Features added will address customer pain points and strengthen the core offerings to provide the greatest return on investment (ROI) for our customers. Improved collaboration and business intelligence Along with the completion of our product portfolio and more advanced features, Microsoft Dynamics AX will deliver on new business intelligence content and tools, including: o o o o New navigation menu and improved user interface. Workflow and configuration rules framework. Role Centers for each major persona from the Microsoft Dynamics AX Customer Model. Integration with the Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, a performance management solution that is scheduled for general availability in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2007. This new offering brings together next-generation monitoring, analytics, and planning capabilities in a complete performance management application. Prepackaged cubes and key performance indicators (KPIs). New Reporting tool.
o o
For more information about the planned enhancements in Microsoft Dynamics AX, see the Microsoft Dynamics AX Product Roadmap section later in this document.
6. Connecting people with data

Software provides tools to enable the harnessing of increasingly large volumes of information, which is the lifeblood of business today. At Microsoft, we believe organizations that put people at the center of information are better positioned to meet the challenges of a fast-changing, globally integrated and interconnected world. Software is instrumental to a People Ready business. Software enables people to turn data into insight, transform ideas into action, and turn change into opportunity. Microsoft is building the new generation of breakthrough business applications designed to amplify the impact of your people. To learn more about People-Ready business software, visit www.microsoft.com/peopleready. Another aspect of the People-Ready business is employee access and use. Even organizations that have a well designed business process software environment will not realize maximum business value if most of the employees do not use it. According to a 2006 study by AMR Research, for most companies that have a business management system, only 15 percent of the employees have a license to use the software and only half of these licenses are actually used. To reach out to the rest of the employees who typically do not have access to a business management system and to bridge the gap to meet their information needs, Microsoft has embarked on several exciting offerings.
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Integration with the Microsoft Office system Whether employees are working in Microsoft Dynamics AX or the Microsoft Office system, a consistent, familiar user experience awaits them. Microsoft Dynamics AX is designed to work like other familiar Microsoft software, such as Microsoft Office, so that users require less training to enable them to be productive. In addition to the integration of the core Microsoft Dynamics AX solution with other Microsoft software offerings, Microsoft is also developing Microsoft Dynamics Snap. Microsoft Dynamics Snap is a collection of applications known as snap-ins that can help users easily coordinate and manage data in Microsoft Dynamics AX by "snapping into" the Microsoft Office suite of applications. These snap-in applications can help improve productivity by providing direct access to Microsoft Dynamics data across the organization. In addition, they save time and help reduce errors because users don't have to switch between systems to access or modify data. And, because workers can perform tasks within the applications that they're most familiar with, there is less need for additional training. There are three categories of snap-ins: Inbound enablers, which import data from tools, such as Microsoft Office Excel, Outlook, and SharePoint Server into Microsoft Dynamics AX Outbound enablers, which export data from any grid and form in Microsoft Dynamics AX into tools, such as Microsoft Office, Excel, Outlook, or Word Composite applications, which combine data and processes in Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Office
Several snap-in applications are available in technical prerelease. Additional snap-ins are under development and will become available as soon as they are ready. In addition to the snap-in applications that are available today, we plan to combine the Business Data Lookup Snap-in, Time Sheet Management Snap-in, Vacation Management Snap-in, and the Custom Report Generator Snap-in into a robust, easy to deploy, and fully supported version to be released during the second half of calendar year 2007. The supported version of the Snap-in applications will be available in English, German, French, Danish, and Spanish. Latest news about Microsoft Dynamics Snap and the new tools that are ready for download can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/product/snap.mspx. Role Tailored user experience Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 plans include the Role Tailored user experience. This means that the software is designed for the specific job of each user role, whether a warehouse worker, finance clerk, or VP of Operations. Reporting and business intelligence are expected to be a native part of the experience that is tailored for each user role.
For more information about the usability improvements planned, see the Microsoft Dynamics AX Future Roadmap section of this document.
Microsoft Dynamics Client for Office and SharePoint Server According to a 2006 study by AMR Research, nearly 85 percent of the employees in an organization typically do not have access to the business management system. To address the information needs of such employees, a new thin client called Microsoft Dynamics Client for Microsoft Office and SharePoint Server is available. This offering will provide employees access rights to rich data and process information managed by Microsoft Dynamics AX at an affordable cost. Companies can deploy any type of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server or custom Microsoft Office Business Application as a front end to Microsoft Dynamics AX, enabling collaboration and reporting scenarios that are easily integrated into your broad base of employees. More information about Microsoft Dynamics Client for Microsoft Office and SharePoint Server can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/mar07/03-12Day1DynamicsOfficePR.mspx
7. Connecting your company with your community

7.1 Dynamics Live Surround Services Microsofts Live strategy is based on the use of powerful software, combined with Internet services, to deliver customers seamless experiences that shield them from technical complexity and improve user experience. For the first time ever, we can consider how to intentionally balance where to put the application, where to put the data, and how rich to make the user experience, based on factors such as security, mobility, and flexibility. Ray Ozzie Chief Software Architect Microsoft Corporation Microsoft Dynamics will extend the value of core business applications with a rich set of complementary online business services from Microsoft and its partners. This will provide customers many choices when they decide to move a particular business process online in a secure environment. Online business services will also offer you an alternative approach to integrate innovative business processes at a low cost. Microsoft is evaluating opportunities to develop business services in eCommerce service, payment service, and Office Live collaboration. 7.2 Microsoft Dynamics and SaaS Microsoft Dynamics is promoting a Software as a Service initiative through a partner model for hosted applications, including a subscription-based model for all of our enterprise resource planning ERP products, including Microsoft Dynamics AX. From a licensing perspective, Microsoft added a subscription-based pricing program and new use rights for Business Process Outsourcers (BPOs) under the Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) program.
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The Software as a Service initiative builds on an internal partnership between the Communications Sector Hosting Business and Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS). More information about this initiative can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/solutions/ 7.3 Microsoft Dynamics online community Our vision for Online Community is to make it easy for customers, partners, prospects, and Microsoft to broadly connect, collaborate, and learn from each other in a community environment. Microsoft Dynamics AX has enjoyed an active online community for several years that comprises partners and customers who share their experiences and knowledge. While these existing online communities are successful and active, they are primarily technical and specific to Microsoft Dynamics AX. More information about the Microsoft Dynamics AX Online Community can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/ax/community.mspx In addition to the existing product-specific communities, Microsoft is launching a set of functional communities that help users increase their business productivity by allowing them to effectively collaborate online. Some of the robust community feature sets include forums, tags, blogs, RSS Feeds, and structured networking. The Microsoft Dynamics Live Community for Finance is a community that shares the goals of enabling finance professionals to interact with each other and to share best practices. This community was launched in March 2007. More information about this community can be found at http://community.microsoftdynamicslive.com/ Additional online communities are planned to go live later in 2007.
8. Rapid implementation support: Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step

Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step is a new suite of tools, methodology, and services that are designed to help maximize and protect customer investments in Microsoft Dynamics solutions. These tools provide rapid, reliable implementation, migration, and upgrade of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step provides partners and customers with end-to-end business process flows that guide users through field-tested best practices, proven project management principles, and userfriendly tools that enable faster deployment, migration, configuration, and upgrade of Microsoft Dynamics products. Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step has taken a leading stand in unifying project management principles with implementation methodology and associated tools. The Sure Step Rapid Configuration Tool is available in English only; however, it does function with localized releases of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Training and Support The Sure Step Rapid Configuration Tool for Microsoft Dynamics is being released as a tool outside of the core Microsoft Dynamics AX application and is unsupported by Microsoft.
MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX FUTURE ROADMAP

Microsoft is committed to delivering People-Ready experiences to mid-size and enterprise organizations in support of customer relationships, operational excellence, product and services development, and supply chain management. Microsoft software uniquely helps businesses achieve their goals with products that are familiar and easy to use, widely supported, easy to connect, and innovative to meet real customer needs. The roadmap for future releases of Microsoft Dynamics AX is presented in this section for industry and verticals support, product-wide enhancements, and the Product Roadmap per major functional area.
Microsoft Dynamics AX Roadmap

Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 Scalable & Global
(2H2006)
Product release timeline in calendar year timeframes - as of March 2007 * Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 Application Functionality
(1H 2008)
Microsoft Dynamics AX 6.0 .NET Technology Platform
2006
2007
2008
2010
AX 4.0 SP1 (Q4 2006)
AX 4.0 SP2
Service packs
and
Service packs
and
(Summer 2007)
Extensions AX Extensions
(4Q2007)
Extensions
>CRM Integration >Lean Manufacturing

* Product release dates and content subject to change Release dates and enhancement and support details will vary by geography
Figure 2: Microsoft Dynamics AX product release timeline Figure 2 shows the Microsoft Dynamics AX product release timeline. Note that all of the dates that are listed in this calendar timeline are speculative and do not constitute a promise to deliver any given piece of technology at a given time.
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1. Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0: Industry and verticals

The product strategy for Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 is to provide industry-enabling features as part of the core product, with ISVs and partners building and delivering vertically relevant solutions as additions to the core product. Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solutions Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solutions help you tailor Microsoft Dynamics AX and run your business with industry-specific and vertically relevant functionality. Select ISVs and partners develop these solutions in accordance with Microsoft quality standards. The solutions are also packaged with a Microsoft customer support offering. Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solutions are designed to meet not only the demands of mid-sized companies focused on specific industries, but also the demands of larger, multinational enterprise customers.
Figure 3: Current core solution functionality and focus industries for Microsoft Dynamics AX As of May 2007, five industries have been selected as key markets to be addressed with the Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solutions: Manufacturing, Distribution, Retail, Public Sector, and Professional Services. Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solutions are designed to offer an attractive value proposition to customers working in our focus industries. Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solutions will be subject to the same level of
quality control as that of internally developed Microsoft Dynamics products. These solutions are distributed and supported by Microsoft Business Solutions Support Services globally. By the end of calendar year 2007, we expect to support 10-12 solutions across these five industries discussed earlier. We currently support solutions in Discrete and Process Manufacturing, Professional Services, and Retail. Beyond 2007, we are planning to release vertically focused solutions for Public Sector and Distribution, while continuing to expand and deepen our existing offerings. Benefits The industry solutions code for Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solutions will meet the same quality standards as Microsoft application code and will comply with technical guidelines created by Microsoft development. The partner ISVs who participate in the Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solutions are contractually required to follow the Microsoft development path. In addition, customers will have a single point of contact for support of their Microsoft Dynamics AX solution, including the core modules and Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solutions, which are sold on the Microsoft price list as Advanced Management Enterprise modules. If the Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solutions partner ISV goes out of business, Microsoft will have the right to acquire the Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solutions module intellectual property and find another partner to support and enhance the module. This minimizes risk while protecting your investments.
2. Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0: Core enhancements

