Frequently asked questions about Microsoft Dynamics NAV Employee Portal

Microsoft Dynamics NAV Employee Portal is a toolkit included with Microsoft Dynamics NAV Service Pack 1.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV Employee Portal is an intranet solution with a browser front end that makes it easy for your employees to work with critical business information on your company intranet. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 is integrated with both Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services and Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server. Using a Web browser and SharePoint—the Microsoft intranet standard—employees who don't have Microsoft Dynamics NAV user status can access real-time business information directly from Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0.

Employees can get quick updates of real-time business information such as invoices, customer data, and analytical reports. They can modify information that is then immediately updated directly in your business system. They can find and use sales, service, and reporting tools. And they can access and share business-related Microsoft Office documents.

Salespeople, purchasers, and production designers are just some of the roles in your organization that can benefit from using this Web portal.

For one thing, the Web interface is easy to set up. Also, employee portal access reduces training time and costs because users don't have to learn how to use Microsoft Dynamics NAV. In addition, the time employees save by not having to find a licensed Microsoft Dynamics NAV user to help them get critical information they need can help increase their productivity and make their job easier.

You don't need to purchase any software beyond the standard Microsoft Windows Server products that are part of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 system requirements. Microsoft SharePoint is included in Microsoft Windows 2003. If you're already running Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0, you already have all the software you need to run this Web portal. For specific system requirements for Microsoft Dynamics NAV Employee Portal, see the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Employee Portal Fact Sheet.

The framework is intuitive and requires minimal programming on the part of a system administrator or Microsoft partner. Microsoft Dynamics NAV Employee Portal comes with out-of-the-box Microsoft .NET–based Web parts, and it is easy to configure on the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 back end. To learn more about deploying this Web interface, see the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Employee Portal Installation Guide.

If your employees have worked with a Microsoft program or surfed the Internet, they have all the experience they need to begin to use the system. The Web interface is intuitive and simple to use.

The toolkit includes three Web parts you can use in your employee portal:

For more details on setting up Web parts in Employee Portal, watch the flash video demonstration.

It is possible to connect the various Web parts, as well as display reports and run custom code on this Web interface. For more information, see the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Employee Portal Installation Guide.

When installing Microsoft Dynamics NAV Employee Portal, you will notice an optional sample application. You can use this sample application for inspiration and demonstration purposes; however, it is not intended to be an out-of-the-box template for system administrators or partners to implement at customer sites.

Yes, data can be made available in a number of languages according to the needs of your users.

To request more information about Microsoft Dynamics NAV or Employee Portal, visit the Microsoft Dynamics NAV product page or the Microsoft Dynamics customer support page.