Synergy Software Systems

Dynamics 365 – Licensing and support key dates to be aware. Ask Synergy Software Systems, Dubai

March 18th, 2017 by Stephen Jones No comments »

License Renewal & Anniversary Date:

If you are considering an upgrade to Dynamics 365 for Operations, then your license anniversary or enhancement renewal date is significant, You have the opportunity to do a full platform and license transition. There are specific incentives and license credits available to make this transition when you are on a supported product version.

The Mainstream Support End Date of your Current Dynamics AX Software Version:

If you do not opt to move to a cloud-based license model at your license anniversary, then the next important date to consider is the mainstream support end date for the current product you are using:

Support Dates for Existing Dynamics AX On-premise products:
◾AX 2009, AX 2012 R1 & R2 – Mainstream support ends in April 10, 2018; Extended support is available until October 12, 2021
◾AX 2012 R3 – Mainstream support ends on October 12, 2021; Extended support is available until January 10, 2023

Why is it important to be on a Mainstream Supported Product?

There are many reasons to be on a supported product :
1.The option to receive support updates and hotfixes – this is the forum in which Microsoft collects bugs and issues and systematically releases fixes, making the platform up-to-date and reliable.
2.Regulatory Compliance ends with Mainstream Support – this means that when your organization is legally obligated to follow regulatory compliance standards, this process will need to be manually completed.
3. Access to Customer resources.

During Extended support, Microsoft provides support for the product and will provide security-related hotfixes.

Your Dynamics Roadmap – Action Plan

So, what should all of these dates mean to you? The answer depends on many things: which version you’re currently using, the range of modules, and customisations, and integrations, your hardware investment, internet connectivity, how you are impacted by statutory changes, economic pressures, and so on..

For those on AX 2009, AX 2012 R1 & R2:

It’s ideal to be on a mainstream supported product, and extended support is available through October of 2021. In either scenario, you need to an action plan to:
◾Decide whether to stay on premise thereafter , or whether to go cloud at some point.
◾Decide to what product you’ll upgrade and whether this will be a one or two step process – AX 2012 R3 or direct to Dynamics 365 operations?
◾Identify requirements for path chosen (Data migration, customizations, process change, short term hardware investments, whether to upgrade SQL or operating systems, etc.)
◾Budget [time and money] for the requirements gathering [can last several months] and the actual upgrade
◾Identify internal/external resources to execute the project
◾Perform and test the upgrade , and train new users.

Most companies want to have the decision and plan in place before mainstream support ends – which is just over a year away – April of 2018 for 2019.

There are other incentives as to upgrading sooner rather than later.

For those on AX 2012 R3:

Like the clients on AX 2009, 2012 R1, & R2 (above), the same decisions must be made.
Do you want to upgrade to Dynamics 365 Operations?
Do you want to stay on premise?

While your mainstream support lasts longer, there are benefits and incentives to consider when deciding on a timeline for your changes.

On-premise vs. Cloud Options:

Until February 2017, existing on-premise clients only had 3 Options:
◾Stay with your Perpetual License on AX 2012 or earlier (keep paying Enhancement or Software Assurance)
◾Upgrade to Dynamics 365 for Operations and move to Subscription Only [Cloud] Model (available at license anniversary/renewal)
◾Upgrade to Dynamics 365 for Operations in a Hybrid Model (Perpetual License + Cloud Add-On)
◾ Move to Dynamics 365 for Operations subscription license but continue to use Dynamics 2012 on premise R3 for some time before moving to Dynamics 365 for Operations (‘equivalence”)

On February 23rd, Microsoft announced a new, hybrid option based on edge computing:
◾Upgrade to Dynamics 365 for Operations, but stay on premise, either with a subscription license or keep a Perpetual License model.

On Monday last week in the Tech Conference , Microsoft announced more details about the new deployment options for Dynamics 365 for Operations that will be available in Q2 2017.

In addition to a pure-cloud environment, organizations can now choose from two options on how this can work .

◾The first is a hybrid deployment (called Cloud and Edge) where critical operations processes, as an example, can remain in an on-premise database, but the power of the cloud can be harnessed for additional scalability.

◾ The second option is, essentially, on premise option. Microsoft calls this option Local Business Data, where Dynamics 365 resides in your existing datacenter.

Investment Credit and Incentives:

Most companies do their budgeting annually, so planning your roadmap should already be underway in 2017. At the Summit Conference last October, Microsoft announced a 40% discount to existing on-premise clients who want to transition to the new Dynamics 365 Cloud Platform. This incentive is active for 3 years.
If you transition in 2017, you’ll be able to leverage 2 years of discounts,
if you transition in 2018, then you’ll only be able to leverage 1 year of discounts
If you do not transition till 2019, you may not get a discount (depending on transition month).

Under Dynamics 365, licensing SKU’s, functionality and license names also changed , so there is an additional consideration to make in how your organization is licensed. Like previous license models, Dynamics 365 for Operations has different user license types – each with different user rights. The more prescriptive you can be for what your users need to access to the more accurate will be your license transition and the more money you can save.

