Microsoft Navision Demonstrates Innovative Microsoft Dynamics Road Map With SharePoint-Based Employee Portal

New release delivers quality improvements, simplicity and innovative user experience through Web-based employee portal.

VEDBAEK, Denmark — Oct. 10, 2005 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the general availability of Service Pack 1 for Microsoft® Business Solutions–Navision®, now part of Microsoft Dynamics™. The service pack enhancements further empower organizations that use Microsoft Navision 4.0 by incorporating innovations highlighted as part of the Microsoft Dynamics road map. Microsoft Dynamics is the recently rebranded line of business applications that, through Microsoft Navision 4.0, offers customers a clear and innovative road map toward a more intuitive user experience, optimized integration with broad Microsoft technologies, an expanded Web services focus, and improved business insight.

Mogens Elsberg, general manager for Microsoft Navision, said that the service pack announced today will build upon the success that Microsoft Navision 4.0 is already enjoying in the marketplace with an installed base of more than 48,000 customers. “It’s a product in which we’ve made significant investments in order to provide an unprecedented level of integration, which is critical to today’s businesses,” Elsberg said. “With the upcoming availability of the service pack, Microsoft Navision is an even more compelling choice for not only small and midsize businesses, but also for divisions of larger enterprises that can use the solution in a decentralized environment while remaining connected with their organization’s primary enterprise resource planning solution.”

The main objective of the service pack announced today is to improve the customer and partner experience by enhancing the overall quality of Microsoft Navision 4.0 and to make the solution more accessible to a broader range of users via the Microsoft Navision Employee Portal. Employee Portal is built from the integration between Microsoft Navision and both Microsoft Windows® SharePoint® Services and Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server. Developed with the end user in mind, the employee portal provides an intuitive, Web-based interface that makes it easy for employees to work with critical business information in a more secure intranet environment. It also enables the organization to realize further benefits from its initial investment in Microsoft Navision. The employee portal broadens the impact and value of the overall product, making it possible for an expanded set of users to access, modify and create data through a familiar Microsoft SharePoint Web interface that is readily accessible to most of them. Microsoft Navision Employee Portal will provide this extended network of users with a streamlined framework to access important data within Microsoft Navision 4.0 to better do their job, all while reducing the training time and costs and lowering the total cost of ownership on their software investment.

Integrated Innovation in Microsoft Navision

Microsoft Navision 4.0 Service Pack 1 also builds on the long history of innovative enhancements and integration with traditional Microsoft technologies. One of the first solutions in the market based on Microsoft BizTalk® Server, Microsoft Navision integrates with a number of Microsoft products and technologies, including Microsoft Office, Microsoft SQL Server™ and Microsoft Small Business Server, to empower employees to work more productively in a cost-efficient way; to seamlessly connect people, processes and information throughout the business; and to provide employees with better insight so they make smarter decisions.

Arxes Network Communication Consulting AG, a Microsoft Navision customer, is experiencing tremendous benefits from the integration available in Microsoft Navision. The company is also looking forward to the additional benefits that the new service pack will provide.

“At Arxes, we work with our own customers to make smart IT investments to cut down operating expenses and build an efficient IT infrastructure. This is the same approach we took when looking at our business application needs,” said Juergen Peter, CFO at Arxes. “Microsoft Navision has proven to be the best choice because it provides the integration we need with Microsoft Office and our other software applications at a reasonable price. We also expect improved employee productivity, collaboration and communication with the new employee portal capabilities.”

In addition to the new employee portal, Service Pack 1 offers improvements in quality to Microsoft Navision through inventory costing enhancements, planning resiliency and other product enhancements. New SQL properties will be introduced with Service Pack 1, which will enable partners to fine-tune the Microsoft Navision application running on Microsoft SQL Server. Microsoft Navision also supports the latest version of Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft SQL Server 2005. The new C/FRONT.NET dynamic link library will enable developers to build external applications that can access the Microsoft Navision database based on any .NET language such as C#, Visual Studio® .NET or Visual Basic® .NET.

Microsoft Navision 4.0 Service Pack 1 will be released on a tiered schedule beginning in October 2005.

About Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a family of financial, customer relationship and supply chain management solutions that help small and midsize businesses, large corporations, and divisions of global enterprises work more effectively. Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specialized services, these integrated, adaptable business solutions work like and with familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entire business.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Microsoft, Navision, Microsoft Dynamics, Windows, SharePoint, BizTalk, Visual Studio and Visual Basic are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Business Solutions ApS or their affiliates in the United States and/or other countries.

Microsoft Business Solutions ApS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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