From Greg's Head

Next week I will be heading to Istanbul, Turkey for the global Partner Power Conference.

You’ll recall that PKF Texas joined the Partner Power network last year to expand our Microsoft Dynamics NAV services.

Like my trip to London last year, I will be blogging and tweeting my observations from the Conference.

They’ve got a great line up of speakers. I’m looking forward to hearing from Microsoft’s Doug Kennedy, VP, Microsoft Dynamics Partners and Jan Silleman, Microsoft Dynamics NAV Global Produce Management. Also Sonly Music Entertainment, who has been a NAV customer for many years, will present a case study about how they updated their solution to better serve their local offices in 20 countries.

I’ll be in Turkey from the 15th through the 21st, so comment on the blog or tweet @fromgregshead if you have any questions for me while I’m there!
 

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Pannell Kerr Forster of Texas, P.C. Joins Partner Power to Expand Microsoft Dynamics NAV Service

HOUSTON – December 22, 2009 – Pannell Kerr Forster of Texas, P.C.(PKF Texas) has joined the world’s largest Microsoft Dynamics organization, Partner Power. The Partner Power organization covers more than 50 countries around the globe, and being a member enables PKF Texas to service and support its existing and future multi-national customers. 

 “Houston is primarily an international city due to its stature in energy; space exploration, transportation, and medical research at the world renowned Texas Medical Center. Because of Houston’s international atmosphere, it is natural for us to have a global outlook when looking for new business opportunities,” says Greg Price, Director, Consulting Solutions about the membership of Partner Power.

PKF Texas’ top 10 Dynamics NAV customers are global companies, and they will now be able to access services internationally through Partner Power.  Within the Partner Power international network, PKF Texas will be referred to as Partner Power in the Southern US.

As a member of Partner Power, PKF Texas is now an integral part of a proven and highly successful organization with a proven track record of more than 300 international ERP implementations. Partner Power’s business model is built around committed membership, which not only benefits the members of Partner Power, but also the many international customers engaging with Partner Power for multi-national Microsoft Dynamics projects.

“With the Partner Power membership, we will be able to cater to the needs of multi-national companies, no matter if they are looking for a local implementation in the Southern US, or if they are looking for an organization capable of carrying out implementation projects throughout their multi-national organizations,” said Price. 

About Partner Power
Partner Power is a global provider of Microsoft Dynamics solutions and services specializing in creating value for international organizations. Partner Power, is a global organization made up of the leading Microsoft certified professionals working locally in more than 50 countries. Partner Power offers international organizations the largest range of implementation and consulting services based on Microsoft Dynamics in the world.  For more information visit www.partnerpower.biz.
 

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The latest issue of the Leading Edge Magazine has hit mailboxes and is posted on the PKF Texas website.  This issue features an article written by me, Craig Abbot, Consulting Solutions Manager and Raissa Evans, Practice Growth Senior Manager, about using technology to Retool, Retrain and Retain your employees. 

Highlights from the article include:

• Improve or fully use what you already have. It’s time to step up and make the investment to do more with less—faster, better and cheaper.
• Re-evaluate internal processes to trim waste.
• Invest in additional system training for your users. A smarter staff enables your company to generate very important financial data to help guide your business through rough waters.
• Assess how technology will improve your company. In today’s economy, it isn’t just what you cut, but where and how you spend your dollars.
• Leverage your intellectual capital. When partners and providers help, they bring with them the experience of seeing what other organizations have done to do more with less.
• Adjust spending. During more troubling economic times, individual consumers adjust their spending habits, purchasing less expensive store brands…Similarly, you need to make sure your business continues to evaluate its spending habits, considering, perhaps, less expensive solutions.

The Leading Edge Magazine is quarterly publication from PKF Texas.  If you’d like to get on our mailing list to receive a copy, please send a note to Jen Lemanski (jlemanski@pkftexas.com) she’d be happy to add you to our list.

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One of my team members, Jim Batson, Manager in the Consulting Solutions group here at PKF Texas is a Jet Reports Certified Professional. He's written a couple of blog entries about how using Jet Reports can help a business. Below is the second entry:

You have a highly customized business application and database. Data is flowing freely and easily. You are getting information you never thought possible. You are learning that some products make more than you thought and some are making less. You most profitable customers are actually your highest volume customers with the lowest profitability. Then, management starts with the what ifs…. Your reporting needs go through the roof. You need Ad Hoc reports, and lots of them. You need a tool that is easy to learn, easy to run, and easy to modify. Oh and one more thing, can you graph some of those reports for me? My Board is more visual and understands graphs easier. So can you graph my reports and send out the entire reporting package every week? Automatically?

