When It Comes to Customizations for Microsoft Dynamics GP, Which Tool Should You Rely On?

The term "customization" can mean different things to different people.

In layman's terms, a customization is usually a software product - code if you will - that modifies or alters the behavior of the out-of-the-box Microsoft Dynamics GP application. Customizations can be horizontal enhancements developed by Microsoft (also known as add-ons)-- for example, Project Accounting, Manufacturing, or Human Resources, which extend the functionality of Microsoft Dynamics GP. 

Similarly, customizations can be authored by an independent software vendor (ISV), also known as third-party product enhancements, typically geared toward supplementing the existing application's functionality or providing complete industry-specific vertical solutions to the Microsoft Dynamics GP application.

Customizations can vary from simple to complex, based on the previous definition, and at this point, suffice it to say you can have customizations to add-ons, and customizations to third-party products, but what is most important from the perspective of a user in need of customization of an application is how to make it happen.

Microsoft Dynamics GP customization tools can be catalogued in either of two ways--what I like to call commercial grade customization tools and in-house customization tools.

Commercial grade customization tools are mostly used by Microsoft and its network of ISVs. In this category we can clearly incorporate Microsoft Dexterity, referred to by die-hard developers in the circles as Dex; and Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP, or VST for short. Microsoft Dexterity is the native integrated development environment (IDE) created by Microsoft (well, by the former Great Plains to be precise) to develop the award winning Microsoft Dynamics GP. Dex offers its own programming language by the name of SanScript. VST has been created with the managed code developer in mind. Hence, VST is a set of ...