reIMAGINE 2016: Microsoft Dynamics GP Goes Forward with 2016 R2, GP "Next"

It took a few minutes and several slides, but by mid-morning Monday, Microsoft Dynamics GP product manager Errol Schoenfish was able to get to the crux of the matter.

"Dynamics GP goes forward," he told hundreds of assembled GP partners at reIMAGINE 2016, speaking in a tone that suggested both confidence in the future and frustration with the doubts voiced over the last year. Microsoft showed the audience evidence for the future of the product, including a closer look at the upcoming GP 2016 R2 release and a product roadmap through 2017 for GP and the rest of the Dynamics product line.

Microsoft will actually slow down the GP release cadence in 2017, moving from semi-annual to annual releases. That means that after GP 2016 R2, which is planned for later this year, the next release will be in the second half of 2017. An annual release schedule will better match the pace that partners and customers want, said senior program manager Brian Meier.  

The Dynamics GP release planned for the second half of 2017 is still in the early stages, said Meier. GP "Next," as it is called today, is expected to introduce OData services for multi-tenant Dynamics GP, those OData services being consumable from the web client; also, improved Office integration, specifically for OneDrive and Excel Online. Meier said the integration with these cloud-based Microsoft productivity apps will get cloud-based GP solutions better aligned with Microsoft's other core cloud offerings.

Other GP "Next" features are less well defined so far, and Meier appealed to partners to use Microsoft Connect to vote for smaller ...