If you have a headache already you’re not alone. But don’t worry we have a solution for this very requirement. Jet Reports.

We have a client that needs to keep track of animals moved from a farm and sold to a meat packer. All of the various data details and process requirements just didn’t fit with any standard ERP system.

MS Dynamics NAV was able to handle all of the special process needs and Jet Reports took care of the rest.

One management started seeing data that it never saw, the genie was out of the bottle. They wanted more and more information about their business. So much so, that the accounting manager commented “we have delivered so much value beyond what they used to see, they have become spoiled with the information produced by the reports. Jet Reports has created value they never thought possible.

Between the controller who is learning to slice and dice the data and management who always wants to see the data a new way. Jet Reports has performed beyond their expectations. Ad hoc reports; before only dreamed of are becoming a daily way of life are now a daily reality.

Jet Reports Tip: If you are user of Jet Reports and want to get some of Jim Batson’s Jet Tips, contact him at jbatson@pkftexas.com.

If you want to learn more about Jet Reports and how it can be quickly and cost effectively utilized at your business, contact Karen Love at klove@pkftexas.com.

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One of my team members, Jim Batson, Manager in the Consulting Solutions group here at PKF Texas is a Jet Reports Certified Professional. He's written a couple of blog entries about how using Jet Reports can help a business. Below is the first entry:

In these uncertain times, you need tools to help you do things faster, better, and less expensively than before. And from time to time you find a tool that becomes invaluable to your company and your world. You wonder how you ever did your job without it. In our world of Dynamics NAV, Jet Reports is one of those tools that our clients find in a word, invaluable.

Let me elaborate. We have a client in the animal processing business that needed a highly customized business application and database to hand all of their special data and unique processes. Dynamics NAV, the business application handled that quite well.

With all of their unique business processes and data requirements, the possibility for a reporting nightmare loomed on the horizon. Getting the information out of database was the next challenge. They required many specialized reports for the various users of the data to reflect what they had captured. No worries, we immediately thought of Jet Reports and made the suggestion to the client. Result: Jet Reports was the perfect tool! To date, over 20 special reports have been developed, without any code development to Dynamics NAV, just Jet Reports. The client sent their Accounting Manager to one of PKF’s 3-Day Jet Reports Training Class. The manager is now writing and modifying reports on her own to meet all of managements reporting needs. Faster, better, and less expensive, way to go!

Jet Reports Tip: If you are user of Jet Reports and want to get some of Jim Batson’s Jet Tips, contact him at jbatson@pkftexas.com

If you want to learn more about Jet Reports and how it can be quickly and cost effectively utilized at your business, contact Karen Love at klove@pkftexas.com

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Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 ((NAV), formerly known as Navision)
Simple, Smart, Innovative

Since 1984 NAV has established itself as a choice for businesses and organizations looking for a complete business management solution that is fast to implement, easy to configure, and simple to use.

Today, simplicity continues to beat at the heart of NAV. And its state of the art functionality covers everything you need to run and grow a successful business. More than one million users have used NAV to simplify and streamline their highly specialized business processes and today its available in more than 42 country specific versions. The success of NAV is primarily due to its core values:

• Rich end to end functionality-so you can manage every aspect of your business
• International scope-deal with multiple languages and currencies when you conduct cross border business
• Adaptability-simple to customize and quick to tailor to the scope of your business
• Easy to use, implement and maintain-quick rise in productivity combined with lower costs of ownership

NAV has focus in the following key areas:
Financial Management
Manufacturing
Supply Chain Management
Business Intelligence
Sales & Marketing
Human Resources
Project Management
Service Management

NAV is real time accounting system with strong internal controls that provide a detailed, rich audit trail of your transactions. It has several detailed cost centers called “Dimensions” which allows for detailed tracking of activities. It supports best of breed multicurrency, dual currency general ledgers and one button intercompany accounting. NAV is an ideal choice for subsidiaries or divisions of large enterprises because it is a standard solution with effective integration tools and enough flexibility to meet the varying needs of different business units. Microsoft has numerous examples of customers using NAV in divisions of businesses using SAP at their headquarters.

If your company does international business, you need to be using Dynamics NAV. If you are not using NAV, you are not getting the value you deserve from your business application. Contact me at gprice@pkftexas.com for more information that can lower costs and improve your profits.
 

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Interesting things coming from Redmond, WA. Last week at the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in New Orleans, Microsoft announced the launch of Office 2010, which for the first time will include a free web version of Excel, PowerPoint, Office and Notepad.

This is an interesting development spurred on, I suspect, by the success of Google Docs. I’m glad Microsoft is addressing this gap in their product line. The new Office looks to have a host of features designed with Web 2.0 type applications in mind. When it launches next spring, I’m curious to see the public reaction.