Strategic Planning with Synergy Software Systems

Synergy Software Systems can undertake a license and environment audit to help you understand your high- level options and costs associated with those options. If you feel that cloud has exciting new functionality and integration that you’ve been looking for, use the time you have between now and your next license anniversary/renewal to look at Dynamics 365 for Operations with us and decide if it’s right for you.

If you’re on Dynamics AX 2009, AX 2012 R1 or R2, use the time between now and April 2018 to decide how to best leverage your existing investment in your ERP system in the next supported step in your Dynamics roadmap journey.

If you’d like help to better understand your options then reach out to us on 00971 4 3365589

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Posted in Dynamics 365, Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics Ax, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Project Management, SQL, Technology

Spa Event -Deyafa Systems Dubai – featuring ‘Core’ by Premier Software

March 14th, 2017 by Stephen Jones No comments »

GEMS auditorium
10:00-12:30 16 March 2017
Microsoft Gulf Offices: Dubai Internet City

– What are the challenges an opportunities for the spa industry in the U.A.E. ?
– Hear from industry professionals.
– Find out how Core from Premier Software and Deyafa Systems can help you increase you inquiry conversion, and customer retention, and drive your SPA REVPATH.

Premier Software gets to the ‘Core’ of your business.
The industry’s leading spa business management software companies has confirmed as a key speaker at an exclusive one day event held at the Microsoft Gulf, Gem Auditorium, Internet city, Dubai.

Premier Software has teamed up with Deyafa Hospitality Solutions to host an exclusive event showcasing its flagship software system – Core by Premier Software (Core).

The event is supported by Microsoft and Synergy Software Systems,.

Developed specifically for the spa, wellness and leisure industry, Core is already the software system of choice for many leading hotels and spas across the world including the Buji Club – Burj Khalifa, InterContinental® Dubai Marina, Nikki Beach Resort & Spa, The Belfry and The Corinthia.

Core brings together over two decades of experience to deliver a business management system that provides a complete overview of your business at the touch of a button. Core is available both as a single site, and a multi-site solution.

Stephen Jones, Director, of Dubai’s Deyafa Systems will present a key note speech on spa challenges and opportunities in the region that encompasses: economic, demographic, statutory, and technological changes, key spa metrics and industry trends.

Leonie Wileman, Premier’s Chief Operating Officer, will then showcase ‘Core’ and how its capabilities help a spa be more profitable. “The spa and wellness industry is constantly evolving and many of our clients are looking for a robust IT solution that not only integrates with existing PMS, but can also flex to accommodate future growth,” she said. “The event is an ideal opportunity for visitors to explore Core, see how it works and integrates with existing systems and fully understand how it can transform a business. Core helps to maximise profitability, to streamline day-to-day operations and to pinpoint areas for growth. It is easy-to-use for everyone form the Group Financial Director’s through to the therapists and reception staff.”

The event will also showcase the Core solution with a live demonstration.

We will also hear about some implementations of Core, in prominent spas.

There will be opportunity to mix with other regional spa professionals at the event.

Deyafa Systems is a Dubai based speciality provider of globally branded hospitality solutions. Stephen Jones, Director of Deyafa Systems, said. “We are excited about the new release of Core, an integrated, new generation of spa software. It builds in Premier Software’s years of spa management experience and leverages Microsoft’s powerful technology to improve REVPATH, customer conversion and customer retention.“

Key functions in Core include: online bookings, memberships, scheduling, retail sales, automated marketing and extensive reporting features

Premier has been working with Deyafa since 2003 to provide hospitality IT solutions to both independent spas, and wellness centres, and to large international hotel groups. With its single database structure that can be tailored to meet a sap business’s exact requirements,

Core is rapidly proving to be the software system of choice for the industry.

To register:
Call Suresh 00971 4 3365589/ 33744582
or
Email: suresh.savari@synergy-software.com
or
register on line http://deyafasystems.com/PremierSPAevent

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Posted in Dubai and regional news, Events, General Synergy News, Healthcare, Hospitality

VAT in the U.A.E. what steps should you be taking- ask Synergy Software Systems

March 13th, 2017 by Stephen Jones No comments »

By January 1, 2018, it is expected that value added tax (VAT) will be applied at a rate of 5 per cent on most goods and services in the UAE and wider GCC region. The Unified Agreement, previously referred to by the working title of a framework agreement, is an overarching agreement that will be concluded by all six GCC nations. The best acronym, albeit long, is “GCC UAVAT”.

The unity referred to in the GCC UAVAT is a unity of purpose. The GCC UAVAT is intended to make sure that VAT is introduced in the GCC in a coordinated fashion. It does not necessarily mean that each national VAT law will be identical, nor that those national laws will all become effective on exactly the same date.

The rate of VAT has been confirmed at 5 per cent, a figure that was agreed at GCC level in mid-2016.
Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid Humaid Al Tayer. Speaking to reporters after a joint press conference with Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF in Dubai, Al Tayer said 100 food items, health, education, bicycles and social services would be exempt from VAT. Further information was provided by the Bahraini information affairs minister, who held a press conference attended by the under-secretary for finance in Bahrain. The Bahraini minister confirmed that basic food and other consumer commodities, medicines and medical supplies will be exempt from VAT. The list of exemptions signals a clear intention on the part of the GCC authorities to temper the mildly regressive nature of VAT.

