Always Stay Well Informed!
We would like to provide you with answers to the most frequently asked questions about your project, our products, and more. What topic would you like to learn more about?
We would like to provide you with answers to the most frequently asked questions about your project, our products, and more. What topic would you like to learn more about?
Here we answer all FAQs related to the project topics:
We also address all FAQs regarding our Microsoft products, including Data Security:
The costs of an ERP introduction are highly individual and vary from company to company because they depend on many factors (e.g., deployment method, requirements, number of users, current data quality, internal effort). For a cloud ERP solution, the subscription is decisive, and you pay monthly or annually per user. For a local installation/On-Premises version, there are one-time license costs (per user), an annual maintenance contract, as well as internal infrastructure and possibly personnel costs.
In our blog article “Kauf von ERP-Software: Wie Sie Ihr Budget definieren” (German article), we discuss how you can roughly estimate the budget for an ERP introduction.
Alternatively, if desired, there is the option to lease your ERP project with us. For example, you can work with our leasing partner MMV and pay off your investment amount through an attractive monthly rate.
The duration of an ERP introduction varies from company to company. Different factors come into play, such as size and the proportion of individual requirements. Additionally, a distinction can be made between Cloud and On-Premises solutions.
The deployment of the online solution takes only a few minutes. The setup duration of your On-Premises solution is longer due solely to the setup of the On-Premises (local) components, as the necessary server systems (database, application, etc.) need to be provisioned.
Furthermore, the following points are relevant:
There are different methods of ERP introduction. Generally, a distinction is made between the waterfall model or an agile approach. We have developed our own agile methodology, which is a combination of both: Initially, we conduct high-level planning within 3-4 days (all necessary functionalities, project start, framework conditions). Detailed specifications and requirements documents are not needed.
Then, we proceed with the introduction in 4-week iterative phases or sprints. In each phase, we plan the sprint, conceptualize the tasks and budget, and execute them. At the end of each phase, the client must test the implementations and assess the quality. Only then does the next implementation phase begin. Any unfinished tasks are transferred to the next implementation phase. This process repeats in each of the implementation phases.
At the end, the implementations are compiled together. Subsequently, we train your team and allow them to thoroughly test the system before going live.
Why should you choose us as your partner company for ERP introduction from the vast Microsoft network? We’ll give you an overview of what makes us unique.
There are several risks that can lead to the failure of an ERP project. These include, among others, underestimating the complexity, having an inadequate project team, lack of change management, or selecting an unsuitable system. You can find all the information in our blog:
Yes, we do. In our download area you’ll find both a checklist for ERP selection and a whitepaper on ERP introduction from A to Z.
The costs of an ERP upgrade are highly individual and vary from company to company because they depend on many factors (e.g., deployment method, requirements, number of users, current data quality, internal effort). For a cloud-based ERP solution, the subscription fee is crucial, which you pay monthly or annually per user. For a local installation/On-Premises version, one-time license costs (per user), an annual maintenance contract, as well as internal infrastructure and potentially personnel costs are incurred.
In our blog article “Kauf von ERP-Software: Wie Sie Ihr Budget definieren” (German article), we discuss how you can roughly estimate the budget for an ERP project.
Alternatively, there is the option to lease your ERP project with us, if desired. For example, you can work with our leasing partner MMV and pay off your investment amount through an attractive monthly rate.
The fact is: Nobody wants hidden costs. Upon request, we create a final fixed-price offer after having conducted a thorough analysis. How does that sound to you? This aspect is particularly appreciated by most interested companies.
There are different methods of ERP upgrades. Generally, a distinction is made between the waterfall model or an agile approach. We have developed our own agile methodology: First, we conduct the rough planning within 3-4 days (all necessary functionalities, project start, framework conditions).
Next, we proceed with the implementation in 4-week iterative phases or sprints. In each phase, we plan the sprint, conceptualize the tasks and the budget, and execute them. At the end of each phase, the customer must test the implementations and assess the quality. Only then does the next implementation phase start. Uncompleted tasks are carried over to the next implementation phase. This process is repeated in each of the implementation phases.
