| In this small article we would like to concentrate on | | | | now Microsoft Dynamics project, there is the potential |
| legacy tools, especially on such issues as strategic | | | | need to resolve multiple database kernels for several |
| Microsoft Dexterity customization, integration, reports | | | | Microsoft ERP: Great Plains, Navision, Axapta, |
| upgrade and switch to the current of future | | | | Solomon with unified interface, utilizing .Net or its |
| customizations technologies. As you know Microsoft | | | | successor. eConnect allows developer to manipulate |
| Great Plains or former Great Plains Dynamics | | | | Microsoft Dynamics GP objects through |
| eEnterprise was renamed into Microsoft Dynamics GP | | | | programmable .Net interfaces. If you will deploy web |
| and current version Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0 | | | | service envelopes then you potentially can be |
| so-called "fat" client still uses Great Plains Software | | | | independent from programming language and |
| legacy programming language or shell - Microsoft or | | | | computer technologies, and so manipulate Microsoft |
| Great Plains Dexterityo Legacy Features. Great Plains | | | | Great Plains business logic from your front end |
| Dexterity was designed on several fundamental idea, | | | | application of choice, including eCommerce, EDI, J2EE, |
| popular in the beginning of 1990th - computer graphical | | | | Oracle, Business Intelligence (BI), etc.o Dexterity |
| platform and database platform independence, and | | | | Customization Upgrade. It is probably not reasonable to |
| logically as you might remember the stake was on C | | | | spend large budget to switching to new technologies in |
| programming language, as the hybrid of assembler and | | | | one step, however you should consider step-by-step |
| at the same time more generic programming or high | | | | switch. We recommend you to deploy eConnect and |
| level language. Obviously if you decide to stake on one | | | | web service interfaces as much as you can, plus try |
| - you have to sacrifice or disregard the other. In the | | | | to switch reporting from Dexterity to SQL Server |
| case of Great Plains Dexterity we see the following | | | | Reporting Serviceso Crystal Reports. As you can |
| problems: lack of Unicode support (making it not a | | | | conclude - Microsoft will be recommending SRS |
| good choice for international expansion), | | | | versus Crystal Reports, and you probably remember, |
| DEX_ROW_ID - in SQL Server database - each | | | | that Crystal was the reporting tool of choice for older |
| dexterity table must have this field, used by Dexterity | | | | Microsoft Great Plains versions: 5.5, 6.0, 7.0 and 7.5o |
| engine internally, inflexibility in ReportWriter or Dex | | | | New Tools. Extender, Excel, Explorer and other |
| reports, where you have to use only key-based links. | | | | "end-user-friendly" tools. In this article we definitely |
| Plus graphical interface is kind of outdated - again it is | | | | recommend you to do your intuitive discovery, but we |
| based on C transferable graphicso eConnect & | | | | concentrate on programmer approach and |
| web services. With the progress of Project Green or | | | | instruments. |