VAT is an indirect tax applied at every stage of the supply chain, the end effect of the levy is on consumers who finally pay the tax while buying a good or service. Businesses collect and account for the tax, in a way acting as a tax collector on behalf of the government. A business pays the government the tax that it collects from the customers while it may also receive a refund from the government on tax that it has paid to its suppliers. The net result is that tax receipts to government reflect the ‘value add’ throughout the supply chain. VAT is said to be a “self-policing” tax because of the netting-off of input tax from output tax at each successive stage of the production and distribution cycles. Thus, administration is not confined to the national tax authority. As taxable entities, VAT-registered businesses also have administrative responsibilities. Work must be undertaken in that important regard.

There are four important stakeholders in this VAT episode: – governments (beneficiary), businesses (tax collectors), consumers (taxpayers) and consultants (VAT experts). VAT is a tax on consumption. It is ultimately paid by the consumer, in other words “the public” in some shape or form. The public does, therefore, need to be aware.

The businesses that are required to collect the VAT and deposit it with the government are the most worried . They will have to perform an extra function, which could result in additional hiring and costs, or risk of fines, although they do not receive a direct economic incentive. It is not just a question of simply collecting and remitting, , being in the ‘middle’ may bring several complexities.

if the UK and EU VAT regimes are anything to go by, the complete legislative picture will comprise a number of layers. All businesses in the UAE will need to record their financial transactions and ensure that their financial records are accurate and up to date.
– Businesses that meet the minimum annual turnover requirement (as evidenced by their financial records) will be required to register for VAT.
– Businesses that do not think that they should be VAT registered should maintain their financial records in any event, their turnover may change, and the in case the government tax team may need to establish whether they should be registered.

Registration for VAT is expected to be made available to businesses that meet the requirements criteria, three months before the launch of VAT. Businesses will be able to register online using eServices

Registered businesses will be expected to submit VAT returns on a regular basis. It is expected that the default period for filing VAT returns will be three months for the majority of businesses. Registered businesses will be able to file their returns online using eServices.

Details of the Tax Law will be made to the press and details will be published on the Ministry of Finance website. The primary source of information regarding the UAE VAT Law is the Ministry of Finance website.

There may be some special rules on VAT for organizations such as government entities as well as refunds available in some circumstances, especially where international obligations require us to make those refunds.

Everyone is urged to fully comply with their VAT responsibilities. The government is currently in the process of defining the exact fees and penalties for non-compliance.

VAT-registered businesses generally:
• must charge VAT on taxable goods or services they supply;
• may reclaim any VAT they’ve paid on business-related goods or services;
• keep a range of business records which will allow the government to check that they have got things right

If you’re a VAT-registered business you must report the amount of VAT you’ve charged and the amount of VAT you’ve paid to the government on a regular basis. It will be a formal submission and it is likely that the reporting will be made online.

If you’ve charged more VAT than you’ve paid, you have to pay the difference to the government. If you’ve paid more VAT than you’ve charged, you can reclaim the difference.

VAT differs from sales tax which is only imposed on the final sale to the consumer. This contrasts with VAT which is imposed on goods and services and is charged throughout the supply chain, including on the final sale. VAT is also imposed on imports of goods and services so as to ensure that a level playing field is maintained for domestic providers of those same goods and services.

Not all businesses will need to register for VAT. In simple terms, only businesses that meet a certain minimum annual turnover requirement will have to register for VAT. That is, many small businesses will not need to register for VAT. The specific conditions (such as minimum annual turnover) that will help identify businesses that do not need to register for VAT are not expected to be announced before October.

Four-step guide to help companies in the UAE to prepare for VAT implementation, (which can take between eight and 12 months). It may take longer if some of the activities are outsourced, for example IT.
1. Impact assessment
• Complete an impact assessment to understand VAT and its commercial effects.
• Prioritise issues and prepare for implementation.
• This is a key step.
• The assessment looks at its various effects on the organisational, operational and financial levels.
• Typically, an impact assessment needs between eight and 12 weeks to complete and that leaves a relatively short time, no more than nine months, to affect implementation.

2. Project preparation
• Prepare a project plan and secure the necessary internal and external resources and ensure the stakeholders in the business are informed.
• VAT is not just a finance project. It affects all transactions and so touches every aspect of the organisation.
• VAT affects IT systems, finance, human resources, legal teams and even inter-organisation transactions.
• IT systems are integral to the process because they need to be updated to handle the VAT.
• Preparation will entail a cost that companies will need to budget.

3. Design and implementation
• Based on the impact assessment, they need to develop a road map for identifying the changes required, understanding the scheduling requirements and planning for work.
• Implementing the changes across various levels in the organisation starts with mapping the transaction footprint to understand the VAT obligations of the business. This should form the basis for making changes across different verticals in the organisation such as IT, supply chain and human resources.
• Businesses need to design the systems and reports and train their staff on the process requirements for VAT.
• This may require a new software/ new release, or upgrade, Consider:
 COA changes,
 Contract changes
 Order, receipt and invoice formats
 Cash flow and budget updates
 Impact on open orders on1 Jan 2018
 Whether any interfaces are affected
• Businesses must implement necessary changes to systems, controls, reporting and governance in good time.

