Will Naming of New Dynamics NAV General Manager Affect Timing of Version 6.0?

Microsoft has named Dan Brown, a six-year Microsoft veteran, as the new general manager of Dynamics NAV.

He replaces Darren Laybourn, who will be moving over to become general manager of the Microsoft's Mobile Outlook team.

In a posting on the Dynamics NAV blog, Brown stated that "the NAV organization will continue moving forward according to our current roadmap, including NAV 5.0 SP1 this March and NAV 6.0 at the end of the calendar year."

Users can be forgiven if they are nervous about Brown's commitment. The schedule for NAV 5.0 has already been pushed back once, last October, and in this posting, Brown indicates things have fallen at least a bit further behind.

Last October, Laybourn stated that delivery of NAV 6.0 had been moved from the first half to the second half of 2008. In the new posting, Brown is saying that NAV 6.0 shouldn't be expected until "the end of the calendar year."

In addition, NAV has seen a number of management changes in recent years. As one user commented on the NAV blog following the announcement about appointment of Brown, "I think we all liked Darren very much, but regret that he leaves NAV, and we hope that you (Dan Brown) stay a bit longer in the job. The last couple of years have been marked a lot by ever changing management in the NAV team."

Brown said that as part of the shift, "My family and I will relocate from Seattle to Copenhagen, where I will work at the Microsoft Development Center Copenhagen (MDCC)." He said he would "...