ERP on your Terms: Turn your business vision into reality with a solution that works the way you do.

Thinking about upgrading your business systems? If so, you’re probably looking at today’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, and you’ve uncovered several factors to weigh before choosing what’s right for your business.

For starters, you’ll want a solution that delivers ERP on your terms instead of requiring you to change your processes to fit its constraints. After all, if a solution limits your flexibility from the start, how can it adapt to meet your future needs? And, you’ll need to consider factors that go beyond features and functionality before you can choose a new solution with confidence. Will the solution fit? Who will help you implement the software? Choices like these will have cost and other consequences.

Choosing the right Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution is an important decision. Your ERP solution is the backbone of your business – and making the right choice can mean the difference for winning against the competition. So it’s imperative to ask the right questions in your evaluation.

It’s hard even to know all the questions to ask. We can help.

Here we will equip you with answers to key questions as you evaluate ERP options.

1.

Will the ERP solution fit the way we work, or will we need to change our processes to run it?

To answer this question, you’ll need to be crystal clear about the core business processes your new ERP solution must support, from Accounting, Financial Management, Manufacturing, Sales and Marketing, Supply Chain Management, Business Intelligence and Reporting to Human Resources. ERP solutions available today address these functional areas in different ways and to different degrees. If cost is a primary concern, be sure that the ERP system you choose requires very little customization to align with your business processes – particularly in the mission-critical areas. Don‘t settle for a solution that forces you to change the way your business operates to fit within its parameters. Do your homework on the size of customers each vendor serves. Some claim their solutions suit small and midsize businesses, but a close look at their customer base suggests their success depends on larger companies. What this might say is about their long-term commitment to your business. Why Microsoft Dynamics ERP? Name your business process and we can help you manage it – on your terms. Microsoft Dynamics has established a track record by meeting the needs of more than 350,000 customers and 5 million users worldwide. We’ve been serving small and midsize businesses for more than 25 years, winning customer references in all of the functional areas, like manufacturing, distribution, retail, public sector, services, and more. In addition, our global network of talented local Microsoft partners gives you access to deep technical and industry expertise to help you address your specific needs. Customer Stories There’s no better way to appreciate our solutions than to listen to the voices of our customers. Hear from people like yourself who gain business value every day from their Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions. • RCS Group an independent, financial services company that operates in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana moved to a consolidated and efficient accounting system • Yousef AlRajhi Global Saudi Firm increases productivity by 25 per cent with Enterprise Resource System • Bhatia Traders a highly diversified commercial operation in the United Arab Emirates needed to consolidate its financial reporting Don’t just take our word for it. Hear from customers like you. Get the "Grow your Business Kit". It includes the Focus Research white paper – "Is Your Business Ready for ERP?" and additional customer stories from the Middle East and Africa. Download now

2.

How does the solution support integration with other line-of-business applications?

Like many businesses, you may need to integrate your new ERP solution with other line-of-business software that you rely on – your payroll processing or e-commerce system, for example, or your Customer Relationship Management solution. As you weigh your ERP options, be sure you understand how much IT work and cost will be required to get your other mission-critical systems to work properly with your new ERP solution. The right choice will be flexible and easy to integrate with other applications or data sources. Some ERP vendors may suggest that the way to reduce integration complexity and cost is to simplify the processes you want to integrate. Be careful here. Simplification might help to a point, but at the end of the day, your business processes need to fit your real business needs, not a simplified version of them. And you could end up incurring IT costs later anyway, if you decide you really need the integration capability you sacrificed initially. Here’s another thing to think about: even though the right ERP solution for you will be flexible and easy to integrate with your other line-of-business applications, you may still want or need technical support at some point – as you connect your data and other applications. Be sure that the ERP vendors or their implementation partners you’re considering can help bring your systems together for end-to-end business process improvement. Do they offer resources near you? Do their support people understand and care for your business? Why Microsoft Dynamics ERP? With Microsoft Dynamics ERP, you don’t have to choose between a robust ERP solution, and low deployment and integration costs. You can have the best of both. You can easily connect and integrate with external data sources and applications, even if they’re not built on Microsoft platforms, by using Web Services and the Microsoft® .NET Framework. It’s very likely that your business and your employees already work with other Microsoft software – Microsoft Office, for example, or Microsoft Dynamics CRM, or Microsoft SharePoint. Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions work like and with these products and provide an even greater level of inter-operability to add even more value to you and your ERP users. Also, a global network of local Microsoft partners with deep technical and business expertise are there to help make the power of Microsoft technology work for you and your business. Customer Stories Read how three customers have integrated their Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions with other vital line-of-business applications to help them turn their business vision into reality. • RCS Group an independent, financial services company that operates in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana moved to a consolidated and efficient accounting system • Yousef AlRajhi Global Saudi Firm increases productivity by 25 per cent with Enterprise Resource System • Bhatia Traders a highly diversified commercial operation in the United Arab Emirates needed to consolidate its financial reporting Don’t just take our word for it. Hear from customers like you. Get the "Grow your Business Kit". It includes the Focus Research white paper – "Is Your Business Ready for ERP?" and additional customer stories from the Middle East and Africa. Download now

3.

