Microsoft Dynamics GP team introduces GP 2013 R2

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 R2 is now available, according to a new blog post. Though it's not officially a major release, GP 2013 R2 introduces some major new capabilities as well as incremental improvements that align the product with Office 365 and Microsoft Azure.

Microsoft delivers the release on schedule based on predictions from Convergence 2014 that targeted May. Unofficially, Microsoft appeared to have been setting a May 2014 (or "before June") target since as early as January 2014.

GP 2013 R2 marks the start of an updated product planning process for Dynamics GP that aims for more rapid releases (approximately 6 months) with a focus on a few "Big Rocks" and then as many smaller features that R&D can prepare within the same time frame. For this release, the big rocks were requisitions, workflow, identity management/security, and procurement - each being delivered with a new approach.

The new requisition functionality is built into the product, whereas previous requisition features were only available via the additional SharePoint-based Business Portal solution. Procurement can be simplified in GP 2013 R2 by consolidating multiple requisitions into a single purchase order, according to today's announcement.  

Based on earlier statements by Microsoft, there will eventually be several integration points for the new requisition capabilities, including into business intelligence, MDA, encumbrance management, fixed assets, project accounting, manufacturing, and analytic accounting. The product team has also advised that requisitions will be a multi-stage rollout.

GP 2013 R2 also introduces a new workflow framework that no longer relies ...