April 11, 2011 — Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer and Kirill Tatarinov, corporate vice president for Microsoft Business Solutions, today opened a sold-out Convergence 2011 to more than 9,000 attendees, demonstrating how companies can use Microsoft Dynamics to maximize the value of their existing technology investments, remain agile as market conditions change and ultimately become dynamic businesses that can win in any environment.

At Convergence 2011, Microsoft’s premier event for decision-makers using enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM), the company shared its vision to take Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions to the cloud. It also gave customers a first look at the new Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 release and shared the strong momentum experienced by its portfolio of Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM solutions.

Unveiling Vision for Cloud ERP

Building on the success of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, the company revealed a path for its ERP customers to move to the cloud with the next major releases of Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions, which will run on the Windows Azure platform. Customers will be able to move to the cloud on their own terms. The Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions will bring the same benefits in the cloud as they do on-premises.

Understanding that to deliver the benefits of the cloud to customers requires more than just technology, the company reiterated its commitment to help partners benefit from Microsoft Dynamics cloud offerings and released a Microsoft Dynamics Cloud Partner Profitability Guide. This guide provides key success factors and an execution road map, to help partners optimize their business processes and identify new opportunities.

“We see the cloud as a turning point in the market that provides the opportunity to create a new business model geared toward increasing the profitability and agility of our company,” said David Goad, managing director, eSavvy Pty Ltd. “The Microsoft Dynamics Cloud Partner Profitability Guide really helped us to solidify that opinion. It offers clear guidance on how to benefit from this shift and serves as a great starting point for all partners looking to build a strong, cloud-based business.”

In addition to resources such as the profitability guide, independent software vendors (ISVs) and partners will also be able to showcase Microsoft Dynamics cloud-enabled vertical solutions, add-ons and services on the Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace. This makes it simple for customers to try and buy solutions that fit their specific business needs and gives partners an opportunity to reach a broader audience and grow their business.

Microsoft Introduces Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

Also at Convergence 2011, customers get a first look at Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, an innovative new ERP solution that empowers people to anticipate and embrace change, with agility made possible by a unified business process repository, model-driven architecture, and simplicity that comes from a familiar user experience and built-in collaboration tools.

“Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 frees customers from the electronic concrete that has plagued the ERP industry for so long,” Tatarinov said. “Customers want flexible yet cost- effective business applications that work the way they do instead of being forced to adapt to the software.”

Specifically, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 helps customers simplify decisions by delivering the following:

“Our ERP system runs the processes that the entire company uses every day. It’s our life blood; we depend on it. It has to work, it has to always be up, and it has to always provide good information,” said Bob Jablonski, operations manager of Hydra Power Systems. “Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 delivers phenomenal functionality. With richer BI capabilities, the ability to easily develop and change business processes, and the ability to seamlessly interoperate with Microsoft Office, we expect to empower all of our employees to get the data they need, when they need it, to collaborate better and, overall, to lower our operating costs.”

The beta of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 will be released in April 2011. The final release is expected to be generally available in August 2011.

Product Momentum

In keeping with the level of commitment to innovation across the entire Microsoft Dynamics portfolio of ERP and CRM solutions, Microsoft also announced the following: