Microsoft Dynamics, do not use
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Our Microsoft Dynamics vendor had to call in a 4th party (they are a 3rd party already) support company to finish our update, which is only 2018.
I have no idea how much the licensing costs, but the support cost to roll out last years version is off the charts. Our client was told that everything was ready to go, but the day we had 3 tech scheduled to roll out the upgrade, it was all broken.
Took us all day just to fix the software issues, we're doing the actual roll-out today.
I wouldn't complain, but this is the 5th time I've been involved in a roll out or update to Microsoft's accounting software (they keep changing the name), and all of them have been a complete disaster like this.
Do yourselves a favor and shoot it down as soon as it gets brought up by management.
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@travisdh1 I can't upvote this enough. We tried it for about a hot minute and immediately ditched it.
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Why aren't there super flexible completely online solutions available for this? Do those two things cancel each other out? super flexible - online (think SAAS).
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@dashrender said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
Why aren't there super flexible completely online solutions available for this? Do those two things cancel each other out? super flexible - online (think SAAS).
Microsoft Dynamics NAV is extremely flexible (customizable). This is the problem.
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@jaredbusch said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
@dashrender said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
Why aren't there super flexible completely online solutions available for this? Do those two things cancel each other out? super flexible - online (think SAAS).
Microsoft Dynamics NAV is extremely flexible (customizable). This is the problem.
is it hosted/SAAS or is it on prem/colo?
If it's hosted/SAAS then who cares if it take 1 or 30 people to fix it...
It sounds like it's on-prem/colo, so they have to hire people to come to them to fix shit.
The purpose of my question was basically - why isn't there a M365 version of this so you the customer doesn't have to worry about that back end shit!
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@jaredbusch said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
@dashrender said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
why isn't there a M365 version of this
There is
is it as flexible as on prem? and if it is - then why is the OP having this problem? I'd be curious to see the justification of not using SAAS.
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@dashrender said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
@jaredbusch said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
@dashrender said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
why isn't there a M365 version of this
There is
is it as flexible as on prem? and if it is - then why is the OP having this problem? I'd be curious to see the justification of not using SAAS.
If I had any say in it, they would be. Nobody asks me when they're in the planning process tho, I'm just the "do this" man in this case.
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@travisdh1 said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
@dashrender said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
@jaredbusch said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
@dashrender said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
why isn't there a M365 version of this
There is
is it as flexible as on prem? and if it is - then why is the OP having this problem? I'd be curious to see the justification of not using SAAS.
If I had any say in it, they would be. Nobody asks me when they're in the planning process tho, I'm just the "do this" man in this case.
yeah, with my new boss - I'm really trying to impress upon her how important it is for IT to be involved with nearly any project - if for nothing else to say - IT doesn't need to be involved in that project, but more often to consider things exactly like this - moving to SAAS, etc.
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@dashrender said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
Why aren't there super flexible completely online solutions available for this? Do those two things cancel each other out? super flexible - online (think SAAS).
Microsoft Dynamics is endlessly flexible, and that's part of what creates it's problems. The number of spreadsheets management creates with it is mind numbing.
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@dashrender said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
is it as flexible as on prem?
SaaS or on-prem is not the issue really it is still Dynamics. There is no fixed way it works. It is always 100% custom for each application. Then even within the application, the various developers seem to not be very standards based.
Dynamics was a great idea, poorly implemented by the various partners and developers.
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Dynamics is just the brand name Microsoft gives to a number of different ERP/CRM products - none of them related.
Dynamics F&O (formally AX) is their enterprise product, competing with the likes of Oracle and SAP.
Dynamics Business Central (formally NAV) is their SMB product.
I work with Business Central and think it's great. They've done a ton of work in recent years to separate out the standard code from custom code which makes upgrades very easy. If you're on the SaaS version (which is the same as the on-premise version), Microsoft will automatically upgrade to the latest version every month, even with a loads of customisations.
The product is great, if you have problems it's likely to be because of a poor partner, of which there are many. Microsoft made it too easy to be become a partner.
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@carnival-boy said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
The product is great, if you have problems it's likely to be because of a poor partner, of which there are many. Microsoft made it too easy to be become a partner.
Yep, this was our issue. They use the same partner that the CEO has used for years. To say I'm not impressed is an understatement.
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@jaredbusch said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
@dashrender said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
Why aren't there super flexible completely online solutions available for this? Do those two things cancel each other out? super flexible - online (think SAAS).
Microsoft Dynamics NAV is extremely flexible (customizable). This is the problem.
Right, flexibility is the core issue. Eventually, with enough flexibility, any product just returns to being a programming language.
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@travisdh1 said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
@carnival-boy said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
The product is great, if you have problems it's likely to be because of a poor partner, of which there are many. Microsoft made it too easy to be become a partner.
Yep, this was our issue. They use the same partner that the CEO has used for years. To say I'm not impressed is an understatement.
.... with the CEO.
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@jaredbusch said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
@dashrender said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
is it as flexible as on prem?
SaaS or on-prem is not the issue really it is still Dynamics. There is no fixed way it works. It is always 100% custom for each application. Then even within the application, the various developers seem to not be very standards based.
Dynamics was a great idea, poorly implemented by the various partners and developers.
Similar to SAP or more ERP products. To make a generic ERP you have to offer so much flexibility that you essentially need custom programmers who specialize in programming that ERP to make things work. This generally falls into a really bad space where skilled people don't bother as the work isn't fun or generalized enough, and the people who are willing to do it can charge anything that they want, and there is little competition or good knowledge of what to do.
Something even more general, like PHP or ASP.NET gives you more power at often lower cost. Something more rigid like a specially built ERP means you need no programming at all and adapt your workflows to it. Both of those have huge advantages. General purpose ERPs tend to fall in the crack where you get the worst of everything, rather than the best.
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@scottalanmiller said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
@travisdh1 said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
@carnival-boy said in Microsoft Dynamics, do not use:
The product is great, if you have problems it's likely to be because of a poor partner, of which there are many. Microsoft made it too easy to be become a partner.
Yep, this was our issue. They use the same partner that the CEO has used for years. To say I'm not impressed is an understatement.
.... with the CEO.
Both
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No-one is writing an ERP system from scratch and no-one wants a completely inflexible system. Microsoft has met the challenge of making a SaaS solution that allows for customisation and third-party add-ons whilst still being seamlessly upgraded to a new version every month. I'm not sure if other ERP vendors have managed this.
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@carnival-boy
Many moons ago (when most screens were still monochrome) I wrote an ERP for a manufacturing company. It was built from the ground up to meet their needs. It was extended to include barcode scanning and some other enhancements that were not considered initially. Long story short, this solution is still in use today decades later. Did it take a lot longer to work it from the ground up? Hell ya. If a framework like Dynamics existed, it would have saved a lot of Dev time. We would have been quicker to market using a framework. Would it have been better? More reliable? I'll vote for more troublesome using a generic platform like Dynamics.
Given how long it has been used with only minor enhancements, their TCO is awesome. Is it the right answer for everyone? Obviously not. However, it should always be part of the conversation. -
@jclambert I've developed ERP systems, also many moons ago, working for an ERP vendor. But the world has moved on, and gotten more complex.
I would never consider developing a bespoke finance system now. Not least because of modern statutory requirements. For example, in the UK, the government will only accept tax returns directly from an ERP system. Apart from the complexity that developing that requires, the rules are constantly changing. It is so good being on SaaS knowing that as the government changes the rules, Microsoft will quickly roll-out a solution, and next month the software will be automatically updated in the middle of the night and just work.
