Dallas, Texas, March 23, 2006 - With Convergence 2006, the
Microsoft Business Solutions Group's customer conference, set to start
Saturday, March 25, in Dallas, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT - News) today
announced 5,000 industry solutions available to the Microsoft® and Microsoft
Dynamics(TM) community through Microsoft Solution Finder and the first
Microsoft Industry Builder initiative customers going live with solutions that
meet their specific industry needs.
"Microsoft continues to put significant investments behind our Industry
Solutions strategy, aligning our resources with the way customers want to buy
and partners want to sell," said Craig McCollum, vice president of worldwide
sales strategy for the Microsoft Business Solutions Group at Microsoft.
"Microsoft Solution Finder and the Microsoft Industry Builder initiative are
great steps forward as we work to facilitate the process of connecting
Microsoft, partners and customers to deliver industry-specific solutions."
Microsoft Solution Finder
Microsoft Solution Finder is an online directory of solutions that allows
customers to easily search for and connect with Microsoft Certified Partners
worldwide based on their industry, locale or specific Microsoft products. Using
Microsoft Solution Finder, customers and partners can search for solutions
offered by more than 220,000 Microsoft partner organizations worldwide.
Many of these partners have contributed to a growing directory of specific
industry solutions that includes more than 5,000 software applications, more
than 2,000 of which are tightly integrated with Microsoft Dynamics business
management applications, which include financial management, CRM and supply
chain management solutions, in addition to Microsoft Retail Management System.
"Microsoft Solution Finder provides an opportunity for us to enhance the
visibility of our solutions and industry expertise among existing and potential
customers and partners," said Michael Belongie, vice president of sales at
Axonom Inc., a Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner, providing solutions for the
high-tech, public sector and financial services industries. "We applaud
Microsoft for building a tool like Microsoft Solution Finder that eases the
process for customers to identify potential partner solutions that meet their
specific industry or business need."
To ensure consistency and quality of the Microsoft Dynamics solutions,
Microsoft is validating each of these solutions with at least two local
customer references. The number of solutions profiled and validated increases
daily as Microsoft partners continue to add their solution profiles through
Microsoft Partner Solution Profiler.
Microsoft Solution Finder can be accessed by existing and prospective customers
and partners in eight countries today: the U.S., Canada, U.K., Denmark, Norway,
Germany, Switzerland and Austria. A total of 17 countries will have access to
the tool by mid-2006.
The growing number of profiled industry-specific solutions is also helping
Microsoft identify unfulfilled customer needs and partner opportunities. For
example, Microsoft is using the Microsoft Solution Finder directory to identify
solution areas and industries where there are opportunities for existing
partners and where targeted partner recruitment is needed. In addition, the
profiles are being leveraged to connect partners to other partners and much
more.
"Through Microsoft Solution Finder we are able to give our customers and
partners better visibility into the industry solutions that exist today, and
ensure we are setting them up for future success," McCollum said.
Microsoft Industry Builder Initiative
Microsoft Industry Builder initiative represents a significant Microsoft
investment to further accelerate partners' abilities to sell solutions in
specific industries. As a part of the Industry Builder initiative, select
independent software vendors (ISVs) develop industry modules in accordance with
Microsoft's quality standards and package them with a Microsoft support
offering.
In December 2005, Microsoft announced the general availability of five
industry-specific solutions developed for distribution, process manufacturing,
professional services, industrial equipment manufacturing and field service
management ( http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/nov05/11-
30IndustryBuilderInitPR.mspx ). The solutions are available with Microsoft
Dynamics AX.
Since these solutions launched earlier this year, the first Industry Builder
initiative customers are going live with the solutions, including Gold Kist
Inc. and Heritage Bag Co., which are both using Process Industries for
Microsoft Dynamics AX developed by Fullscope Inc.
"The functionality and flexibility of Microsoft Dynamics AX, along with the
Industry Builder initiative for Process Industries, is providing a strong
platform for Gold Kist to build its enterprise resource planning solution,"
said Sandra Kearney, vice president of Information Services at Gold Kist.
"Knowing that the total solution is backed by Microsoft, a company that invests
billions of dollars in research and development, gave us confidence that the
solution would continue to grow and receive world-class support."
Since the initiative was introduced last year at Convergence, it continues to
show momentum with new ISVs signing on. Microsoft recently announced a new
industry-specific solution for retail, Retail Chain Manager, developed by To-
Increase, the software division of Columbus IT Partner USA Inc. In addition,
Microsoft Certified partner Blue Fox Enterprise NV has also signed onto the
Industry Builder initiative with an industry solution for textile and apparel
expected to be available with Microsoft Dynamics AX in the second half of this
calendar year.
These industry-specific solutions are a part of the first wave of Microsoft's
Industry Builder initiative. The Industry Builder initiative was introduced for
ISVs developing vertical applications for Microsoft Dynamics AX, and the plan
is to extend the initiative to other Microsoft Dynamics products later this
year. Each of these solutions is available to qualified Microsoft partner
community members.
The Industry Builder initiative offers proof of Microsoft's commitment to
working closely with its worldwide network of partners to deliver innovative
business applications. "By combining the incredibly deep industry expertise of
our solution partners with Microsoft's innovative business applications,
support plans, and research and development capabilities, we are delivering a
winning group of solutions for our mutual customers," McCollum said.
Industry Networking Opportunities and Online Resources
This year at Convergence, Microsoft is offering a series of industry-specific
sessions and networking opportunities for customers and partners on Saturday,
March 25. More information on the industry sessions that will be available can
be found at the Convergence Web site at http://www.msconvergence.com .
Additional Resources
-
Customers can search for Microsoft partner solutions that integrate with
Microsoft Dynamics by visiting Microsoft Solution Finder online at
http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/solutionfinder .
-
Partners can participate in this growing online community by registering in the
Microsoft Partner Program and profiling their solutions at
http://www.microsoft.com/partner .
-
More information on Microsoft's Industry Builder initiative can be found at
http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/ax/product/industrysolutions.mspx .
About Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of financial, customer relationship and supply
chain management solutions that helps businesses work more effectively.
Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specialized services,
these integrated, adaptable business management solutions work like and with
familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entire business.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and
solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
NOTE: Microsoft and Microsoft Dynamics are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the
trademarks of their respective owners.
