An email just came across my inbox that Sure Step 2010 is now available, so I wanted to make sure all of you Microsoft Dynamics GP Partners get out to PartnerSource and download it today!  I’ll let you go to the Sure Step site linked above to get all of the great details about this release, but perhaps my favorite feature in this release is the ability to create a “project site” in Microsoft SharePoint (WSS or MOSS) for each of your customer implementations!  What a great way to provide true collaboration with your customer every step of the way as you roll out Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Partners, if you haven’t used Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step before, I highly encourage you to download it and check out all of the great information and tools it contains.  You’ll find a ton of content that is specific to Dynamics GP implementations, as well as proven processes for delivering a number of different ERP implementation project types.  Even if you are a long-time Partner with an established and proven methodology for ERP implementations, there definitely is still value in Sure Step for your organization I believe! 

Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step is a great tool and just keeps getting better!  I should also note that as we get closer to our “V11” release, we’ll be working with the Sure Step team to update and add content for all of the great new features we are delivering.  Stay tuned for more details on that. 

AndyW

PS: I’ll be taking a bit of a break from work over the next two weeks, so I want to wish all of our readers at  “Inside Microsoft Dynamics GP”  a very blessed Holidays and a Happy New Year!  I will “see” you all in 2010!

In my last post, I highlighted a former Sage customer who moved to Microsoft Dynamics GP that achieved some great results. Today I wanted to blog about a former QuickBooks customer, Gregory Greenfield & Associates, Ltd. (GG&A), who not only made the move to Dynamics GP, but who also chose to deploy the system in a hosted environment.  What might sound like quite a lot of change for any company to undertake was handled with ease and great results by GG&A and their local Dynamics GP Partner.

You can read the full case study here, but I’ll recap the important facts of this great story:

• As of early 2009, GG&A manages 22 regional retail property investments on behalf of a mix of institutional and private investment groups.  Imagine having not one boss to report to, but TWENTY-TWO different “bosses” you need to please! While the case study touches on this only slightly, I would bet that the reporting needs for each one of these investment groups is quite different making for a pretty complex set of requirements that GG&A is able to meet utilizing the great reporting and BI tools available with Dynamics GP.
• The reason they chose to deploy GP in a hosted environment rather than on-premises was quite simply the lower costs and “maintenance free” aspect of the model. They enjoy not having to worry about buying or maintaining equipment, and like that the software can be automatically updated overnight without any downtime or extra planning on their part.  My favorite quote in the case study comes from GG&A’s CFO, Bill Brown: “In our experience so far, the hosted solution has worked as advertised. Microsoft Dynamics in a hosted setup makes great sense for a growing or midmarket company looking to acquire a top-notch business system. It offers a low cost of entry with predictable IT costs.”  However, GG&A also noted they very much appreciate the fact that if their business needs change down the road, they can always take control of their Dynamics GP install and bring it in-house.  That is the “power of choice” that sets Microsoft Dynamics apart from other pure on-premises or hosted solutions.
• So I lied…I actually have two favorite quotes from this case study.  The second comes from their Controller, Jackie Young, when she says “We went from the old way of doing things, which was about 10 percent automated, to the new way with Microsoft Dynamics GP, which is about 90 percent or 95 percent automated. It’s freed us to focus less on clerical tasks and to spend more time doing things that are really valuable.”  For example, GG&A stated that each of the seven people working in the accounting department each spends an estimated 20 hours less per month preparing investor reports!

I think this case study is a great testament to the flexibility and productivity enhancing capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics GP.  The ability to host Dynamics GP or deploy it on-premises is a great option for customers, and the ability to automate many tasks can save customers a ton of time and money.  While many people expect it to be hard to please a former QuickBooks customer when they move on to any ERP designed for mid-market customers, but GG&A proved that making the move to Microsoft Dynamics GP is the Smart Move!

AndyW

I’m looking forward to talking with all our partners about the upcoming Launch on January 13.  This is THEE event to attend to hear all about what will happen with the GP “11” Launch.  To find out more view this video . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caaKXQWIwhM

Errol

Every now and again I find it very interesting, and at times even eye opening, to browse through our extensive library of case studies profiling customers that have moved to Microsoft Dynamics GP from a number of different ERP vendors.  Today I decided I would refresh myself on the case studies highlighting customers who migrated from a Sage solution.  One in particular that caught my eye was for Winncom Technologies, a former Sage MAS 90 customer that has experienced some VERY significant benefits since moving to Microsoft Dynamics GP (you can read the full case study here).

Wincomm Technologies deployed Microsoft Dynamics GP along with Dynamics CRM, and also rolled out Business Portal to allow key staff access to vital information and business processes through their web browser.  As a result of using these applications and technologies, they have been able to deliver improved customer service, increase revenue by 10-15% in many product lines, experience a sharp reduction in data entry errors from 15-20% to 0.00001%, and much more.  Perhaps the most impressive benefit Winncom Technologies experienced however was that they achieved a full return on investment within 6 months of implementation! 

The Director of Finance at Wincomm, Vladimir Fedorov, put it nicely as he said, “When we implemented Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM, we changed the culture of our company. The system brought a contemporary feeling and responsibilities to our company that make us much more competitive in this market. Our competitors are companies 10 times larger than we are, and we can still compete with them.”

Sitting at our office in Fargo, ND, it is pretty easy to get lost in the work we do and forget about the actual impact our software can have on a business.  That is why I find it refreshing to read our case studies and learn about ACTUAL customers seeing ACTUAL benefits from using Microsoft Dynamics GP. I hope to make this a blogging habit…highlighting great customer stories from our case study library and providing even more proof of the wonderful things Microsoft Dynamics GP can do for your business!

AndyW