|
This is the first of a
series of articles dedicated to helping you prepare for the upcoming
release of Microsoft Dynamics SL 7.0. In this series, we will
discuss the Microsoft stack as it relates to the new release. In
this article we will review the technology changes you will need to
address in the new release.
As you may know,
Microsoft Dynamics SL 7.0 was converted from Microsoft Visual
Basic® 6 to Microsoft Visual Basic 2005. The conversion of the
code from Visual Basic 6 to Visual Basic 2005 has led to the
creation of a conversion toolkit that you can use to convert your
source code to Visual Basic 2005. Because Microsoft has dropped
support for Visual Basic 6, making the move to Visual Basic 2005
ensures the product code remains fully supported and secure. Secure
code means customer business data remains safe from unauthorized
users. As a partner, you will also find a larger talent pool
available for Visual Basic 2005 when hiring/subcontracting in the
market.
Microsoft SQL Server
2005 will be the only version of SQL server supported for the
database. Microsoft has implemented the secure communication
channels between the client and the server using Secure Socket Layer
(SSL) communication technology. This ensures that individual users
will only be able to view the data they have rights to access.
Customers upgrading from SQL Server 2000/2003 should not notice any
differences and their data is better protected.
SQL Server Reporting
Services (SSRS) will be added to the supported stack when
Microsoft Dynamics SL 7.0 ships. SSRS adds an option to solving
reporting needs for your customers and a new service offering for
you to extend to your customers. If you have customers wanting to
create new queries/reports, you may want to investigate creating it
using SSRS technology. This can be quite handy for project managers,
CEOs, CFOs and business managers who want to analyze their data for
trends, progress to date, and evaluating ‘what if’ scenarios. These
tasks are made easy by creating a simple SSRS query and exporting
the data to Microsoft Excel where you can massage it as you wish.
Windows
authentication will be used to monitor and validate users
signing into the database. This is another security measure
Microsoft is implementing to prevent unprivileged users from
accessing your data. A windows domain implementation is required to
take advantage of this technology feature.
With Business Portal, the navigation has been upgraded to support
Windows SharePoint Server® 3.0. In addition, Dynamics SL will
run in an Office Server environment. Although the product doesn’t
take advantage of the Office Server functionality out of the box,
the capability exists for you to do so with the product.
|
Dynamics SL 7.0 will
support Windows Vista™ and Office 2007, the two major
releases you will see from Microsoft this year. In fact, it will
require Vista Service Pack 1 or later to run. This makes Dynamics SL
compatible with the full stack of Microsoft technologies recently
released and shows their commitment to the Dynamics market and to
maintaining the security of your business data.
If we can assist you
with understanding any of these technologies better or you would
like to have SSRS reports created for you, contact us at
sales@plumblinesolutions.com.
Name: Tawana Nusbaum
Background: Designs new features and updates the
documentation for Microsoft Dynamics SL. Prior to joining Plumbline
Solutions, worked for 11 years at Solomon Software, Great Plains
Software, and Microsoft. During that time, held the role of
systems support analyst and support engineer. Has a bachelor’s
degree in Organizational Management.
Likes best about consulting: Each day is always different
bringing its own challenges and opportunities. There is always
something new to learn.
Hobbies: Enjoys gardening, solving Suduko puzzles, and
NASCAR.
To unsubscribe from the
newsletter, click
here and send
an e-mail with the title "Unsubscribe." |
