If you have Microsoft Great Plains as main accounting and ERP system you need to know some technical details on Great Plains version upgrade and what is going on behind the scenes, which options do you have in case of Dexterity, VBA, SQL customizations, ctree/Pervasive migration to MS SQL/MSDE. As of right now it is reasonable to upgrade to Microsoft Great Plains 8.0
Is upgrade required? Not actually, but you have to consider these factors
? Technical Support discontinuation - the old version may not be supported - currently if you are on version 6.0 - support is already discontinued. You can not have Microsoft Business Solutions help you, but obviously you have MBS partners who can still help you. If you are on Ctree or Pervasive SQL, then your support expires December, 31 2004.
? Tax Updates/Magnetic media expiration - if you have US Payroll module and depend on it with W2 and other forms - you must stay with the version, which is supported and has tax updates. If you are on Ctree or Pervasive SQL - then you will not have tax updates for these platforms at the end of 2004 and your W2s maybe inaccurate. If you have a lot of employees - you may have issues with government.
? Following the Technology and Microsoft rules - Microsoft wants you to be on the newest platform and provides you the best support when you follow this rule
? If you do have heavy customization - we recommend you to skip one version, for example if you are on version 7.5 - do not upgrade to 8.0 and wait for the next version
What is upgrade in the language of technology? Upgrade has server and client sides.
? Server side - upgrade converts tables from old format to the new one. In general words - Microsoft Business Solutions developers may change table structure, append additional fields to add new functionality, things like that. Upgrade copies the table with changes to temporary table, then drops original table, recreates it with new structure and copies all the data from temp table to the newly created one.
? Workstation side - workstation is written in Great Plains Dexterity and has Dynamics.exe - engine and DYNAMICS.DIC - dictionary. These two plus all the additional files will be replaced with the new ones. Other dictionaries, such us REPORTS.DIC and FORMS.DIC should be also upgraded and upgrade will try to deal with them automatically. In some cases modified reports (in REPORTS.DIC) could not be upgraded and need to be recreated in the new version.
What is customization upgrade? You should consider different types of customizations: Dexterity, VBA/Modifier, SQL, ReportWriter, Crystal Reports
? Dexterity Customization - being very short - Dexterity may have so called Custom Forms - these do not need upgrade - they should work as is. Then Dexterity may alter existing Great Plains forms (so-called Alternate Great Plains forms) - in this case Dexterity customization should be redone for these forms/screens. Plus additional consideration should be given to Dexterity triggers, shadow tables, etc.
? VBA/Modifier customization - Modifier allows you to modify existing Great Plains windows - it creates so called modified Great Plains windows, stored in FORMS.DIC. Usually modification is placing new buttons or fields, which in turn will be given VBA scripts (stored in DYNAMICS.VBA). VBA scripts may call something nice, like Crystal Report, or have some data access logic. Usually the old version of DYNAMICS.VBA workds with the new version. You may need to rearrange buttons on the modified form.
? SQL - you may have some stored procs for data integration, EDI or the like - if the addressed tables will be changed in the new version then you need to analyze your SQL code. The good news is - Microsoft Business Solution doesn't make a lot of changes since version 7.0, because Microsoft is now trying to merge the products it owns: Great Plains, Solomon, Navision and Axapta - and so has different priorities
? ReportWriter - MBS doesn't change tables, but it keeps changing Dexterity formulas used in ReportWriter original reports - this is the problem in so-called Modified Reports upgrade - usually you have these reports modified: SOP Blank Invoice form, SOP Blank Picking ticket, etc. If report can not be upgraded - it should be redone in the new version with some exceptions.
? Crystal Reports - the nice thing about Crystal Report - id doesn't need to be upgraded (if the fields in the tables exist in the new version - which is usually true statement)
What is upgrade for third-party modules? Your Great Plains may have so-called third party modules: Mekorma, Kampdata, Horyzon, Wennsoft, Avalara, Truepay, Trinity, Intellisol to name a few
Third party modules may have their own utility for upgrade. You just need to know that your third-party is ready for the new Great Plains version - if not - you just wait and stay on the old version.
