• Chart: Nine Partners in Industry Builder Program

Four new partners have joined the Industry Builder initiative, a program that certifies third-party vertical solutions for the Dynamics AX enterprise resource planning (ERP) application. The new partners and their solutions focus on the automotive, consumer goods, and oil and gas industries and complement the five Industry Builder partners Microsoft enlisted in 2005. However, the program so far includes only solutions for AX, although Microsoft plans to eventually include solutions for other Dynamics products, such as GP.

Solutions Are Microsoft Certified

Microsoft's ERP products (AX, GP, NAV, and SL) offer core business management functionality that several thousand Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) partners use as a foundation for creating industry-specific solutions. This approach allows Microsoft to focus on broadly applicable "platform" features and creates a niche for partners. However, this multivendor approach raises concerns for some (often large) customers. For example, third-party customizations may not be held to the same quality standards as Microsoft products and the lack of a single point of accountability could delay resolution of technical problems.

The Industry Builder initiative, launched in Mar. 2005, intends to assuage such concerns. It provides a rigorous certification process for a select group of Microsoft partners. For example, the program verifies the financial stability of partners, ensuring that these partners are able to provide ongoing support for their solutions. The program also attempts to address customers' concerns about the quality of third-party software: Microsoft personnel review code and help test Industry Builder solutions. Furthermore, Microsoft offers support for certified solutions, including both the software Microsoft creates and the custom software created by partners. Industry Builder partners' solutions are marketed and promoted as Microsoft products and are available for the broader universe of MBS partners to resell.

New Solutions Focus on Manufacturing

Four new companies join the existing group of five Industry Builder partners, with whom Microsoft shipped its first Industry Builder solutions in Nov. 2005. (For a summary of the Industry Builder partners and solutions, see the chart "Nine Partners in Industry Builder Program".)

Each new partner now markets an AX-based solution that, when certified to Industry Builder standards, will likely be rebranded and made available as a Microsoft product (as was the case with the first group of Industry Builder partners and their solutions). The new partners and their solutions are the following:

Atos Origin markets a supply chain solution for automotive suppliers named Atos Origin Axapta Automotive, and provides consulting services, systems integration, outsourcing, and other vertical solutions.

Infonizer offers an automotive dealer management system (DMS) named Infonizer DMS for Dynamics AX, which helps car dealers manage common processes, such as invoicing, sales, inventory, and repairs. Infonizer is a subsidiary of the Nellemann Group, an automobile import and retail conglomerate.

TXT e-solutions, an Italian solution provider, offers an AX-based demand planning solution, called TXTPerform, for manufacturers in a variety of industries, including fashion and apparel and consumer goods (food and pharmaceuticals, for instance).

WellPoint Systems of Canada offers Integrated Financial System, a financial management and accounting application built on AX for the oil and gas and mining industries.

Continued Expansion Likely

Although Microsoft has not disclosed how well Industry Builder solutions have sold, the addition of new partners suggests that early returns have been positive and that the program will continue to grow. Nonetheless, the company has not expanded the program in 2006 as aggressively as originally planned—according to those plans Microsoft intended to add 12 to 20 Industry Builder partners in 2006.

However, recent organization changes could accelerate Industry Builder's expansion. In Aug. 2006 Microsoft announced that Mark Jensen, previously the general manager for Dynamics AX product marketing, would focus exclusively on managing and growing Industry Builder partnerships. Among likely changes will be the creation of partnerships for other Dynamics ERP products, none of which currently participate in the program. Specifically, Microsoft said it expects to add several GP partners to the program in fiscal year 2007, which runs through June 2007.

Availability and Resources

Microsoft announced the new Industry Builder partnerships at its worldwide partner conference in July 2006, but it did not specify when the corresponding solutions would be available. However, about six months elapsed between the announcement and the release of the first Industry Builder solutions; thus, the first quarter of 2007 seems a likely target.

The Axapta Industry Builder initiative is described at www.microsoft.com/dynamics/ax/product/industrysolutions.mspx.

The recently added Industry Builder partners and their solutions are described in more detail at www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2006/jul06/07-10dynamicsax.mspx.

The Industry Builder program is described in "Certification Program for Axapta Solution Providers" on page 21 of the May 2005 Update.

The MBS consolidation strategy is covered in "Dynamics Wave Two Promises Consolidated Product" on page 18 of the Aug. 2006 Update.