Will the ERP solution help maximize our investments in the Microsoft technology platform and Microsoft Office productivity tools?

First, let’s talk about platforms. In the case of Microsoft, this means Windows and Microsoft.NET. This flexible platform has been widely adopted across the business community, which offers important advantages. For one thing, the Microsoft platform could very well be the one used by the vendors who built your current LOB applications. If it is, choosing an ERP solution that runs on this same platform could simplify integration and shorten your time to benefit. Choosing an ERP solution built on the Microsoft platform also means you’ll have a variety of compatible products to choose from, if you decide to switch to a different LOB software vendor in the future. In addition, a broad section of the technical support community works with the Microsoft platform, so you’ll have ready access to technical help if you ever need it. Finally, broad acceptance of the Microsoft platform encourages competitive pricing among alternative LOB applications and technical support services. For all these reasons, standardizing ERP and LOB applications on a single technology platform can be an efficient way to gain business value, and it enables you to focus IT resources on streamlining business processes instead of integrating applications. Now let’s talk about choosing a new ERP solution that helps you get more value out of your other Microsoft technology investments. May be your company uses Microsoft SQL Server for databases, or Microsoft SharePoint to maintain portals for your employees and business partners; or may be you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM to manage customer information. Your people probably work with productivity tools like Microsoft Word to create forms or Microsoft Excel to analyze data maintained in a SQL Server database. All of these products share the Windows platform, and they present a familiar look and feel to users. Choosing an ERP solution that works like and with these productivity tools and server products unlocks a new level of value in all of them. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Why Microsoft Dynamics ERP? Much of your company’s success with the new ERP solution you choose will depend on how quickly your people learn to use it and their willingness to embrace change. If they already know and use Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel, they will find the Microsoft Dynamics ERP user experience familiar, and therefore will adopt it faster and more readily. Because Microsoft Dynamics ERP works like and with other Microsoft technology, it helps increase adoption rates and lower training costs. Customer Stories Innovative companies everywhere are finding value and achieving business benefits with the inter-operability of Microsoft Dynamics ERP, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and Microsoft productivity tools and server products. Take a look at how four very different businesses are taking advantage of the synergy of using Microsoft Dynamics ERP with other Microsoft technology to successfully turn their business vision into reality. • Aswaaq Retail Company a retail chain based in the United Arab Emirates. See how employees use the system to manage all their needs – from point of sale to back-office management – which improves productivity and reduces costs • Edita Food Industries an Egyptian baked goods maker cuts payables time by 70 per cent with Microsoft Dynamics • Turnall Holdings Ltd in South Africa uses Microsoft Dynamics NAV for clarity, insight and efficiency to drive and profit from growth Don’t just take our word for it. Hear from customers like you. Get the "Grow your Business Kit". It includes the Focus Research white paper – "Is Your Business Ready for ERP?" and additional customer stories from the Middle East and Africa. Download now

4.

Does the solution offer a predictable cost model?

