Software Information

Great Plains Customization Upgrade- Overview For CIO/IT Director


Around the same time Microsoft made its move with .Net introduction and tried to gain portion of cheaper databases market: Pervasive SQL/Btrieve, Ctree/Faircom - and launched free MSDE database program. General direction for all its accounting systems was chosen - Microsoft announced future releases of so called Microsoft suites: Microsoft Financial, Microsoft HR, Microsoft Logistics, Microsoft Manufacturing to name a few. However Microsoft did not announce which product (Great Plains, Solomon or Navision) will become the base or will be transformed into each specific suite. Al these suites will be integrated into web-based Microsoft Business Portal

This move, probably wise in the long run, exposed businesses with heavily customized MBS products to serious customization upgrade problems. We'll give you our recommendation, based on our practice. In this article we'll talk about Microsoft Great Plains.

  • Great Plains Dexterity Customizations - Microsoft announced that its products will be moved to .Net platform. This means that Dexterity will be phased out/discontinued. However, even now Microsoft Great Plains 8.0 is still Dexterity-based application. So, if you have Dexterity customization - our recommendation is to phase it out or consider replacing it with these: Crystal Reports, SQL Stored Procs and triggers, Web Publishing (Visual Studio.Net) from Great Plains database, eConnect (SDK created to eCommerce developers to deploy Great Plains as back end)
  • Pervasive SQL/Ctree migration to MS SQL - If you are still on these old platforms - then you are in trouble - you will be without Microsoft technical support by the end of 2004. When you do standard data migration via migration tool - Great Plains tables are migrated by the tool, however migration tooll has no info about your custom tables - these tables should be migrated manually. You can use MSSQL Server Linked Server construction to link to Pervasive/Ctree data. ODBC drivers can be installed from GP CDs.
  • VBA/Modifier/Continuum - all these are good candidates for replacement by newer technologies, because these will not have their place in .Net platform.
  • Additional notes: When Great Plains Software designed Dexterity as the replacement to its discontinued Great Plains Accounting - it proclaimed that Dexterity is DB independent - which is true to some extent. However there are specifics, and Dexterity customization should be analyzed and tuned to work with MS SQL Server, if it was originally designed for btrieve/ctree. We are talking about customization upgrade for Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 7.0 to Microsoft Great Plains 8.0 or 7.5.

    Happy upgrading! if you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

    Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies - USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, based in Chicago, California, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, Canada, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.


    MORE RESOURCES:

    Business Wire (press release)

    Elliott Terminates Tender Offer to Acquire Epicor Software Corporation
    MarketWatch - Nov 21, 2008
    ... LP and Elliott International, LP (collectively, "Elliott" or "we"), a major shareholder of Epicor Software Corporation (the "Company" or "Epicor"), ...
    Epicor drops after hedge fund ends hostile bid Forbes
    Hedge Fund Elliott Associates Withdraws Offer for Epicor Software Orange County Business Journal
    UPDATE 1-Hedge Fund ends offer for Epicor Reuters
    RTT News - Barron's Blogs
    all 45 news articles


    New York Times

    The best thing about the 2.2 iPhone software update
    CNET News, CA - Nov 21, 2008
    When it some to iPhone software updates, I'm all about the basics. Apple could enable the iPhone to cook my dinner every night, but if it added multimedia ...
    First Look: Apple's iPhone 2.2 Software Hits The Street (And ... CRN
    Lots to like about new iPhone 2.2 software update Ars Technica
    Apple releases iPhone Software v2.2 Apple Insider
    G4 TV - infoSync World
    all 144 news articles


    BBC News

    Microsoft to offer free security software to attract beginners
    eTaiwan News, Taiwan - Nov 21, 2008
    19 to stop selling personal computer security software and to use free personal anti-virus software instead. The new software called Morro can support seven ...
    Microsoft: New software not Symantec, McAfee rival Reuters
    Microsoft Plans to Introduce Free PC Security Software Wall Street Journal
    Microsoft to offer free security software NetworkWorld.com
    Washington Post - Bizjournals.com
    all 304 news articles


    Vertical Releases Feature-Rich Software Update for Wave
    MarketWatch - 20 hours ago
    ... today announced the release of the Wave 1.5 software upgrade to it's award winning Wave IP 2500(TM) Business Communications Solution, the industry's ...


    Hann’s On Software bouht by Mediware
    Bizjournals.com, NC - Nov 21, 2008
    Mediware Information Systems Inc. has bought the assets of Hann’s On Software, a pharmacy-management software provider based in Santa Rosa, for $3.5 million ...
    Mediware Acquisition Adds 320 Pharmacy Facilities MarketWatch
    Mediware Information buys assets of Hann's On Software - Quick Facts RTT News
    Mediware Acquisition Adds 320 Pharmacy Facilities International Business Times
    all 19 news articles


    AVG Sees Uphill Battle for Microsoft in Its Launch of Free Anti ...
    MarketWatch - Nov 21, 2008
    AVG, which for eight years has offered free anti-virus software to users worldwide, noted the multiple challenges Microsoft faces in supporting a free ...
    AVG sees 'uphill battle' for Microsoft Morro TechRadar UK
    Microsoft Announces Upcoming Events for the Financial Community NewsBlaze
    Microsoft Announces Upcoming Events for the Financial Community MarketWatch
    all 30 news articles


    Microsoft’s Mike Neil Keynotes at SYS-CON's 4th International ...
    SYS-CON Media, NJ - 19 hours ago
    ... Black Duck Software, Blackbaud, Blade Network Technologies, Blue Coat, Blue Lane, BlueArc, BlueNote Networks, BluePheonix Solutions, BMC Software, ...
    Teaching Everyone to Speak Big Blue New York Times
    IBM To Acquire Virtualization Specialist Transitive InformationWeek
    IBM To Buy Virtualization-Software Company Transitive NewsFactor Network
    eWeek - SearchDataCenter.com
    all 95 news articles


    Frankly speaking, speech software better but still not great
    Seattle Times, United States - 12 hours ago
    Getting a computer to turn your speech into words on the screen requires buying expensive, resource-intensive software and mastering a sometimes confusing ...


    Authoria Appoints New President and CEO
    MarketWatch - Nov 21, 2008
    Prior to joining Authoria, Mr. McDevitt was most recently Chief Operating Officer of CDC Software, a $360 million division of CDC Corporation and a global ...


    Microsoft purges phony security software from 1 million PCs
    Computerworld, MA - 22 hours ago
    Windows users have been plagued with a flood of worthless security software in recent months as criminals have discovered that they're money-makers. ...

    Software - Google News

    home | site map
    © 2006