Microsoft Great Plains version 8.5: Upgrade, Customization, VBA, Crystal Reports - Highlights

Microsoft Great Plains is one of the Microsoft Business Solutions family ERP products: Great Plains, Navision, Axapta, Solomon, Small Business Manager. MBS also has Microsoft CRM - Client Relation Management software and Microsoft Retail Management System (Microsoft RMS)

Microsoft Great Plains 8.5 is scheduled to be released in the second quarter of 2005. It is usual practice when you here announcements and then you are notified about software release delays. Expect first the version to be released for US market and then you can expect Spanish and Canadian French version. Satellites or third parties are usually released in the following six month period.

From our Microsoft Business Solutions insiders we could give you the rumors we have heard

? Version 8.5 seems to be rather a big service pack to version 8.0. Let me give you some historical review. Microsoft Great Plains Dynamics of version 7.0 was merged with Microsoft Great Plains Dynamics and this was basically a foundation of Microsoft Great Plains version 7.5

? Microsoft Great Plains version 7.5 was the last version for legacy database platforms: Pervasive SQL 2000 and Ctree. Version 8.0 and higher are available on MS SQL Server and MSDE only

? Microsoft bought a product from eOne Solutions (in Australia) called SmartList Builder. This new feature allows users to create their own SmartList without being limited to the available "folders" on the standard SmartList's left panel. We have yet to know more about this but the consultants in Australia are really enthusiastic about this.

Upgrade expectations.

? As our experience indicates - Microsoft is working on the ERP application migration (Project Green). This means that MBS is rather concerned on it's ERP applications modules interoperability - consider the strong point of Navision - Manufacturing module should somehow communicate and seamlessly work with GL platform - more likely Great Plains financials - Great Plains systems manager and general ledger. So, and again this is our personal opinion - MBS is not bringing a lot of new ERP functionality into Great plains version 8.5, but rather standardizes it's interface.

? Great Plains and Microsoft Windows. Some of the former bugs were related to Pervasive SQL and Ctree platform and plus Windows 2000 Pro bugs, especially from FRx side. Now Microsoft stakes on Microsoft SQL Server/MSDE only, so you should have more trust in released 8.5 CD. Customization Upgrade and Expectations

? Microsoft Great Plains 8.5 is Microsoft Great Plains Dexterity based application, so your customization should be upgradeable, feel free to call us if you have concerns.

? Microsoft VBA/Modifier - should be available for 8.5 - so if you deploy VBA and have modifications to your GP forms (FORMS.DIC) - you should be OK with version 8.5

? Crystal Reports - these are usually based on company DB SQL views or stored proc - so assuming that DB side will have minor changes only - Crystal Report upgrade should be easy.

Good luck in upgrading 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 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

---

The Dirt on Screensavers

Remember back in the days where screensavers were the coolest... Read More

These Items Are A Must Before Making The Decision To Purchase Any Off-The-Shelf Software

1. What determines the software price? Is it Per Seat... Read More

Removing Incoming Email in MS Exchange, C# Example

The purpose of one of our projects was MS Exchange... Read More

Running a Program on a Remote Server Using SSH

How do you run a program on a remote server... Read More

Software Tools To Help Your Business Sell More

Sales are all about leverage, because there is only so... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Logistics & Warehouse Management ? Implementation & Customization Highlights

Logistics automation is often considered as barcoding extension to Sales... Read More

Reduce Pop-ups and Annoying Ads

There is many things more frustrating than surfing a website... Read More

Document Templates Give You The Perfect Framework For Your Documents

When it comes to running an office, the SOHO entrepreneur... Read More

RFID: Strengthen the Position for SAP; United States

SAP Inc., a global leader in client/server enterprise application software... Read More

MCP Market News: Microsoft SQL Server & SQL Reporting Services

Are you ready? SQL Server 2005, the next-generation data management... Read More

PHP On-The-Fly!

IntroductionPHP can be used for a lot of different things,... Read More

Reporting Tools for Microsoft Great Plains ? Overview For Developers

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

Perfectly New Database Query Tool - Foxy SQL Pro Released

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

Linux Dual Boot-How To Format

Just the thought of a duel-boot scares many people away,... Read More

String in Java

Handling character strings in Java is supported through two final... Read More

Recovering Microsoft Great Plains Customization ? Tips for IT Director

Remember nice and prosperous Clinton era? When you implemented innovative... Read More

C++ Function Templates

C++ Function templates are those functions which can handle different... Read More

Software Companies: Generate New Revenue Streams and Decrease Costs with Custom e-Learning Content

It's no secret that software companies operate in a very... Read More

SQL: Querying Microsoft Great Plains ? Overview for Database Administrator/Developer

Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more... Read More

Cisco Certification: Introduction To ISDN, Part V

The major reason I recommend getting your hands on real... Read More

Software Review: Xsitepro Total Site Management Software

It's not very often I get excited about a software... Read More

The Bluebird Project

The objective for Zandi Digital is to make available clever... Read More

The Secret of the Layer Styles Dialogue

When you double-click a layer in the Layer Palette, you... Read More

Cisco Certification: Introduction To ISDN, Part III

Configuring PPP PAP AuthenticationNow we know how the ISDN link... Read More

Microsoft CRM for Large Corporation ? Security

Microsoft Business Solutions CRM proved to be reliable solution in... 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

Spyware: What It Is and How to Combat It

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

Open Source Concepts: Dual Licensing Explained

We were recently faced with a decision: either to let... Read More

Navision Sales Module & Reporting: Jet Reports, C/ODBC, XBRL, Business Analytics ? highlights

Microsoft bought Navision, Denmark based software development company, along with... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Customization and Development ? Overview for Programmer

When Great Plains Software was designing and developing Great Plains... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Integration with Microsoft Access ? Overview for Developer

... Read More

DVD Burning Tips

CD and DVD replication is a process that works by... Read More

Microsoft Navision Database Selection: C/SIDE or MS SQL Server - Overview For IT Specialist

There are certain pluses and minuses in both cases and... Read More