Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 Evaluated--Part 1

The version name says all; 2009. It has been a year since the release of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, making it time for a thorough evaluation.

At this moment I have two customers ready to go live on January 1. One with Dynamics NAV CRM and one with NAV Financials and an add-on. For this add-on, we used the Transformation Tool to upgrade the forms to pages.

So what have we learned? I have broken this evaluation into five sections or components, and evaluate each one separately. Each component comes at the evaluation from the End User perspective, the Consultant perspective and the Developer perspective.

Because of its length, this evaluation is being presented in three parts. In this Part 1, I assess the new Role Tailored Interface.

My company uses the new Role Tailored Interface in the role of an end user,  for invoicing and banking.

The new interface is definitely the most eye-catching change in this version of Dynamics NAV, but is it an improvement? And what about implementing and developing with this compared to the classic interface?

From the end-user perspective, I must say I am very impressed. End users find the interface very easy to use and it seems very intuitive.

One group of end users is migrating from a Unix environment with a 25x40 line screen, unbelievably easy to use but graphically from the stone age. They can find their way in the RTC client within minutes. The action buttons are easier to use than the old menu buttons and filtering is much more intuitive.

The fact boxes are a big improvement to end users, making detailed information easier to locate as well as the fast tabs. The success of the fast ...