MicroSoft-ERP

ERP Integration - ERP Software Integration

Will it integrate with your system?

Updated: October 5, 2006

Can the solution be integrated easily with your existing software to take advantage of the investments you’ve already made?

You already have software—a lot of software—working for you. And you should be able to take advantage of that investment as you add an ERP solution.

If you’re like the vast majority of businesses today, you’re using Microsoft Office System software to communicate with people inside and outside of your company, to analyze information, and to create documents and presentations. How easy is it for your employees to use Microsoft Office products together with the ERP solution to get their jobs done in the most effective way?

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The Simplest Way Forward

The simplest way forward is to adopt a solution that provides the same look-and-feel as the software with which employees are already familiar. This will minimize the need for additional training and will make employees more productive every time they can perform the same action the same way, regardless of the application they’re using.

A much higher level of integration automatically integrates functionality in Microsoft Office and the ERP solution, eliminating the need for employees to move data manually between the two.

For example, is a meeting that’s scheduled through the ERP solution automatically reflected in an employee’s Microsoft Office Outlook calendar? Does updating a customer contact in the ERP solution automatically update the Office Outlook address book?

It's important to find out how an ERP solution integrates to the other applications you use. It's equally important to learn whether you can modify the integration without resorting to middleware or other additional software that can be costly and difficult to use, and that can limit your upgrade options later.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV enables you to synchronize contacts with your Office Outlook address book

Watch a demo to see an example of how integration of contact, task, meeting, and e-mail information with Microsoft Outlook works in Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

Microsoft Outlook is not, however, the only Office software you should expect to integrate with your ERP solution. You should be able to analyze ERP data in reports using the familiar Microsoft Office Excel interface—or using the front-end solution of your choice. Moving beyond Microsoft Office, you should look for business analytics that make full use of Microsoft SQL Server 2000.

View a demo that shows how you can set up a business analytics cube in Microsoft Dynamics NAV, which you can then use to create a report in Microsoft Office Excel

See a presentation on how to build business intelligence with Office XP and SQL 2000 Analysis Services

Question 3: Will you be able to find a technology partner who understands your industry, company, and local business requirements—and who can tailor your ERP solution to reflect this?