The Identity of Microsoft's Next-Gen RMS Will Be Deeper Than Its Dynamics AX Origins

Microsoft's Retail partners and clients are now eagerly awaiting the arrival of what is now being called "next-gen RMS," and one of Microsoft's key retail industry directors says the wait is almost over, and that what's planned to arrive in late 2013 will offer a complete refresh on the company's offerings.

Michael Griffiths, Microsoft Dynamics global product industry director for retail and distribution, explained in an interview with MSDynamicsworld.com during the just-concluded Retail Realm 2013 conference in Las Vegas, that the reboot of RMS later this year will offer a solution that is based on Microsoft Dynamics AX, but that will bear little resemblance to the AX-based solutions that larger enterprises utilize for finance, HR, manufacturing, and other operational needs.

The new RMS product will not require its small- and medium-sized business (SMB) users to utilize - and pay for - any unnecessary AX features, such as financials and HR. But such features will still be available if the SMB wants them.

While the "next-gen RMS" has its origins in AX, Griffiths is careful to point out the differences between the second coming of RMS and its de facto parent.

"What we did several years ago was we took AX as a code base foundation for building our industry solution. So, the reason we talk about Dynamics for Retail and RMS - and you don't hear us saying anything about AX - is simply that AX was just a [starting point]," Griffiths maintained.

"Next-gen RMS" uses the same source code as AX, allowing for such features as a mobile phone app.

Dynamics for Retail far exceeds AX, the ...