Jenn Monahan - Article Critique #1

Microsoft, one of the world’s leading IT pioneers, has just announced their plan to update the company’s new and exclusive business management system, Dynamics AX ERP (enterprise resource planning). This breakthrough of modernized software will now provide large-scale companies with more customized features to further successfully manage their businesses. With the purchase of this new technology from four of their partners, Microsoft plans to update three of their five major types of industries (manufacturing, retail, and professional services) through advancing these features for more efficient support and execution.

The objective of the Dynamics AX ERP software is to provide 1,000 plus employees in a company with a management system to keep up with the rapidly increasing waves of technology. According to the article that I came across on today’s New York Times online homepage, improved “formulas for food and chemical products,” will be a clear competitive advantage to the software that Microsoft can provide. I was actually quite surprised after I had read the article and then went to the Microsoft Dynamics website, to find that such advanced formulas for the food and beverage industry did not exist. I do believe that because of these new formulas, Microsoft will definitely be able to win over powerful and influential companies in that specific industry, through such advancements. I would have been disappointed if I managed a large food and beverage company, and purchased such an complex software program that did not include these formula applications prior to Microsoft’s decision to add these new features. This will now be a component that the specific market for food and beverage management will now consider when looking to purchase/transition to a newer and more efficient organizational system.

In addition to the food and beverage side of Dynamics AX ERP, the improved technology for retail will also be advantageous for Microsoft’s campaign. Although Microsoft is collecting applications and formulas from two companies that already manage retail IT (LSRetail and To-Increase), the packaged deal with all of the additional features that are included does sound extremely reliable. Now retailers can have improved software for actual store management, along with point- of- sale and merchandising. As many of you who have worked in the retail field know, companies within that particular industry are always looking for more efficient and cost effective ways to carry out their daily management systems within their customer service aspects of their brand. Updates to these “old faithful” systems that are used worldwide in retail, are completely necessary to keep up with the demands of customers and the expectations of valuable administration.

Overall, I do believe that when Microsoft has finished updating their existing software (which should be within the coming year—according to the article), that there will be little to no competition amongst similar software companies. As a leader in the IT and IS world, Microsoft can take the cake with their new line of management software, and basically throw it in their competitor’s faces. With such an influence in every aspect in today’s modernized technological era, this company can crush its opponents like no other. I believe that the continued expansions that Microsoft is making by taking steps to improve management will open new doors and windows of opportunity to all of their users in the present and future.

*Link for Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/external/idg/2009/09/22/22idg-microsoft-buys-software-to-bolster-its-core-erp-prod-25951.html

**Link for Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP:
http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/en/us/default.aspx