Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 Adds Deployment, Service Options

Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 delivers small but useful improvements to help serve mobile users, remote offices, and hosting customers. It also helps integrate hosted services and software for tasks such as customer relationship management (CRM) and handling payment cards. Dynamics NAV is Microsoft’s most widely deployed enterprise resource planning (ERP) product. Released Dec. 2010, R2 opens some interesting prospects for consultants and hosting providers, while narrowing some avenues for add-on software vendors. R2 makes no major changes to the product’s business processes and does not fundamentally alter the product’s architecture. Both processes and architecture will see major change by 2012.

Client Improvements Add Deployment Options

Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 is the latest version of Dynamics NAV, which serves midsize firms and business units of approximately 1,000 employees or fewer. The product has a particular strength in manufacturing, distribution, and professional services and is sold in about 40 countries, with over 1.35 million users, according to Microsoft. R2 carries forward the architecture introduced in Dynamics NAV 2009, which gives organizations a choice of two architectures: a two-tier architecture in which the product’s original “classic” client runs all business logic and connects directly to its database, and a three-tier architecture in which the relatively new RoleTailored client connects to a middle-tier server, which runs most business logic and connects to the database. (See the illustration “Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 Architecture“.)