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Dynamics NAV 2017 Now Generally Available

Microsoft has released the next version of its enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for small and medium businesses (SMBs).

Dynamics NAV 2017 became globally available last Friday, just over a year after the launch of its predecessor, Dynamics NAV 2016. Microsoft said during its 2015 Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) that it intends to release a new version of Dynamics NAV every year.

In a blog post announcing Dynamics NAV 2017's rollout, Paul White, senior director of Dynamics ERP product marketing at Microsoft, said the new release "is designed to help organizations create greater efficiencies, streamline business processes, and empower employees to react quickly to changing business needs with intelligent insights anywhere and on any device."

Among the key features in Dynamics NAV 2017 is integration with two new Microsoft services: PowerApps and Flow. PowerApps is set of tools designed to help organizations create business solutions -- including Web apps and mobile apps -- without writing any code. Flow is a workflow automation and tracking app that works across a multitude of services from Microsoft and third-party software makers.

Both PowerApps and Flow have been in public preview since April, but are expected to become generally available starting Tuesday, Nov. 1, according to a Microsoft announcement.

On the machine learning and analytics front, Dynamics NAV 2017 comes with built-in Power BI dashboards and reports, as well as integration with the Cortana Intelligence suite.

Dynamics NAV 2017 also integrates with Microsoft Office, letting users "set up customers and vendors, create quotes, process orders, and submit invoices -- all without leaving Microsoft Outlook," White wrote.

Update, 11/2: Microsoft posted a more detailed rundown of Dynamics NAV 2017 features in this blog post.

Incidentally, the global rollout of Dynamics NAV 2017 comes just a few days before the Nov. 1 launch of Dynamics 365, Microsoft's new suite of cloud-based ERP and CRM apps.

About the Author

Gladys Rama (@GladysRama3) is the editorial director of Converge360.

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