All the latest news from Microsoft Dynamics NAV partner event

Last week saw the annual Microsoft Dynamics NAV partner event known as Directions EMEA.  Now in its eighth year the event is growing year on year and this year’s conference in Poznan, Poland was attended by almost 1,200 delegates from 44 countries.

A laser show signalled the start of the event and the keynote speech was provided by Paul White, Microsoft’s General Manager for ERP Product Management.  Paul announced over 35% growth year-on-year for Microsoft Dynamics NAV and that there are now over 100,000 customers worldwide.  The product continues to thrive and is becoming the leading ERP solution for customers in the SME market.  Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 was released on 1^st October and promises to continue that success.

Microsoft Dynamics Nav 2015 features

Dynamics NAV 2015 is an “evolution rather than revolution”.  That said however, there are some excellent improvements that will provide big benefits for customers.

The focus of this release is on usability and mobility.  For example there is a new tablet client to join the existing Windows and web clients that provides an easy-to-use touch screen interface.  The tablet is downloadable from the Android, Windows and iOS stores.  In independent surveys it has received a 92% usability rating of excellent which is rare for applications of this kind.

Integration with Office 365 continues apace enabling NAV to be run “in Office365 on Azure” allowing customers to bring their email, calendar and files together with their data, reports, and business management software.

New functional features include an improved cash management function that includes complex algorithms that have been measured to increase efficiency in bank statement reconciliation by over 75%.  NAV 2015 allows users to make use of Word for formatting documents which can reduce the time required to redesign templates.

A Social Listening feature will enable users to understand what the wider world is saying about their customers and suppliers with feeds appearing directly into their role centres.

The Rapid Start tool set has been improved making the solution easier to deploy and enabling companies to get up and running quickly with the software shortening the time to positive returns on investment.

Throughout the rest of the week partners were able to deep dive into the new features and functions with Microsoft’s experts and Independent Software Vendors.

Watch this space as we bring you more tips, tricks and benefits of NAV 2015 over the coming weeks.