Microsoft Dynamics NAV Passes Millionth User Milestone While Launching Breakthrough Deployment Tools

DALLAS — March 28, 2006 — Today at Convergence 2006, the Microsoft Business Solutions Group’s annual customer conference, Microsoft Corp. announced a new set of features and partner tools for Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV, formerly Microsoft® Business Solutions–Navision®, a fully customizable business management solution designed for companies seeking an integrated tool to help increase productivity without disrupting everyday operations. Through these enhancements, Microsoft Dynamics NAV can deliver faster and more cost-effective deployments, increased integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and better product performance.

With more than 1 million licensed users already, Microsoft Dynamics NAV is creating new opportunities for partners to quickly customize and deliver the solution in a cost-effective manner for customers. Microsoft is today announcing the Rapid Implementation Methodology (RIM) for Microsoft Dynamics NAV. RIM is designed to make the implementation process more efficient and predictable for partners and customers through standardization, automation and simplification. RIM will help drive down the total cost of ownership for customers, as well as free up partner resources to work on more specialized and value-added customization services. RIM includes tools to help partners automate key implementation tasks and pinpoint the exact information they need to get customers’ Microsoft Dynamics NAV implementations up and running more smoothly and quickly than ever. RIM tools include project schedules, questionnaires, setup data files and master data migration templates. As part of RIM, Microsoft Dynamics NAV will include additional RIM templates.

“By using RIM, we were able to install 11 separate Microsoft Dynamics NAV solutions for education organizations in just one month,” said Malcolm Roach, president of MBS partner Open Door Technology Inc. “For these 11, we also created a standard industry database complete with a chart of accounts, sent out templates for data conversion, and utilized standardized training specific to the client. Prior to RIM, it normally took two to three months per installation and we would never have been able to do so many at once.”

In addition, Microsoft Dynamics NAV customers will soon have the opportunity to leverage a new connector that will allow them to realize the benefits of integrating the solution with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0, a full sales, marketing and customer service suite. Through this connection component, customers will be able to connect the valuable financial data and information in Microsoft Dynamics NAV to the sales-oriented CRM tools of Microsoft CRM, helping ensure that organizations have up-to-date and consistent data with two-way synchronization. Using the connector, users working in or out of the office can seamlessly exchange data and information across these two systems, helping increase sales force efficiency, streamlining processes across the organization, and empowering employees with up-to-date information and data.

Finally, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 4.0 Service Pack 2, available in the second quarter of 2006, will complement the existing release with a variety of product enhancements and optimizations to further enhance the solution’s performance and usability.

With more than 1 million licensed users, 50,000 customers and 2,700 partners around the world, Microsoft Dynamics NAV has established itself as a solution that makes it easy for businesses to accelerate decision-making, respond more rapidly to new competitive challenges and seize new market opportunities.

“These new features are further evidence of our commitment to delivering new and enhanced functionality that strengthens and extends the Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution,” said Mogens Elsberg, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics NAV at Microsoft. “As we progress with the Microsoft Dynamics road map, the 1 million and growing number of Microsoft Dynamics NAV users will continue to see additional functionality around the user experience, Web services, contextual business intelligence and portals.”

About Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of financial, customer relationship and supply chain management solutions that helps businesses work more effectively. Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specialized services, these integrated, adaptable business management solutions work like and with familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entire business.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics and Navision are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Development Center Copenhagen ApS or their affiliates in the United States and/or other countries.

Microsoft Development Center Copenhagen ApS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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