In the end, the implementations are compiled. We then train your team and let them thoroughly test the system before going live.
Certainly. You will have a dedicated personal contact who will assist you in setting up our products and will be there for you in all matters afterwards. This is precisely what our customers benefit from compared to larger service-providing companies. After all, our project managers typically know their customers for many years and can often provide support or anticipate needs with an objective perspective – friendly and professionally.
In addition to personalized support, the following reasons speak for us:
Certainly. For us, digital transformation encompasses technology, processes, and above all, people. Employees should therefore by no means be left out. On the one hand, we bring expertise in the field of change management, and on the other hand, we collaborate with the Münster-based startup Echometer. The company aims to make processes such as software implementations smoother by regularly soliciting feedback from employees. If you are interested, you can simply add this service.
Of course, we also advise you on process optimization. We do this automatically in every project, as we strive to transfer the optimal current state of business processes into the software.
There have also been cases where we have only analyzed the processes of a company or department and highlighted improvement suggestions – without the software aspect. Naturally, it is then possible or advisable to proceed with the implementation together as well.
Change management is crucial because it helps companies navigate successful transformations and remain competitive in an evolving market. Through effective preparation and execution, businesses can avoid negative impacts, mitigate resistance, and ensure that changes are successfully implemented.
The key components of successful and sustainable change management include the following:
Companies can reduce resistance to change by involving their team in the change process. What does that mean specifically?
Leaders should lead by example, especially in change management. Their role is crucial. This includes:
Here are some notable advantages compared to the local On-Premises version. The following benefits apply to Dynamics 365 Business Central Online (Cloud):
You can find the complete comparison in our blog article “Dynamics 365 Business Central – Cloud oder On-Premises” (German article).
Often, the starting point for establishing a cloud strategy in companies is in the IT department or senior management. To ensure the success of this project, it’s crucial to quickly involve additional advocates who can serve as positive ambassadors.
We recommend having the process optimization carried out by objective experts. When working with us, we start by thoroughly examining your processes and analyzing factors causing current challenges. We identify improvement potentials and describe corresponding measures for implementation, taking into account urgency and priorities. As a result, you’ll receive our action plan, providing structured suggestions for process optimization.
Subsequently, it’s up to you to weigh benefits against effort and implement our action plan (optionally with us). This typically involves prioritizing tasks to be tackled sequentially. Finally, documenting and communicating these actions is essential.
The results of process optimization can vary significantly depending on the current situation. Based on the status quo, we distinguish the following goals or benefits:
A process is considered good when it leaves no room for improvement in terms of productivity, throughput time, quality, resource consumption, distances, communication, and security risks. It should be transparently communicated and documented, and employees involved should have a process-oriented mindset.
The reality is that over time, issues may arise within your processes, so it’s essential to regularly seize the opportunity to optimize them.
An industry solution is a complete solution or a pre-built software package for a specific niche. The scope of services is clearly defined. However, in terms of detailed functionality, industry solutions can vary greatly as they are often derived from custom solutions. There is a high chance that it exceeds or does not exactly match the needs of a company.
Microsoft Dynamics is a universal standard ERP solution and is used by various industries such as (wholesale) traders, service providers and manufacturers. Of course, every industry and every company is unique. Nevertheless, many companies overlap in some areas (e.g., financial accounting). For this reason and based on our experience, many projects can be realized to a large extent with the system standard of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. We solve the individual areas using ready-made apps and individual adaptations.
An ERP solution should be tailored to your industry or your company as optimally as possible. There are always two ways to achieve this: Either you opt for a highly specialized industry solution, or you choose a standard ERP solution that is expanded with pre-built add-ons and individual customizations.
With an industry solution, there is a good chance that the range of functions will exceed the needs of a company or not fit exactly. Another problem is that with an ERP industry solution, companies become extremely dependent on the provider and invest in very rigid and inflexible software. Upgrades can only be carried out with difficulty and in the event of problems or even insolvency of the provider, you are facing real difficulties. For this reason, we made a conscious decision at the time of founding not to develop ERP industry solutions.
