Article

How Do I Best Plan for the Arrival of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009?

by Vjekoslav Babic
NAV Consultant, Microsoft Services, Microsoft

The world of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 is rapidly heating up. Microsoft partners have had an early Technical Preview, and there is much talk about major changes in user interface and architecture. Final release is just around the corner, with expected release date in the fourth quarter of this year.

All the anticipation is exciting, but users are faced with the dilemma of just when to upgrade. There are really two main groups of users, each with a different question. For existing users of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, what kind of plan should they adopt for upgrading? For prospective users, should they implement Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0SP1, or wait for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009?

I address the first question in this column. I will consider the second question in a separate column, to be published next week.

Both questions are completely appropriate, especially considering the scope of change in store for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009. The RoleTailored user interface, which has seen its first usage with the recent Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 release, will be the fundamental innovation in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009, at least from an end-user perspective.

But a far more important change is Microsoft Dynamics NAV's departure from two-tier fat client architecture, which has accompanied Microsoft Dynamics NAV since forever, to a more robust and versatile three-tier Web Services-enabled architecture. No previous version has ever introduced such a dramatic change in comparison to previous versions.

With all these changes about to happen in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009, existing customers now have two major concerns regarding their investment:

  • Will they be able to easily upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009? The return on any technology investment increases if the technology can be successfully utilized over a longer period of time. ...

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About Vjekoslav Babic

Vjekoslav Babić is an independent Microsoft Dynamics NAV consultant, trainer, author and blogger, with 10 years of experience in NAV and 16 years of experience in IT.

As a solutions architect and a project manager with a leading Microsoft Dynamics President's Club service provider company, as a Microsoft Dynamics NAV consultant with Microsoft Services, and as an independent consultant, he has been working on Microsoft Dynamics NAV implementations ranging from tiny one-man-bands to international mega-corporations, delivering services and trainings all over the world.

In 2008, Vjekoslav co-authored the acclaimed book "Implementing Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009". Vjekoslav runs an active blog about NAV implementation, project management and development best practices, acts as a columnist and editorial advisory board member at MSDynamicsWorld.com, and as a columnist in a number of other web or printed periodicals in Croatia and worldwide. Vjekoslav is also a frequent speaker at Microsoft or Microsoft Dynamics conferences.

Since spring 2010, Vjekoslav has been awarded the prestigious Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

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