I applaud them for their recent strategy of openness – allowing for a wide test of Window 7 to avoid another Vista debacle, and now, with the launch of Office 2010, they released a technical preview to the attendees of the WPC.

The WPC lit up the Twitterverse as well. You can check out what people were saying by searching #WPC09. Becky Thomas (becky_thomas), CEO and President of BizDev Strategy and friend of PKF Texas, was at the conference last week and had some interesting thoughts. Be sure to check out her Twitter page.

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With the recent news that Yahoo! is shutting down the long running Geocities web hosting service later this year, I became a bit nostalgic for the early days of the internet.

Who remembers the simpler time when Prodigy, AOL and Netscape ruled the World Wide Web? My daughter was watching the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks movie, You’ve Got Mail, a couple weeks ago, and though it released in 1998, we’re already light years ahead of the technology from the film. Dial-up seems like a distant memory.

It can be hard to remember when things weren’t instantly available at the click of a mouse. Can you imagine the technology we’ll have in 2019? 

As a self proclaimed techno-file, I love to think about this kind of stuff. The interaction that I have with the Fast Tech 50 companies and the Houston Technology Center allows me the chance to get a peek at the future. The recent mantra I’ve seen is an emphasis on faster, better, cheaper. 

I know our Consulting Solutions department at PKF Texas is focused on assisting our clients with solutions, like Microsoft Dynamics NAV, that give them the information they need to run their business faster, better and cheaper. 

What technology are you nostalgic about? Can you venture a guess as to what kinds of technology will impact us in 2019? How does your business continue to adapt as different solutions hit the market?  Jason Pontin has some interesting thoughts on his blog about how old technologies rarely die, they just get upgraded.

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Big news on the Microsoft Dynamics NAV front, NAV 2009 has now been launched!

 The release of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 gives new meaning to the term “personal productivity.” Based on rigorous research into the way people really work, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 delivers a breakthrough user experience with RoleTailored home pages—called Role Centers—that make it easy for people to view their work priorities and access the information and tasks they need for their specific job, not just anyone’s job. The result? An innovative solution that frees employees and business leaders to direct their talents and skills towards business success.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 was designed for people in job roles ranging from the president, to the sales manager, to the warehouse worker. When Microsoft says the design reflects the way people really work, they’re speaking about people at all levels of the organization.

With Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009, they’ve listened to what customers are saying: “We need technology to help us stay focused on our business and be competitive. But make it simple for us to work with, so that our people want to work with it. Give us solutions that help people work smarter. And don’t stop at innovation as an end point in itself—use innovation so that our business can move forward now and into the future.”

How do the current economic times impact your decision to make an investment in technology?  Should you stay put and make no investments, try to ride it out?

Well some organizations chose to not make capital investments and allow their people to do more with less, but history has shown time and again that is failing prophecy.  Those organizations that move forward and allow their employees to take advantage of technology to get more information faster, and make more informed decisions will be clear winners.  Whether management wants to believe it, employees actually do take notice of whether you allow them to grow, or stay with old, obsolete technology.

Look for opportunities amid the turbulence.  Even during turbulent economic times, opportunities exist.  They are, however, unevenly distributed.  Economic instability does not imply a retreat from technology, but it may require refocusing or relaxing boundaries.  Business Intelligence (BI) and integrated communications technologies can help organizations better understand the world that exists by rapidly revealing changes in customer or market behavior. 

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Have you seen the latest Microsoft commercial?  The “I am a PC” commercial has been running here in Houston for the past couple of weeks.  What you might not have noticed is one of Houston’s own is featured in the commercial!

Dr. Bernard Harris, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Houston Technology Center appears as one of the PCs!  The ad is embedded below or click here see the commercial on Microsoft’s website.  He appears about 40 seconds into the spot.  

Video: Pride

An accomplished physician, Dr. Harris was selected by NASA in January 1990 and became an astronaut in July 1991. A veteran of two space flights, Dr. Harris has logged more than 438 hours in space. He was a mission specialist on STS-55 (April 26 to May 6, 1993), and was the Payload Commander on STS-63 (February 2-11, 1995).  Dr. Harris is truly an American Hero and a native Texan.

Dr. Harris also oversees The Harris Foundation.  The Harris Foundation is powered through two different programs – Dare to Dream and the Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp. Through these initiatives, THF encourages math and science education, motivates youth to stay in school, fosters youth leadership and citizenship, as well as instills the values of responsibility, fairness and respect. To date, more than 3,500 K-12 students have participated and benefited from THF programs.

I am a PC!

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Last week Houston played host to Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference. According to conservative estimates there was $9.7 million in direct spending into our economy. That is a great figure!

