An Advance Look at Microsoft Dynamics GP 11.0 Shows Easier Data Access and More Customization

Drilling down into data and customizing metrics will be key new features in Microsoft Dynamics GP 11.0, slated for release by the middle of next year, according to Brian Meier, Microsoft program manager.

"I'm going to show you Word documents," he said to a crowd during the GPUG Summit on Friday in St. Charles, Ill. "Dashboards and metrics in version 11 will be the same thing. We want to focus on simplifying your data."

One way to simplify will be the ability to investigate into data easily, Meier said.

"If you have an issue, you will be able to drill back into that issue," he said. "Instead of sorting through a spreadsheet, it is easier to see a high level and then be able to drill down into the areas that interest you."

Customization was also a prominent topic of the session.

"The Dynamics GP role center, in version 10, was based around Office web components with no option to customize metrics," Meier said. "That was a big issue. We've made an additional option to use reporting services metrics. That will give you the option to create new ones if you choose to.

"You will be able to build it once and share it across multiple applications," he added. "We've also added the ability to see those metrics in your Dynamics GP list. Starting at a high level where you can see something is wrong; there will be drill back functionality so you can see more detail. And you can open the window and get into the client application window and drill from there."

Meier focused on the changes version 11.0 would offer customers in regard to Word templates. He said there ...