Bill Gates speaks on enterprise systems and the desktop

If anyone still thinks that, for Microsoft, the enterprise system applications market is a mere sideline, put those thoughts to rest once and for all with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates' recent address to Convergence, Microsoft Business Solutions' user conference.

"Enterprise applications aren't done in a vacuum," said Gates. "They are a part of all Microsoft does. We have learned much from what Dynamics users are telling us they need for the desktop."

Dynamics is Microsoft's name for its several enterprise systems, based on acquisitions of ERP vendors Great Plains, Axapta, and Damgaard. Their systems are being systematically revamped based on the Microsoft technology infrastructure, and to enhance productivity via integration with Microsoft Office.

In fact, for manufacturing and supply chain professionals, the most significant aspect of a recent reorganization at Microsoft is that today Microsoft Office and the Dynamics enterprise applications of Microsoft Business Solutions are both part of the Microsoft Business Division, responsible for about one-third of the company's revenues.

The issue thereby addressed, says Jeff Raikes, president of the Microsoft Business Division, is enhancement of business-system productivity through Office integration. Microsoft calls the resulting capabilities as suitable for "people-ready business"—i.e., "extending personal productivity to role productivity to business-process productivity."

The road map for this effort will take full advantage of roles-based Office server portals and collaborative tools, SQL contextual business intelligence reporting, and integration and extensibility through Web services.

"SQLServer and analytics within Dynamics is a combination that works," said Gates. "SharePoint [Microsoft's portal product] brings all kinds of data together, and is the starting point for collaboration. BizTalk is the source for uncovering needed workflows. This is a huge element coming in to enhance the Dynamics experience."

The results will be seen in roles-based composite applications based on collaborative portals, with predefined templates that allow people to build interfaces that work for them. Already it's assumed a production manager, for example, has a home page that uses Microsoft SharePoint Services to assemble disparate information needed for the job. Since only about 17 percent of the average company accesses enterprise systems, Outlook users might have CRM system toolbars on their desktop, or display live data from ERP in Excel.

This work, said Gates, "is critical for addressing the business opportunity [presented by the enterprise systems market], but also for the insight to what we should be doing. Our R&D investment shows we're taking a long-term approach, and this opportunity may have more 'head room' than any other business we're in."