Houston has become more than just an oil town. Successfully hosting an event of this size (third to the Offshore Technology Conference and the International Quilt Festival) and scope in the technology arena will only help cement Houston's place as a leader in the industry. I agree with Greg Ortale, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau who said in last week’s Houston Business Journal that this will definitely attract other tech and business related events to Houston

How do you think this changes the perception of Houston in the tech industry?  Should we as Houstonians try to attract more conferences of this nature?

On another Microsoft front, I’ve got some changes/additions to coming to the blog in the near future regarding Dynamics-NAV. Stay tuned…

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I see several trends evolving within the accounting profession.  First is the final stages of paperless automation within the back office and field work.  This started several years ago, but the vendors have finally caught up to the demands of the profession.  That includes paperless filing, document management and practice workflow solutions within the office, paperless audits and tax returns, and paperless activities within the back office. 

Second is the increasing demand of mobile computing.  Now mobile computing goes to the virtual office, but it’s much, much more than that.  It’s the finalization of reaching this version of the “wired” or “fully connected” professional within firms.  Our clients increasingly expect us to be available at a moment’s notice to meet their needs.  Only through Windows Mobile solutions are we going to be fully connected.

Third is good IT governance and practices especially with regard to security management, confidentiality of client data, business continuity and disaster recovery.

And lastly, business intelligencewith the applications and technologies used for gathering, providing access and visibility to, and analyzing data to help business owners and manager make informed business decisions.  Our Dynamics NAV practice is getting additional requests for solutions in this area.

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Envision08 speaker Guy Kawasaki recently interviewed Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the MIX08 conference. MIX is an annual event that brings together professionals in the consumer Web space - Web developers, designers, business and digital marketing professionals - to explore new ways to build next-generation Web experiences using Microsoft technologies, and create digital customer connections that drive business results.

The video of the interview and Q&A session is about an hour long, but you can read the transcript if you don’t want to watch the whole thing.

They discuss a wide variety of topics including social networking, the changes coming after Bill Gates fully transitions to working full-time at his foundation and Microsoft’s potential takeover of Yahoo!. It’s really interesting stuff, especially considering Kawasaki’s history with Apple. Ballmer definitely has set the course for moving forward. It’s going to be fun to watch what Microsoft does in the coming years.

On a related side note, I am going to be on a panel at Envision08. I’ll be one of three panelists talking about the top ten accounting mistakes that businesses make. I'm looking forward to it. 

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I’ve got several newsy items for you today.

Voting for Houston’s Greatest People’s Choice Award closes on Monday November 26^th. If you haven’t done so visit the website, www.houstonsgreatest.net and vote!  The award ceremony is on November 28^th. I’ll let you know who the People’s Choice winners when we find out.

The blog was mentions in an article on Microsoft’s People Ready website. The article has a lot of great ideas about how professional service firms can use the web to their advantage.

My team and I attended the Microsoft Directions 2007 Conference November 8-11^th. I’ll have news and thoughts for you next week.

The FastTech 50 event was a great success! Thanks to all who attended.

Finally, have a happy Thanksgiving!

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As I announced back in August  the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) is coming to Houston. Microsoft has finally announced the dates, July 7-10, 2008.

This is what Microsoft has to say about Houston:

“The fourth-largest city in the United States, Houston has emerged as the Gulf Coast’s cultural capital. A major U.S. hub for international business and trade, Houston boasts industry leadership in energy, information technology, medicine, and even space exploration. The city is hip. Diverse. And offers a world-class art scene and the kind of cuisine foodies crave.”

I whole-heartedly agree with the above. By choosing Houston for such an important conference, Microsoft is demonstrating exactly what Joel Kotkin was talking about in his Opportunity Urbanism report. 

Houston is an opportunity city and it’s great that large corporations are recognizing they can find business success here.

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Exciting news! Houston has been selected at the host city for Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in 2008!

The Houston Chronicle alluded to it in an article on August 3^rd and I received confirmation yesterday from our Microsoft Partner Account Manager, that WPC will be here in early July 2008.

This is a huge event, the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau is expecting 50,000 rooms to be booked during the conference. This is a great opportunity for Houston to show off what a great city it is. Looks like we’re moving up in the world!

Stay tuned for updates as they become available!

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I have some great news to report!

PKF Texas has joined seven other Microsoft Dynamics – NAV partners to create the Navision Automotive Alliance (NAA). 

The NAA will deliver the integrated solution of AIM Computer Solution, Inc.’s Vision AutoSys and Dynamics – NAV.

