I.T. MATTERS

It’s the little things that make a difference… 

As mentioned in my post a couple of weeks ago about the inherent BI available in Dynamics GP thanks to Office, Dynamics GP and Office are undoubtedly “better together”. In my second post on this topic I’m going to give an example on how everyday tasks are made easier and faster (or, dare I cite that over-used phrase, “more efficient”) thanks to the duo.

So let me start my next post with one of my favourite and little known Lync gems.

Both consumers and the media are obsessed with social media. Popular social networking sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, are experiencing unprecedented growth and inspiring marketers in new and exciting ways. Smart companies—large and small—realise that the opportunities presented by social media are too good to pass up. And why wouldn’t an organisation want to be involved! Facebook with 500 million active users, and with Fans spending an additional $71.84 annually on consumer goods than non-fans, Twitter with 106 million accounts and users sending 55 million tweets per day! 89% of organisations in the USA use social networks for recruiting (83% of companies using LinkedIn and 51% using Facebook).

So I’ve been talked into speaking my mind.  Typically I don’t have a problem with this.  But in a somewhat public forum such as this – maybe I should watch what I say. But instead, let me say now… the views expressed below do not necessarily reflect the views of the organisation (Olympic Software NZ) and I make no apology for any unintentional offence that many occur as a result of reading these posts. Right, now to get opinionated!

For at least as far back as version 8 (released in 2004), our beloved Dynamics GP has been marketed by Microsoft using the notion of “better together” – talking of its relationship with the Microsoft Office Suite. This story gets stronger each time we see a new iteration of either GP, or Office. Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to walk through some basic examples of this ‘better together’ pair, starting with Dynamics GP 2010, and moving into what’s now possible thanks to the recent release of Office 365.

We’re currently in final preparations for the CIO Summit of Monday week – NZ’s Premier Event for Chief Information Officers. The Summit will be held at the SKYCITY Convention Centre on Monday/Tuesday 27-28 June.

Over the past few weeks I have been involved in several separate discussions with clients about the use of technology to create collaborative platforms to enable better external networks; for both customers and suppliers.

Late last year Microsoft ran a great promotion for Dynamics GP – 3 user licenses for $1. After its resounding success, something similar is back – “Buy 1, Get 3”.