If you already go your Great Plains Dynamics implemented as Corporate ERP solution in your organization and you are now looking for more challenging projects for GP, we would like to recommend you this small publication.
You may need or thinking about customization (Great Plains Dexterity,
Extender), reporting (FRx Financial: Balance Sheet, P&L; or Crystal Reports: Sales Commissions, Monthly Sales, etc.; Report Writer: Advanced Invoice form with Graphics and Logo to give you few example), ecommerce integration (via Integration Manager in Batch or Quasi real time mode, or eConnect in real lime mode), EDI (Electronic Document Interchange via precisely formatted SQL Stored Procedure), Modifications (Modifier with VBA scripting). If this sounds like your case or something relatively close, here are your potential options:
1. Nationwide Microsoft Dynamics GP technology Partner, Reseller or VAR. Your local GP consulting organization did wonderful job by moving you through Corporate ERP sales cycle (and you ended up with Dynamics GP). But, you should not expect local GP consultant to be expert in all the customization, modification and reporting tools (and be at the same time perfect CPA level familiar with Great Plains business processes). Of course, sometimes you can find real guru, but this article is for real world situations. The alternative is to pick nationwide GP consulting organization with emphasis on technology. Partners like these often carry technology departments (Microsoft Dexterity Software Development Factory)
2. Well, what happens if those people do not have local presence? Very legitimate question, you are not the first and not the last to pose it. The dilemma for you (and you should consider you own evaluation and due diligence) is if you would like to allow local consultant to come through long learning curve in your technology oriented modification project, or you rather decide that working with remote and more experienced consultant via web session is more feasible approach. In any case, if you have something critical and requiring onsite presence, we don't think that your nationwide Dynamics GP consultant will not be able to fly out and be at your office in a few days from the notice time
3. Remote Support via Web Session. It works like that: you call your Great Plains Consultant and he/she schedules web session and sends you invitation via email. You click on the link in inviting email and you are in Microsoft Internet Explorer (or Chrome or another your favorite browser) downloading AxtiveX control (if this is the first session for your computer). Then you call to web conference phone number (or consultant calls you via skype, if you are located internationally and virtually Worldwide). You show your screen in the web session and enable keyboard and mouse control for the remote consultant and it this point virtual web session is close to real case, when consultant sits next to you in front of your computer
4. What is possible via web session and what is not? Possibilities: Dynamics GP Installation (even if you do not have GP CD or DVD media your remote consultant can download DVD or CD image and install software from the image), version upgrade, customization specking out (debugging, and even testing on your test server), data conversion and migration, Crystal, FRx, SSRS (Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services) reports design, even moving Dynamics GP from one Windows and SQL Server to another (assuming that targeted server is up and running). What is not possible remotely is something like that: replacing failed computer part (memory chip, failed hard drive in your SCSI raid, or dead CPU)
5. Web session support advantages for multinational corporation. Here we expect that you are trying to host all your Dynamics GP companies on the single server in USA headquarters and have your international offices to work via Citrix or Terminal Server remotely (assuming that you got decent internet bandwidth). Typically you are facing the technical support questions and issues with international office Dynamics GP users. Here your Great Plains remote support partner follows the same technical support pattern: opens web session and phone (or free skype) conference. In international environment sometimes you have to deal with Corporate ERP internationalization issue (where alternatives to Dynamics GP in China, Brazil, Russia, Germany, Korea could be Dynamics AX Axapta or SAP Business One, feel free to call us for details)
6. Give us a call: 1-866-528-0577, or email us: help@albaspectrum.com
