Extended Support on Dynamics Service Packs

Longer Support Timelines for Key Microsoft Dynamics® Service Packs 

In response to customer feedback and as part of Microsoft’s continuous efforts to provide world-class support for its products, the company is updating the Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy for service packs for key Microsoft Dynamics products.

Microsoft is extending the service pack support policy for Microsoft Dynamics SL, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics AX, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM to 24 months of support for a previous service pack, when a new service pack is released. Previously, when a new service pack was released for these products, Microsoft provided 12 months of support for the previous service pack.

Support Extended by 12 Months for Currently Supported Service Packs

This update applies to all the service packs that are currently supported (as of June 8, 2009), for the above-listed Microsoft Dynamics products. As per this change, the expiration dates for the currently supported service packs, listed below, will now be extended by another 12 months.

To read full article Announcement:

• Effective June 22, 2009 - Longer Support Timelines for Key Microsoft Dynamics Service Packs

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 (BETA) Adapter for Microsoft Dynamics GP - Integration DemoMate NOW AVAILABLE!

We are very excited to announce the availability of a new DemoMate Demo of the new Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 (BETA) Adapter for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0.  Click steps and speaker notes are also included.  Here is a summary of the new DemoMate file:

Effortlessly demonstrate the updating of customer information within Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and watch the customer information on the Customer Card within Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 automatically update with the changes entered within Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.  In addition, demonstrate additional changes to the same customer information with Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 and watch Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 also capture these changes. 
 
This demonstration is high-level example of a "round-trip" integration between two Microsoft Dynamics solutions!

Here is the link: DemoMate Demo

Dynamics Statement of Direction

We all know how competitive it is out there when trying to sell Dynamics CRM and ERP. One of our competitive advantages is publishing a "Statement of Direction" on each of our produts. I believe we are the only CRM & ERP developer that does this and it provides a great tool to discuss with your prospects.

SmartList Templates for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0

Have you seen or heard about the New SmartList Builder Templates?

If not check them out here, there are over 100 templates to choose from.

For more info. on SmartList Builder click here.

Happy Downloading!

Dynamics Solution Sales Guides Available for Partners

Dear Partners,

If you are not aware we recently released new Solution Sales Guides. You’ll find the 8 industry sales guides/discovery questionnaires within their applicable industry campaign pages: Automotive Suppliers, Banking, Chemical Manufacturing, Industrial Distribution, Industrial Equipment Manufacturing, Professional Services (ERP), Professional Services (CRM), and Specialty Retail. If you scroll to the bottom of each of the visual campaign pages, and you’ll find the sales tools links there.

Link on PS to guides: Solution Guides

Through-Partner Industry Marketing Campaigns

Overview
The following through-partner Microsoft Dynamics Industry Marketing Campaigns are designed for partners to:

       Leverage the power of the Microsoft Dynamics brand

       Meet the unique needs of potential clients in a specific industry or vertical marketplace

       Align your marketing efforts with global customer campaigns, and

       Execute effective lead-generation results with relative ease

The Get More! Sales WEBINAR series is now available!

Partners Only 

Great news! If you were not able to attend THE most popular Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner event of the year?  Not to worry!  After exceeding the maximum registration in the majority of cities visited across the United States and Canada (twelve in all), the Dynamics GP Product Management and Marketing teams have recorded the Get More! Microsoft Dynamics GP Sales Seminar into a 4 part webinar series available on demand! 

https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/newsevents/events/webseminars/GPGetMore

The Microsoft Dynamics GP team is making a considerable investment in the “Extending the Reach” initiative, focusing on how Partners can extend Microsoft Dynamics GP throughout a customer’s organization by leveraging the Microsoft Office and SharePoint products. This webinar series will help Partners understand how investing in the Extending the Reach initiative can improve their company’s win rate and increase their service and license revenue, while helping their customers get more value and satisfaction out of their solution.

