Today the NAVUG Midwest Regional User Group is expecting over 75+ NAV professionals from the Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa and Kentucky areas for a day of knowledge-sharing and networking. That’s right, 75+ registered to attend this regional meeting. I haven’t received the official word yet, but my guess is that this will be a record breaking event for the NAVUG regional meetings.

If you’re planning to attend, don’t miss Data Masons’ Dennis Bruce who will be onsite to share his expertise on EDI for Microsoft Dynamics NAV. I think you’ll be interested to hear Dennis talk more about how your EDI and compliance requirements can be accomplished without any customizations to the NAV ERP. Then, following breakfast, head on over to hear Tom Taylor from Microsoft kick-off the event and give a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 preview.

The Latest Coming from The 2012 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference Team:

Tracks and sessions have been published! It’s your first look at what’s in store at the 2012 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference July 8 – 12. Embrace all that Toronto has to offer and register today for an experience that will elevate your course of business.

HOW CAN WPC IMPACT YOUR BOTTOM LINE?…

Attention all Dynamics NAV users in the Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa and Kentucky areas! Join Data Masons as we head out to the NAVUG Midwest Regional User Group Meeting on Wednesday, May 9th in Waupaca, WI.

We’re excited to join you and another anticipated 75+ NAV professionals for a day of knowledge-sharing and networking. Data Masons will be hosting breakfast, during which time you can hear a little more about our EDI for Dynamics NAV solution that avoids any customizations to the NAV ERP. Following breakfast, Tom Taylor from Microsoft will lead the event kick-off and give a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Preview (formerly known as NAV 7). Other highlights include…

With all my encouragement for the community to get ‘social’ and join what Microsoft is doing, it was rewarding to see all of the social activity going on around Convergence 2012. Not only was the Twitter hashtag #CONV12 highly-used to promote the event goings-on, but there were also many other noteworthy examples of individuals and groups upping their activity and going the extra step to engage in the social media space.

For example, I thought what NAVUG did at its DayONE event was a great example of getting the community engaged in using social media channels. In talking with Trish Boccuti of NAVUG, I asked how they came up with the idea of hosting a “Twitter Hunt” during the event…

From EDI Expert, Glenn McPeak:

The automation of the transaction flow in the world of EDI is unclear for companies that want to automate the exchange of business documents between themselves (OEM for this discussion) and a sub-contract manufacturer, or those companies that are the subcontracting partner for others. Issues such as materials ownership, stocking, arrival notification, production scheduling, ERP system integration and the costing of the goods and service are not always well understood by EDI and ERP systems.

Often times the service provided is just one step in a manufacturing sequence that’s driven by a step in a shop order, as opposed to a purchase order or similar document. Some component materials may be provided by the sub-contractor, while others are owned by the buyer of the product and service. Lack of communication and integration of business systems result in scheduling challenges, stock shortages and other problems caused by the lack of communication within this supply chain exchange.

Handling these situations in a manual environment has its challenges and high overhead given…

Now with Convergence 2012 under our belts, it’s time to mark our calendars for other upcoming Dynamics-focused events. While the calendars are always full with local and regional events, below are some of the larger events yet to come in 2012. And don’t forget that Convergence 2013 is already on the calendar, taking place…

Back in the office after an uneventful trip home from Houston. There’s no time to rest – there’s so much to do to followup from the Convergence goings-on. Here’s what’s top of my list and some items you want to act fast on as well as they will help increase the ROI from this event and help Microsoft in preparing for Convergence 2013…

My fellow Data Masons colleague and Senior Developer has been keeping close tabs on NAV over the last few days at Convergence 2012, discovering more about Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 and getting some valuable insight into what’s coming in Microsoft Dynamics NAV “7”, now officially named NAV 2013. With a planned Q4 calendar year 2012 general availability date, and an expected May 2012 Beta release, NAV 2013 will be the first Dynamics ERP solution to be cloud-enabled for Windows Azure.

Here’s the latest on Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 coming from the sessions…

Kevin Turner, Chief Operating Officer, and Kirill Tatarinov, President, Microsoft Business Solutions, led the opening keynote at Convergence 2012 on Monday. They quickly confirmed what we had all guessed, that this is the biggest Convergence ever, with over 10,000 people and almost 270 companies presenting on the expo floor. Wow….

Kevin opened with the theme of a “New Era:” a new era for technology, a new era for business, a new era for Microsoft and a new era for Dynamics. Kevin went on to discuss the key components that are driving this new era…

Data Masons Software, LLC., a leading provider of EDI and XML solutions for Microsoft Dynamics® customers, announced today that it has attained the Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CfMD) AX distinction for its Vantage Point EDI solution. With this honor, Vantage Point EDI has proven its seamless integration with the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform to meet the specific industry and business needs of its customers.

Certified for Microsoft Dynamics is Microsoft Corp.’s highest standard for partner-developed software. This certification represents a significant step in elevating the standard for partner-developed software solutions for industry-specific business applications. Solutions with the CfMD status have demonstrated development quality and compatibility with the Microsoft Dynamics product.

“By requiring the software solution to meet our highest standards, Microsoft is assuring customers that these certified solutions work with their investments in Microsoft Dynamics,” said Doug Kennedy, vice president, Microsoft Dynamics Partners. “Microsoft congratulates Data Masons on earning the Certified for Microsoft Dynamics designation.”

Vantage Point EDI delivers an all-in-one approach to EDI for Microsoft Dynamics. By leveraging the latest technology and taking advantage of specific functionality built into the Microsoft Dynamics ERP platforms, Data Masons delivers a tightly-integrated EDI solution that eliminates the need for ERP customizations…