How to Ensure a Smooth Transition to Microsoft Dynamics GP 10's New "Pessimistic" Security Model

What does the totally revamped security model in Microsoft Dynamics GP 10 mean to executives faced with the challenge of upgrade to the new application?

The biggest change in Dynamics GP 10 is the new role-based security model.  This new methodology has some clear security, usability and compliance benefits over the old user class model.

Pessimistic vs. Optimistic Security

The old model used "optimistic" security, meaning that as soon as a user was added to a company, the user was granted global access within that company.  The user retained that access until the user was added to a class or until an administrator revoked access.  

Dynamics GP 10 employs a pessimistic model, where users have no access until they are granted rights to a role.  Not only does this provide a more secure environment but it greatly assists in compliance reporting. 

We have found that employing the pessimistic model can reduce segregation-of-duties conflicts by as much as 60 - 75% because users have access to fewer windows within the system. This can save a lot of time and sanity in the mitigation and documentation processes. 

Additionally, the authorization reports are smaller and much easier to manage.  The access in the optimistic model could be 75-100 pages for each user, whereas the new model whittles the volume down significantly. 

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