Brief About Dynamics NAV 2009

The long awaited Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 has been released If you have PartnerSource access, you can download Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 here.
This one is the most important release of Microsoft Dynamics NAV ever, as it brings a completely new architecture, a shiny new user interface, web-services enablement and much more.
The product is currently available in worldwide (W1) version and 13 localized releases in 9 languages.
Unlike any previous versions, this one is not focused on delivering new ERP functionality. From functional perspective it’s the same application as Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 SP1, and no new application features have been introduced.
This has been a strategic move by Microsoft to help customers migrate to new platform easily without too many costs typically incurred by upgrade projects: customers upgrading from version 5.0 SP1 will merely have to upgrade the user interface. It is because data model and code equivalence of versions 5.0 SP1 and 2009, business logic and data model is something that won’t need an upgrade.

What’s new for the customers in the new release ?

Truly a lot, but I’ve picked these three as having deepest impact:
User Interface: The RoleTailored interface is a product of several years of Microsoft’s investment into research of user interaction. RoleTailored interface hides the complexity of underlying business logic from users, exposing only those functions pertaining to user’s role. The new user interface is much more intuitive and self-explanatory. Also, users will have one-click access to most-used functionality through Role Centers, organized dashboards which give direct insight into pending to-dos and tasks requiring user’s attention. Accessing one’s daily work doesn’t require browsing through labyrinths of screens and menus—typically, only what’s needed is shown in every screen, and there are vast personalization capabilities to make it all even simpler.
Web Services Enablement: It is now possible to expose any Microsoft Dynamics NAV functionality as a web service without any programming allow Microsoft Dynamics NAV to be seamlessly integrated into workflows extending far beyond system boundaries. Company’s internal processes, line-of-business applications, business-to-business and business-to-customer interactions can now be streamlined with significantly less investment into development and testing.
New Architecture: A completely new, 3-tiered architecture with new Service Tier introduced, a middle component which executes the business logic. This lays the foundation for more robust, scalable and concurrent solutions. New architecture allows for much more freedom in designing network infrastructure, and there will be less scenarios where Terminal Services were the only viable option. Also, higher scalability is now much easier to achieve, which means that Microsoft Dynamics NAV will be able to sustain growth of customer’s business much longer, preserving the investment.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 is going to be a hot topic of blogs, news sites, articles and analysts’ reports, as it makes the important step towards a single Microsoft Dynamics ERP platform,which sports the RoleTailored user interface, the new standard for all Microsoft Dynamics ERP products.

What's New in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009

This topic contains information about some of the new features and enhancements in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009.

1. Three-tier Architecture

With Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009, the architecture has changed from a two- to three-tier architecture, enabling the new RoleTailored client and Web services.

2. Customizable, Role-Based User Interface

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 provides a more intuitive and customizable user interface (UI) called the RoleTailored client, which you can modify to support the job functions of different work roles in your organization. For each role that you support, you can create a customizable Role Center that displays key information that is required by that role and makes day-to-day tasks easier to complete. Partners, administrators, and super users can customize the UI for specific roles, and individual users can also further personalize the UI to meet their specific needs.

3. Page Objects

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 includes a new object called a page, which is used in the same way as a form. However, unlike forms, you have the flexibility to display pages in the RoleTailored client or to publish a page using a Web service.

You can also transform your existing form objects to page objects.

4. Improved Report Design and Functionality

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 offers an improved reporting experience. You can now create interactive reports to which you can add charts, graphs, tables, and other data presentation elements that were not available in previous versions of Microsoft Dynamics NAV. You can also save your reports in .pdf or .xls file formats.

5. Business Connections with Web Services

Web services are a standard, widely used method for integrating applications and are supported in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009. By implementing Web services, you can access Microsoft Dynamics NAV data and business logic from outside the product in a standard, secure way. This enables you to connect Microsoft Dynamics NAV to other systems within an organization.

6. RoleTailored client control add-ins

RoleTailored client control add-ins extend the RoleTailored client with custom functionality. A control add(Available in NAV2009-SP1)-in is a visual element for displaying and modifying data on RoleTailored client pages.