The other partners with us in NAA are:

• AIM Computer Solutions, Inc.
• Eximas Corporation
• i3 Business Solutions, LLC
• Integrated Software Solutions Inc. (ISSI)
• ProfitPoint
• Real Solutions
• Team Technology

The NAA was formed to provide consistent and highly reliable industry vertical solution for companies that manufacture automotive parts. Collectively each of the NAV partners that form the NAA have the highest capabilities and desire to provide a deep industry vertical in this field. Our group chemistry, collaboration, and geographic locations is a perfect fit for the rollout of the automotive alliance.

To quote Mogens Elsberg, The Worldwide General Manager of Dynamics NAV:

“This alliance is a fantastic example of the benefits to both partners and customers of true partner collaboration. The combined talents of eight certified Microsoft Dynamics NAV Partners bring a focused solution to the production automotive parts supplier, based on Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft technologies. The benefits to customers having access to this new integrated vertical solution are huge.”

This will be a great partnership and I’m looking forward to our continued collaboration. 

If you have any questions about the NAA or what our capabilities are, please leave a comment or email me!  Also, check out the website, www.navautoalliance.com.

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My colleague, Jen Lemanski, in the Practice Growth department, sent me an email this morning about the Texas Public Relations Association (TPRA) awards banquet Saturday night, at which we won a Bronze Best of Texas Award.  Since I am at Convergence, I couldn't attend the banquet.  She and Raissa Evans, the Marketing Manager, attended on my behalf.  Here’s what she had to say:

Greg,
Hope you’re having a good time at Convergence.  San Diego would be great right now!  The awards ceremony went well.  In our category (website) we were up against Half Price Books, Shell Oil, The Woodlands, the City of McKinney and the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.  The order was as follows:

Silver – Half Price Books –  www.deletecensorship.org
Bronze – PKF Texas – www.fromgregshead.com
Bronze – The Woodlands –  www.thewoodlands.com
Merit – Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau – www.visithoustontexas.com
Merit – Shell Oil Company – www.shell.com/us/energizeyourfuture/
Merit – City of McKinney – www.mckinneytexas.org

They don’t award a gold level, so we were the 2nd tier!

Jen

Once again, I would like to say thank you to everyone who reads and comments on the blog, our guest columnists, and everyone who works behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly.  The blog wouldn’t win any of these awards if it wasn’t for all of you, so congratulations! 

I am off to my next session.
 
Before that I am going to meet with Dennis Smith, one of my fellow NAV partners from Dallas.
He has a prospect that its interested in NAV and I am going to answer any questions the prospect has about the product.
 
BTW.....the weather is sunny, 75 and beautiful.  And if I didn't tell you sunny and beautiful.

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• A new Dynamics Client for use with SharePoint.
• A new methodology and competency process for partners and customers of Dynamics to provide for more reliable implementations.
• The announcement of Dynamics 5.0 which will be available on March 21.

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Convergence 2007 is coming up and like last year I’ll be attending and live blogging from San Diego.

I’ll be there March 10^th to March 12^th. 

It looks like there are going to be several great sessions discussing Dynamics NAV, so I’ll have plenty of information for you during and after. 

For my readers who are Dynamics users, is there anything specific you’d like me to keep an eye out for to report on?

Here’s hoping there’s breakfast this year!

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Who knew that August 8, 2005 would cause another mini-Y2K in 2007? The US government decided in 2005 to extend Daylight Saving Time. We will now “Spring Forward” the 2^nd Sunday in March (March 11^th this year) and “Fall Back” the first Sunday in November (November 4^th this year).

Anyone running a Windows Operating System other than Vista, will need to make sure their computers at home and work are prepared. Microsoft has created a patch for the issue. Click here for the Microsoft Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Center. Also, they have provided a list of products that will be affected. Click here to see the list.

How, if at all, will the extra month of Daylight Saving Time affect your business? Have you already applied the necessary patches to any software you use?

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Accounting Today has named Microsoft Dynamics NAV one of the top 100 products of 2006. 

This is the third year in a row Dynamics NAV (formerly Navision) has been on the list.

Dynamics NAV has been a very successful product for us and I’m glad Accounting Today recognizes its value and is willing to recommend it. 

Click here to view the rest of the list.

What products would top your company’s list? Are there any products you think are missing from Accounting Today’s list? What products are you willing to recommend?

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A couple of weeks ago, we had another successful meeting of the Houston Dynamics NAV user group. 

I gave an update from the Directions 2006 conference. The group was eager to hear about the exciting enhancements coming for Dynamics NAV in 2007.

We also discussed Convergence 2007, which will be held in March in San Diego. More information can be found at http://mbs.microsoft.com/public/convergence. 