2.1 Role Tailored user experience The software user experience is a core component of the Microsoft Dynamics application strategy. Role Centers The concept of the Role Center is to provide users with one place to see an overview of their work and to take action on their areas of responsibility. The Role Centers comprise more than 30 out-of-the-box pages that are tailored to the major roles that are defined in the Microsoft Dynamics Customer Model. The Role Centers will provide users with up-to-date content and functionality that is critical to performing their job on a daily basis. The benefits of the Role Centers are two-fold: Help users organize their work. Create a comprehensive view of each users area of responsibility and present it in a structured and more intuitive manner to help users: o Plan and prioritize users work. o Easily comprehend users relevant business information. o Become aware of critical changes, approval tasks, and exceptions in a unified task list.
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Empowers users to personalize their views. Users will be able to: o Personalize the content of the Role Center. o Add industry-specific content through Web parts.
Client user interface refresh Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 is expected to ship with an improved user interface design. User interface component Visual appearance Application controls for New, Delete Print List Query Better navigation through area pages in addition to the existing navigation pane Tree View First-level folders expanded by default, similar to Microsoft Office Outlook navigation model Single Document Interface (SDI) Task Pages where each window contains its own menu or toolbar Clicking in navigation pane changes the content area Benefits Similar look and feel to Microsoft Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system Easy-to-learn, more intuitive interface Locate commands easily Improved discovery of Filter lists
Navigation
Similar to Windows Vista navigation model Travel buttons and breadcrumb bar
Leverage window management features of Windows Vista 3-D window switcher Enhanced support of multiple monitors
Task pages no longer constrained by Multiple Document Interface frame Access to information
New filter pane Locate commands related to a list easily Increasing use of lists as the place to go to do work Ability to use the list pages instead of printing reports
Beyond Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0, Microsoft is committed to investing in a rich and satisfying user experience, leveraging the usability advances of the next release of Microsoft Office and Windows Vista. New Workflow engine and rules configuration Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 will leverage a new Workflow infrastructureMicrosoft Windows Workflow Foundationand deliver an integrated tool for the definition and the execution of workflow rules. This new feature is part of a larger vision around business processes execution and modeling tailored to customer needs. Compliance enforcement with the policies and procedures defined in a company is a key scenario. The new workflow framework comprises three major components: Workflow templates definable per business process and document Workflow configuration setup allowing the definition of basic and advanced approval rules, including delegation, escalation, and audit trail Unified task list for the approver
The key benefits from the new workflow framework include: Reduced TCO when configuring existing or new workflows. More agility to react to change in the workflow rules or to adapt to specific needs.
2.2 Business intelligence and reporting tools The business intelligence vision for Microsoft Dynamics AX is to take a leading position in the business management solutions market by delivering an integrated business performance management solution and platform. To deliver on this vision, Microsoft Dynamics AX leverages the Microsoft Business Intelligence platform that comprises product offerings from Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Office, and includes products and technologies to enable optimized data integration and storage, personal and team insight, and corporate performance management.
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Figure 4: Microsoft Business Intelligence offerings Microsoft Dynamics AX integrates with the Microsoft Business Intelligence platform offerings and delivers on the following core value adding fundamentals that differentiate our ERP business intelligence solution offerings. 1. Out-of-the-box Microsoft Dynamics AX includes rich business intelligence functionality to meet the specific requirements of business users across all levels in an organization. In addition, it includes an integrated and robust set of model-driven developer/IT tools and frameworks to streamline continued customization, extensibility, deployment, and management. 2. RoleTailored Microsoft Dynamics AX enables users to easily gain access to the information relevant to their functional roles to enable contextual business insight and confident decision making across the organization. Rolebased business intelligence content is delivered out-of-the-box through prepackaged reports, analytical views, Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services cubes to enable Microsoft Office Excel integrated explorative data analysis, and Microsoft SQL Server Report Builder Ad Hoc Reporting Models for self-service reporting. 3. Embedded Microsoft Dynamics AX business intelligence solution offerings are integrated in the core product. Navigation paths to business intelligence data views and models are surfaced seamlessly in a role-based
and contextual manner within the Microsoft Dynamics AX client and Enterprise Portal. The embedded experience enhances discoverability and enables targeted explorative analysis by using Microsoft Office Excel and Microsoft SQL Report Builder integrated ad hoc reporting and analysis capabilities. 4. Scalable A fundamental goal for Microsoft Dynamics AX is to deliver integrated business intelligence solutions that can scale to address growing business needs and leverage related technology investments. Microsoft seeks to deliver solutions that scale seamlessly to meet the functional requirements and Microsoft platform technology investments of mid-size and enterprise businesses. 5. Customizable The unique, comprehensive model-driven and metadata-based architecture of Microsoft Dynamics AX enables easier customization. These architectural attributes also apply to the Microsoft Dynamics AX Business Intelligence solution offerings. Customizations to the base data model can be passed through to application user business intelligence data models and views with minimal investment of time and effort. 6. Sustainable Business growth can result in demands for increased technology investments in the Microsoft Business Intelligence solutions. These solutions will also continue to evolve at a rapid pace to provide the foundation for richer and more sophisticated business intelligence scenarios. Both of these factors drive demand for a business management solution that can adapt to new technology investments and simplify technology upgrades. The unique model-driven and metadata-based architecture of Microsoft Dynamics AX enable its business intelligence solution offerings to deliver on this requirement. In addition, modeldriven business intelligence frameworks and tools will enable upgrades to more advanced business intelligence solutions from Microsoft in the future. Features planned for 5.0 The following list summarizes the Microsoft Dynamics AX business intelligence solution offerings planned for Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0. Developer/IT productivity Model-driven framework to autogenerate Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services dimensional models and cubes from the Microsoft Dynamics AX transactional system (metadata and data). All core semantics that are defined and embedded in the Microsoft Dynamics AX metadata will flow through to the dimensional models and cubes that are generated by the framework. New production reporting tools that integrate Microsoft Dynamics AX deeply with Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services and deliver value adding services like auto reports, report style templates, localization capabilities, and seamless business logic integration.
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Personal and team insight Out-of-the-box Role Centers with BI Dashboards and rich data views for more than 30 business user personas, built on Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. Visually rich and interactive out-of-the-box production reports built on Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services that integrate transactional and analytical views of data. Out-of-the-box Role Tailored and data bound Microsoft Office Excel Report books. A more extensive collection of out-of-the-box SQL Server Analysis Services cubes with Role Tailored perspectives to enable explorative analysis in Microsoft Office Excel and the Microsoft PerformancePoint Analytics Client offerings. In future releases, we will enhance metadata-based search and enable model-driven role-based navigation paths to business intelligence content. Role and context-aware navigation paths to newly added reports, analytical views, and ad hoc reporting models will be seamlessly displayed in the Microsoft Windows client and Enterprise Portal. Other planned enhancements include the optimization of relational Reporting Data Marts and Data Warehouses to enable advanced enterprise-scale data integration for reporting and analytics. Corporate performance management Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, scheduled for general availability in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2007, is intended to help companies manage performance in a single, integrated application. Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 is expected to support score-carding, analytics, planning, budgeting, consolidation and forecasting that can reach across all employees in the business and across finance, operations, marketing, sales, and human resources. The solution will help businesses to broadly deliver performance management capabilities across the organization by bringing together the power and ease of use of the Microsoft Office system and the performance and scalability of Microsoft SQL Server. With Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007: Business executives can drive accountability and alignment across and up-and-down the organization. Information workers can monitor, analyze, and plan activities with an integrated and collaborative solution. IT managers can drive better adoption and compliance by enabling organizations to better associate business intelligence and corporate performance.
Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 data integration PerformancePoint Server Monitoring and Analytics can access and combine data from a variety of data sources. The data source wizard of PerformancePoint Server Monitoring and Analytics can connect to data from Microsoft Office Excel, SharePoint Server lists, SQL Server database, Analysis Services and any ODBCcompliant source. This enables you to bring data from Microsoft Dynamics AX cubes into a rich dashboard environment that is hosted on Microsoft SharePoint Server, which gives you the ability to easily monitor the performance of your company and conduct richer analyses of your data.
A data import wizard will allow customers to move transactional financial data, including budget transactions, from Microsoft Dynamics AX to PerformancePoint Server Planning by using an easy to use, point-and-click interface. The data import wizard will allow you to integrate Microsoft Dynamics AX data with other business data, allowing business users to monitor, analyze, plan, budget, and forecast based on the complete set of corporate data. More information about Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 Monitoring, Analytics, and Planning can be found at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/performancepoint/default.aspx New dashboard: The CEO Portal Along with the introduction of Role Centers, Microsoft will deliver the first dashboard for C-Level personas, such as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), starting with the CEO Dashboard. The value of the CEO dashboard is to: Provide visibility into overall company performance by using high quality content, such as key performance indicators, charts, reports, quick links, and alerts. Highlight exceptions (poor or exceptional performance) and provide drill-down capabilities to identify root causes. Empower the CEO for to take corrective actions and make fast and informed decisions.
The comprehensive business intelligence repository built on the business intelligence framework and personalization capabilities of the Enterprise Portal will empower CEOs to personalize the CEO Dashboard for short-term and long-term needs for information and unique needs based on their industry. The Business Intelligence and Enterprise Portal infrastructure to be delivered in Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 release will enable the creation of industry-specific dashboards through additional Web parts. 2.3 Improved support for compliance Microsoft Dynamics AX will continue to improve the framework and tools to help businesses manage the challenges of compliance more effectively. Improved visibility of internal controls Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 is expected to deliver several compliance-related Web parts that can be used for a compliance-specific home page, as well as used on other home pages. These Web parts will directly integrate with Microsoft Dynamics AX to provide: Reliable and timely alerts and controls on business process execution. Support for user-defined and centrally managed controls.
Other capabilities are expected to include sharing compliance documents and evaluation of controls, including the Microsoft Dynamics Solution Accelerator for Compliance Management. This tool is
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based on the framework for internal controls recommended by The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Improve internal controls and reduce the cost of compliance With Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0, new capabilities are expected that will help enforce security and compliance to corporate policies and procedures. The new workflow framework will provide templates per business process, including a flexible rules definition setup and audit trail. All notifications and alerts will be unified in one task list for the ease of review and action, including the delegation and escalation of approvals. A new Microsoft Dynamics Expenses solution is expected to provide out-ofthe-box configurable rules to alert on potential travel policies violations.
For future releases of Microsoft Dynamics AX, new features and enhancements will include additional outof the-box reports related to compliance; Task Recorder for fast and easy documentation of user activity for important compliance-related tasks in a variety of popular Microsoft Office formats (Word, PowerPoint, Visio); improved support for compliance standards such as Sarbanes-Oxley and IFRS; support for compliance-related workflows; and an improved dashboard for compliance to provide visibility to key compliance-related information and to easily track and manage compliance activities. 2.4 International companies and Enterprise support As your company grows, creating new branches, subsidiaries and/or manufacturing plants globally and making acquisitions, you will need to implement business processes and have insight in each of your operations to better manage your expansion and achieve your goals. Microsoft understands that large organizations and enterprises face more complex functional requirements and the need to support large volumes of users and transactions. Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 is an excellent business management solution for many large organizations and enterprises. Future releases of the solution will focus on even greater scalability and performance, additional horizontal and industry-specific functionality, and tighter integration with other Microsoft infrastructure and productivity tools. Microsoft integration for the enterprise Many companies prefer to rely on a single vendor, where possible, for the different components of their business management solution. With Microsoft Dynamics AX as the business management solution, the infrastructure of the Microsoft SQL Server database, Windows Server operating system, and BizTalk Server business process management system, your organization can attain a single vendor solution with the backing and support of Microsoft product support. In addition, Microsoft can also provide a wide range of productivity tools businesses need, such as the 2007 Microsoft Office system, and robust development tools based on Microsoft .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio. Integration between all of these components can lead to lower maintenance costs, IT support costs, and more elegant interaction between the various systems. Furthermore, Microsoft tools enjoy a large base of existing users, so most companies may already have many employees and consultants who are familiar with Microsoft technology, leading to quick adoption by employees and lower training costs.
Microsoft Dynamics AX solutions are built on a truly global platform that supports the architecture, languages, currencies, accounting, statutory compliance, and reporting capabilities that enterprises require to compete in the world economy today. Central to Microsoft Dynamics AX product strategy is the delivery of one single global product that encompasses the requirements and languages of the worlds largest economies. Multiple division enterprise scenario: Multiple instances The multiple instances scenario is supported within Microsoft Dynamics AX. This scenario allows our customers to create multiple regional instances in order to address flexible deployment needs. Even if some divisions of an enterprise continue to operate their legacy systems during a global rollout of a Microsoft Dynamics AX implementation, the Microsoft Dynamics AX General Ledger is specifically designed to accommodate external sources of accounting information, therefore enabling a central place for performing eliminations and consolidation while maintaining separate instances and synchronization of master data between the different regions. Some enterprises that run Microsoft Dynamics AX across multiple divisions have found that Microsoft Dynamics AX can provide a lightweight and flexible solution that can be tailored to support the needs of each division, while allowing business data to roll up into a unified chart of accounts and unified customer, vendor, and inventory tables if needed. While supporting multiple divisions, Microsoft Dynamics AX still offers the same user interface, low total cost of ownership, and when the time comes, the ease of upgrade. The critical benefit is that an enterprise can roll out Microsoft Dynamics AX in a multiple division scenario, and then at their choosing and on their own timetable, smoothly integrate the multiple internal companies into an overall headquarters implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX.
