Microsoft, Dynamics AX partners talk BI priorities, sales strategies at WPC 2014

In Microsoft's view, a fraction of companies are set to outperform the larger marketplace by investing heavily in data management and BI initiatives. That fraction is set to reap a potential $1.6 trillion in "data dividends" based on research Microsoft has commissioned. The rest of the businesses out there, they believe, are being left behind.  

Microsoft Dynamics AX partners should be looking for ways to bring data together for customers, from ERP as well as other sources, and to help those organizations visualize an integrated view of the world.  Microsoft believes, of course, that the right tools for the job are Excel, Power BI, and Office 365.

At Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) 2014 this week, Dynamics AX senior product marketing manager Yvonne Haarloev spoke to attendees about the kinds of data visualization tools Microsoft is focusing on, and she stressed the need to "lead with BI", citing the success of a notable Dynamics AX partner.

"You need to enable your customers to mine any type of data and help visualize, forecast, and ask questions," said Haarloev. And the primary tool Microsoft wants end users to be thinking about for visualization is Excel, she reminded them. "At the end of the day they can use Power Bi to share information broadly and have access form anywhere."

Haarloev's pitch for BI with AX focused on the ability to expose AX queries as ODATA feeds, which can then be consumed by Power Query, turned into charts using Power View, and shared with a team viai a Power BI site. To round it out, she pointed to the Power BI mobile app for sharing visualizaitons. No mention was made of Business Analyzer (BA)for Dynamics ERP, which has also been ...