11.05.2015 | Four key observations from Microsoft Convergence 2015

A group of experts from Efima visited the annual Microsoft Convergence event in Atlanta in March. The event is focused on topics around Enterprise Resource Planning. We put together a short list of key observations from our travelers.

1. In the future, the key to business prosperity will be in how well companies are able to grip the big picture, renew their value chains and see new patterns faster than before. Microsoft is working to support this change by emphasizing the compatibility and synergy of different platforms and services. We could say that Microsoft’s solutions are developing to become one big platform.

2. The number of customers using Microsoft Dynamics AX is growing steadily - last year the growth was 5.4%. The next Dynamics AX version entitled AX7 is going to be published during the fall. Its main new feature is a browser-based modern user interface and the version is a big leap towards better mobile usability. Thus in the first phase of the version transition the emphasis is on user experience and interface, not on new features. With this, the aim is to keep the transition from AX2012 as straightforward as possible. 

3. Microsoft's "Cloud first - mobile first" strategy also applies to the ERP world.

4. The hottest trends are Cloud, Big Data and the Internet of things. Microsoft has combined an Internet of things –concept and the cloud computing platform (Azure) and titled the new service as Azure IoT. Internet of things and machine learning are important factors in determining the future automation steps.

The next EMEA Convergence event is in Barcelona from November 30 to December 3, 2015. The US Convergence 2016 event is held in New Orleans on April 4-7, 2016.