As tablets and other mobile devices begin to take the place of
the traditional office desktop, employees are increasingly using mobile devices
to access data, offer sales quotes, check inventory and financial data and
more. So it’s no surprise that enhancements to improve cloud access and
mobility will be heavily featured in Microsoft’s upcoming Dynamics AX 7
release.
Also known as Dynamics AX 2015 and Rainier, this is already a
much anticipated release.
Dynamics AX is Microsoft’s most robust
enterprise resource planning software. With simple integration tools and high
levels of flexibility, AX is a popular platform among developers, VARs and ISVs
for extending greater industry functionality and customizing processes inside
AX. In Dynamics AX 7, there will be further enhancements that started in
Dynamics AX 2012 R3 to make AX more customizable in the cloud with smoother
integration.
Delivery
through the Cloud
Microsoft has announced that Dynamics AX 7 is going to be a
cloud-first application. This follows a trend that we have seen amongst other
Microsoft flagship products. The latest update take full advantage of the
Microsoft Azure cloud platform, Windows Server and the Microsoft Cloud OS. In
fact, Microsoft has said that AX 7 2015 will initially launch on Azure only and
won’t appear for on premise deployments until 6 months later.
Moving Dynamics onto Azure and into the cloud provides a wider
range of benefits. It will be easier to integrate the system with other
cloud-based Microsoft products like Office 365. It also makes it easier to use
Dynamics globally across multiple devices. Cloud deployment can also make
Dynamics more accessible to businesses without an extensive information
technology infrastructure.
A
Focus on Mobile Access
It is also expected that Dynamics AX 7 is going to be available
across a wide range of mobile devices, making it operational on nearly any
modern smartphone or tablet. This becomes increasingly necessary as the
business world becomes hooked on cloud and wants all operations and business
data to be available at any time and from any location. Having access to
real-time data from Dynamics through a mobile device will provide employees and
business owners with better information to make informed decisions on the go,
without having to get back to an office or a main workstation.
Best-in-Class
Lifecycle Services Management
Expect to see best-in-class lifecycle services management with
Dynamics AX 7. It is predicted that Microsoft is going to maintain and expand
on the Lifecycle Services that are already in place. This type of management is
available to anyone using the latest upgrade of Dynamics whether it is deployed
on local systems or across the cloud. Best-in-class lifecycle services
management means improving the reliability and quality of the Dynamics
implementation used by any given business. It will also make rolling out new
custom features less of a hassle. SaaS plaza is a member of the Microsoft LCS
TAP program for AX7 and is providing technical input to match our AX on Azure
services with Microsoft LCS for the new AX version.
New
Web-Based Client
Another change coming is that Dynamics AX 7 is will be
accessible through a web-based client instead of a Windows desktop client. This
means any shared in user will be able to access the Dynamics database through a
basic web browser instead of needing to install customized applications on
every system and device. Thus Web-based clients allow anyone in any location to
access the different Dynamics modules. Having common web-based clients can
improve productivity and facilitate business-wide collaboration on projects
online regardless of location.
Streamlined
HTML5 User Experience
The user experience in Dynamics AX 7 is based on the same
framework used in Windows 8, and being improved upon in Windows 10. This
interface uses the hypertext markup language version 5 (HTML5) as a base. The
HTML5 interface is designed to be lightweight and intuitive. It is context
sensitive and the AX redesign is a dramatic departure from the normally bland
windows and menus that have been found in previous versions of Dynamics AX. The
new environment brings Dynamics in line with many other current Microsoft products.
It will also make it easier to use Dynamics on mobile devices without a mouse
or keyboard.
Incremental
Updates Instead Of Versioned Releases
Following the pattern that has been adopted by many other
cloud-first software developers, Microsoft will end version-based releases of
Dynamics similar to what was done with Office 365. Replacing the strict
versioning system will be an approach based on the deployment platform. Each
Dynamics platform will receive updates whenever necessary instead of
re-releasing the entire software suite. This will make it easier to stay
current since compatibility problems will no longer be an issue with
incremental upgrades.
Subscription-Based
Licensing
Another feature that is likely coming to Dynamics AX 7 is a more
flexible licensing scheme based on subscriptions. The traditional Microsoft
licensing model was sometimes cumbersome especially for businesses that had
seasonal fluctuations in volume. Buying extra licenses that might never be used
is impractical. The new model is more flexible allowing businesses to buy
subscriptions to use Dynamics as needed and then cancel them later. Check out
the current Microsoft Dynamics Subscription Licensing.
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