We combine the standard ERP solution Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV/Navision) with industry-specific add-ons and individual customizations. This gives you a solution that suits you 100 % and allows you to remain flexible and independent with regard to the provider, have lower overall costs and remain updatable. This is what sets us apart and makes us unique! Your industry is not included in the above examples? Don’t worry. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a universal solution for medium-sized companies. Talk to us – you’ve come to the right place!
Yes, we do. In our download area, you will find both a checklist for ERP selection and a whitepaper for ERP implementation from A to Z.
As a Microsoft partner company, we must refer to Microsoft’s provisions in this regard. Microsoft ensures the use of the cloud while adhering to the high security and data protection standards in Germany. In this way, the Microsoft Cloud complies with national (e.g., C5 certification of the BSI catalog of requirements), European (e.g., GDPR), international, and industry-specific compliance standards, laws, and regulations governing cloud services regarding data security and privacy.
Since autumn 2019, Microsoft has also had German data centers, allowing you to store your data on “German soil.” You decide on the location of the data center.
According to Art. 24 GDPR, data is the property of the customer, and they are responsible. This means, in particular, that this person is responsible for safeguarding the rights of data subjects (Chapter 3 GDPR).
anaptis is the data processing company and therefore processes your data exclusively on instruction and for the purposes regulated within the framework of the data processing agreement. This means concretely that data will not be sold or passed on to third parties under any circumstances. An exception to this is a transfer to any subcontractors appointed, which is regulated within the framework of the data processing agreement with our customers.
In principle, anaptis fulfills all requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation and is compliant with data protection regulations according to the GDPR as an organization and within the framework of its products.
Microsoft collects data on cyber attacks and uses it to continuously improve the cloud. To this end, Microsoft is part of the Digital Crimes Unit (DCU), where engineers and lawyers work directly with investigators from all over the world to track down large-scale cyber attacks and criminals. Over 600 million security risks are recorded, stored and analyzed here every day in order to increase logical security in the digital world. Information and insights are continuously gathered from different workloads, apps and platforms, combined and intelligently analyzed. This allows problems to be identified and rectified at an early stage before they affect the business activities of cloud users and also ensures the availability of apps and data at all times.
We also recommend the use of two-factor authentication, which is already established through the use of online banking solutions and uses another device (phone, smartphone, tablet, etc.) in addition to a password for security.
Microsoft stores all data redundantly across multiple systems and physically separate locations. This means that you do not have to create or manage data backups yourself. Irrespective of this, you can create a data backup from the system (here: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central) at any time and save it locally.
Should the business relationship come to an end, authorized persons in your company can request the release of the data in a machine-readable format. The data will then be irretrievably deleted after the contractually defined period has expired.
Microsoft regularly has this competence confirmed by third parties – for example, current audit reports on ISO standards such as ISO 27001 are regularly published. In Germany in particular, the promise is regularly checked by German data trustees.
With the help of the ERP solution Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV/Navision), medium-sized companies can manage, automate and optimize their business processes.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV/Navision) is an ERP system from Microsoft.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV/Navision) is aimed at small and medium-sized companies. The standard ERP solution can be used universally in a wide range of industries (e.g., retail, production, consulting) and can be tailored to your company using apps and individual adaptations.
Microsoft releases major updates twice a year and minor updates every month. Most new functions are made available in the major updates, while bug fixes and more urgent changes are published in the minor updates. If you use the Cloud, you will receive all updates automatically from Microsoft. If you use the On-Premises solution, the ongoing maintenance contract also entitles you to the latest version of the software if required. However, these updates must be installed manually.
If requirements cannot already be covered by the system standard, the system can easily be expanded or customized using apps.
You can find more information in our overview of popular apps. In our success stories, we also describe a number of individual customizations.
You can set up any number of interfaces from Dynamics 365 Business Central to other systems. There are already numerous predefined interfaces such as the SNC DATEV interface.
Take a look at an overview of selected options on our Add-On page or contact us directly.
The costs depend on the following criteria:
You can find an overview on our Prices page.
The standard contract duration with us is twelve (12) months with monthly prepayment. If you do not cancel the subscription thirty (30) days before it expires, the term will automatically extend for another twelve (12) months.
