Microsoft Dynamics AX Consultants Day with K3 and Microsoft - Microsoft London - 25 May 2010

Microsoft hosted an event in London with K3 to launch the new Dynamics AX platform for retail.

I've known K3 for a number of years, having implemented Navision (now Microsoft Dynamics NAV) with Alliance Pharmacy (now part of the Alliance Boots group).

So, I was interested to know where the product set had moved on to and what they were up to.

After the initial catchup with my old friend Mark Fulcher (K3 IT Director) about kids, cars and holidays, we stopped the chat and got down to business.

So, for me the question is what is AX and what are they all on about. Isn't this just NAV with a different name. What I learnt was that this wasn't the case. AX isn't an Oracle Retek or an SAP R/3 Retail, but the product set has come on a long way.

First off, the guys at K3 do get retail, and they get the fact that we don't just sell products in stores anymore. Multi channel was a strong theme for the presentation and deservedly so. Those retailers that nail it in the next 5 years will be thinking true multi channel.

The run down of the modules/stack is as follows:

Microsoft Dynamics AX - The Core Product is MS. This covers the core ERP of Financials, HR, SCM, CRM, etc.

Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail - Again this is MS with the core modules of retail back office, .NET POS and Store Connect.

K3 Modules for AX include - Multi Channel Manager, Webstore, Call Centre Advanced, Store Manager EP, Advanced Merchandising, BI for Retail, Communication Manager and Retail Role Tailored Clients.

All of this is integrated into the core of Microsoft (Windows Server, SQL Server, SharePoint Services, Office, etc) and so Microsoft start to make a compelling argument about how easy to use and integrate the solution will be. Interestingly the look and feel uses the ribbon system that was implemented with MS office 2007, and the solution looks very much like Outlook when you open it up.

So, after an interesting tour of the solution, I was left thinking that there are options coming along from Microsoft. However, there product launches officially on 1st August, so this isn't a product that is out there with 1000's of users.

That said, I can remember when the first version of SQL server came out and everyone thought that there were better products around.

Now, over 10 years on, SQL Server is a much bigger player in the marketplace.

If Microsoft put the same energy into MS Dynamics AX Retail as they did for SQL Server, things could really move on in the next few years. K3 certainly know how to deliver.

I'm looking forward to watching progress. Maybe before I know it I'll be implementing the solution myself!!