4. Registering and testing
• Businesses need to register for VAT .
• They need to test that their business systems are capable of compliance and reporting.
• Businesses need to integrate the changes made into the operations and train relevant staff about their new roles and responsibilities to achieve the desired result.
• Testing the VAT system, processes and controls during a “live” phase (expected from January 1, 2018) is important to allow for the complete and accurate completion of the first VAT return.
• Make sure to test adequate volumes of data – e.g. processing a quarterly Vat return on all sales and purchase transactions may involve a lot of processing for some companies.
• Make sure to test interfaces.

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Posted in Corporate Perfomance Management, Dubai and regional news, Dynamics 365, e procurement, General Synergy News, Healthcare, Infor Financial solutions, Microsoft Dynamics Ax, Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Salus Patient Relationship Management on Microsoft Dynamics CRM from Synergy Software Systems, U.A.E.

March 8th, 2017 by Stephen Jones No comments »

Its about, 360-degree patient interactions and leveraging technology to streamline processes and workflows across an organisation to ensure that each patient is efficiently placed to the appropriate level of care each time, every time.

– Healthcare professionals from every department involved can see a complete picture of the
patient’s needs, interactions, care steps and wellness plans.
– Integrated knowledge base specific to your business and expert areas ensures patient care is
streamlined and questions are quickly answered.
– Multiple channels available, allowing patients a single point of access to information and
resources, enabling them to make appointments, update personal information, and
communicate health professionals throughout their care.
– Enable patients to share their medical records and device readings with authorized health
professionals online.

Co-ordinate care effectively via patient-centric workflows
– Synchronize and incorporate patient data from various systems, providing patient
dashboards so your team of clinicians can track every aspect of a patient’s information and
care, including medical histories, screenings, tests, and relationships across physician
practices and clinics.
– Established standard co-ordinated procedures across your organizations.
– Automate communications, enabling uninterrupted patient care and follow-up.
– Effectively manage healthcare for patients with chronic conditions, predicting their care
needs, prioritizing referrals, and reducing acute episodes
– Anticipate and allocate all resources needed for upcoming services, such as available
physicians, exam room, surgical facilities, etc.

Maintain long-term relationships
– Communicate with patients between visits
– Encourage patients in preventative health choices
– Ensure patients manage and monitor health – particularly ongoing condition management
– Proactively connect with patient’s support team

Proactively engage people in your community
– Increase public awareness of health services and resources
– Promote wellness initiatives, services and health education
– Encourage health and wellness management by creating outreach programs such as support
for weight loss, diabetes management, or smoking cessation to target demographics.

Comprehensive business intelligence
– Flexible business solutions, tailored to meet your health organization’s present and future
needs
– Stay up-to-date keep up with healthcare practices and procedures.
– Quickly analyze clinical, operational, and financial trends and share real-time information
– Pull together all your data for easy analysis with a range of available reports covering a wide
scope of areas such as cases, patients, contacts, and revenue. – Conduct analysis, modeling, analytics, and reporting of your organization’s data by using a
broad suite of flexible, powerful tools
– Assist with accountability and compliance with legislative requirements through auditing
and reporting.
– Streamline budgeting, and authorization of funding sources, processing of payment
requests, and invoicing with the integration of a financial package.

Resource and operations management
– Manage internal resources services via dashboard, portal, and communication capabilities.
– Track employee training and skill development.
– Communicate vital information to appropriate parties across the board
– Enable timely authorization and payment/reimbursement via streamlined processes
– Attract and retain skilled staff by giving them a solution that’s familiar, easy to learn and use

Microsoft Platform Interoperability
– Microsoft CRM platform – Integration with Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Office Communications, Microsoft SQL and Skype Business
– Outlook maintains up-to-date data.
– SQL server enables complex MI reporting to be undertaken.
– Excel provides two-way data enabling efficient analysis and reporting
– Word – mail merge enables e-blasts and postal mail campaigns
– Skype Business —simplify communications
– Exchange Sync Online – Configure and manage synchronization between Dynamics and
– Microsoft Exchange Online.
– OneNote – create and view notes containing tests, photos, voice, spreadsheets, and
freeform drawings all within context

3 rd Party integration
– REST API allows for integration into a multitude of systems and interfaces e.g. HL7, GP

Connect
– Computer Telephony Integration.
– Third-Party Dynamics CRM adapters with a multitude of options/integrations are available.
– Import and incorporate data easily from legacy systems.

Secure
– Regulate data access with CRM’s combination of role-based security, record-level security,
and field-level security.
– Comprehensive auditing and control on activities within the solution.
– Control identity management and ease the burden of mundane password management by
setting up various standards-based identity providers if authenticated sign-on security is
required.
– Set up web-based public-facing portals that connect to CRM and run in your data centre or

Windows Azure via CRM’s flexible web portal framework.
– Available on cloud or on premise
– Ability to develop and to test customizations in an isolated, non-production online environment.

This offering is part of a suite of medical solutions from industry specialist Capita, that are widely adopted in the U.K. National Health Service

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Posted in Dynamics 365, Healthcare, Hospitality, Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Spa challenges and opportunities in the U.A.E. – Deyafa Systems event 16 March 2017

March 7th, 2017 by Stephen Jones No comments »

What challenges and opportunities face Spa operators this year?
Find out at this focused seminar to be held at Microsoft Gulf offices on 16 March 2017

Hear about the Digital Revolution from Microsoft

Key Note speech by Deyafa Systems:
Dubai Department of Economic Development, ‘Blue Book’, new requirements – dual language, e cashier
VAT introduction – are you ready?
Economic situation” Oil prices? Trump travel ban? Brexit? VAT? U.A,E, GDP and budget forecasts?
SMAC: Social Mobile, Analytics, Cloud
IoT -connected devices turn information to action
Wellness – medical tourism
New treatments
Aging population
Generation Z
and much much more…

The “Core” solution for spa has had huge success since it launch last year in the U.K. In the last quarter of 2016 it was introduced to the U,A.E. and early adopters include Nikki Beach Spa and the Burj Club.

The event will end with a live demonstration by Premier Software who have partnered with Deyafa Systems locally to provide Spa solutions to the region since 2003.

If you have not received an invitation and would like to attend then please contact Deyafa Systems as soon as possible to register. Take this opportunity to meet with other Spa professionals and to get update insights to guide your strategy.

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Posted in Dubai and regional news, Events, Healthcare, Hospitality

Dubai Airport – strict new baggage rules from 8 March 2017

March 6th, 2017 by Stephen Jones No comments »

Dubai Airport authorities will enforce stricter baggage rules that will come into effect on March 8, 2017.

The new rules may change the way you pack your suitcase.

“Dubai International provides some of the most sophisticated baggage systems in the world. However, even the most technologically advanced systems can be disrupted by irregular shaped or oversized bags. Bags that are round. or do not have a flat surface of any kind are by far the largest source of baggage jams.” Ali saidAngizeh, Vice President of Terminal Operations at Dubai International. These jams can shut down sections of our system, delay baggage delivery to the aircraft and inconvenience our customers,”

Round bags, i.e. those that do not have a flat surface, will not be checked-in.

Dubai Airports has a advised all airlines operating into the airport of the new regulations that will take place next month. “Passengers, who show up at the airport with non-compliant baggage, will also be given the option to have it repacked in boxes for a fee.”

Beware:
1.No irregular shaped bags
2.No oversized bags
3.No round bags
4.All bags should have at least one flat surface

Baggage larger than 90cm long, 75cm high and 60cm wide, or that does not have a single flat surface, will need to be checked in at the oversized baggage counter. Allow extra time to check-in oversize baggage.
Excess baggage must be repacked and excess baggage fees will typically apply.

Do not carry liquids over 100ml in your hand luggage. Place containers in a clear, re-sealable plastic bag
Put the re-sealable bag in your hand luggage.

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Posted in Dubai and regional news

Arabic language: quotations, invoices, warranties, price tags, menu cards, U.A.E. 2017

March 5th, 2017 by Stephen Jones No comments »

Businesses in Dubai were instructed last year to use Arabic as the main language for receipts, menus and invoices by 2017.

The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) division at Dubai’s Department of Economic Development (DED) wants to preserve the Arabic language as Dubai becomes a multinational destination.

All commercial establishments have to use Arabic while issuing invoices and receipts, for example at hotel reception desks and in restaurants and spas – menu cards, price tags – in addition to any other language of the business owner’s choice.

e.g. see http://www.arabianbusiness.com/dubai-receipts-invoices-in-arabic-by-2017–631607.html

“Consumers who don’t know English should be able to read and understand what is written on the invoices they receive.”
“According to statistics ….a large segment of consumers in Dubai belong to GCC and other Arab states. Hence, it’s important to provide information and services in Arabic language, particularly while receiving enquiries and complaints and in after-sales services provided through call centres.” Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, Executive Director of CCCP
The CCCP will monitor businesses in 2017 to ensure compliance with the new rules.

This is reiterated in the’ Blue Book’.
Businesses Policies.
Businesses Policies, shall be written in Arabic and foreign language and displayed in a prominent visible please to consumer.
Invoice
1) Businesses / Service providers shall give the consumers a purchase invoice in Arabic and foreign language, stating all details related to goods / services such as: prices, quantities of purchased items, as well as the trade name.
2) Businesses / Service providers shall clarify the sold items separating each item alone, and stating the item value against each item. The invoice shall not be made only with the total invoice amount.
3) In the absence of a separate document of the warranty. The warranty must be written with coverage and the duration in the invoices.

http://dubai92.com/penalties-for-companies-which-dont-use-arabic-as-main-language-in-customer-care-services/

Think about:
– Who will create, maintain, validate data?.
– Which printed documents are affected? cheques? quotes? menu cards?, price lists? price tags? till receipts? invoices?
– Which reports and interfaces may be affected?
– What business polices, contracts/warranties may need to be updated to be in dual language in the same document?

