When would you opt for Dynamics GP, rather than Dynamics AX? What about Dynamics SL? What features and capabilities does that product have making it a better fit? Is Dynamics NAV sometimes a better fit?
Full disclosure, our business sells and supports both Dynamics GP and Dynamics SL. Not only do we sell and support those products, we love them.
For Dynamics SL, this product still has lots of capabilities that the other 3 have some of but not with the depth and ease of use that SL can deliver. Most of these capabilities are in the project series.
For example, a Dynamics SL user can enter a sales order for product that is part of a project and have the lines on the sales order go to different tasks on a project. The sales order itself can add the project and tasks also, given the user has proper rights.
Dynamics SL is a project-centric product. You see prompts for project and task throughout the financial modules-not just in the project series. The fields are in the main data grids-not an awkward additional pop up window at the bottom of the screen.
The Multi-Company in Dynamics SL is very nice. A user can, in one database, share vendors, customers, and a chart of accounts. The due-to and due-from entries occur simply and elegantly throughout not just gl and ap, but through ar also.
Companies can be grouped and reported easily in non-financial reports as well as through FRx or Management Reporter.
Dynamics SL also has a nice Software Development Kit that facilitates additional screens and functionality and does not require the purchase of another add-on software from an Independent Software Vendor (ISV).
Dynamics GP, the “800 pound gorilla” here in the US, offers one of the most reliable products we’ve seen in our 17 years in business.
There is a blog that I will reference toward the end of this post that was written by a partner in Oregon. She says “Critics of GP will pounce on the fact that its application functionality dates back to the mid-1990’s. The truth is, GP’s age is its strength. It takes decades to develop all of the rich niches of a complex ERP product”. I could not agree more. Building great software takes time, testing and multiple versions to “get it right”. Dynamics GP has this history as does Dynamics SL.
GP also has the most extensive ISV community that I’ve seen in that same 17 years in business/26 years in the business. Being able to extend the solution with a developer that specializes in that area very much helps to guarantee low risk and high probability for success.
The Integration Tools in Dynamics GP are also very good. Many Web Services, and a tool that allows the call of existing stored procedures (eConnect) as well as in Integration Module that allows the importing of validating transaction is wonderful. What makes Integration Manager nice is that the User Interface of the tool is so easy to use that many good accountants can use it-you don’t need an IT person or developer.
Since we don’t offer Dynamics AX (yet) or Dynamics NAV, I probably cannot offer as many ideas on what makes those products unique.
I do know that NAV has a nice set of customization tools and strong distribution modules. I have learned that upgrading those customizations in NAV is not quite as easy as building them was.
AX has strong enterprise-level features for larger firms.
Please check this document on our website where Microsoft compares their 4 products lightly as well as the other blog that I referenced above. The blog post I referenced above compares Dynamics GP and AX directly.
In Minneapolis, more people are expressing interest in AX but the price tag of putting it in are driving people back to Dynamics GP and Dynamics SL.
