HR, Business Metrics for Portal

An update to Microsoft Business Portal (MBP) adds a human resources management application that employees can use to modify data such as time, attendance, and benefits records, and a module for tracking business performance metrics. MBP 1.2 is a first step in Microsoft’s plan to release incremental updates of the product that expose more of Great Plains’ and Solomon’s data and functions to a wide spectrum of office workers. However, the new human resources application in MBP 1.2 only works with Great Plains.

New Application, Module Added

MBP, initially released in Apr. 2003, is a Web-based portal that allows workers to access Great Plains and Solomon with a browser. This lets workers perform many day-to-day tasks, such as viewing sales data or entering expense reports, without the need for special client software and without involving back-office staff. Like other products from the Microsoft Business Solutions group, MBP is designed to be modular; Microsoft plans to release regular updates to MBP in the form of applications and modules that make Great Plains and Solomon more available to workers through the portal.