Lets hope some commonsense is going to prevail in practice particularly for B2B. Vonsider for example”

– Relabeling all existing stock in a retail supermarket chain. Is it acceptable instead just to provide on shelf dual language price labels?
– What about goods sourced from abroad. If all stock ahs to be relabelled on receipt then again there increased costs and delays. Not so easy for frozen, or perishable items.
– When you are buying to order you can specify the labelling /packaging you want but what if you want to post buy – e.g. a supplier offers a special promotion of a fashion item – at short notice, for a line you have never sold before and maybe will never be sold again – do you buy or not given the additional complexity – of l the attached labels and washing instructions need to be translated etc.
– Spot happy hour sales promotions to pick up sales in slack periods e.g. buy one get one free , e.g. for a restaurant which has no bookings early evening, or a supermarket, or Eid promotions now all have to be translated. What about marking down the price of short shelf life stock? Is it just enough to put up a bilingual notice?
– What about on line?
– How will it impact e commerce companies, airline tickets, discounters or booking engines like Zomato or Groupon?.

The impact on business systems- more data to hold, longer time to print, (maybe for one invoice O.K. but what if you print 100,000 a month?) printers that handle both l to R and R to L printing in the same document
document management and scanning systems that now have to work with dual language for e.g. scanned invoices.

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Posted in Dubai and regional news

Teams soon to be released with Office 365

February 28th, 2017 by Stephen Jones No comments »

Teams, is Microsoft’s contender in the enterprise chat arena which is currently dominated by millennial darling Slack.

At the New York launch event last November , Nadella advocated Teams as “a chat-based workspace where people can come together in a digital forum to have casual conversations, work on content, create work plans — integrated all within one unified experience.”

Microsoft now expects to make Teams generally available in the first quarter of this year to Business and Enterprise subscribers of Office 365. Microsoft is staking the success of Teams because of Teams’ deep integration with the wider Office 365 productivity suite, which Microsoft is steadily improving with investments in machine learning, intelligence, security and governance.

“Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneNote, Planner, Power BI and Delve are all built into Microsoft Teams so people have all the information and tools they need at their fingertips. Backed by the Microsoft Graph, intelligent services are surfaced throughout the workspace to help with information relevancy, discovery and sharing. Microsoft Teams is also built on Office 365 Groups — our cross-application membership service that makes it easy for people to move naturally from one collaboration tool to another, preserve their sense of context and share with others,” said Kirk Koenigsbauer, corporate vice president for Microsoft Office.

Whether the Office 365 hook is enough to usurp Slack for enterprise users remains to be seen. (Slack took out a full-page ad in The New York Times on the same day as Microsoft’s launch event to both welcome its new competitor and assert that “Slack is here to stay.” )

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Posted in Dynamics 365, Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics Ax, Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Dynamics 365 will have an on-premise option in June 2017

February 28th, 2017 by Stephen Jones No comments »

The future of Dynamics Ax seemed to take a big hit last year when the Dynamics 365 was launched. When Ax7 was launched for the cloud it was understood there would be an on premise version based on a private cloud which would run on the azure technology stack. That proved to be not so easy and a Microsoft Representative at a user group explained that there will be no on premise version and to get used to it.

The future, it seemed was that there will be some on premise components (manufacturing and retail) but on premise was dead.

Customers and partners immediately began shaking their heads in disapproval. We were particularly blunt in our views. The end message perceived by multiple people in the audience, was “to take it or leave it”. The fallout was instant and, a recent poll by Computer Futures showed that 40% of Microsoft Dynamics Operations customers stated they were going to leave if an on premise product wasn’t offered within the next 3 years.

Microsoft claims it listens and that it constantly seeks feedback. That after all is the basis of its agile development model. And it seems they really do with the recent announcement that an On-Premise version is coming in June.

The graphic below was published by Sri Srinivasan on the week of 2/20/2017. The expectation now is that Dynamics 365 for Operations will be generally available on premise in June 2017.

Dynamics 365 for Operations is already available in the cloud and offers added advantage of Microsoft’s intelligence capabilities of embedded analytics, machine learning, or working with the IoT stack.

However for many companies who have already heavily invested in infrastructure, or who unreliable internet connections, or who have business needs to hold data locally those benefits do not outweigh the need to store their company’s critical data locally. Consider a continuous process manufacturing facility, or a lean manufacturing automotive supplier with swinging penalties if the production line is stopped and where workers need to keep the production line humming 24 x7 and avoid production delays, especially. Industries rely on expensive machines to produce goods; these machines are highly automated, working on inputs from the ERP systems thye provide critical output signals that are used for overall management of the production facility. In such scenarios, it is desirable to run these processes locally while leveraging the power of the cloud to maximize efficiency. Also, some geographies require that transactions and personal information be captured and stored locally. other factors that may are apply are when :

• Your company’s leadership holds a non-discretionary attitude towards cloud computing
• Your business model needs control of your: data, data residency, and data isolation
• Your business information needs permanent connectivity
• The business processes require the ability to customize the service infrastructure of the ERP system to meet specific business needs such as scalability
• Your company has recently invested in data center resources
• Your industry’s regulations do not permit data be stored in the cloud
• Your country or geographic area has connectivity limitations

The on-premise deployment option is referred to by Microsoft as, “local business data.” Local business data will run your business processes on-premises, and will support local transactions and storage of business data, without replication of that business data to the cloud. The update of business data in the cloud is simply switched off.

For this “local business data” deployment scenario, the application servers and SQL database will run in the customer’s own data center ( or could be hosted in a private cloud).

