Software Information

Microsoft Moves to Small Business Accounting/Retail Market - Stakes and Thoughts


Home | Site Map | 101InfoLinks.com | Best Book Shop | Sports Fans ONLY
     .
© 2007

In this small article we will be looking at the new opportunities for Microsoft Small Business Server specialists, but rather look at the global business strategy and possible ways of future ERP modules standardizing and interoperability. This is important to get into consideration for midsize and large corporate business IT decision makers. Let's look at the chronology and possible future development.

? Great Plains Software acquisition. When Microsoft took leading position on the operating system market and released stable and reliable Windows 2000 Server, the next logical step would be getting into ERP market. Microsoft decided to try midsize market, and the reason is probably this - it is wise to create small accounting as the extension to Microsoft Office, not to purchase existing small application. However if you plan to try midmarket - you better purchase something established with broad client base. Developing midsize package from scratch might deplete all the resources. As the stake on Great Plains was high - Microsoft formed business systems subdivision - Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions, later on Great Plains name was taken off and now we see Microsoft Business Solutions.

? Navision Software Acquisition. There are multiple opinions among the MBS partners. Considering the fact that Navision Attain had strong clientele in Europe, and the fact that currently MBS promotes Navision on the majority of emerging markets: East Europe, Russia, Brazil - the point of view that Microsoft got very large pool of clients in Europe and one of the goals of Navision acquisition was geographic expansion.

? Axapta. Navision Software was indeed very robust and it was one of the Danish software "dragons" (in the good sense of this word), the other nice company was MacHanza. We would like here to credit Danish ERP vendors. Axapta was new product on the moment of acquisition and it is rich-functionality ERP and so - a rival to SAP, Oracle Financials, PeopleSoft

? Small Business Manager/Small Business Financials. This was natural way of downsizing the functionality of Great Plains Dynamics/Microsoft Great Plains to gain small business market. Small Business Financials is Great Plains Dexterity written accounting package. You see similar marketing moves from SAP and Oracle sides.

? Small Business Accounting 2006. It took Microsoft about four years to feel itself comfortable on the ERP market before it decided to create its own small business package, targeted to take over market share from QuickBooks, MYOB, PeachTree. Small Business Accounting 2006 is really nice application, which is excellently integrated with Microsoft Office/Microsoft Outlook. Microsoft is right - majority of Windows users spend their computer time in Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Excel. And it create accounting application, allowing you to do 50% of work from Microsoft Outlook directly

? Microsoft POS. As you know that there are several thousand small retail businesses in the USA, using just one cash register and these folks have to use a lot of small Retail Management applications, which are competing on this market for a long time. And it is a good momentum to take over this unreliable and turbulent market offering cheap and solid rock solution, working with POS devises. Please, take into account that Microsoft has another high-end Retail Management system - Microsoft RMS, which can automate midsize and huge retail stores and chains.

? Market is taken over? Well - the last flint of Microsoft Small Business Accounting and Microsoft POS give customer an option to stay in Microsoft framework from the company inception till going public as a large corporation. This fact would be very difficult to ignore for such folks out there on the market as BestSoftware, SAP, Oracle, Sun.

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ) - USA nationwide Great Plains, Navision, Axapta, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in the following industries: Aerospace & Defence, Logistics & Distribution, Freight forwarding & Transportation, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, Wholesale & Retail, Education, Biotechnology, Chemicals, Healthcare, Beverages, Conglomerates, Food & Drugs.


MORE RESOURCES:

LetsGoMobile (press release)

Sony Ericsson to release software upgrade for C905
CNET News, CA - 12 hours ago
Starting in mid-February, C905 owners can download a software update from Sony Ericsson's Web site that will bring new features to the camera phone. ...
Sony Ericsson to Provide Software Updates for C905 8 Megapixel ... SlashPhone
all 51 news articles


Acresso Software Finalizes Intraware Acquisition
CNNMoney.com - 17 hours ago
Acresso Software (Acresso), a privately-held company and an investment of private equity firm Thoma Bravo, LLC, announced today it has completed the ...