One of the highest rated series of events this year, over 260 Microsoft Dynamics GP Partners attending the Get More! Sales Seminar resoundingly stated they would recommend this seminar to others.  Here are just a few quotes from our Microsoft Dynamic GP Partners who attended one of the live events…

“Definitely one of the more valuable Microsoft sessions I’ve attended.”
“The information you provided was invaluable.”
“Best Microsoft session I have attended.”
“Very relevant to current market focus.”
“My head is spinning – a lot to do. Thanks!”

So set aside some time now to view these important Webinars and make sure your Microsoft Dynamics GP Partners do the same!

The GET MORE! Microsoft Dynamics GP Sales Webinar Series

·         Part 1 - The Get More! Business Owner Overview (60 minutes)
Abstract: This is a must attend event for all business owners of a Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner organization. The Microsoft Dynamics GP team is making a considerable investment in the “Extending the Reach” initiative, focusing on how Partners can extend Microsoft Dynamics GP throughout a customer’s organization by leveraging the Microsoft Office and SharePoint products. This webinar will help business owners of a Partner organization understand how investing in the Extending the Reach initiative can improve your company’s win rate and increase your service and license revenue, while helping your customers get more value and satisfaction out of their solution. View new demos that showcase the power of the SharePoint platform when combined with Microsoft Dynamics GP. Learn what Microsoft is doing to make your organization more successful, and get specific guidance on how to get your organization kick-started into action! Your pre-sales, sales, marketing, and practice managers should leverage Parts Two and Three to gain an even deeper understanding of all components of this important initiative. Also, you can view Part 4 to see the latest Microsoft Dynamics GP roadmap with a sneak peak of Microsoft Dynamics GP “V11!”

·         Part 2 - What is “Extending the Reach” and what is Microsoft doing to help Partners? (90 minutes)
Abstract: The Microsoft Dynamics GP team is making a considerable investment in the “Extending the Reach” initiative, focusing on how Partners can extend Microsoft Dynamics GP throughout a customer’s organization by leveraging the Microsoft Office and SharePoint products. Sales, Pre-sales, and marketing professionals should attend this webinar to understand the “Extending the Reach” value proposition, and how delivering a solution with Microsoft Dynamics GP and the Microsoft Office and SharePoint products can help your organization get more new customers, more license and services revenue, and help your customers get more value and satisfaction from their system. View new demos that showcase the power of the SharePoint platform when combined with Microsoft Dynamics GP. You’ll also learn about research from Microsoft, industry analyst opinions, and from other Microsoft Dynamics GP Partners who are already successful in this space today. Also, find out what Microsoft is doing to help Partners kick start their organization with the “Extending the Reach” initiative, including all new demos, videos, white papers, collateral and much more. 

·         Part 3 - How can a Partner get started, and what are the Licensing implications of Microsoft Dynamics GP with SharePoint? (70 minutes)
Abstract: The Microsoft Dynamics GP team is making a considerable investment in the “Extending the Reach” initiative, focusing on how Partners can extend Microsoft Dynamics GP throughout a customer’s organization by leveraging the Microsoft Office and SharePoint products. Sales, Pre-sales, and marketing professionals should attend this webinar to learn the detailed best practices of starting a Microsoft Dynamics GP with Microsoft Office and SharePoint system practice, or how to partner with an existing IW Partner. You will also receive specific guidance on how to start readying your teams around the Microsoft Dynamics GP with Microsoft Office and SharePoint solutions. Learn about the many resources available to Partners, and also get a deep review of the licensing options for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server when combined with Microsoft Dynamics GP.

·         Part 4 - Microsoft Dynamics GP Product Strategy and Roadmap (60 minutes)
Abstract: Attend this webinar to get the latest roadmap and product updates from the Microsoft Dynamics GP Product Management team. You will also receive an update on the other key initiatives happening with Microsoft Dynamics GP, get a sneak peek into some exciting Version “11” features, and hear about the early planning process for Version “12.”

New WhitePaper for Dynamics GP and SQL Server 2008 Available!