As you look at different ERP solutions, you need to fully understand and carefully compare the predictability of costs for each option – particularly future-year costs. The one predictable thing about the future is that it will be different from today. The solution that delivers the lowest cost right now might feel like the right choice, but what happens as new customer requirements emerge, line-of-business software upgrades are released, or your business expands rapidly? Can the impact of these changes on ERP costs be predicted accurately? Will the outcome be acceptable? Or will it leave you to deal with unexpected and unacceptable costs? If you negotiate carefully, you can ensure that upgrades, software fixes, service packs, and updates will be included in your subscription, giving you even greater cost predictability. And you may be able to negotiate service level agreements for security or high availability. Just watch out for first-year discounts that lure you in, but then increase for year two and beyond. A new ERP solution can open up other opportunities to save money, too. An easy-to-configure solution reduces the need for in-house IT staff and external technical support resources, especially if it integrates smoothly with the line-of-business software and productivity tools that your people also use. Powerful features built into today’s ERP solutions can help improve data accuracy and availability, which leads to business benefits like more competitive pricing, more accurate billing, and greater collaboration with suppliers. You’ll be able to spot changing conditions and respond quickly, without conducting additional cost analysis. Why Microsoft Dynamics ERP? Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions deliver cost predictability, helping you to budget your ongoing ERP expenses more accurately and shield your business from ERP system cost fluctuations, with a protected list price that serves as the basis for your future renewals. You can also count on a guaranteed support life cycle from Microsoft that ensures support for your ERP for up to 10 years. For more information, visit http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle. Keep in mind that purchase or licensing costs are just part of the full cost of an ERP solution. It’s critical to know up front what the costs will be for implementation services, maintenance fees, training, and upgrades. Many Microsoft Dynamics partners support cost predictability by offering fixed-scope rapid ERP implementations that include initial licenses, deployment, and training to help you get up and running quickly and affordably. Customer Stories Take a few moments to learn how three Microsoft Dynamics ERP customers are taking advantage of predictable costs to help turn their business vision into reality. • Botswana Ministry of Local Government brings 60 per cent of local councils up to date with accounting • United Cement Company of Nigeria (UNICEM) cuts project costs by 45 per cent • Bateel International Gourmet Food Producer and Retailer in the Middle East integrates businesses to drive global growth Don’t just take our word for it. Hear from customers like you. Get the "Grow your Business Kit". It includes the Focus Research white paper – "Is Your Business Ready for ERP?" and additional customer stories from the Middle East and Africa. Download now

5.

How stable is the vendor and do they understand and serve customers like me?

Let’s start with the first part of the question. Your new ERP solution will have the potential for a long and productive work life. But what happens if the vendor goes out of business or gets acquired by another company during that time? A lot could change. Where will you get routine support and resolve urgent technical problems? Who will help you integrate new line-of-business applications? If the vendor goes out of business, will you be able to upgrade your ERP solution, or will you be confined to increasingly outdated technology that is no longer supported? If the vendor gets acquired, will the new provider build products on the same technology platform, or make future upgrades more complex and costly? Even worse, will the new owner stop investing in the product altogether, leaving you with a solution of diminishing value? Clearly, a lot of uncertainty and risk can be avoided by choosing a vendor with a solid future. It’s also important to understand how your business fits the customer profile of each vendor. Is your industry an important part of the vendor’s business? How about customers your size? If the vendor has a track record of serving companies your size and in your industry, they’ll understand how your business works, they’ll have expertise to apply, and they’ll be efficient in meeting your needs. But you don’t want your company to be the “experiment” that helps the vendor decide whether or not to get more involved with companies your size and in your industry. Software company dissolutions, consolidations, and buyouts are not uncommon. So before you sign on the dotted line, take the time to evaluate each vendor’s long-term prospects and their focus on both your industry and companies your size. It will be time well spent. Why Microsoft Dynamics ERP? Here are three reasons. First, Microsoft offers Business Ready Customer Care, which establishes a new standard for customer service by extending support for Microsoft Dynamics line-of-business management software solutions beyond industry practices – to a full ten years of extended product support. You’ll have plenty of other things on your mind as you navigate the future. Business Ready Customer Care offers you peace of mind about your ERP solution investment. Second, Microsoft has staying power. The Microsoft Business Division recently reported USD 5.62 billion in first-quarter revenue, 8 percent above the prior-year period, which included the Microsoft Office 2010 launch. Microsoft productivity server offerings, including Lync, SharePoint, and Exchange, posted double-digit revenue growth, and the Microsoft Dynamics business grew 17 percent in the quarter. Performance at this level makes Microsoft a safe bet for the long term. Review our financial results in more detail here. Customer Stories The third reason for talking to Microsoft Dynamics about your next ERP solution is our customer base. It isn’t concentrated in Fortune 500 companies or in one or just a few industries. And it isn’t geographically restricted. It includes thousands of companies and millions of individual users in companies like yours, around the world. Working with companies like yours is not an “experiment” for Microsoft Dynamics. It’s what we’ve done for more than 25 years. But don’t just take our word for it. Learn about a few companies that are turning their business vision into reality with help from Microsoft Dynamics ERP. • TWP Projects A South African engineering firm boosts productivity management with integrated system • Arzum Appliances Firm in Turkey gains control of its business with accurate data and greater flexibility • Halwani Brothers Egypt-based food manufacturer cuts costs by 50 per cent with Business Management Tool Don’t just take our word for it. Hear from customers like you. Get the "Grow your Business Kit". It includes the Focus Research white paper – "Is Your Business Ready for ERP?" and additional customer stories from the Middle East and Africa. Download now

6.

What is your product roadmap, and what R&D investments are you making to deliver ongoing innovation and value?

