The software-plus-services approach from Microsoft combines the best aspects of client software, on-premise servers, and services delivered over the Internet. Microsoft Dynamics business management software takes advantage of this blended approach to provide customers with flexibility and choice in how they use, buy, deploy, and manage their business processes, such as sales and marketing, finance, or operations.
The most appropriate delivery model for each business process is dependent on the unique characteristics of each company and its industry. Microsoft is committed to providing the greatest amount of choice in software delivery, including on-premise, partner-hosted and Microsoft-hosted delivery models. Customers can also take a hybrid approach in which they keep some business processes of their implementation of Microsoft Dynamics on their premises while hosting other elements. When considering which delivery model to use for a particular business process application, customers should examine the various business drivers.
"This hybrid model that Microsoft is supporting – the whatever, wherever approach to the cloud vs. on premise debate – makes a tremendous amount of sense in my mind. Partly because choice is what it's all about, and partly because orthodox approaches to on-demand are largely predicated on a false perception of a rational decision-making process when it comes to deployment options".
Josh Greenbaum, EAC Principal Analyst
The Microsoft Dynamics software-plus-services approach is based on three cornerstones:
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A business-driven IT platform. Designed with software-plus-services in mind, Microsoft Dynamics enables a flexible IT infrastructure that responds to business drivers. Microsoft Dynamics uses software-plus-services to help companies succeed in fast-changing business environments; companies can more effectively grow into new markets and quickly adjust to regulatory and market changes. For example, Microsoft Dynamics provides Web services so that companies can expose data and systems as services, then quickly compose those services into larger business processes or workflows.
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Multiple delivery options. Microsoft Dynamics gives customers the power to choose the delivery model that best fits specific business processes. A hosted solution provides companies with a way to reduce costs and speed implementation. Traditional on-premise solutions provide superior integration and customization opportunities. A software-plus-services approach lets Microsoft Dynamics customers switch between hosted and on-premise delivery, or create a hybrid solution that takes advantage of both models.
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Optimal user experiences and community. For employees, the software-plus-services approach combines the rich experiences and accessibility of client software and the simplicity of applications delivered over the Internet. Microsoft Dynamics and software-plus-services boost employee collaboration and productivity by taking advantage of the 2007 Microsoft Office system--including Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Office Word, and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server--to give employees line-of-business data and functionality in the applications they use every day.
Microsoft Dynamics community, a Microsoft-sponsored online gathering place of interactive forums, blogs, and news, gives the users a way to experience the kind of networking and collaboration that they usually only get at conferences and other places.
Microsoft Dynamics takes advantage of a software-plus-services approach to:
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Enable Growth. Choose the deployment option that best suits your needs (whether traditional on-premise or on-demand) and effectively support local languages, business practices and legal requirements.
"QuickBooks is fine for small shops, but Microsoft Dynamics GP offers us the ability to stay with one product while we grow aggressively. Icould operate hundreds of health clubs with Microsoft Dynamics GP."
Reduce IT Spending. Flexible deployment options--on-premise, on-demand, or a hybrid approach--accelerate return-on-investment, scale to meet increased demand, and let you align your deployment model with your business focus and current IT capabilities.
"Many midsize companies wanted the flexibility of a hosted service. They also sought to invest their resources in strategic business areas, rather than in maintaining an IT staff or incurring upfront costs for system implementations."
J.J. Hanson, Chief Technology Officer, Rose Business Solutions Read the full story
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Increase Business Agility. Organize existing IT assets to quickly deliver new capabilities, so you can capture opportunities in a fast-moving marketplace.
"We depend on Microsoft Dynamics in every facet of our business, so it’s nice to know that when we need the solution to be faster or better in a certain aspect-in this case, our productivity system-Microsoft Dynamics is flexible and can be enhanced."
Boost Employee Productivity. Streamline access to systems and information and rework business processes. For example, Internet services make it easier to deliver access to information in the most suitable form and presentation factor, such as on a desktop, in a Web browser, or on a mobile device.
"Our system isn't going to be successful unless people use it. Microsoft Dynamics CRM integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Office Outlook, and people inherently get it right away."
David Johnson, Chief Information Officer, Jones Lang LaSalle Read the full story
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Manage Governance, Risk, and Compliance. Automate policies, procedures, and controls for governance, risk management, and compliance. Achieve full compliance with country-specific regulations without burdensome manual processes. Frequent, automatic updates to content and software ensure that systems remain up-to-date with legal changes.
"One of our customers is an aircraft company, so everything we buy has to be lot tracked and batch numbered. With Microsoft Dynamics, we can find the purchase order, where it went, who inspected it—all within minutes."