My colleague, Patricia Soderstrom, gave a great presentation on the Jet Reports tool. PKF Texas will be hosting another Jet Reports Training class in February. Stay tuned for more details. 

If you are a Dynamics NAV (Navision) customer and you don't have access to a user group, contact me so we can discuss you possibly joining our program.

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While you might think it's all fun and games to attend these conferences, we actually do learn things while we attend these sessions.  Today’s activities were very informative and I believe will be very helpful for both our consultants and our clients. 

The first session I attended was a keynote delivered by Tami Reller, VP with Microsoft and she reviewed several items on the Dynamics platform.  It was a very early presentation, and I was impressed with the energy in the room.  Dynamics NAV resellers are VERY passionate about the product and they love everything about the application.
 
I then attended the Dynamics NAV Partner Advisory Board (PAB) hosted by Mike Falkner and Suzanne Beaudoin (that’s right, Canada is an active player, thanks Suzanne).  The room was packed with several of the top Navision developers, resellers and several Microsoft personnel.  I am very fortunate to be a member of this impressive group.  For two hours we talked about features and functions that we would like to see added to the application.  I was also impressed with Microsoft’s participation in the meeting as well.

After lunch, I saw what was clearly the most impressive session of the conference for me.  The “Hand Apps” session which had a complete demonstration of how hand-held’s can work with the Dynamics NAV.  I am usually not impressed by new applications and features but this product really works and it,s something that several of our clients have been asking about.  At the upcoming Houston User Group meeting we will talk more about that application.

The evening was capped off by a Hawaiian Lula and the PKF Texas Navision team members were there sharing feedback on all the sessions they attended. 

Stay tuned for more from Day Three.

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Later this afternoon, I am heading to Atlanta for the Directions 2006 Conference. The conference is specifically for and held by Microsoft Dynamics NAV Partners.

Based on the agenda, there will be a lot of great speakers and seminars to see and attend. 

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Last week,  PKF Texas hosted another successful Jet Reports class for our Microsoft Dynamics NAV clients. You may recall I mentioned we were going to have the class, in a blog post back in September.

The class (held Oct. 17-19^th ) was presented by Sarah Burns, a report analyst from the Jet Reports headquarters in Portland, Oregon. We had a great turn out for the class. Eight clients and two PKF Texans were able to attend. 

The class was well received by the participants as evidenced by their comments below.

“As new users of NAV, the Jet Report writing class is a valuable resource in creating financial reports that will serve as an integral part of our company's decision-making process.”

“Jet Reports will make running my monthly metrics reports faster and easier.”

To my Dynamics NAV readers in Houston, are there specific classes you would like to see in the future? Let us know and we’ll see what we can arrange.

On that note, we’re gearing up for the next Houston Dynamics NAV User Group meeting on November 14^th. Stay tuned for more details. 

Thank you Sarah for making the trip to Houston! And thank you to all the participants!

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I knew Microsoft Dynamics offered a great set of solutions, but didn’t realize how trendy the Dynamics solutions are until I found out the guys at Orange County Choppers (OCC) use several of the Dynamics solutions to help run their business. 

Even such a hands-on, mechanically based business like OCC looks for technology solutions to assist inventory management, accounting, budgeting, etc. 

Paul Sr. made the comment, “The way the operation is now, we probably hire more people that are computer smart than we do mechanical people, because that’s what makes our business run.”

It makes you think about how far we’ve come from the days of using the paper ledgers for accounting and the “black books” with lists for inventory. To quote Paul Sr. again, the solutions “just help everything run a lot smoother…”

How have you incorporated the latest technology solutions to run your business? Where do you think the technology will evolve next?

Stay tuned for more wisdom from my head and Paul Sr.!

To view Paul Sr. and the OCC crew discuss Microsoft Dynamics click here.

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I want to give you all an update on some Dynamics NAV happenings. Back in August, PKF Texas hosted the Houston Dynamics NAV User Group Steering Committee.

The steering committee consists of me, Roger Oliver, a Navision developer at VeriCenter, Inc., Ray Boone, a project manager at Texas Medical Center, and Robert Wolfram, the CFO of Pileco, Inc. 

The user group was formed last year to provide a network for Houston Dynamics NAV users to discuss issues such as training, product add-ons, new features, and best practices.

We discussed various programs Microsoft offers specifically for Dynamics NAV partners. There will be a conference in Atlanta at the end of October where Dynamics NAV 5.0 will be previewed. I’ll give you updates on what I learn at the conference in early November.

Because the Jet Reports training in July was so successful, we discussed how we can implement and offer new training sessions and programs to the users in Houston.

Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the participants of the Jet Reports training, we scheduled another training session to be held at the PKF Texas office, October 17-19. 