Vendors who operate without a technology vision and a documented roadmap to pursue it may be stable today, but they risk standing still while the future overtakes them. Choosing an ERP solution from a vendor who’s stuck in the past or present could jeopardize your company’s future too. Be sure that your company’s ERP implementation will be able to grow with and adapt not only to changes in your business but also to changes in the overall technology and business landscape, and continue to deliver innovation and value. Look for a vendor with a history of consistent product releases and technology advancements. Investing in software that’s already aging, or that will soon be outdated, sets you up for costly rip-and-replace scenarios down the road. Ask to see candidates’ technology roadmap, and challenge them on their ability to deliver it. Here are three specific things to look for: • Does the roadmap support new technologies, like cloud-based computing, that offer you flexibility and choice? • Does it roll out improvements in the way applications like ERP, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and other business productivity applications work together? This opens up potential benefits like improved efficiency and lower operating costs across your entire business. • Does it enhance the underlying technology platform that your ERP software runs on? This helps simplify application integration, so you can use and upgrade line-of-business software created by other vendors. Choose a vendor that’s an innovation leader, creating, refreshing, and consistently executing on a technology roadmap. It will help you turn your business vision into reality – and keep that vision on the forefront of new opportunity in the future. Why Microsoft Dynamics ERP? Microsoft invests billions of dollars each year on research and development, and Microsoft Dynamics customers benefit directly from this investment in multiple ways. Continuous refinement of the Microsoft platform (Windows and Microsoft .NET) benefits all Microsoft products and gives you flexibility in choosing line-of-business applications. Ongoing investment in the inter-operability of products like Microsoft Office, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and Microsoft SQL Server helps you boost employee productivity and manage costs across your business. And you can be assured of support for the version of Microsoft Dynamics you purchase for up to 10 years from its release (for more information, visit http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle). As a Microsoft Dynamics customer, you also have visibility into product life cycles and roadmaps, ongoing innovations, and Statements of Direction, which describe how Microsoft Dynamics solutions will evolve, twelve to eighteen months in advance of the next version releases. A strong and upfront product roadmap enables you to undertake your own IT planning with greater confidence. It offers visibility into the future that puts you in control of your technology plan, helping you to budget appropriately for deployment of product innovations. Customer Stories Take a moment to read how three customers are turning their business vision into reality with Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions. • Ugu District Municipality How KZN municipality in South Africa moved from old unmanageable systems to a single workable integrated solution • Yildiz University Turkish University adds enterprise planning solution to industrial engineering education • Foodco Holding, a prominent food distributor in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) increases productivity by 40 percent in the accounts, payroll, and HR teams, while senior managers receive daily performance reports and comply more easily with stock exchange rules Don’t just take our word for it. Hear from customers like you. Get the "Grow your Business Kit". It includes the Focus Research white paper – "Is Your Business Ready for ERP?" and additional customer stories from the Middle East and Africa. Download now

7.

What is the vendor’s customer churn rate and reputation for service after the sale?

Post-sale service is critical for successful ERP implementation. It’s also an essential part of helping you get the most out of your ERP investment throughout its life. You might expand your lines of business or add new locations. Your product offering and customer base, along with their expectations of you, will continue to evolve. The list goes on, but the point is that conditions will change. And because your ERP solution is at the heart of your business, it’s important to choose a vendor that not only delivers the functionality you need but, equally important, also offers service and support after the sale. To choose a vendor that can help you manage changes, here are three specific points to check. • Does the vendor offer customer support resources that are located near you? Or is support available through a qualified network of local resellers? If neither statement applies, you could be surprised with significant travel and lodging charges when you need after-sale support services • Is the vendor’s ERP solution well known in your area and in your industry? If so, it will be easier and more economical to find and tap into assistance for implementation, support, and ongoing engagement. • Does the vendor or their reselling partners offer a full range of customer support skills and capabilities? Expertise with the specific ERP solution you’re evaluating is essential, of course. But could the vendor’s support team also help you with customer relationship management, productivity software, and other applications you want to integrate with your ERP? How about their experience with both on-premises and cloud-based ERP solutions, or a hybrid solution involving both approaches? Ask the ERP vendors on your short list about the scope and cost of their customer support plans, as well as references within their customer base. Providers that have earned a reputation for excellent ongoing service and support will be able to point to long-term relationships with satisfied customers. Also, inquire about their customer churn rate: are they losing customers faster than they add them? Unhappy customers part ways with vendors that are accessible and responsive before the sale, but who become harder to find and work with once the contract is signed. Why Microsoft Dynamics ERP? Microsoft Dynamics has a long history of customer service and community, with a strong reputation for service after the sale. And our network of reselling partners around the world offer their own local support and service programs that keep you and your business moving forward after the initial implementation. Our customer community rivals any in the industry, with well-established user groups, online discussion forums and Convergence, our annual customer conference. With more than 300,000 Microsoft Dynamics customers worldwide, some customer churn is inevitable, but we take pride in our customer retention and satisfaction benchmarks, and our strong reputation for providing service after the sale. As a Microsoft Dynamics customer, you also have visibility into product life cycles and roadmaps, ongoing innovations, and Statements of Direction, which describe how Microsoft Dynamics solutions will evolve, twelve to eighteen months in advance of the next version releases. A strong and upfront product roadmap enables you to undertake your own IT planning with greater confidence. It offers visibility into the future that puts you in control of your technology plan, helping you to budget appropriately for deployment of product innovations. Customer Stories Don’t just take our word. Read how our customers are investing in their future using Microsoft Dynamics ERP. • Farabi Petrochemicals in Saudi Arabia has simplified business and operational processes, increased efficiency and productivity, and enhanced planning and decision-making mechanisms • Sharjah Museums Department in the United Arab Emirates wanted to automate Human Resources (HR) and financial processes, improve budget management, provide an employee self-service function, and cut the HR team’s workload • Borusan Mannesmann Boru support plan helps steel manufacturer in Turkey get the most from ERP system, plan for upgrade Don’t just take our word for it. Hear from customers like you. Get the "Grow your Business Kit". It includes the Focus Research white paper – "Is Your Business Ready for ERP?" and additional customer stories from the Middle East and Africa. Download now