Figure 5: Multisite deployment of Microsoft Dynamics AX Unlike many other business management solutions that either require an implementation to be built all at once or are prohibitively expensive to modify after going live, Microsoft Dynamics AX can be rolled out
22
one division at a time. This allows you and your implementation staff to learn the best approach for business process management and implementation management at your specific company. The result is a predictable and manageable rollout of Microsoft Dynamics AX over time, involving less risk of failure and provable return on investment (ROI) after each implementation. Headquarters enterprise scenario: Single instance Our enterprise strategy for the future focuses on increasing the value of the solution to larger organizations that want to use Microsoft Dynamics AX in either the multiple division or headquarters scenario, while continuously improving scalability and performance to allow even more concurrent users and higher transaction volumes.
Figure 6: Single global implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX The single instance scenario is considered by many of our customers and analysts as the targeted architecture to guarantee the lowest total cost of ownership TCO, better control over processes and data, fast book closing, and reporting, as well as providing one central place to enforce compliance and monitoring of internal controls. Microsoft Dynamics AX is committed to supporting the single instance scenario by delivering incremental but substantial improvements in future releases. Such planned improvements include: Continued integration of additional localizations into the core layer. Time zone support. Improved mass configuration and update tools. Multi-GAAP enhancements. Continued investments for better performances and scalability. 2.5 Web services and Service-Oriented Architecture Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is an architecture principle in which IT resources are exposed as a portfolio of reusable services that are accessible over the network in order to be composed into larger end23 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION
to-end business processes that are consumed by systems and people. Rather than forcing customers into major infrastructure reworks and application upgrades, Microsoft will continue to promote an incremental, middle-out approach as part of Real World SOA. This suggests a step-by-step approach with a focus on leveraging and extending the use of existing IT assets guided by concrete business drivers and a broad vision in order to be successful. Microsoft Dynamics approach Microsoft will remain focused on partner and customer business benefits in executing on our Web services and SOA strategy. Streamlined A2A and B2B integration Our investments aim to streamline application-to-application and business-to-business integration and enable collaborative business processes across trading partners. Increased business agility The object-oriented design and robust development environment of Microsoft Dynamics AX has historically delivered superior flexibility and affordable adaptability, allowing individual customer needs to be modeled with ease and at low cost, while leveraging the data consistency and deep integration that stems from a single database and common data model. Thousands of small and mid-sized businesses around the world that rely on Microsoft Dynamics AX as their primary business backbone have leveraged this flexibility to build sustainable competitive advantage. For core and upper mid-market and enterprise size companies, Microsoft Dynamics AX typically becomes part of a broader application landscape. Through Web services, we are enabling companies to expose Microsoft Dynamics AX as part of a portfolio of business services and flexibly create end-to-end crossapplication processes as part of a Service Oriented Architecture strategy by using Microsoft technologies or third-party technologies. Service-oriented architecture components Along with our investments in Microsoft Dynamics AX, we are leveraging integration with other Microsoft technologies, including the Microsoft Dynamics AX Application Integration Framework (AIF); .NET Framework 3.0 and its extended components, in particular, Windows Communication Foundation and Windows Workflow Foundation; BizTalk Server; SQL Server; the 2007 Microsoft Office system; Microsoft Dynamics Snap; and Office SharePoint Server to deliver applications, tools, and technologies that enable our customers and partners to expose, compose, consume, and manage Web services as part of innovative composite applications. Microsoft will make use of standard Web services where they offer advantages, reverting to proprietary interfaces and protocols to overcome Web Services limitations. Web services in Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 In Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0, we plan to enhance the existing functionality to support, create, read, and update (CRU) operations as part of the Application Integration Framework (AIF). Furthermore, we aim to significantly expand the scope of available Web services to provide comprehensive support for the most common business-to-business and application-to-application scenarios. At the same time, AIF can be used
24
to easily customize and extend existing Web services, and to build new services to accommodate specific implementation needs. Supported business scenarios Order-to-cash Procure-to-pay Sourcing events, including request for quotation (RFQ) and sales quotation Subcontracted operations for configure-to-order, including bill of materials and routing information Field service management, including service agreements, service orders, and meter reading Project management Human resource management, including payroll, leave request, and time and attendance Finance and accounting Application-to-application integration Integration between Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Dynamics CRM: Customers seeking a familiar, Outlook-based customer relationship management (CRM) front office application while leveraging Microsoft Dynamics AX back office will benefit from end-toend, customer-facing processes that are based on consistent customer, campaign, product, and inventory information across applications. Microsoft Dynamics AX multi-instance deployments: Customers running multiple instances of Microsoft Dynamics AX can leverage master data services to simplify master data maintenance across instances. Hub and spoke: Customers who use a hub and spoke model can leverage support for common master data and business documents that are associated with hub and spoke scenarios. We encourage customers and partners to leverage our Microsoft Dynamics AX investments and the integration across the Microsoft technology stack to build additional composite applications. Beyond Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 Future releases of Microsoft Dynamics AX will further emphasize the creation of People Ready composite applications by leveraging the expansion of both Web services support in Microsoft Dynamics AX and the broader Microsoft stack, including our investments in Office Business Applications (OBAs) and the 2007 Microsoft Office system, BizTalk and Workflow Foundation, Office SharePoint Server, PerformancePoint Server, and others. Customers should expect Web services support to be an integral part of forthcoming feature development and can look forward to increasingly richer services that not only expose Microsoft Dynamics AX business logic, but also enrich business processes by leveraging external services. We understand the increasing importance of master data management, and we plan to make investments that will help enable SOA strategies and reduce TCO by streamlining application maintenance.
As we enter new applications categories, such as supplier relationship management (SRM), customers can expect Microsoft to increasingly leverage SOA concepts and Web services to provide incremental deployments, and to further simplify integration with third-party line-of-business (LOB) applications to create end-to-end business processes across on-premise, Microsoft, and partner-hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) offerings. 2.6 Reducing TCO for the application life cycle While expanding the Microsoft Dynamics AX feature set, products, and global coverage, we also are focusing on reducing the total cost of ownership for customers. Ongoing research and investment in improving the phases of the application life cycleinstalling, configuring, customizing, using, maintaining, and upgradingremains a top priority for our product development team. The following list summarizes the key improvements that are planned to help customers install and maintain Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0: Simplified installation of Enterprise Portal and Role Centers Automated installation of prerequisites, such as Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), Windows SharePoint Services, and IIS compatibility modules Support of multi-instance application installations to the same directory Simpler installation of AIF Web services Addition of new components, such as Windows Workflow Foundation and Microsoft Office Project integration, analysis, and planning Ease of servicing and maintenance Ability to add, modify, and remove components Improved data migration Improved data upgrade
3. Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 - Scope

Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 is expected to include substantial new functionality as well as quality improvements. This section highlights the key enhancements in Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 for each of the following functional areas: Financials Supply Chain Management Customer Relationship Management Human Resources Management and Payroll Project Expenses
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3.1 Financials in Microsoft Dynamics AX In addition to the system-wide enhancementscompliance improvements, business intelligence and reporting, Role Centers for various personas in the finance department, and improved workflowMicrosoft Dynamics AX 5.0 is expected to include major enhancements in all financial areas, allowing our customers to more easily embrace best practices in managing their businesses. Key enhancements include: Support for shared services scenarios for: o o Centralized payments across companies. Centralized payment receipts across companies.
Support for automated back-end allocations. Support for three-way matching for accounts payable. Credit card processing for accounts receivable.
Combined with the localization enhancements for tax reporting and continued support for existing electronic bank formats, Microsoft Dynamics AX delivers on the promises of automating the financial supply chain, providing streamlined end-to-end, integrated business scenarios. Additional enhancements address more advanced financial needs, allowing large or growing businesses to manage globally distributed and complex organizations. Planned features include: New enterprise model visualization. Consolidation and eliminations enhancements. Ability to post net income to multiple equity accounts (account + multiple dimension combinations). Budget revision capability. Ability to drill back from Microsoft FRx reports to details in Microsoft Dynamics AX
We are committed to delivering best practices and functionality in the future. Such best practices may include enhancements to the financial supply chain, compliance, business intelligence, and increased support for large enterprises in various areas, such as multi-GAAP, treasury, fixed assets, consolidation and a new automated budgetary control, and support for public sector.
3.2 Supply chain management in Microsoft Dynamics AX Future releases of Microsoft Dynamics AX are expected to help customers adopt the latest advances in Supply Chain Management (SCM) technologies, raising the reliability and responsiveness of the demand and supply plans, and driving efficiencies in execution processes. The following are our objectives for future releases: Reduce the impact of variations that are generated by external and internal factors, such as demand fluctuations and machine breakdown, through better process control and dynamic multisite order fulfillment. Reduce waste by streamlining the value chain through better value stream visualization and crossfunctional and partner collaboration, thereby eliminating excess and error-prone processes, and reducing inventory levels. Achieve higher throughput by identifying and mitigating bottlenecks through better process insight, demand forecasting, and flexible planning options. Addressing these objectives can have a direct impact on return on investment, working capital management, and net profit. To deliver on these expectations, we are focused on delivering key features that span over the following major areas: Demand and supply planning Collaboration and integration among engineering, operations, sales, and finance Improved execution processes
The following section highlights the key features that are expected to be delivered in Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 for each major area.
28
1) Planning and scheduling Multisite supply planning Improved planning for bottlenecks New Gantt chart component with improved usability Service dispatching and scheduling
2) Collaboration and integration among engineering, operations, sales, and finance Better collaboration o o o Role Centers for various SCM personas Workflows (approvals, task notifications/alerts, and task lists with drill-down capabilities) based on Windows Workflow Foundation Collaboration with customers, suppliers, and technicians using the Enterprise Portal based on Windows SharePoint Services or Office SharePoint Server Better integration o o o Sales-to-service integration (integration of sales orders with service management) Multisite support (transfers, trade/purchase orders and sales orders, bill of materials, routes, picking, scheduling, subcontracting, and shop floor control) Web services enrichment for procure-to-pay and order-to-cash processes
3) Improved execution processes Lean processes: Lean sales and purchase order management, including Kanban and Taktime calculations Electronic signatures Customer returns management, including key performance indicators (KPIs) Improved cost tracking, allocation, bucketing, and variances Improved shop floor control for costing, project manufacturing, and reporting Improved procurement: Purchase requisitions and request for quote (RFQ) Improved warehouse processes for better usability Multisite product configuration
Future releases of Microsoft Dynamics AX are expected to help customers drive supply chain process excellence through the integration of quality management, supplier relationship management, sales and operations planning that is fully integrated with Microsoft Office and more lean principles. Together with our partners who leverage these robust core processes by developing innovative vertical solutions, we will continue to deliver functionality that meets the requirements of global organizations.
3.3 Customer relationship management in Microsoft Dynamics AX Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 is expected from increased exposure in Enterprise control execution across your sales and we are increasing the overall depth proposition of CRM. Planned key enhancements include: Customer 360 view A central view of the customer combines analytical, transactional, and operational information in an easily consumable manner, based on the users role in the company. It serves as the conduit from the front office to the back office. Lead management The lead management enhancement will be available in both Enterprise Portal and the Microsoft Dynamics AX client. Users will be able to create and manage all of their sales leads, create unique lead qualification processes, and turn those leads into well qualified opportunities for sales personnel, thereby reducing the cost of pursuing inappropriate deals. Opportunity management Opportunity management enhancements will be available in both Enterprise Portal and the Microsoft Dynamics AX client. Users will be able to create and manage all of their sales opportunities, create unique sales processes, create quotations, and manage the sales pipeline, thereby helping to increase their overall closure rates. Hierarchical process templates The hierarchical process templates are used for creating reusable lead qualification processes, sales methodologies, and campaign processes to better focus on the right deals, better manage closure rates, provide consistency into pipeline data, and increase the return on marketing investments. Microsoft Exchange integration Building on the Microsoft Office Outlook integration in Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0, we will be offering a direct inbound and outbound Microsoft Exchange integration. This will allow for server-side processing of e-mail, appointments, and contacts that will enable easier assignment of tasks and appointments and sending mail, allowing anyone who travels to work while out of the office. Inbound e-mail will be processed against a set of rules to assist in bridging the structured and unstructured worlds together by providing Microsoft Dynamics AX context-relevant business information within Outlook and associating e-mail to Microsoft Dynamics AX entities, providing a permanent history of the interaction. to enhance the value proposition for an integrated CRM solution, Portal to flexible process definitions that can help manage and marketing organizations. By focusing on adding value to the suite, and providing foundational elements for enhancing the value
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Global address book The global address book is expected to be the single location for viewing and defining relationships between customers, prospects, vendors, employees, competitors, and internal organizations. The global address book lays the foundation for the evolution of Microsoft Dynamics AX customer relationship management. The next evolutionary step for Microsoft Dynamics AX is to become the enterprise business relationship management solution. The application will model people, organizations, and their relationships with each other, regardless of whether they are internal or external to the enterprise. This holistic perspective of the enterprise network will allow for consistent, enterprise-wide decision-making by providing secured access to all activity, regardless of the nature of the transaction or the type of interaction. Graphical depictions of the relationships and fuzzy logic search capabilities will enable the linking of relationships that would otherwise not be possible. This information then can be used to: Identify new sales opportunities. Negotiate purchase and sales contracts that take into account all activity across the entire enterprise, not just sales or purchases individually in one company. Provide a navigation path for closing a particular sale. Identify potential strategic partnerships, even if the participants are competitors. Identify potential conflicts of interest proactively and provide early visibility into potential organizational or people bottlenecks, so that appropriate action can be taken.
By shifting from focusing solely on customer relationships to focusing on all business relationships, Microsoft will lead the way in redefining the value that integrated CRM brings to business management solutions. Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Microsoft is planning to release the connector between Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Dynamics CRM in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2007. The connector is expected to include a set of Web services that allow real-time synchronization of information between Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The Web services include synchronization of customer information, product unit information, inventory, shipping methods and warehousing, sales orders and quotations, invoices and discounts. Microsoft Dynamics AX customers may consider supplementing their solution with Microsoft Dynamics CRM in scenarios where they have:
A large sales force as part of their organization. A mobile and remote work force. A call center environment.
A services company (such as financial services). A high volume of leads and have a practice for leads management.
Under these scenarios, the combined use of Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Dynamics CRM can provide a compelling solution for broad user adoption of CRM. In addition to this connector, customers will continue to benefit from the integrated CRM modules in Microsoft Dynamics AX: Sales Management, Sales Force Automation, Telemarketing, and Marketing Automation. The integrated CRM modules provide a powerful solution to customers who need a CRM solution that is fully integrated with Microsoft Dynamics AX. The integrated CRM modules provide integration with Microsoft Office, including Microsoft Office Outlook.
3.4 Human resources management and payroll in Microsoft Dynamics AX Microsoft Dynamics AX includes a full suite of human resources management and payroll functionality. Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 is expected to offer enhanced integration and usability across the core areas of organization, job, and employee. In addition, Role Centers will allow users to have a customizable view of the information that is important to their jobs. Enhancements also will be made to Human Resource Management for U.S. compliance to provide support for the Americans with Disabilities Act and Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification). The following planned human resources management enhancements will allow organizations to be more efficient in managing their workforce: Role Centers Integration between Human Resource Management in Microsoft Dynamics AX and Payroll Combined employee table Combined organizational structure and job/position
Effective dating for employees, contact information, jobs, positions, and organizations
3.5 Project planning in Microsoft Dynamics AX Project in Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 is used by a wide variety of customers and industries. Several key features are expected to be introduced in this next release: Integration to production This feature will enable project-based manufacturers to gain early visibility into manufacturing costs as a fundamental part of their projects. Integration to Microsoft Project Server Microsoft Project Server is used by organizations to gain visibility into and effectively manage project resources. Seamless, bi-directional integration with Project in Microsoft Dynamics AX will extend
32
project and resource management capabilities to Microsoft Dynamics AX and offer an end-to-end business solution for project-driven businesses. Hierarchical activities Complementing the existing project/subproject structure, users are expected to be able to create a hierarchical work breakdown structure to better manage and control project costs and deliverables. Cost control Purchase order and production committed costs provide insight into projected costs and enable tighter control over potential cost overruns. Integration to Expense Management A new Expense Management module in Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 is planned to allow Project users to charge their travel-related expenses against projects. User-defined project stages Users will to have the ability to configure project stages and processing capabilities based on their business processes. Cash flow Users are expected to have the ability to budget and analyze the actual cash flow on a project by project or a group of related projects. Employee utilization Managers will be able to gain insight into the overall effectiveness of employees and projects. Direct balance sheet posting for fixed price and investment projects To increase flexibility for how work in process (WIP) is posted, new methods are being introduced that will allow users to post directly to the balance sheet instead of having to run the estimate system first. Export to Excel from statistics forms Users will be able to create PivotTable views directly from the Statistics form in Project to perform more detailed analysis or distribute the results to non-Microsoft Dynamics AX users.
In the future, we will continue to expand the horizontal capabilities of the solution, making it more attractive to an increased number of industries. Increased functionality available in Enterprise Portal is planned, extending the reach not only to the project manager, but also to customers, subcontractors, and other stakeholders. 3.6 Expenses in Microsoft Dynamics AX In Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 we expect to introduce a new Expense Management module to the product portfolio. Expense Management provides the ability to automate the process of managing one of the largest discretionary costs a company incurstravel and entertainment (T&E) expenses. Expense
Management is integrated with the financial modules and Project in Microsoft Dynamics AX, and is delivered through the Web-based Enterprise Portal. Key Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 features and benefits include: 100% Web enabled By delivering Expense Management in an easily deployable Web browser solution Enterprise PortalMicrosoft Dynamics AX can provide an out-of-the-box, low TCO solution to all employees. Expense entry Expense entry in Enterprise Portal enables employees to enter and submit expense reports online, reducing the total cost of processing expense reports. Approvals This feature allows expense reports and cash advance requests to be routed to managers or other approvers, who can approve them with the click of a button. Cash advance administration This feature allows employees to submit a cash advance request in whatever currency they need. The request flows through an approval process as necessary. The cash advance administrator can consolidate requests that are submitted by all employees for easier management of cash distribution. Per diems Companies can define per diem amounts that are available to employees based on multiple criteria. This includes the ability to give a per diem allowance based on the country where the employee is traveling, when the employee is traveling, and more. It is also possible to reduce per diem allowances by percentage for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and set minimum hours for per diems. Mileage This feature allows for reimbursement of mileage expenses incurred when using a personal car. This includes the ability to track miles traveled, which can determine the amount of mileage reimbursement received. Hotel wizard The hotel wizard is a feature that allows users to easily allocate hotel charges to multiple expense categories to meet regulatory and accounting needs. Expense policies To enforce compliance with T&E policies and guidelines, Expense Management provides the ability to define company policies and apply them during expense entry. This includes flagging expenses that are out of policy, so both employees and approvers can view them at the time of entry and approval.
34
Credit card and travel account transaction import By providing a framework to import credit card and travel account transactions charged to corporate cards, companies can import transactions on a regular basis. Employees can then automatically add these transactions to expense reports at the time of entry. Reporting and analytics A key benefit to automating the expense management process is the ability to easily report on the total expenses that flow through the system. Expense Management helps companies analyze and audit their discretionary spending by providing out-of-the-box analytics.
Beyond Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0, Microsoft expects to continue to expand the Expense Management functionality. Some key areas of focus will be: Features that help reduce T&E costs. Features that make the process of entering, approving, and managing expense reports more efficient. Efforts to centralize and gain more control over spending categories.
4. Beyond Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0