ABC News

Apple unveils software updates, new laptop
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - Jan 7, 2009
The presentation included updates to the iLife and iWork software suites, a new 17-inch MacBook Pro with an 8-hour battery and a new digital rights ...
Video: Steve Jobs Weight Loss Due to Hormone Imbalance AssociatedPress
Apple's Macworld Surprise Is the Software PC Magazine
Apple updates Mac software in trade show finale The Associated Press
Reuters - Bloomberg
all 2,750 news articles


CNET News

Sun Acquires Cloud Computing Software Supplier, Q-Layer
InformationWeek, NY - 9 hours ago
The Belgian company makes data center modeling and management software that helps companies organize their computing resources as a cloud computing layer. ...
Sun Acquires Cloud Computing Automator Q-layer eWeek
Sun Buys Cloud-computing Vendor Q-layer PC World
Sun acquires cloud computing vendor ZDNet
TheStreet.com - ITProPortal
all 92 news articles


Earthtimes (press release)

IBM Lotus Delivers New "Social" Notes and Free Symphony Software ...
CNNMoney.com - Jan 6, 2009
At Macworld, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the availability of Lotus Notes 8.5 collaboration software with social computing features for all Mac OS X ...
Macworld: IBM finalizing free Symphony office suite for Macs Computerworld
Lotus Notes 8.5 ships, free IBM Symphony suite coming MacNN
WebEx goes mobile on iPhone; Notes 8.5 ships on Macs ZDNet Blogs
VNUNet.com - eWeek
all 55 news articles


Telegraph.co.uk

ITunes embraces 3-tier pricing, will remove anti-copy software
Los Angeles Times, CA - Jan 6, 2009
Apple also updated much of its software. The latest version of iPhoto scans for individual faces so computer users can label photos of friends or family, ...
Macworld goes for the soft sell with budget-minded software USA Today
Apple removes protection software from songs TourDates.Co.Uk
Apple changes iTunes pricing CNNMoney.com
Bloomberg - Shiny Shiny
all 1,282 news articles


MacNN

Autodesk offers three new Mac creative software tools
Macworld, CA - 17 hours ago
by Peter Cohen, Macworld.com Autodesk, which is not participating in Macworld Expo this week, introduced three new creative software tools for the Mac ...
Autodesk releases Toxik, Mudbox, Stitcher for Mac MacNN
Autodesk adds Mac versions of Toxik, Mudbox and ImageModeler 2009 Digital Arts Online
Autodesk Announces Three New Software Releases for the Mac MCADCafe (press release)
all 35 news articles


Bonaire Software Solutions Announces EMPOWER/BI Business ...
MSNBC - 15 hours ago
BOSTON, MA - Bonaire Software Solutions, LLC today announced its new business intelligence product -- EMPOWER/BI. "Bonaire's EMPOWER/BI, designed ...


CNET News

FileMaker Banks on Ease of Use, Flashy Interface With New Database ...
eWeek,  NY - 16 hours ago
By Brian Prince FileMaker released version 10 of its database software this week. FileMaker hopes a redesigned interface and a number of feature ...
FileMaker Pro 10 Gets New Look InformationWeek
all 66 news articles


ZDNet UK

Borland laying off 130 employees; CEO resigns
Bizjournals.com, NC - 17 hours ago
Borland Software Corp. is cutting 130 employees from its ranks as it shuffles executives and lowers its revenue expectations for the most recent quarter. ...
VMware Taps Borland CEO for Chief Operating Officer PC World
Borland Software reports preliminary Q4 financial results ... RTT News
VMWare names new chief operating officer MarketWatch
InfoWorld - WELT ONLINE
all 86 news articles

Software - Google News


Google
 

Home | Site Map | 101InfoLinks.com | Best Book Shop | Sports Fans ONLY
     .
© 2007