8.

Will the ERP solution help drive and support our growth aspirations?

You're in the market for new business software because your current solution is no longer able to keep up with your requirements. It does the basic job, but not efficiently or cost-effectively. It's creating roadblocks to growth: slow performance, for example, or transaction limitations, or disconnected data that requires re-entry. It hinders your ability to make sound business decisions, which can be enough to keep you up at night. And it doesn't accommodate new lines of business easily, so it limits your potential for growth. A new ERP solution – the right one for your business – can help grow your business in three important ways: • Adapting to your changing requirements. Does your growth plan include starting up or acquiring new operations? You'll want an ERP that can be quickly and easily extended to include them so that you maintain an end-to-end view of your business as it grows. How about international expansion? Choose an ERP solution that supports multiple languages and currencies out-of-the-box. Will growth lead you to deploy new line-of-business applications created by third-party developers? The right ERP solution will support easy integration • Saving money. Powerful ERP capabilities can help you streamline business processes and improve productivity across your business. Reduce inventory levels and days sales outstanding, for example. Cut down on manual data entry and increase inventory turns. Do more with less: take on increased business without comparable increases in payroll. Actions like these improve cash flow, freeing up cash to fund growth • Helping you focus on the business of your business. The right ERP will require less attention from your IT people, freeing them up for projects that drive growth. Managers across your company, wherever they're located, can have convenient, 24/7 access to accurate, consistent, timely information to support the collaboration and decision-making that drive growth Why Microsoft Dynamics ERP? It's easy to appreciate the potential benefits of a new ERP solution, but switching can also raise concerns about complexity and disruption, especially when your daily business reality is already challenging. Microsoft offers a solution that is simple to learn and use, and can grow with your business, adapting to meet your changing needs. Getting Microsoft Dynamics ERP in place is easier and less expensive than you think. In fact, many customers have made the switch for roughly the same cost as upgrading to the next version of the software they currently own. It's compatible with other Microsoft technology you have now, so it helps you get more long-term value from these IT investments too, and helps you avoid costly replacements down the road. It also can free up your business managers and IT team to focus on driving growth. Lastly, Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions are delivered through and supported by a world-class network of partners who can provide deep industry expertise and technical knowledge specific to your business. With Microsoft Dynamics ERP, your business management solution will support your growth aspirations, and help you turn your business vision into reality. Customer Stories Companies in all kinds of industries are realizing the benefits of Microsoft Dynamics ERP and taking advantage of its capabilities to grow their businesses. Take a moment to learn about three real-life examples. • United Pharmaceuticals firm in Jordan supports international quality standards with business solution • Muammad Din Sons Limited fast food firm in Pakistan deploys Enterprise Resource System for supply chain management • St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor in Uganda needed modern business management software to ensure greater transparency and control over its largely manual processes Don’t just take our word for it. Hear from customers like you. Get the "Grow your Business Kit". It includes the Focus Research white paper – "Is Your Business Ready for ERP?" and additional customer stories from the Middle East and Africa. Download now