We are happy to announce the availability of a new Performance Benchmark White Paper for using Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 with SQL Server 2008.  Specifically, this test was executed to determine what performance gains could be seen by using the new Page and Row Compression features of SQL Server 2008 when compared to SQL Server 2005.  The results are definitely impressive!  Read all the details in this new White Paper and be sure to let your Partners know the advantages to upgrading their customers to SQL Server 2008!

https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/newsevents/news/MDGPSQLWhitepaper

Note: The Dynamics GP test team is currently working on the 1,000 concurrent benchmark test for SQL Server 2008.  Look for an updated White Paper on this topic later this summer.

Business Ready Flexible Pay for Microsoft Dynamics (US Only)

Microsoft is pleased to introduce Business Ready Flexible Pay for Microsoft Dynamics. 

This offering reduces your customer’s upfront investment through predictable and affordable annual payments which can help optimize their cash flow and improve IT budget management.  Microsoft is listening to customers and is actively enabling them to preserve capital resources while making strategic investments in their future.  Implementing Microsoft Dynamics and taking advantage of their Business Ready Enhancement Plan helps customers increase their productivity and maximize their return on investment.

Link: https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/sales/promotions/BRFlexiblePay.htm

With Business Ready Flexible Pay customers can:

• Get Affordable and Predictable Payments:  Manage cash flow and control costs with predictable payments over three years, resulting in ownership of the Microsoft Dynamics software licenses.
• Realize Rapid Return on Investment:  Align software expenses with the long-term benefits of their Microsoft Dynamics solution, resulting in rapid return on your customer’s investment. 
• Increase Productivity Today:  Start using a Microsoft Dynamics™ solution today to increase productivity.  Also, benefit from access to the Business Ready Enhancement Plan which provides the tools and resources your customers need – training, downloads, self-support resources, product information and more – to keep users working efficiently.

Business Ready Flexible Pay Offer Details:

• This promotion is provided through our resellers.  Customer and reseller determine final price and terms.
• Applicable only to new Business Ready Licensing customers buying Microsoft Dynamics™ AX, Microsoft Dynamics™ GP, Microsoft Dynamics™ SL and Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV, Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM licenses including the three years of Business Ready Enhancement Plan (BREP).
• Business Ready Flexible Pay promotion available from April 20, 2009 until December 23, 2009.
• The Microsoft Dynamics Customer License purchase must exceed USD $30,000.  The minimum purchase value of USD $30,000 must be solely made up of the eligible Microsoft Dynamics products and services described below.
• Limited to purchases of Business Ready Licensing users, Microsoft Dynamics Client for Microsoft Office and SharePoint Server users.  For Business Ready Licensing modules, product transitions, and license model transitions please refer to the full FAQ provided here.
• This promotion requires a three year Business Ready Enhancement Plan commitment.
• The offer is restricted to new Business Ready Licensing customers and cannot be combined with any other Microsoft Dynamics promotions.
• Currently Only Available in the United States.
• Three annual payments allowed.
• The license type is perpetual (note: the license rights are temporary until the final payment is made).
• Customer must execute a Business Ready Flexible Pay agreement.

Solution Provider Agreement and Discount Schedules

The Microsoft Solution Provider Agreement (SPA) grants partners the right to place orders with Microsoft Regional Operations Centers for Microsoft Business Solutions ERP and CRM software licenses and related services. Ordering is contingent on having met SPA authorization requirements, which include passing proficiency exams on the software you wish to order from Microsoft.

The FY10 SPA is now available here: https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/partneressentials/spa/spa.htm?printpage=false

On This Page:

• SPA Notification
• To Learn More  
• Updated SPA SQL 2005 Exam Requirement for Microsoft Dynamics AX
• Discount Schedules Under the SPA
• Geographies and Languages Supported by the SPA
• SPA Partners Located in India
• Solution Provider Agreement (SPA) Document List

Updated Rapid Migration Tool

We are pleased to announce the recent release of an updated Rapid Migration Tool for Partners migrating customers from Intuit QuickBooks to Microsoft Dynamics GP!  This new release will allow partners to easily make changes to the Chart of Accounts from QuickBooks prior migrating their data to Dynamics GP.  