There are only 4 spots left and they’re filling fast. Contact Jim Batson for pricing, registration and more details. 

I will be posting future announcements about training and programs right here in my blog.   

I am very encouraged by the direction our group is taking. We have a committed steering committee and a great network of Dynamics NAV users here in Houston. Please do not hesitate to contact me and let me know what you would like to see the user group offer.

The next users group meeting is tentatively scheduled for mid-November. Keep an eye out for more announcements closer to November.

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Many of our clients and friends utilize an external reporting tool for their Navision application called Jet Reports. In response to these inquiries, PKF Texas has agreed to host a Jet Reports Training class, July 11-13, 2006, in our Houston office. This class, led by a certified trainer from Jet Reports, is the same class taught at the Jet Report Headquarters in Portland, Ore. The course outline is shown in this link to this message.

The list price for this course, in Portland, is $1,495 for the first attendee and $1,395 for additional attendees. To make this even more affordable, PKF has decided to offer additional discounts to our clients should you choose to attend in groups.

For PKF Texas clients:
First attendee: $1,495
Additional attendees from the same company: $750 each for a max of 3 per company.

That is nearly a 50 percent savings on the additional attendees, plus there is no travle, hotel or expenses.

For non-clients:
$1,495 for the first attendee and $1,195 for additional attendees. Again, no travel, hotel or expenses.

There are only eight slots available, so get your reservations in soon! They will go fast. PKF Texas Navision customers will get first priority for during the initial 48 hour notice period of the training class.

Register by e-mail ; registration due June 2; payment due June 19.

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While I'm wrestling with hot weather in Houston and an all-around Monday feeling, I thought I'd share with you some of Bill Gates' musings from the recent Convergence meeting in Dallas.

In his presentation, he demonstrated Dynamics NAV - which he really likes. Click on this link and bring up his Convergence Web cast for viewing.

See you later this week!

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Friday Update
Well, I visited with Doug Burgum and got the lowdown on the future of Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
He said its all the rage …
Just kidding, fellow Dynamics consultants.

I attended Doug's keynote session and was pleased with what I saw and heard regarding the future for Microsoft Dynamics. A $500 million advertising and air cover campaign is about to be unleashed. They also showed us some of the early work on the product, which is directed at creating branding and awareness of the Dynamics brand. I thought it was pretty good work.

During a lighthearted part of his talk, Doug was in charge of rumor control and pointed out some falsehoods and corrections to various "rumors" floating out there. It's nice to see a senior executive who doesn't get too full of himself.

Doug opened and closed his presentation with a warm "Thank You" to all the folks who have been working hard to make MBS a success.

South Central Region Reception
I made it over to the Hyatt to attend the reception for the South Central Region, and found out when I got there that it was a little bigger than the South Central Region ... it turned out to be the whole Central Region. I met several Microsoft Partners and Microsoft Team members, and we all had a good time visiting and learning more.

I looked across the room and who do I see? Doug Burgum and Todd Cione from the Central Region visiting with partners.

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Well, I am here at Convergence and it seems that every year Microsoft sets a new attendance record. Sitting in the community lounge area, I noted that this year we are expecting in excess of 7,000 attendees at Convergence. That's up from a little less than 4,000 attendees in 2003.

Some things are better organized, and as you might expect some are not. Check-in was a breeze thanks to some smart thinking, but when a young lady directed me to open portal, things went amiss. Poor marks to the signage and coordination folks, who had some people going in two directions to hear the kickoff session this morning.

Listening to the speakers this morning - Jeff Young, Tami Reller and Satya Nadella - I was impressed with what I saw and heard concerning the Microsoft Dynamics product line and the future investments that are coming down the line. As a Navision reseller, (oops, Dynamics NAV reseller), I was pretty jazzed, but what is coming in version 5.0 of NAV product? Pretty cool stuff and something that I know our clients will like to see and use.

The kickoff Dynamics NAV session this morning with Mogens Elsberg (product manager) and Kim Ibfelt, was great. I saw some additional features of 5.0 up close and I was impressed. Lots of features and role-based activity coming to the user community. And, the interaction with Office is going to be fantastic! I know our clients will love it.

I also heard some great news today that some time in the past 30 days, NAV sold its 1 millionth concurrent session for end users. That's a great milestone for the NAV product … and NAV continues to be the number one seller in the Dynamics product group.

Well I have to leave now to go hear the Dynamics guru himself, Doug Burgum, pontificate about the future. This is usually pretty entertaining stuff. Later, the South Central Microsoft Business Partner group is holding a reception and I must stop by to see what tidbits they offer.

Stay tuned, and yes, Gates will be demonstrating Dynamics NAV 5.0 on Monday!

