Microsoft Dynamics partner news screensaver

One interesting tidbit that I heard at Convergence was about the release of a screensaver that partners could run that would pull in newsfeeds from PartnerSource. I've tried it out and it's pretty cool. You can select which products you want to hear about (Dynamics GP, NAV or AX). And you can select whether you want business news and/or technical news. Also a few settings for how often you want it to look for new articles or change the picture.

If you have a PartnerSource account you can download it from this page.

The text below is from the description:

The Microsoft Dynamics Partner Instant Update Screensaver gives you the opportunity to get updates on an ongoing basis from the global Microsoft Dynamics Product Management teams. It offers you the opportunity to get global updates directly to your desktop. The news column in the left hand side of the screensaver is updated with new announcements on an ongoing basis and links to the full details on PartnerSource. Once installed, news updates will be fed automatically to your screen whenever you are online and the screensaver is activated.

Install the screensaver on your machine and specify your preferences using "settings" in the top right corner of the screensaver.

Microsoft Dynamics GP and Windows Vista compatibility

I had the opportunity to work on my first Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0 (Great Plains) installation on a Windows Vista workstation.

There is a Microsoft TK article that says you need to disable the User Account Control (UAC) security feature or change the installation location to somewhere outside of \Program Files\. I did turn off UAC but not until later in the process after GP was already installed but before I ran it for the first time, so I can't comment if GP would have worked with UAC enabled. It did installed fine with UAC enabled. I had an issue installing Service Pack 2 for GP 9.0 so disabling UAC was part of my troubleshooting effort.

While installing SP2 , I received the following message:

"A fatal error has encountered.
The Microsoft Dynamics GP installation has ended prematurely. Click Finish to exit the installation."

To remedy this situation, you need to install Service Pack 1 for the .Net Framework 1.1, according to this TK article. My installation of SP2 went fine once I installed that service pack. I was then able to launch GP and connect to the server.

I'm not sure why the .Net Framework 1.1 even comes into play since Windows Vista already includes version 3.0 of the .Net Framework. Mixing versions of the .Net Framework has been a bad idea in my experience.

The official word on Integration Manager 9.0 and FRx 6.7 is that they are currently NOT compatible with Vista. FRx 6.7 SP9 is supposed to be compatible but this release isn't available on PartnerSource or CustomerSource yet. I'm assuming they are working on a new service pack for Integration Manager to make it compatible as well. Also, the Automatic Payroll Tax Update in GP is not compatible with Vista. You'll need to pull in those tax updates from another non-Vista GP workstation.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0 Service Pack 2

Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0 customers and partners can use this link to download SP2 (Service Pack 2) for Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0 (formerly Great Plains). You'll need to login to your CustomerSource or PartnerSource account to get to the content. That page also contains links to download other current service packs for products like FRx and Integration Manager.

This page contains the Dynamics GP 9.0 service packs overview so you can find past and future downloads there.

Service Pack 2 has updates to the following modules:

FEATURES:
Microsoft Dynamics GP
Microsoft Dynamics GP Utilities
Analytical Accounting
Collections Management
Dexterity
Extender
Fixed Asset Management
Field Service
Electronic Funds Transfer for Payables Management
Electronic Funds Transfer for Receivables Management
Electronic Reconcile
Encumbrance Management
Manufacturing
Payment Document Management
Project Accounting
Purchase Order Enhancements
Revenue and Expense Deferrels
Safe Pay
SmartList
SmartList Builder
United States Human Resources

COUNTRY SPECIFIC SUB-FEATURES:
Business Activity Statement (BAS) and Pay As You Go Payment Summaries (PAYG)
Bank Management
Canadian Payroll
Canadian Human Resources
Canadian Human Resources with Integration to Canadian Payroll
Direct Debits and Refunds
Enhanced Intrastat
Multilingual Checks
Scheduled Instalments
VAT Daybook

Using Group Policy to deploy Microsoft Dynamics GP

Now that Microsoft Dynamics GP has switched over to using a standard Microsoft .msp file for the installer, you can use tools such as Group Policy to deploy the application to your workstations. You can also send out links to the installation package via email.

Microsoft has put together a white paper on this subject. Click here to download it.

One thing to keep in mind is that this method will only deploy the basic Dynamics GP application - you'll still need to do some seperate manual installations for additional products like FRx Report Writer, Integration Manager and other third-party products you may have in your solution.

Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) pricing

You've probably been looking all over the Microsoft Dynamics website for a price list on Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains) but you won't find it. They like to keep this information under wraps and its only available from authorized Microsoft Dynamics partners.

Speaking of which - now is a great time for a shameless plug of my company - Triton Business Solutions. :)

We'd be glad to help you out with your Microsoft Dynamics GP pricing needs. Let us know what we can do to help!

Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) version comparision

In August 2006, Microsoft Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains) moved to a new pricing method. In the past, you paid a la carte for the various modules that you wanted (GL, AP, AR, etc.) and then you paid for the number of user licenses.

Under the new structure, you choose the particular "suite" that you are looking for and then the pricing is purely based on the number of user licenses. These two suites are called "Business Essentials" and "Advancement Management".

The "Business Essentials" edition covers the basics like General Ledger, Payables Management, Receivables Management, Inventory, Purchase Order Processing, Sales Order Processing, etc. The "Advanced Management" edition ups the ante with Electronic Bank Reconciliation, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), Manufacturing, Project Accounting, Business Portal, etc.

You can find the breakdown of the functionality in each package on this page.

Some items are still sold separately - Payroll, Human Resources, and Field Service among others.