Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Application Design: Customize and extend your vertical applications with Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 , Second Edition

At the time of publishing this book, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013R2, is the most recent version of the product. When the Windows version was first introduced in 1995, the product was called Navision Financials 1.0. The Danish software company that originally developed the product, Navision Software A/S, was not yet acquired by Microsoft and it was a revolution. It was a full Windows product and had all basic functionality that small companies needed. It is important to understand that the original version was targeted at smaller companies.

Since then, we have had many (20+) versions. All new versions contained new functionality and with it the product has become more mature and suitable for bigger companies as well. This was especially empowered with the support of the Microsoft SQL Server platform, allowing more concurrent users to work in the same application areas.

Until Version 5.0, the technology of the product did not change. The original intention of Microsoft was to release a new technology platform together with new functional changes. This turned out to be a very difficult task so they decided to split the technology into two releases. Version 5.0 contained new functionality and improvements while Version 2009, or 6.0, which is the technical release number, was a technology release.

The technical challenge was to migrate from the old C++ platform to .NET and to move from a two tier to a three tier technology. This was also the first release with a drastic change in the user interface. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 contains an entirely new user interface, the Role Tailored Client, which is built new from the ground up — the existing (classic) user interface is the same with no changes. During this migration process, all application functionality was frozen although small improvements and bug fixes were made in 2009 SP1.

With Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013, we have entered a new era where the transformation is complete. The product is converted to .NET and even supports limited use of DotNet Interoperability directly from the C/AL programming language. The classic user interface is discontinued as is the native database.

This book supports functionality from the 2013 release although most concepts relate back to the older versions.

The title of the book is Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Application Design. What does application design mean? And what does it mean in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013?

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 is a complete ERP package, but unlike other ERP packages, it has a design capable of providing an open structure and a development platform. The idea is to provide 80 percent of the solution out of the box and allow the other 20 percent to be designed by qualified business application developers.

The partner channel is a unique part of Microsoft Dynamics NAV. From the moment Navision was introduced, company management decided that it would only make sense to have an indirect selling model and to let the resellers (called partners) have the availability to change the product and add new functionalities.

This book is about both the 80 percent and the 20 percent. We'll see that the percentages differ per industry where it is applied. Some industries have close to a 100 percent fit while others have a need for an 80 percent development.

So there is a very thin line in this book between using the standard application and designing changes and expanding the product. Although this is not a development book, we'll dive into code and objects in almost every chapter.

Reading this chapter will be more than enough to understand the code but if you want to know more, we highly recommend reading Programming Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013, David A. Studebaker, Christopher D. Studebaker, Packt Publishing.

This book is not a manual for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013. It will give you a clear idea of how the structure of the application is laid out and about its possibilities. We do not want to replace or rewrite the Microsoft documentation but rather want to provide ideas that you might not have thought about.

In Microsoft Dynamics NAV, the line between implementing and developing is very thin. Where you would perform a lot of setup in other ERP packages, you'll see that it often makes more sense in Dynamics NAV to make a change with the development tools.

The standard package is very complete in its functionality but does not support all industries. It is more a framework for partners to work with. In this book, we will explain this framework and what philosophy it is built on. Understanding this philosophy is critical to knowing how to expand the functionality.

However, expanding the functionality means customizing the application. Do end users in 2013 still want customized applications? Mostly, they will say they don't want their software customized, but in the next breath, they will say that the software should change to match their way of doing business, and that they should have to change their business to fit the software.

This is why Microsoft pushes their partners to create horizontal and vertical solutions on top of the standard product and release these solutions as products with their own versions as if they were a part of the standard applications. This way of using the partner channel is a unique concept that has proven to be very successful and make Microsoft Dynamics NAV useable in almost any industry.

Most companies, however, have such a unique way of working that they will always require more or less customized solutions. The total cost of ownership depends on the level of customizations and how these customizations are designed.

The key is in knowing when to do a setup and when to do a customization. Only a solid understanding of the application will help you determine which is correct.

After reading this book, you will know how to design your application best to have a good balance between cost of ownership and functionality.