However, you also have the option to subscribe for one month for maximum flexibility or for three years. During the contract period, you will have price stability. This means that even if prices are increased by Microsoft, it will not affect you. You can learn more about licensing in our blog article “New Commerce Experience: Das ändert sich 2022 an der Lizenzierung” (German article).
This license covers selected tasks within a client:
You can change the license type at any time. If you change to a more extensive license form during the year when paying annually, we will charge the difference between the advance payment already made and the changed price until the end of the annual term. A change to a lower license form is only possible after the contract term has expired.
Subscription solution in the Microsoft Cloud
With the subscription in the Microsoft Cloud, you pay monthly fees and manage your data in the secure Microsoft Cloud.
Purchase solution (On-Premises) in your own company
With the purchase solution (On-Premises) in your own company, you pay a one-time purchase price for the licenses and operate the system in your company/data center.
More Information:
You can find all the differences in our blog article: “Dynamics 365 Business Central – Cloud oder On-Premises?” (German article)
Yes, you have the option to use both environments (Cloud and On-Premises) simultaneously. This is useful, for example, to operate the development environment in an On-Premises instance and production in the Cloud environment.
You benefit from what are known as Dual-Use Rights. These rights enable you to use the ERP solution:
No licenses are required for On-Premises usage – they are included.
For more information on this offering, please see our blog article “Dual-Use Rechte: Cloud-Lizenzen auch lokal nutzen” (German article).
Still skeptical about the Cloud? Then feel free to check out our blog article “Cloud Computing – Die 7 größsten Mythen rund um die Cloud” (German article).
Regarding On-Premises licensing, we have compiled all the information in our blog article “So funktioniert die Lizenzierung für Business Central On-Premises” (German article).
According to Microsoft, it’s “‘Cloud first, but not Cloud only.” The solution will continue to be available as a purchase license in your own data center or as a locally hosted installation (On-Premises).
In our blog article “Microsoft verrät: Zukunftspläne für Dynamics 365 Business Central” (German article), you can learn more about the future of the On-Premises version.
No, our products run on almost all devices and do not require any special hardware.
The purchase solution (On-Premises) only requires servers that meet Microsoft’s minimum technical requirements, while the rental solution (Cloud) requires a web browser and an internet connection.
When deploying through the Cloud, your data is stored in a German data center by Microsoft. This means that the software is provided from German data centers. Your data is absolutely secure there and enjoys the highest priority.
After all, the data centers are certified by EU data protection standards. Additionally, the data protection policies, procedures, and technologies of implementation are completely transparent.
Yes, you can test the ERP system for 30 days and switch back and forth between Essentials and Premium.
The condition is: For up to 25 users and with a term of up to one month. Please contact us without obligation if you are interested in a test license. In this case, we will also take care of the timely termination so that you do not have to enter into any obligation. Otherwise, these trial licenses will automatically be converted into annual subscriptions at the expiration date.
If you decide to purchase licenses, the data you have added to the trial version will be retained.
The setup of the online solution takes only a few minutes. The setup duration of your On-Premises solution is longer due to the setup of the On-Premises (local) components, including the necessary server systems (database, application, etc.).
Furthermore, the following points are relevant:
To a limited extent, you can customize the interface according to your preferences (e.g., show/hide fields, design reports as Word layouts, etc.). You have the option to customize the ERP system through pre-built apps or individual developments. With the appropriate skills, you can implement this yourself. Alternatively, our experts are available to assist you and implement the desired requirements or provide training to you and your employees as part of a workshop on the modern development environment. If you have development skills yourself, you can of course do this yourself.
The Cloud solution runs online, meaning no PC installation is required and can be accessed on any of the supported browsers (Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari). Apps for iOS and Android are also available.
You can find the system requirements for the on-premises version in our blog article “So funktioniert die Lizenzierung für Business Central On-Premises” (German article).
Power Apps is a modular app system from Microsoft. With the help of Power Apps, you can build apps quickly and easily without writing a single line of code (low-code application). A possible example would be a time recording app.