What is migration from Ctree/Pervasive.SQL 2000 to MS SQL/MSDE? MBS has migration tool. You need first to install Great Plains on SQL Server with exactly the same account/segments structure and then install migration tool (it is Dexterity chunk) on your ctree/Pervasive workstation - then, when you integrate the chunk - you will map it to target SQL-based Great Plains Company, select all system and company tables, click the button and it will move all your tables one-by-one. In the case when your Great Plains ctree/Pervasive has third parties - you need to check if the vendor has migration tool - otherwise you have to do manual move, use SQL Linked server to your legacy data
Do I need consultant? It is probably good idea to have consultant to do the upgrade. We strongly recommend you to use consultant in the following cases
? You have Dexterity customization
? You are doing migration from Pervasive/Ctree to Microsoft SQL Server/MSDE, especially when you have third-parties without migration tools
? You have a lot or ReportWriter Modified Great Plains Reports
? You have old version of Great Plains: Dynamics or eEnterprise 6.0 or prior - in this case you can not appeal to Microsoft Technical Support - it is discontinued
? Your Great Plains has more than 20 users and you have to have upgrade done over the weekend - if it fails - you have business problems
? You don't have support - in this case you have to select your Microsoft Business Solutions Partner and pay for the annual support/enhancement plan - you will get new registration key and will be ready for the upgrade
Good luck with upgrade and 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 CRM, Microsoft Great Plains customization company, based in Chicago, California, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Texas, New York, Washington, Georgia and Florida and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.
As Mozilla Firefox nears 10% market share, with well over... Read More
IntroductionPHP can be used for a lot of different things,... Read More
It's no secret that software companies operate in a very... Read More
DBxtra goes ASPGetting to the information hidden within corporate databases... Read More
While I was preparing some personal background information for a... Read More
Anti-virus software is used to find, remove or fix files... Read More
With any good luck and a good amount of hard... Read More
If you have Microsoft Great Plains and support it for... Read More
In a previous article, I wrote about OpenOffice... Read More
How to delete the user? This is the first problem... Read More
When my daughter was getting into AOL instant messaging (AIM)... Read More
I provide, here clear explanations and a count of function... Read More
If you feel intimidated when someone tries to teach you... Read More
In order to implement VLANs in a network environment, you'll... Read More
Are you one of those people that keeps track of... Read More
Finally, you have some time to personalize your desktop with... Read More
Spyware and Adware infest over 90 percent of computers in... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies... Read More
All of us know that Microsoft bought former Great Plains... Read More
There is many things more frustrating than surfing a website... Read More
When it comes to screenplay software each screenwriter needs to... Read More
Lotus Notes Domino is very efficient in electronic document workflow... Read More
Intro This concise article will tell you in plain English... Read More
Document Manager and Version HistoryIn previous articles I have discussed... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft Retail Management System (Microsoft RMS)... Read More
Almost all new and major brand of PCs come with... Read More
The Windows registry is a huge database that ensures normal... Read More
Microsoft CRM is now on the scene and it is... Read More
Adware is a type of Spyware program that displays some... Read More
User interfaces and accessibility are some of the most important... Read More
With thousands of web pages added to the Net every... Read More
Fundraising software lets you connect with donors in a way... Read More
What is Spyware?Spyware monitors your surfing habits and sends the... Read More
While Adobe is the most known maker of PDF tools,... Read More
Microsoft released Service Pack 2 (SP2) for the Windows XP... Read More
Microsoft CRM is CRM answer from Microsoft and attempt to... Read More
We live in a post-industrial age where information is the... Read More
I've been active in the Cisco Certification track for four... Read More
Finding the best spyware removers to detect and remove spyware... Read More
In a previous article, I wrote about OpenOffice... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains was historically designed to serve... Read More
It won't matter how effective your WinRunner Team is if... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions is emerging as very attractive vendor for... Read More
Icons are used everywhere; right from software applications, to internet... Read More
The intentions of this short tutorial are not to teach... Read More
.NET platform does not support multiple inheritance. Do not confuse... Read More
Combining Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains ERP with non-Microsoft Business... Read More
DBxtra is a powerful query and reporting tool that hides... Read More
Whether you are an experienced web programmer or a complete... Read More
If you have Microsoft Great Plains and support it for... Read More
When you own a small business, time is money. And... Read More
GroupwareThe internet is full of 1.5 million to 7 million... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has full-featured manufacturing set of... Read More
Hi, Guys,I believe a lot of programmers are trying to... Read More
Intro This concise article will tell you in plain English... Read More
When you visit department stores and see that majority of... Read More
The world of small business accounting software can be a... Read More
Case study: A secretary using Corel WordPerfect 7 is often... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions products: Great Plains, MS CRM, Navision, Axapta,... Read More
In today's business world it's all but impossible to escape... Read More
If you would like to pick something from Microsoft, or... Read More
Running Applications in Compatibility Mode With Windows XP, you can... Read More
We all already got used to computer monitoring both at... Read More
NOTE: Please take time to read on - it may... Read More
Microsoft has never released a service pack for Windows98 SE,... Read More
There are two approaches for application integration:? Programmer's approach ?... Read More
Software |