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Understanding What Executives Look for in Business Intelligence with Dynamics GP

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In this article, we will explore the perspectives of some key leaders in regard to BI software that reports on, plans with, showcases, or manages Microsoft Dynamics GP data.

Oftentimes, the executive team tasks an employee, usually in the finance and/or IT department(s), with finding financial reporting, budgeting, dashboards, or data management solutions for the organization.  You might clearly understand what your team needs to achieve department-specific goals, especially with the muscle memory of processes as they heretofore have gone.  But you might not exactly understand what is important to your team of decision makers, whether that is strictly the executive team or a larger group of stakeholders.  In this article, we will explore the perspectives of some key leaders in regard to BI software that reports on, plans with, showcases, or manages Microsoft Dynamics GP data.
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Top BI and Corporate Performance Management Trends for 2016

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This article will discuss the year ahead of us, specifically in terms of what 2016 holds for Business Intelligence and Corporate Performance Management for modern businesses.

Another year has come and gone, seemingly faster than ever – and we’re already into the second month of 2016.  At the end of 2015 or in early January, some people were writing about Business Intelligence (BI) and Corporate Performance Management (CPM) trends they predicted we would see manifest this year.  However, much like my current approach to New Year’s resolutions, I felt it was important to let the dust settle, work through the workload hangover of the holidays, and have the New Year function as a soft opening.  This way, we can approach 2016 with a rolling start that doesn’t set us up for failure.  This article will discuss some key trends and trajectories that data management and analytics will take in 2016.
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Business Intelligence Trends for the Second Half of 2015 and Beyond

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This article will discuss what is trending in terms of Business Intelligence, specifically what you should know about for the rest of 2015 and beyond, so you can continue to make strong, data-driven decisions.

July 1 has come and gone, and we’re flying at full speed in the second half of 2015.  Conferences, summits, business deals, partnerships, and other organizational happenings fill up our days, months, and years, but we have to stay focused on so many things directly related to the success of our company.  One of those things has to be how we access, manage, and analyze our data for stronger, more informed decision-making.  In this article, I’ll discuss what you need to focus on in terms of Business Intelligence (BI) trends for software solutions and how we conduct our analytical processes.
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Data Warehouse and OLAP Cube-based Reporting for Microsoft Dynamics

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How you access your data can determine the speed and efficacy you can achieve in your financial reporting processes.  This article will discuss data warehouse and OLAP cube based reporting.

Data is driving decision-making at all levels because data continues to grow in size and significance.  Logging, storing, and evaluating data has become a big part of the business culture today.  In order to produce rich, helpful financial reports for an analysis of a company’s opportunities and challenges, you will have to routinely store, access, and manage your data.  Because of this reality, you might feel overwhelmed your technology options for storing your data.  You have a few options, but they vary in functionality, and one might be better for your company than another, depending on what analysis goals you are trying to achieve.  This article will explore data warehouse and OLAP cube based reporting.
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Top BI and Performance Management Trends for 2015

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This article will discuss what to expect, what is up and coming, and what will rule in the business world, with a specific focus on the Business Intelligence processes our finance and executive teams will continue to be charged with improving in 2015.

I don’t know if you feel like this, but the new year came and went so quickly, and here we are in the second half of January.  We’re not only back in the swing of things, but business is racing as usual.  Sometimes, it seems as if we can get lost in the hustle of catching up from the holidays, preparing for the next big event, and/or traveling to visit a customer or partner.  But improving processes and staying competitive and connected to the industry, including trends and trajectories for the business world, is still on your to-do list.  This article will zoom in on the top trends for business and specifically performance management, so your company can be in front of developments and evolutions for financial reporting, budgeting, data visualizing, and data warehousing processes.
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Solving the Classic Division vs HQ BI conflict with Multi-level Data Warehousing

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In most mid-sized and larger organizations with multiple divisions, classic BI tools have never been good at satisfying both local division needs (detailed reporting, local budget models, etc.) as well as corporate HQ needs. In the screenshot below, you can see an interesting methodology where a company can install the BI360 data warehouse (DW) at each division as well as at corporate HQ and then transfer whatever interesting detail/summary they want from the local DWs to the central DW. Historically, this would often not be a feasible model when companies had to build homegrown, custom data warehouses from scratch, because it could get very expensive. With a pre-configured data warehouse like the BI360 DW however, it is very fast and low cost to install it anywhere in the organization where a data mart or data warehouse is needed. There are many other benefits with this multi-level DW architecture, including the ability to then use the same report writer, budgeting and dashboard (like BI360) technology everywhere, thus reducing training cost, license cost and more.

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Solver announces BI360 support for Microsoft Dynamics GP Smartlist

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Smartlist is a very popular query tool used by all Microsoft Dynamics GP customers worldwide. It has hundreds of useful SQL Views to allow GP users to filter and retrieve transactions from different tables in the GP database. BI360 now integrates to Smartlist views to provide an almost unlimited number of opportunities for business users to drill down from BI360 financial reports and into GP without having to create their own drill-down queries. For example, a department head can run a Profit & Loss report for his or her department, notice a budget variance on a row (e.g. Office Supplies) and with one click, drill down into the Accounts Payable transaction in GP and retrieve the vendor’s Purchase Order and see each line item on the purchase order. Not only does this provide instant answers to business questions without having to bother accountants and power users,  but it also does not require the user to have any knowledge of the Dynamics GP application, as both the drill down and the resulting view of the underlying transactions all happen from with the BI360 Excel-based report interface. 
For a detailed example of the BI360 integration to Smartlist, please contact Solver and ask for the white paper “Integrating BI360 to a Smartlist view”.
The BI360 Drill To function is available for all BI360 ERP integrations, including Microsoft Dynamics AX, NAV, GP, SL, Sage MAS 500 and X3.  and Epicor Prophet 21. This document provides a detailed example of how to integrate a Smartlist SQL view with the powerful Drill To feature in BI360 (version 3.5 and later) for the purpose of setting up a drill down rule that let a user drill down from a Profit & Loss report and all the way into sub-ledger (here: Accounts Payable) transactions in the GP database.

 
 

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Microsoft DynamicsÂź AX 2012 Sales and Presales Industry Summit

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In partnership with Microsoft, Solver will be presenting the BI360 solution at the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Industry Summit. Solver was chosen based on its proven track record with numerous Microsoft Dynamics ERP customers. Solver has been asked to present during two sessions for industry; manufacturing and public sector.
BI360 is the only business intelligence suite on the market and offers out-of-the-box integration to the Microsoft Dynamics AX2012 ERP system. BI360 is used across all industries, and has specialized financial and operational reporting designed for specific industries.(Healthcare, Retail, Public Sector and Education)
The purpose of the summit is to bring Microsoft Partners / Resellers up to speed with the Microsoft Dynamics AX industry solutions, and to enable them to professionally sell and deploy industry specific solutions. This is the first Industry Summit designed for sales and pre sales professionals.
Benefits of the training:

  • Drive a deeper understanding of how to leverage the demo tools and showcase the solution
  • Enable the sales and pre sales individuals to learn the Industry and language of industry.
  • Empower the partners to execute sales cycles and demonstrate flawlessly in order to increase our win rate.
  • Learn about the ecosystems surrounding the verticals you have chosen to target.

When: February 13, 2012 starting at 8:00AM through February 16, 2012 ending at 5:00PM
Where: Jacksonville, FL Crowne Plaza Hotel
For more information visit the Microsoft PartnerSource, and register for the training via the Microsoft Partner Learning Center.

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