ERP Consulting: Microsoft Great Plains Partner Future Directions

In the Clinton era the status quo was simple: you serve your local clients and if you want to expand your business ? open offices in other business metros. Great Plains Software was granting generous margins on the software sales and stimulated local leading VARs/Partners/Resellers with so-called orphan leads ? customers who lapsed in payment annual enhancement program or called Great Plains Software directly to comply about quality of service by their VAR. When Microsoft purchased Great Plains Software and formed Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions (soon renamed into Microsoft Business Solutions) and acquired new ERP/MRP/accounting applications: Navision, Axapta, Solomon (Solomon Software was bought by Great Plains Software in the late 1990th). When Microsoft introduced Microsoft CRM ? it tried to change traditional partner reselling model, let's see what it is and why (this is our personal opinion ? we are trying to envision the future for generic ERP VAR)

? Remote Support. This means that you do not have to be at the client office to troubleshoot, install and even train users ? to be more direct and dare to say ? implement the system remotely. Of course ? in the close future it will unlock the doors for offshore consulting firms, but in this article we are sticking to US nationwide and Canadian markets and consultants in the USA and Canada. For Microsoft Business Solutions it means that if client is technical enough ? it can serve the client from its customer support center by increasing the number of servicing technicians

? Software Sales Margin Decrease. If you can serve the customer your self ? you can probably cut software sales margins. We see this happening with new Microsoft CRM line ? in general it is harder to get new customer (new customers tend to purchase the software directly through MBS and then scream about the need to help them). We see more and more new customers purchasing Microsoft CRM from Microsoft for pilot project or just placing on the shelf

? "Open Technology". Microsoft CRM SDK you can download from Microsoft website and use it at will ? if you are C# or VB.Net programmer. This is opposite philosophy ? remember old-good-days Great Plains Dexterity ? you could not get this EDI free and you needed to purchase training class to get skills in this proprietary programming language. This trend probably indicates the maturity of the industry and consulting prices decrease

? Go Nationwide and Internationally. Yes ? this is what we got to do ? following the Microsoft Business Solutions way. Plus we'll have to try to cut down our expenses by opening offshore facilities. International business is very tough from cultural standpoint and the earlier you jump there ? the better. At this moment we see companies from India and Philippines who are trying to get USA subcontracts ? these are your potential partners.

? Cross-Platform Integrations. We believe that XML introduction launched new epoch of computer platforms integration and harmony: Microsoft Windows, UNIX, Linux, IBM DB2/AS400/RS6000, Oracle. Corporate clients, including manufacturing, logistics, consignment, international business, distribution ? will leverage multiplatform strategy to decrease the risk and increase longevity of the ERP/MRP

Good luck with selection, implementation and customization, if you have issues or concerns ? we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies ? USA nationwide Microsoft RMS, Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Georgia, Arizona, Minnesota, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), he is CMA, Great Plains Certified Master, Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer. You can contact Andrew: andrewk@albaspectrum.com

---

Make 2005 the Year You Save Time!

Today's business world is fast-paced. No matter what it is... Read More

Microsoft Retail Management System (RMS) SQL Customization ? Overview for Programmer

Microsoft Retail Management System serves retail single store as well... Read More

How Do I Get Rid Of That Darn Spyware?

Ad-Aware and Spybot are probably the two most well known... Read More

Microsoft CRM Custom Design & Development: SDK, C#, SQL, Exchange, Integration, Crystal Reports

Microsoft CRM is new player on the CRM software... Read More

Groupware and Version History: Collaboration Series #1

This article is the first of a series of articles... Read More

New Web-Based HR Tool is Max From NAS, Hannibal, and InfoLink

Three highly respected names in Human Resources have joined forces... Read More

Microsoft CRM Modification ? Overview for IT Specialist

Microsoft CRM is now on the scene and it is... Read More

The End of Spyware?

The US House of Representatives has recently passed the "Spy... Read More

Oracle Development: JDeveloper 10G ? Java, J2EE, EJB, MVC, XML - Overview For Programmer

In 2004 Oracle, Inc. made its new step toward J2EE... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: Service Business Customization & Integration Example

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains might be considered as ERP... Read More

Microsoft CRM and No-Frills Cadillacs

In today's business world it's all but impossible to escape... Read More

How to Tell You Have Spyware, Ad-ware or Viruses

Usually, the easiest way to tell you have spyware is... Read More

Preventive Maintenance Software Companies

Several software companies design programs for preventive maintenance. Most of... Read More

Software Piracy

SOFTWARE PIRACY We regularly hear reports... Read More

Spyware: What It Is and How to Combat It

Spyware is software or hardware installed on a computer without... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Chemicals & Paint Industry Implementation & Customization Notes

Microsoft Great Plains fits to majority of industries, in the... Read More

Spyware, What is it?

Spyware, what it is and what it does. Basically, spyware... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Data Conversion ? Overview For Developer

Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More

Recent Studies Show that 9 out of 10 PCs Are Infected with Spyware

Spyware and malware are large problems for Internet users today... Read More

The Hidden Power of Online Manual

Writing software manuals is boring, isn't it? We often think:... Read More

Best Spyware Removers

Finding the best spyware removers to detect and remove spyware... Read More

Perfectly New Database Query Tool - Foxy SQL Pro Released

Are you a database professional? Do you work with a... Read More

Enterprise Resource Planning Overview

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Overview covers What is ERP, Brief... Read More

Easy Guide to RAID Recovery

What is RAID RECOVERY?RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive... Read More

Great Plains Bill of Materials Setup & Customization for Process Manufacturing ? Overview

Microsoft Great Plains has full-featured Manufacturing suite of modules: Capacity... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Subcontracting ? Overview for Microsoft Business Solutions Partner

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is very popular ERP/MRP applications... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains POP: Purchase Order Processing ? Overview For Consultants

Great Plains Purchase Order Processing (POP) module makes up one-third... Read More

Adware, What Is It?

Adware is a type of Spyware program that displays some... Read More

The Dreaded Paper Label - Should it be Used?

While paper labeling CDs and DVDs may appear to be... Read More

Microsoft CRM in Latin America: Implementation, Customization, Support ? Overview for Consultant

Microsoft Business Solutions CRM is present several years on the... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains - Payroll & HR Inexpensive Solution? Not Any More

Microsoft Great Plains is main Microsoft Business Solutions accounting package... Read More

Dashboard Widgets for Windows

For a windows user like me, just can watch with... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains ? Licensing & Product Versions

Current Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has more that 10... Read More