Because many QuickBooks customers do not use the Account Number feature, or lack any structure to the Account Number field prior to using GP, significant changes to the Chart of Accounts format and numbers are typically required when performing a migration.  Using the updated Rapid Migration Tool will enable partners to quickly and easily make those changes during the migration process, allowing you to take advantage of Microsoft Dynamics GP's flexible and powerful structured Chart of Account functionality.

You can download the latest tool today from the Microsoft Download Center: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d9dfa747-63da-4cac-b92d-28bb24192c1d&displaylang=en

GO GREEN with Microsoft Dynamics GP

• Plan and implement cost-effective compliance with environmental regulation and voluntary environmental policy
• Support the simultaneous reduction of business costs and environmental impacts via more efficient use of energy, water, and materials in internal operations and final products
• Support the evaluation and implementation of cost-effective and environmentally sensitive programs for ensuring the company’s long-term market and strategic position

Read Environmental Management Accounting Implementation Guidance for Microsoft Dynamics GP located here: Guide

Virtual Convergence is LIVE

New in 2009, Virtual Convergence is your online resource for all post-conference materials – and helps us deliver post-conference videos and information to you faster than ever before. Keynote presentations, general sessions and concurrent sessions are all available for viewing online in Windows Media video (WMV) format, so that you can revisit sessions you attended or view them for the first time. In addition, in case you missed any of the sponsors or exhibitors at Convergence Expo, all of their contact information and downloadable information is available within Virtual Convergence.

To begin your online experience:

1. Click here. The initial screen loading of Virtual Convergence may take a few minutes to complete.
2. To enter Virtual Convergence, choose the “Enter” button. This unsecured area provides access to keynotes, general sessions and the virtual Expo experience.
3. To view all concurrent session Windows Media files, select the “Convergence 2009 Attendees” button in the lower left hand corner of the screen. You will be prompted to login to this secured area; please use your Convergence 2009 registration credentials. (If you’ve forgotten your credentials, go here and use the Forgot Username or Password links. Your credentials will be sent to the email address provided in your registration.
4. Use that same button in the lower left hand corner of the screen to navigate between the secured and unsecure areas of Virtual Convergence.

Now Available - Dynamics GP 10.0 Public Sector HRP Fact Sheet

We are extremely excited to announce the availability of a Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0  Public Sector Industry focused fact sheet around Human Resources and Payroll.

Link to Fact Sheet: Public Sector Industry

New Functionality for Extender in Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 Service Pack 4

We are excited to announce new functionality being added into Extender for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 Service Pack 4 planned for July 2009. Extender is an easy-to-use product that allows you to add data fields, notes, macros, lookups and much more, without writing a single line of code. Develop strong business processes and enrich your reporting power for Microsoft Dynamics® GP with this powerful functionality.

Link to On-Demand Training: 

• https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?publisher=12&delivery=266367

Links to Content:

Microsoft Dynamics(r) Business Leadership Web Seminar Series

We are excited to announce the availability of the 6 part Microsoft Dynamics® Business Leadership Web Seminar Series beginning April 14 at 1:00 PST and culminating May 19^th

Microsoft Dynamics Business Leadership Series

https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/search_adv.aspx?ssid=2E16E0D500564172B7E4B05733092A6F           

This six session business leadership series is your first building block in a sequence of informative training tools that Microsoft makes available to you. Learn how you can dive deep into your business planning and customer scenario strategies and define your next steps to put in place. Specially designed readiness training equips Microsoft Dynamics partners with tools they can use to dramatically improve their profitability and grow their Microsoft Dynamics practice. This training is critical for Microsoft Dynamics partner, owners, and senior managers who have complete access to the executive planning for the organization.