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August 30, 2018 - by Synoptek
Microsoft Dynamics AX has come a long way: from being a by-product of a collaboration between IBM and a Danish company with stand-alone accounting features to a robust ERP that caters to the needs of businesses worldwide, the journey of Dynamics AX is quite impressive.
Today, Dynamics AX has grown to become one the most widely-used ERP systems across the globe, and is helping numerous small and large companies operate efficiently and meet the changing demands of a dynamic market. Let’s have a look at this evolution.
1998: IBM Axapta
Microsoft Dynamics AX was originally developed as a collaboration between IBM and Danish firm – Damgaard Data- as IBM Axapta. It was released in March 1998 and included its own development system – a combination of the MorphX environment and X++ programming language. Axapta tightly integrated general accounting and business functions with specific applications for finance, trade, logistics, and production.
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Designed for the global marketplace, IBM Axapta supported multi-national currency, and multi-tax formats and was multi-lingual. The software was packaged in four basic configurations featuring the below selected business and financial modules:
2006: Dynamics AX 4.0
In June 2006, Microsoft announced the general availability of Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0. Touted to work like other familiar Microsoft software, AX 4.0 was launched to enable organizations to improve their business operations and gain a competitive advantage. Through the use of web services and other enhancements, the highly anticipated new release delivered a complete ERP package to automate and streamline processes across a company’s financials, customer relationships, business services, human resources, and supply chain.
Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 Service Pack 2 reached the end of extended support in 2016.
2008: Dynamics AX 2009
In June 2008, Microsoft announced the next version of its ERP solution – Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. The solution was launched with powerful new capabilities to help organizations streamline processes, reduce operational costs, manage compliance, and drive informed decision-making. The main focus of Dynamics AX 2009 was on businesses expanding globally, as the solution offered features to reduce complexity of managing operations across multiple locations.
Support for Dynamics AX 2009 ended in 2011; however, support for Dynamics AX 2009 Service Pack 1 has been extended until 2021.
2011: Dynamics AX 2012
In September 2011, Microsoft released Dynamics AX 2012. It was made available and supported in more than 30 countries and 25 languages and was suitable for midsize to large enterprises. The solution was ideal for companies in manufacturing and distribution, but it was just as capable in meeting the needs of companies across multiple industry verticals. The solution could be installed on-premises or could be hosted in the cloud for remote accessibility over the web.
Today, Microsoft has ended mainstream support for Dynamics 2009 as well as Dynamics 2012.
2016: AX7
The next version, released in February 2016, let go of the year and version details in the name and was simply called AX, although it was widely known as AX7. This new version was a major upgrade with an entirely new UI that was delivered through a browser-based HTML5 client. This version lasted only a few months, as Dynamics AX was rebranded Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations in October 2016, and then as Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations in July 2017.
2017: Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations
Dynamics 365 is a cloud-based application experience based on the common data model that comprises the ERP and CRM applications released by Microsoft in November 2016. The solutions can be deployed on the cloud and offer role-based subscriptions. Dynamics 365 is available in two editions, Business Edition (for small and medium-sized organizations) and Enterprise Edition (for medium to large organizations). In July 2017, the CRM product name was changed to Customer Engagement Plan.
An ERP Solution for All
The evolution of Dynamics AX has truly been remarkable. Over the years, the enterprise application has been a front runner in the market and has incorporated several modern features to meet the changing needs of the industry and keep pace with technological advances. The latest version of Dynamics AX – Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations – is built with digital transformation at its core. The system aims to completely transform how organizations do business – right from leveraging the latest technology to integrating applications, role-based workspaces to purpose-built processes, deeper customer engagement and extreme scalability. With features to suit every kind and size of business, Dynamics 365 is truly an ERP solution for all. Learn more about how your business can benefit from the latest version of Dynamics AX – Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations.
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