Microsoft Prepares Public Preview of 'New Dynamics AX', Built For Azure

Microsoft will launch a public preview of its cloud-first new release of Dynamics AX in early December, the company announced today. It will feature a new "simple and transparent subscription pricing model" that will also be disclosed next month.

And with this announcement, Microsoft will no longer refer to the product by its code name "AX 7". They are departing from typical version-centric branding and will refer to the release simply as Microsoft Dynamics AX in order to reflect "that this is a cloud-based service that will be regularly updated," according to today's announcement.

Customers are already live on the new AX through the private technical preview program, but with the public preview coming, Microsoft has offered more details on why it believes the new release stands apart from previous versions of AX or anything else in its ERP lineup. The Azure-centric approach introduces new requirements for customers while also aiming to make improvements in three key areas: user interface, productivity, and intelligence and analytics.

User Experience Improvements

The new browser-based interface of AX works in all modern browsers, and the same experience will be wrapped into a Windows 10 Universal App, which will also be made available for iOS and Android "to reinforce our commitment to device support," says Microsoft Technical Fellow for Dynamics ERP Mike Ehrenberg.

Ehrenberg says the new interface is better looking, but it ...