Future plans for Microsoft Dynamics AX call for more Role Tailored functionality, best of business process integration across the application, enhanced multinational support and compliance support for SarbanesOxley and IFRS, along with an expanded corporate performance management solution. We plan to expand Microsoft Dynamics AX capabilities across additional industries and deliver additional enhancements to the product suite. New features and themes are already planned for future releases beyond Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 in the areas of Web services, mobility, contextual business intelligence, and collaboration. Microsoft Dynamics AX plans to expand its Enterprise-capable features to provide broader support for international and large organization requirements in terms of functionality, business processes, industry specific-features, as well as infrastructure. Part of our future strategy is to Web-enable Microsoft Dynamics AX to allow users to access 100% of the application in a Web browser.
CONCLUSION
This document outlines the future direction of Microsoft Dynamics AX through the year 2010. It also shows how leveraging the planned innovations in Microsoft Dynamics AX, combined with the familiarity with other Microsoft products, make it possible to build a connected business. This is the value we aim to deliver to our customers and the value that guides our investments in Microsoft Dynamics AX. Our goal is to provide a complete solution that can scale to support your growth and company strategy by delivering an adaptable solution that remains flexible and capable to cross borders, handle large transaction volumes, and large numbers of users. Microsoft Dynamics AX can fulfill requirements of midmarket companies to international companies as well as larger organizations. Microsoft Dynamics AX is a comprehensive and scalable ERP solution that, along with implementation methodology and tools, supports your IT strategy while maintaining a low Total Cost of Ownership by:
helping minimize risks and reduce implementation costs, enabling integration and communication scenarios, enhancing usability and user acceptance, offering a long term relationship through a clear roadmap.
As we develop future Microsoft Dynamics AX functionality, we remain committed to extending the broad horizontal capabilities of the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform, and we will continue to encourage our partners and ISVs to do what they do best: provide and implement the specific functionality that our customers need to run their individual businesses.
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Appendix
Microsoft Dynamics AX country localizations SYS layer geographies and languages Country Languages Australia Austria Belgium Canada Denmark Finland France Germany Ireland Italy Malaysia Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Singapore South Africa Spain Switzerland UK US Australian English Austrian German Belgian French, Belgian Dutch Canadian English, Canadian French Danish Finnish French German English Italian Malaysian English Mexican Spanish Dutch New Zealand English Singapore English South African English Spanish Swiss French, Swiss German, Swiss Italian UK English US English
SYS layer geographies and languages (continued) Country Languages
The following countries are in the SYS layer, but contain some remaining features in the GLS layers. Microsoft plans to have all remaining GLS features for these countries in the SYS layer in Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0. Norway Sweden Norwegian Swedish
The following country is planned for merge and consolidation into the SYS layer in Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0. Iceland Icelandic
Country-specific GLS layers and languages Country Languages Brazil Peoples Republic of China India1 Japan2 Thailand Turkey Non-country specific3 Brazilian Portuguese Simplified Chinese English Japanese Thai Turkish Arabic
Note the India GLS layer does not lend itself to a multi-national environment because it relies on its own tax engine. The solution is in the process of being reengineered and redesigned to use the SYS layer tax engine. While the current Microsoft Dynamics AX solution continues to be available, the reengineered solution is planned for availability during the second half of 2008. 2 The release for Japan is targeted for release in June 2007. 3 The Arabic-language version is targeted for release with Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0.
1
38
Single Eastern Europe GLS layer and languages Country Languages Czech Republic Estonia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Poland Russia Czech Estonian Hungarian Latvian Lithuanian Polish Russian
Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 SYS and GLS Layers