To build an app, you can either choose from an existing layout from a template or start without a template. Within just a few clicks, you can fill the app with your data and use Microsoft products such as Microsoft 365 or Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (formerly Microsoft Dynamics NAV) etc., as well as third-party products such as Salesforce or Dropbox, as data sources.
With a canvas app, you use the app designer to design your app by selecting and placing elements (drag-and-drop). You can integrate a variety of control functions with a click and there is no need to write code. The design is in your hands. You can compare the process to creating PowerPoint slides.
This process in the App Designer feels like creating PowerPoint slides. As in Excel, you can also create expressions for specifying logic and working with data, for example. You are therefore completely responsible for the layout yourself.
Power Apps offers subscription plans as well as usage-based pricing. Under the subscription plans, you can either pay per user per app per month (per app plan) or per user per month (per user plan). With usage-based pricing, you pay per active user per app per month. This means you only pay when a user runs an app within a month. You can find an overview on our Prices page.
Microsoft Power Apps is actually suitable for every company, because there is always potential for optimization. Power Apps are an excellent replacement for existing manual processes, which are often tedious and repetitive.
Yes, Power Apps is included in some Office 365 plans, such as Office 365 E1, E3, or E5. You can access most functionalities of Power Apps with these plans. However, for some features like connecting to third-party data, you may need an additional license. You can find an overview of licensing options on our Prices page.
Power Apps can be used on any type of device – From desktops, laptops and tablets to cell phones – whether iOS or Android.
Yes, you can access your Power App from your tablet or smartphone when you are on the move. You can use and transmit the data from the app with or without an internet connection.
If you are offline, Power Apps saves your entries temporarily until your device is connected to the Internet again. As soon as you are online again, you do not need to do anything. Your Power App will automatically process your cached data.
With the help of Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow), you can automate regular, recurring processes and routine tasks easily and conveniently using workflows. Workflows range from individual tasks (e.g., notifications) to extensive systems (e.g., complex approval processes). And the best thing about it: you don’t need any programming knowledge (low-code application). In just a few clicks, you can create your workflows either from an empty Flow app based on a connector (list of connectors) or from one of the many Microsoft templates.
Microsoft Power Automate free enables limited testing of Power Automate. Every user can test Power Automate Free for 90 days. The service is free of charge. This means that there are no fees for the licenses.
You can try Power Automate for free for 90 days. The cost of Power Automate thereafter depends on whether you choose to license the product per user or per flow, and on the duration of your subscription (annual or monthly). You can find the prices for these options on our Prices page.
Power Automate has been a fundamental component of Office 365 since March 2022.
Let’s say you want to create a simple flow that executes an action when the stock for a particular item falls below a certain quantity. The action to be triggered would be to send an email. Here we go:
Note: In this example, it is sufficient to define the “Yes” conditions, as nothing should happen if the conditions are not met.
Let’s assume you want to create a flow to automatically create sales orders in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as tasks in Planner. You can see how this works in the following video:
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With Microsoft Power BI, you can visualize your data in a variety of display options (e.g., dashboard of company development, target and actual sales figures). Consolidate data from different data sources and reduce manual activities. The consolidation of data from a wide range of different sources resolves the inefficiency of isolated databases in particular.
In addition, you can recognize the need for action more quickly and take more targeted action by sharing it with your team, other departments or management.
Power BI Desktop is a free application that you can install on your local computer. This allows you to connect to your data via various data sources on your desktop, combine them in a data model and visualize them (summarized: modeling). You can update your visualizations at the touch of a button (not automatically). Please note that sharing with colleagues is not possible with Power BI Desktop.
The price of Power BI depends on the chosen features and subscription duration. You have the option to choose between Power BI Desktop (free), Power BI Pro (starting from € 8.40 per user per month), and Power BI Premium (starting from € 16.90 per user per month).
You can find a price and feature overview on our Prices page.
Yes, Power BI Desktop is a free application.
Power BI is not included in Office 365 as a standard. Only Power BI Pro is included in Microsoft 365 E5. You can find an overview of licensing options on our Prices page.