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Microsoft Business Solutions is "re-branding" its four ERP systems (Navision, Axapta, Solomon and Great Plains) all to Dynamics (Dynamics NAV, Dynamics AX, Dynamics SL and Dynamics GP). Microsoft has a number of reasons for these name changes, including communicating the message that, in the long-term, there is one product line with a variety of feature choices. Our Navision clients will be pleased to know that Dynamics NAV is the best-selling Dynamics option. That, in turn, is leading to more attention from Microsoft and investment in Dynamics NAV.

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We told you last month that Bill Gates will be at Microsoft Convergence in Dallas later this month. We were just told that Bill will be demonstrating some of the new features of Navision 5.0 when he makes his presentation about the future of Microsoft Business Solution applications at the conference.

For those Microsoft Business Solution Partners that work within the Microsoft Dynamics NAV channel, this is a huge news event!

If what we have been told is true, it's one of the most formal recognitions of the fantastic investment Microsoft acquired a few years ago when they purchased Navision. Not lost upon many of us in the channel is the fact that Dynamics NAV software (formerly called Navision) continues to show very strong new license sales and new customers, both in the United States and around the world, with its growth and flexibility.

If you are currently a PKF Texas Navision customer or another Solution Center's customer, we can provide you a promotional code that will knock $500 off your registration fee for the Microsoft Convergence Conference.

This conference rotates around the country, so for PKF Texas clients, this is your chance to get exposed to some of the new things happening with Microsoft - without having to spend lots of travel dollars.

Send me an e-mail with your contact information, name, address, and e-mail address, and we will get you the promotion code.

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I'm following up a previous blog entry on another advantage to achieving Gold Certified Partner status in the Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) competency.

At a time when cash flow management is becoming critical to success, the single most important cash investment is in your receivables. Yet, in the past, all you have had to manage this critical asset is an aging report.

I believe every company should be using some kind of software-driven collections process. This just makes good business sense. Depending on the current status of your outstanding accounts, you could reduce receivables by 5+ percent. Although this does not sound like a significant amount, multiply your current receivables balance by percent and consider the resulting cash flow!!

The Collections Management Solution for Navision allows a business to systematize its collections process, reduce receivables significantly, and, as a result, generate what could prove to be a substantial cash flow.

In essence, Collections Management Solution is a specialized contact manager designed specifically to support the collections process. You define who is going to be responsible for collections and when overdue invoices are passed to the application. All of the information you need to discuss this invoice with a customer is right there at your fingertips. During the process, you record who you talked to, what they said, when they promise to pay and when you should call them again, as well as determining if you need to you can collaborate with other people in the organization to collect this account.

Based on my experience, this system can be installed and become operational in under one hour - not a bad investment of time for a 5 percent increase in cash flow!

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Sometimes it's hard to be humble … and sometimes it's good to toot the horn.

I just learned that my firm, PKF Texas, is the only Houston-based accounting and technology consulting firm to achieve the highest level of Microsoft Certified Partner status - Gold level. Through the Gold Certified Partner status in the Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) competency, we demonstrated expertise with Microsoft technologies and our "proven" ability to meet customers' needs.

Sounds good, but what does this mean for our customers?

More than anything else, we will continue enhancing offerings to our client base through added resources only available to Gold level partners. From our involvement in the MBS Global Development Team for Navision Software, to our ongoing commitment to the highest standard of client service, we are devoted to bringing sound accounting and technology solutions to companies.

PKF Texas is one of the few firms that also specializes in MBS - the family of Microsoft financial applications - including Great Plains, Navision, Solomon and Microsoft CRM.

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I consider it an "event" when Bill Gates visits Texas, especially when he's part of a venue that will be practical and informative for Navision customers - Microsoft Convergence 2006, March 25-28 in Dallas.

This is the 10th year for Convergence. In addition to Gates, keynotes include two heads of the Microsoft Business Solutions Group: President Jeff Raikes and Senior Vice President Doug Burgum.

Before and during the event, I'll follow the progress of Convergence in future blogs. Let me know, too, if you're attending this event - I'd like to see you there.

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Many of you will be reading my blog, asking yourself, "who is this person and why is he doing a blog?" Aside from the fact that "everyone is doing it," the answer becomes much more complex.

1.I hope to create an ongoing dialog focusing on technology and emerging issues affecting the Houston business community. For example, last year I attended a national softball tournament with my daughter's team and was amazed to learn that the small town of Rockford, IL. had made arrangements for us to use our wireless laptops at their city park where the tournament was played. This always-on environment made for a highly productive and exciting trip, allowing me to both work and cheer her team on (oh yeah, her team finished 17th out of 65 teams!).

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