Enterprise Resource Planning

A series of incremental releases planned through 2006 will create greater consistency across Microsoft’s four enterprise resource planning (ERP) product lines via new user interfaces (UIs) modeled on Outlook, integration with SQL Server, and the use of Windows SharePoint Services for core portal technology. The four major products in the Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) portfolio—Axapta, Great Plains, Navision, and Solomon—offer small and mid-size businesses support for financial accounting, inventory management, tracking of intercompany transactions (such as orders and payments), and managing other company resources, such as personnel. (For a chart summarizing functions, target markets, and customer adoption of the MBS ERP products, see “ERP Products at a Glance“.)

Within each product, distinct applications—called modules—provide these capabilities for specific business functions, such as manufacturing or accounting. Each product also includes developer tools for building custom modules, creating custom solutions, or integrating other business applications. Although the four ERP products overlap functionally, their target markets, geographies, and functional emphases differ. Axapta and Navision are strong in Europe, and Great Plains is used in North America, for example. Great Plains emphasizes financial accounting functionality, and Solomon places greater focus on project accounting. (For a graphical overview of the MBS ERP releases planned through 2006, see the illustration “ERP Overview“.)