Self-Service BI is easily achievable with pre-built standard tables. These provide a rough overview of typical metrics (e.g., revenue, costs, customers). If the company also has IT personnel, additional requirements beyond these standard tables can usually be managed in-house. This is a matter of effort and IT competence. In our opinion, the difficulty lies in data extraction from the system. Often, the requirements on the company side are very complex. It is important to write the right system queries and know where in the system data can be obtained. However, visualization or visual customization is simple and user-friendly. So, if the company has the necessary data, visualization is feasible. The self-service BI approach is therefore not an empty marketing promise and is limited possible.
However, if a company wants to present specific case studies beyond these standard tables, they often consult Microsoft partner companies. Examples include: production analyses, proportion of faulty products, analyses by clients (e.g., branches), procurement analysis, sales by region, overview of personnel figures, and sales dashboards.
We advise you to weigh effort and benefit and to seek out a competent and experienced Microsoft partner company for your first complex Power BI project. This will help you achieve your goal of desired data visualization and also learn how to use Microsoft Power BI yourself.
Yes, you can. To be able to use Power BI with the local Microsoft Dynamics NAV environment, the OData service must first be activated for the web service. The OData feed is used to provide the data basis from the SQL server. Which data is available can be checked under “Web services” in the client. The OData feed URL that Power BI requires to query the data can also be found there. Only the “Query” object type is initially relevant for Power BI. Many queries are already available as standard, such as a list of all sales orders by sales person. However, you can also create your own queries in the development environment with just a few clicks. These newly created queries must then be created in the web services before you can get started.
In our workshop, you will learn how to generate added value from your data using Power BI. The workshop is aimed at medium-sized companies that are not yet familiar with the user interface of Dynamics 365 Business Central and want to delve deeper. Initially, we introduce you to the tool. In this part, we answer the following questions among other things:
Subsequently, we will jointly examine your use case and build an initial evaluation (workshop).
We reserve the right to qualify your request by finding out during a brief phone call whether we can help you. After qualification, we will first have a conversation with you about your requirements so that we can tailor the introductory workshop to your needs and expectations.
You can find the price on our Prices page.
Using classic dashboards and targeted analyses, you can uncover causes, identify correlations, understand changes, and identify trends. Through our cooperation with our partner navida, we offer ready-made Power BI templates. Fully integrated into Dynamics 365 Business Central/Dynamics NAV. Together, we offer you three packages or tools for Dynamics 365 Business Central: Finance, Sales, Purchasing.
If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.
Power Pages provides an intuitive platform to create dynamic, responsive, secure and data-based corporate websites – Without writing a line of code (low-code application).
Power Pages offers subscription plans as well as usage-based payment. Under the subscription plans, you can choose either per authenticated user per website or per anonymous user per website. Usage-based payment rates require an Azure subscription and can also be selected based on authenticated or anonymous users. For a more detailed overview, please visit our Prices page.
Microsoft Power Pages contains a selection of different templates that make it even easier to create new websites. The “Starter layout” offers the basic building blocks for setting up websites and comes in different variations. The “Book meeting” template makes it easier to plan appointments, events etc. and is transferable to all sectors. You can use the “extracurricular courses” template not only in an educational context, but also to create registration websites in any industry and organization. You can create websites for submitting applications with the “Building permit application” template.
Of course, security is the top priority: users can be authenticated via various providers such as Azure Active Directory, Google, LinkedIn or Facebook. Manage the rights and roles of individual users with the comprehensive access control.
Microsoft Fabric is an AI-driven data platform that helps companies manage, analyze and transform data from multiple sources into valuable insights. It centralizes data storage and reduces the complexity of data integration, making it easier to collaborate across different devices and use in Microsoft 365 applications.
Microsoft Fabric Free is the free version of the Microsoft Fabric platform. It offers users the opportunity to test and get to know the core functions of Microsoft Fabric without having to purchase a license.
Microsoft Fabric consists of several components:
OneLake is Microsoft Fabric’s central data store that enables organizations to store and manage their data in a unified and scalable data store that works independently of databases and data warehouses. It is automatically provided with every Microsoft Fabric tenant. Members can work in parallel and use data structures such as lakehouses, while the data automatically participates in data governance.
