Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 Coming December 1st
Today at our Microsoft Dynamics AX Tech Conference we announced general availability of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 to be December 1, 2012. I’m excited to share this milestone and the significant innovation we will deliver in December. Customers in 36 countries around the world will find powerful new and enhanced capabilities for organizations across industries. This release builds on our Dynamic Business vision for how organizations can use technology to be more agile and innovative through people who drive impact with the information, connections, and tools they need to make a difference every day.
I’ve spent a lot of time with our enterprise customers and partners since we released Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 last year. It’s been inspiring to hear and see firsthand the ways customers are transforming their businesses to be more dynamic with business solutions built on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Here are a few of my favorites:
o World Vision is changing children’s lives through supply chain excellence
o Lotus F1 Team is transforming their global racing operations at mind-blowing speed!
o Vitamix Corporation is enabling rapid growth by streamlining processes right on the shop floor
These very different organizations share a common theme. Each is committed to delivering exceptional results but faces the complexity of global operations. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 simplifies global operations by enabling organizations to use their solution globally via a single instance. We will now offer 36 country localizations with built-in regulatory requirements for some of the world’s fastest growing markets, including 11 new localizations for Japan, India, Brazil, Russia, China, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 is ready to support your business as far and as fast as your growth takes you.
But where should you grow? And which products or services will drive the most profitable growth? Business moves fast and opportunities emerge and slip away quickly. That’s why we’ve enhanced our business intelligence capabilities to deliver more business insight to help people throughout your organization make more informed decisions.
Every customer I speak with brings up the challenge of talent management and need to improve how they find and hire top talent. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 includes a range of talent management improvements for your organization with more control and visibility in managing open positions and competency capabilities to ensure the right match between candidates and skills. Improvements in compensation and benefits allow you to create a more streamlined on-boarding experience for new hires. Customers in the US can also now bring payroll processing in house where your data is fully under your control.
The most common conversation I have with customers is around their industry as they strive to move from reacting to trends and changes to leading the way. We have made deep investments in best-in-class capabilities for retail, manufacturing, services and public sector industries. I’ll touch on a few of these and you can learn more on our Inside Microsoft Dynamics AX blog.
When I visit even some of the more admired retailers today the story is essentially the same – many are unable to create the right customer experiences across all channels due to disconnected systems. With Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 retailers can optimize customer experiences and revenue with a real-time, accurate view of customers across all channels whether traditional brick ‘n’ mortar, online or other. We’re even offering new web storefront capabilities with ecommerce driven by search so the online experience continuously adapts using the latest product, promotion, and shopper preference data to create exceptional and personalized experiences every visit.
Process manufacturers often describe the challenges of improving operations with volatility in global demand, raw materials, and regulatory changes. With Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 we will deliver capabilities for streamlining operations with the quality and consistency customers demand, including the ability to manage the concentration of active ingredients and trace products from customers back through their supply chain to quickly resolve defects or quality issues.
We know our customers are looking to drive innovation in everything they do. From their operations and supply chain practices to their business model and how they go to market. So we’re seeing fewer organizations defined by a single industry or vertical label. Customers in one industry taking advantage of functionality built for another industry today. With Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 customers receive the power of all our industry functionality. Please read our Inside Microsoft Dynamics AX blog to learn more about all our enhancements coming with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2. And stay tuned in the coming weeks on additional product details and customer success stories.
-Christian
Christian Pedersen
General Manager
Microsoft Dynamics Product Marketing Group