With the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0, the following country-specific functionality was included in the SYS (core) layer: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway (see exception below), Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden (see exception below), Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, and the United States 4 . With Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0, an upgrade program is being provided that will migrate data associated with these country localizations into the appropriate SYS tables. However, it is important to note that there is some functionality that currently exists in the GLS (global) layers for the above countries that may not be compatible with a global deployment. This functionality will be provided separately for partners to include as necessary with national deployments. Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 will initially release with the following independent GLS layers: A Central and Eastern European GLS layer for Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Russia5. Norway: for most banking functionality including the eGiro, eInvoice, OCR Payments, Paying vendors, AvtaleGiro and File archiving features Sweden: for the Price Calculation and External Documents features
Note that for New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa, there are no local features in Microsoft Dynamics AX. Requirements are covered via features from the UK and Australia.
4
Note that there are some remaining issues that make it challenging to deploy multiple Eastern European countries in a single GLS layer. These issues can be addressed today by partners, but will be fixed as part of the Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 release.
5
Iceland India Turkey Thailand: Withholding tax and Unrealized VAT Brazil China a new country localization available Japan a new country localization available
Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 SYS and GLS Layers

The following layer consolidation work is planned for the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0. We intend to create a single GLS layer that works in single instance deployments together with the single core SYS layer: 1. Consolidate into the core SYS layer or make redundant the remaining GLS features for countries that are already in the SYS layer: Norway, Sweden, Iceland. 2. Consolidate the following versions into a single GLS layer for release with Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0: Brazil, China, Thailand, Arabic, Japan 3. Merge into the single, consolidated GLS layer the following countries in three phases up through the first half of 2009: Eastern Europe/Russia, India and Turkey
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Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions that enables you and your people to make business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics works like and with familiar Microsoft software, automating and streamlining financial, customer relationship and supply chain processes in a way that helps you drive business success.
U.S. and Canada Toll Free 1-888-477-7989 Worldwide +1-701-281-6500 www.microsoft.com/dynamics
The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, this document should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. This White Paper is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT. Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document. Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property. 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, the Microsoft Dynamics logo, BizTalk, Dexterity, Excel, FRx, Microsoft Dynamics, Outlook, PerformancePoint, PowerPoint, SharePoint, InfoPath, Visio, Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual SourceSafe, Visual Studio, Windows, Windows Vista and Windows Server are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, FRx Software Corporation, or Microsoft Business Solutions ApS in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft Business Solutions ApS and FRx Software Corporation are subsidiaries of Microsoft Corporation.

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MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX FUTURE ROADMAP ......................................................... 12

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

BUILDING THE CONNECTED BUSINESS

1. Software that adapts to your business

2. Regional features for a global economy

3. Works together with other Microsoft technology

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

4. Performance and scalability

5. Software that fits your needs

7 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

6. Connecting people with data

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

9 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

7. Connecting your company with your community

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

8. Rapid implementation support: Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX FUTURE ROADMAP

Microsoft Dynamics AX Roadmap

Microsoft Dynamics AX 6.0 .NET Technology Platform

AX 4.0 SP1 (Q4 2006)

>CRM Integration >Lean Manufacturing

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

1. Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0: Industry and verticals

2. Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0: Core enhancements

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

25 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

3. Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 - Scope

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

27 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

29 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

4. Beyond Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0

35 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

37 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

SYS layer geographies and languages (continued) Country Languages

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 SYS and GLS Layers

39 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

Microsoft Dynamics AX 5.0 SYS and GLS Layers

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

41 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX - STATEMENT OF DIRECTION

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