Customers and partners will still be able manage the application lifecycle through Life Cycle Services (LCS) in the Microsoft Cloud, including designing the business processes, creating and deploying the software image to deploy onto the on-premises nodes, monitoring the on-premises nodes in a system health dashboard, and keeping up with innovation from Microsoft.

Should your views change and your company later wants to utilize Dynamics 365 for Operations cloud capabilities then you can turn ON data synchronization to the cloud. Please note: the on-premise data will not benefit from Microsoft’s intelligent cloud capabilities like Power BI, AI, or other capabilities available to cloud subscribers.

So :
• New and existing customers will be able to license both local business data, and cloud and edge deployments.
• Customers can license local business data deployments via a Dynamics 365 for Operations license with Software Assurance/Enhancement Plan or a subscription model
• Customers with active Microsoft Dynamics Enhancement Plans or Software Assurance, may upgrade to local business data and remain entitled to access new versions and updates
• Transitions to Dynamics 365 cloud subscriptions are available to customers with active Microsoft Dynamics Enhancement Plans or Software Assurance
• Cloud and edge software and services will be licensed under the existing Dynamics 365 cloud subscription licensing model

We like the cloud for first time ERP implementations that are small or ones that have just a few people using AX/Operations. Its also suitable for companies who have limited integrations/customisations.

If you are an enterprise system with multi geographical units then you will come under different statutory regimes for taxes and payroll and each country’s economic budget may requite you to make system updates that cannot wait 8 hours or more for Microsoft to move.

For complicated manufacturing implementations, major companies with lots of licenses, or rapidly growing companies that are increasing their market share the current Ax 2012 on premise, or the on premise hybrid when it comes out, is for now a more pragmatic option. Uptime, system tuning when slow or unresponsive, minimizing downtime and scheduling it at your own convenience, dedicated support. plus the need for faster code moves and fast support response times are critical factors that need rapid access to the production server not currently possible on the cloud.

Expect a lot more details to emerge on this topic at the D365 Technical Conference in Seattle next Month and at the AXUG meet in Amsterdam early April.

Synergy will be at the AXpact CEO meeting the day before to meet with Chandru Shankar, Microsoft’s Manufacturing Industry Director, Sri Srinivasan, General Manager for Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations in the Cloud and Enterprise Group, and Mike Ehrenberg, Microsoft Technical Fellow to get more insight.
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Posted in Dynamics 365, Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics Ax, Technology

The cloud – just another tool set

February 23rd, 2017 by Stephen Jones No comments »

The cloud is a term that has for long time been the subject full of hype.

Conferences, blogs, media outlets tell us the cloud is the answer, the cloud is cheaper, the cloud is the way of the future, the cloud handles your DR, the cloud manages BI, IoT, etc. Major vendors, none more than Microsoft, are pushing the message of SMAC : “social first”, “cloud-first” “analysis fist’ and “mobile first”.

For many of us reactions vary from confused, to concerned, or even angry. There are still many who dismiss the idea of ‘cloud anything’ when it comes to data.

The reality is that almost everyone uses the cloud daily, Google, Hotmail, GPS, Facebook, You tube etc.
The cloud is a tool, the can really enable you to solve issues, some unsolvable any other way, without getting caught up in the details of implementing every little part of the system. That’s a any idea most of us embrace, even if we never thought about it. How many of us deal with hardware? How many of you install or configure Windows? Who day to day worries about SQL backups, or has scripts/tools/products to auto implement the back up new databases?

The reality is that few of us have ever seen an email server, or an erp a production database server with their own eyes, despite connecting to many.

We all move at different paces. Some of us still deal with SQL Server 2008, 2005, 2000,. Some of us need to manage those platforms for years to come. Using one application on the cloud does mean now work for IT on premise. Helping to build applications on Azure SQL Database and deal with data integrity, quality, and security issues, through a remote connection. Device connectivity and internet connections, and printers still need managing.

The cloud gives us a new set of tools and services that take away some of the details and drudgery. Think electric saws and power drills instead of hand tools. Sometimes that’s fantastic, and it enables more rapid, more scalable deployment of resources. Sometimes it’s dangerous because the vendors haven’t completely thought through the process, or integration, or latency, or licensing and contractual term.

We shouldn’t be doing many tasks that can be easily automated and done better, faster, cheaper.
When we don’t need to manage day to day management of hardware, databases, and interfaces we can look upwards and outwards and consider to use the tools, to ensure our organizations continue to improve effectiveness and efficiency.

So what tools does Microsoft offer on azure?

Cortana Intelligence Suite is an example – Microsoft’s big data, machine learning, and analytics platform.
Whether you work with a company that buys “best of breed” solutions and you manually manage your data or you only have one system but you lack the ability or wherewithal to analyze it, CIS can help.

CIS has several components and each has an intended purpose, though you can do similar functions across several elements, and may only use a few of those for your business.

Microsoft Azure
Azure’s intent is to provide cloud hosted virtual servers, apps, and services to Microsoft’s customers.
Azure offers developers both Microsoft and third party tools to operate on the cloud and takes full advantage of the IoT. Microsoft is playing to win the internet. It already has more data centres than Google and Amazon combined. The rapid improvements of the platform are steadily winning over developers and IT professionals.