Microsoft Fabric uses AI functions for data processing and analysis. The platform enables the creation, training and deployment of AI models to gain valuable insights. In addition, the AI automatically understands, cleanses, transforms and enriches the data, which increases the efficiency and accuracy of the analyses.
Microsoft Fabric and Microsoft Power BI initially sound like very similar tools, but on closer inspection they have different focuses. While Fabric offers various services such as data integration, data engineering, data science and real-time analyses and can also analyze and store large volumes of data thanks to its lakehouse architecture, Power BI focuses on data visualization and analysis as well as the creation of reports. Power BI can be integrated with various sources. Accordingly, both tools can be used together. Power BI acts as the front end for visualization and reporting, while Microsoft Fabric handles the back-end data processing and analysis and has AI services.
Microsoft Fabric supports the integration of a variety of data sources, including relational databases, cloud storage, APIs and On-Premises systems.
The prices for Microsoft Fabric vary depending on the region, date of purchase, exchange rate and the contract entered into with Microsoft. You can find these in the price overview of Microsoft.
Copilot in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is an AI-powered assistant designed to increase productivity, support creative processes and automate repetitive tasks. It is based on the combination of a chat interface with Large Language Models (LLM), deep learning techniques and extensive data sets. Key features include natural language processing, task automation, creative support, inventory forecasting and payment prediction. Copilot is integrated with Dynamics 365 Business Central and is designed to increase efficiency when using Business Central.
Microsoft Copilot is available free of charge within the Business Central license. Basic Copilot functions are also available free of charge for individual users via web and mobile apps, Windows and Microsoft Edge.
The activation and control of Copilot in Business Central must be carried out by an administrator. Copilot is a system function. This means that individual users do not have direct access to it and Copilot cannot simply be switched on or off. However, there are ways to control data management and disable certain Copilot and AI functions for each environment. Depending on the function, there are different levels of access control for the AI functions. To use the Copilot functions across geographical regions, the “Allow data movement” toggle must be activated. This has been activated by default since the Wave 2 2024 release. Individual features can be activated or deactivated for all users on the “Copilot and AI functions” page. Access can also be enabled for certain user roles.
Copilot requires an Internet connection in order to function. This means that it is only available in Business Central in the cloud version and cannot be used in the On-Premises version.
Copilot can be used in different ways to increase productivity or receive support with various tasks. In terms of Business Central, this means that routine tasks can be automated, data can be collected and analyzed, and marketing texts can be created. However, it should be noted that Copilot must be activated and work must be carried out online in a supported region in Business Central.
Microsoft Copilot has been generally available to corporate customers since November 2023.
Yes, Copilot is integrated in Dynamics 365. The AI supports you in various applications, such as Dynamics 365 Business Central, Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, Dynamics 365 Field Service and Dynamics 365 Project Operations.
It is important to deal with the topic of data protection in connection with the service of the US company Microsoft. We explain why this is the case and what you need to bear in mind.
These are the facts:
When it comes to data protection with Microsoft Copilot, there are a few things you can do yourself:
A Product Information Management (PIM) system is used to centrally manage, maintain and publish product information. It uses just one database (single source of truth). Data can therefore be collected, maintained and cleansed in a resource-saving manner. A PIM system has seamless integrations with various sales channels to make it easier to update data.
In summary, PIM systems fulfill three core functions:
No, a PIM system is not an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. While an ERP system collects cross-departmental data for process optimization, the PIM system only functions as a database for product information. An ERP system also collects product data, but a PIM system may collect more data, which does not make it redundant. An ERP system could therefore replace a PIM system, but this is not possible the other way around.
PIM software is based on a single source of truth – a central database for all product data. This means that data can be recorded and maintained in a resource-saving manner and is therefore available as real-time data throughout the company.
There are several good reasons to use a PIM system in addition to an ERP system. With the help of a PIM system …
You can enquire about the costs for the introduction of PIMICS in the contact form below. We will be happy to help you.
PIMICS is a PIM system that was developed specifically for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics NAV. This enables efficient product data management in Business Central.
We are looking forward to your inquiry!