Microsoft Business Solutions products selection: ERP, CRM, Retail Management by:Andrew Karasev

Microsoft Business Solutions is Microsoft subdivision and historically it is joining

several products development companies under one roof: Great Plains Software, Navision Software, Microsoft CRM (this one was developed by MBS), Solomon Software, SMS: QuickSell 2000 - which is now Microsoft Retail Management System.

Let's first look at your ERP system selection (without Retail Solution). Your options are:

Microsoft Great Plains. If you remember successful mid-size application - Great Plains Dynamics, pioneered on Mac and Windows graphical platforms in the mid 1990th. This is now Microsoft Great Plains, Great Plains Standard and Microsoft Small Business Manager (scaled down Great Plains version, using he same technology - Great Plains Dexterity). Currently it is version 8.0, the only database platform option is Microsoft SQL Server/MSDE. Ctree and Pervasive SQL were abandoned, the last version, supporting these platforms was 7.5. You should consider Microsoft Great Plains if you are in: USA, Canada, Latin America, UK, South Africa, Australia - these are markets, where former Great Plains Software had successful penetration

Microsoft Navision. This product had success on European market and was developed by Navision Software, Denmark based software development company. In our opinion Microsoft bought this product in order to get European market share, especially continental Europe. Then, Microsoft Business Solutions realized that Navision is a good fit for countries with tight government regulation: taxes, chart of accounts (France and Russia), government reporting, etc. You should consider Navision if you have light manufacturing (we believe that Navision will be the base for future Microsoft Manufacturing suite) or located in the following regions: continental Europe, Russia, Brazil.

Solomon. This product has excellent Project Management solution and you should look at it if you are in the USA and have professional services or construction company.

Axapta. There are many different opinions about Axapta. We would like to withhold our opinion here and just tell you Microsoft Business Solutions opinion from Moscow - in Russia Axapta is successful and has approximately the same number of installations as Navision. Axapta is probably MBS stake on large enterprises market to compete with PeopleSoft (now Oracle) and SAP

And finally let us give you Retail Management System and CRM hints. Microsoft CRM is the only CRM option from Microsoft (in Navision you have Navision CRM module option - so this is an exception) and please, feel free to choose Microsoft CRM if you would like to try CRM from Microsoft. This CRM will be loved by your IT department, because it does use all Microsoft recent technologies: MS Exchange, .Net, MS SQL Server, Active Directory, BizTalk (integration with Great Plains), C# and VB.Net based MS CRM SDK.

Now - retail management. In the case of Navision - again you have retail module there. In all the other cases - you should try Microsoft RMS.

Happy decision making! if you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

About the author

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies - USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving Chicago, California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, New York, Madrid, Brazil, Moscow, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.

akarasev@albaspectrum.com

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