Microsoft plans on integrating four "industry solutions," acquired from smaller companies, into Microsoft Dynamics AX, its enterprise resource planning software platform. Each subsequent version of Microsoft Dynamics AX has attempted to more fully integrate its wide variety of business-monitoring applications into a more cohesive package for end users.
Microsoft
announced the acquisition of four "industry solutions" that will increase the
capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics AX, an enterprise resource planning software
platform and member of the Microsoft Dynamics family, on Sept. 22.
According to Microsoft, the acquisitions include:
Resource Library:
A solution
for integrating processes across discrete and process manufacturing, from
Fullscope, Inc.
A
solution that delivers a single system for managing projects, executing
financial transactions and billing, and pairing resources to client
assignments; from Computer Generated Solutions, Inc.
Two
solutions that provide "an end-to-end retail solution, including store
management with point-of-sale, merchandising and ERP capabilities," from LS
Retail EHF and To-Increase Denmark A/S, the latter of which is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Columbus IT Partner A/S.
"With
these acquisitions we are investing in building industry functionality directly
into the Microsoft Dynamics AX application," Crispin Read, general manager of
Microsoft Dynamics ERP, said in a statement. "We are a safe haven for customers
and partners who depend on us to drive continuous innovation in our products
and lower the total cost of ownership."
The acquired technology will be integrated into Microsoft
Dynamics AX, theoretically providing a more comprehensive range of applications
for customers.
Microsoft
released Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 in June 2008, with the intention of
providing SMBs (small- to medium-sized businesses) with the ability to
integrate financial and supply-chain data from decentralized offices
potentially spread around the world. That edition of the software replaced AX
4.0, released in 2006.
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 includes technology from
Microsoft Business Intelligence, providing managers with KPIs (key performance
indicators) designed to raise flags over changes in business conditions,
including slower sales or backed-up inventories.