Azure Data Catalog
Use it to tie together different types of data together from many sources, when all the fields or tables may be labeled differently. The Azure Data Catalog allows a user the ability to look up a data source in a common place in the cloud. The future of data management will tie together those end users with business knowledge and allow them to identify data relevant to your IT team.

Azure Data Factory
Azure Data Factory provides tools to pull together all your data into one place, to transform it, and to distribute it! (Pelluru, 2016)

Azure Event Hub
The Azure event hub is used for truly Big Data and the IoT. It allows mass data to be brought in for analysis. and is the opening to funnel in large amounts of data, like: temperature monitoring on all your reactors or the status of sensitive product shipments. Consume the data e.g. for behavior analysis on a mobile device.

Azure Data Lake
If Azure Event Hub is the front door, then lake is the storage closet for large amounts of data.
Use the lake to store all your data in its original non-relatable format, and integrate with any data warehouse you already have. It differs from Blob storage solely mainly in the amount of data you’re collecting.

Azure SQL Database
The SQL database needs no introduction, but how do SQL databases relate to Azure? A SQL database is where your data resides in tables, with key identifiers, which makes it relatable to other sets of data. SQL is simply the coding language for this particular database. The Azure SQL database puts it in the cloud.
“But I don’t want my data in the cloud! That’s not secure.” Really ? Do you even bother to look the door of your server room? Are you really up to date with all he security patches and hotfixes?. I challenge you to rethink your philosophy and do a little research on the matter. Storage in the cloud is generally more secure than an on-premises solution, depending on several factors.

Azure Machine Learning
AML is where you go to create your machine learning models and API’s. What is machine learning?: It’s an evolutionary self-learning and adapting process. A machine looks at the data and suggests something. If that something doesn’t make it better, then it will try something else. If that still doesn’t make it better, it will try something else. It will keep trying until it finds something that works. And then try to make it work better.
Deep Blue the IBM computer than won a chess match with Kasparov not only worked with brute force calculation but also developed its own heurstics to better evaluate which positions t analyse further.
Machine learning is also about predictive analysis based on data you feed the machine. One example is when you go to Amazon, or Google or Booking .com based on your past purchases/searches, they recommend items. That’s machine learning!

Correlation of data to establish possible relationships has many applications from advertising to analysing medical symptoms. How might one use machine learning in manufacturing? You could increase the yields of your finished goods when you have data based on a specific factor, what was done prior to the production (cleaning, maintenance, etc), which operator does the best job on a particular product, and even which raw materials to use. Based on how much data you put in on your raw materials, such as quality data, ML could help with product engineering.

The possibilities are nearly endless.
Azure HDInsight
HDInsight is Hadoop as a service. Hadoop is faster than moving those large files across your network. Hadoop is an open source, Java-based programming framework that supports the processing and storage of extremely large data sets in a distributed computing environment. It is part of the Apache project sponsored by the Apache Software Foundation. It allows for the distributed processing of large data sets across clusters of computers using simple programming models. It is designed to scale up from single servers to thousands of machines, each offering local computation and storage.

As the World Wide Web grew in the late 1900s and early 2000s, search engines and indexes were created to help locate relevant information amid the text-based content. In the early years, search results were returned by humans. But as the web grew from dozens to millions of pages, automation was needed. Web crawlers were created. An open-source web search engine called Nutch evolved – the brainchild of Doug Cutting and Mike Cafarella who wanted to return web search results faster by distributing data and calculations across different computers so multiple tasks could be accomplished simultaneously. During this time, another search engine project “Google” was in progress based on the same concept – storing and processing data in a distributed, automated way so that relevant web search results could be returned faster.

In 2006, Cutting joined Yahoo and took with him the Nutch project as well as ideas based on Google’s early work with automating distributed data storage and processing. The Nutch project was divided – the web crawler portion remained as Nutch and the distributed computing and processing portion became Hadoop (named after Cutting’s son’s toy elephant). In 2008, Yahoo released Hadoop as an open-source project. Today, Hadoop’s framework and ecosystem of technologies are managed and maintained by the non-profit Apache Software Foundation (ASF), a global community of software developers and contributors.

Azure Steam Analytics (ASA)
, Stream Analytics streams data over the cloud and uses it for near real time analysis. ASA compares new data coming in (by using the Data Factory “Move it!” to periodically move data copies from SQL DB to blobs for consumption) against historical data to simplify analysis and to identify outliers. Stream Analytics is easy use and offers many possibilities. Less than 15 minutes to set up a data connection for temperature and throw together a graph for visual consumption.

Power BI
Power BI brings visualization to your analysis through interactive reports within a browser, tablet, or mobile device. If you are a fan of PowerPivot or the eye-pleasing graphs out of Excel, you’ll enjoy the capabilities of Power BI. Show the C_Suite KPIs, top customers, and gross margins by product – all on one page.

Cortana
Speech is not the only way that you can interact with Cortana. Cortana can analyze visually as well audibly.
How about an app that can predict your age based on a picture of your face using Cortana?
What about QA tests based on comparing current images to approved sample images?.

Machine learning and telemetry. Microsoft itself collects data on what functions you use in their software and how you use it to better optimize the software and the use interface. . It does not collect data on personal use.