Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 Boasts Closer Ties to SQL Server Release, GM Says

If you are curious how Microsoft Dynamics AX is improving integration to Microsoft SQL Server 2012, the AX team wants you to know that AX is a prime customer of SQL Server internally at Microsoft. And many of the key improvements that Dynamics AX aims to deliver in the upcoming 2012 R2 release, from support of data warehousing initiatives to master data management to the building reports and KPIs in the AX 2012 interface to load testing of SQL Azure are all dependent on the AX and SQL Server teams working together.

Data warehousing capabilities with AX 2012 are tightly linked to Power View (a.k.a, Project Crescent), according to Dynamics AX general manager Christian Pedersen, because the cube designs used by Crescent should be a key piece of the data warehousing puzzle. "We will be providing out of the box cubes, but knowing how it goes with data modeling and building new cubes, we'll have the PowerPivot link to Excel as well," he says. "But it is really the underlying cubes infrastructure that will be used for Crescent as well.  So it is a good example of how AX, Excel, PowerBuilder, and SQL will work closely on these things."

Hosting AX and SQL Azure

Performance is a key consideration for any cloud-hosted ERP, and while AX is lagging its smaller cousins in terms of Azure readiness, the AX team is reportedly playing a role in load testing SQL Azure to get it ready for running real ERP systems.  "When we think about SQL Azure there is a huge collaboration happening because running a cloud-based database, the way you put it to the ultimate test is by putting transactional data through it," says Pedersen.  "If ...