Microsoft Dynamics NAV News & Tips
Unwrapping the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 Package

In the last couple of releases, Microsoft Dynamics NAV did not include many new functional process enhancements, but rather focused on new technological improvements under the cover — necessary plumbing upgrades, if you will. Many of those are starting to bear fruit with this latest R2 release and will continue to in subsequent releases.

Remote Access via the Internet

As an example, the RoleTailored Client (RTC) will now benefit from streamlined remote access capability over the Internet. In the past, you were forced to utilize applications such as Terminal Services or Citrix to enable a user to remotely access Microsoft Dynamics NAV. And even in those cases, while the solution was adequate, it was stripped down and far from great. Now, however, the richness of the RoleTailored Client and the integration with the Microsoft Office environment can all be brought to your remote desktop or laptop just as if you were on a local desktop at the main office. And the resources contained on that remote desktop are all available to your RTC environment, meaning, for instance, that you can now easily print to devices available through your remote desktop, or easily copy and paste from your remote clipboard. Logging into the RTC remotely will invoke the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) technology to ensure a secure and encrypted connection between the remote browser and the web server.

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Gone are the confusing days of working on a remote desktop and yet being forced to utilize the services (printers, Excel, clipboard, etc.) on the Terminal Server. With the use of RTC, you may no longer even need Terminal Services, RDP or Citrix. Keep in mind that these great new remote features are only available in the RoleTailored Client. If you are still using the Classic Client, you will need to access remote services in the traditional fashion through Terminal Services or Citrix. Perhaps now is the time to consider switching from the Classic Client to RTC.

To further enhance the experience for NAV 2009 R2 RTC users, Microsoft has incorporated the Microsoft Application Virtualization (commonly referred to as App-V) technology. This technology not only provides a better remote user experience, but also minimizes maintenance and administration costs for remote and local users by enabling you to administer the NAV 2009 application on all desktops from a central location. For example, since there is no NAV 2009 client installed on a disk drive in this scenario, an update can be performed at the server, and with the App-V technology, that update will be downloaded to the user's device memory on the next remote RTC user login.

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App-V is a component in the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack and the technology investments mentioned earlier are part of what is enabling this feature now in NAV 2009 R2. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 RTC is licensed via user-based pricing on the Business Ready Licensing (BRL) model. App-V is part of Software Assurance and is included with the NAV 2009 R2 release to match your BRL users. Additional devices can be licensed for App-V if desired.

Payment Services

Microsoft has included their Payment Services functionality with the R2 release. With this new integrated payments capability, you will be able to easily accept bank card payments across a variety of platforms and environments as illustrated below.

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Payment Services is hosted throughout the United States and can currently process USD and Canadian payments. Payment Services supports most major credit cards including VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. It also supports debit cards. Major payment providers include First Data, Cyber Source, PayPal, and more.

Below is an indication of what the big picture transaction looks like.

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Significant benefits associated with using integrated Payment Services include the following:

• Built into the existing Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 software
• Familiar interface for users
• Automatically deduct money from customer cards and get paid immediately
• Multiple payment providers available
• Acceptance of multiple credit cards
• Secure transactions through the Payment Service
• PCI compliant
• Included and activated via your BREP (Business Ready Enhancement Plan)

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Authorize, capture, void and return capabilities are built into Payment Services. In addition, a complete log of all transactions is available to you.

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NAV to CRM Integration

Microsoft has included the Connector in the NAV 2009 R2 release to enable the integration of data between your NAV application and MS-CRM. The Connector will utilize web services to facilitate the integration; below is an illustration of how the data will flow.

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NAV will by default be considered the “system of record” for data integration and synchronization.

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There are many benefits to utilizing an integrated ERP & CRM model. Specifically the benefits of the NAV 2009 R2 and MS-CRM integration include the following:

• Integrated sales order processing
• Flexible customer integration
• Single view of product data
• Easy customization to model your sales methodologies and workflow
• Enhance and leverage the value of both systems
• Much greater efficiency as a result of entering data one time in one place
• A consistent version of business information available across the business enterprise
  

The Connector was designed specifically to provide ERP to CRM integration for Dynamics products. It is available now for customers running Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 and MS-CRM 4.0. It will also be available for MS-CRM 2011 when it is released in the near future. The Connector works with both in-premise installations and online installations. There is no cost for the Connector for licensed CRM and NAV users.

• Integration maps can be created to provide for bidirectional data flow.
• Once the Connector is turned on, the Product catalog will only be updated in NAV as the feature will be disabled in CRM.
• NAV will take precedence for all Order and Invoice data.
• It will not be possible to convert Orders into Invoices within CRM once the Connector is turned on. Rather, that functionality will reside in NAV.
• Invoices will be available via view only mode in CRM.
• From within CRM, Orders can be created and edited only until the Order is submitted to NAV.
• You will be able to selectively control which accounts and contacts are updated and synchronize to NAV.

Harvesting the Benefits

With all these great time-saving, money-making, joy-producing enhancements, we suspect you will want to take advantage of them ASAP. One consideration to keep in mind is that Payment Services and the CRM Connector are only available to those customers currently using the BRL (Business Ready Licensing) model. These new enhancements will not be released to customers using the MBL (Module Based Licensing) model. You can, however, transition from MBL to BRL and take advantage of these powerful new features. Please contact Mike at Integrated Computer Systems Support at 425-284-5426 or mikep@ics-support.com for further details.

 

Now the richness of the RoleTailored Client and the integration with the Microsoft Office environment can all be brought to your remote desktop or laptop just as if you were on a local desktop at the main office. The resources contained on that remote desktop are all available to your RTC environment. And that's just the start of what NAV 2009 R2 has to offer.