(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)

As part of the keynote address, Tatarinov announced the generalavailability on Dec. 1 of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 and articulated thecompany's deep-seated commitment to continuous innovation across itsenterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM)products.

"Our customers and partners are facing complex issues today. Customersneed to streamline operations and find ways to use resources more efficientlywhile partners are looking for strong opportunities to create and maintainvertical solutions," Tatarinov said. "Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 allows us tosquarely address the needs of midsize businesses in today's economic climateand to support our partners' investments. By using the role-specific userfriendly ERP solution, both groups can boost productivity and work smarter,maximizing their effectiveness in driving business impact."

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 will introduce several new capabilitiesdesigned to increase usage of ERP and fuel individual and organization-wideproductivity, including the following:

-- Personalized Role Centers corresponding to 21 key job functions provideindividual employees with tools, alerts and efficiency capabilities attuned tothe needs of their particular role from within a single location, while otherRoleTailored attributes make employees' jobs easier as their work takes themto other parts of the application.

-- Sophisticated business intelligence (BI) capabilities, based on the newMicrosoft SQL Server database layer introduced in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009,enable employees to drill into data, identify trends, generate businessinsights, and monitor how they're tracking against key performance indicators(KPIs).

--.NET Web Services allow partners and customers to integrate data andbusiness logic from Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 with other applications tosupport a wide range of scenarios. For example, businesses wanting to deploycredit check functionality to enable employees who normally do not have accessto the ERP system to run credit checks on a new customer can easily create Webservices that make the process simple and efficient in providing the employeewith access to recent and accurate credit data.

"Our employees have enthusiastically embraced Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009because it fits their individual needs rather than force-fitting them into aone-size fits-all system," said Henrik Dam Jespersen, CEO of Hurup Furniture."The ease of setup and tight integration with the Microsoft products wealready use allowed us to get up and running quickly and smoothly, and we'realready seeing increased productivity, reduced costs and smarterdecision-making."

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 will be made generally available in Australia,Canada (English and French), Denmark, France, Germany, India (English),Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, the U.K. and theU.S. on Dec. 1. Availability in an additional 28 national markets will beannounced nearer to the specific country release dates. More information canbe found at http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/nav.

Tatarinov also highlighted initiatives taking place across MicrosoftDynamics, under the company's commitment to continuous customer-driveninnovation, that will enable businesses to drive further value from theirinvestments in Microsoft Dynamics solutions, including the following:

-- Microsoft Dynamics Integration Components Add-In for Windows EssentialBusiness Server 2008. This new administration console enables midsizebusinesses running Microsoft Dynamics solutions to simplify their managementoverhead and lower their total cost of ownership by administering theirMicrosoft Dynamics environment from within a single, familiar console wheretheir other applications are administered. Based on customer feedback, thisadd-in will greatly reduce the setup and ongoing management of IT. The add-inwas made available to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 customers first, on Nov. 18.

-- eService Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. The eServiceaccelerator, available at no charge to existing Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0customers, gives businesses the ability to offer Web-based, self-servicecapabilities to their customers while tracking and managing these interactionsin Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. By helping their customers quickly findsolutions online, businesses can increase customer satisfaction while reducingcall volumes and related costs. Available by the end of 2008, the eServiceAccelerator can be used within the customer's own Web portal, or they can usethe prebuilt portal solution powered by Microsoft.

-- Business networking for Microsoft Dynamics communities. The MicrosoftDynamics Community site is a dedicated, purpose-built social networkingenvironment that enables customers and partners to connect with their peers topool knowledge, share best practice, collaborate for mutual success and stayup-to-date on the latest Microsoft Dynamics-related developments. The sitecounts more than 16,000 registered users. New business networking capabilitiesare being rolled out to help customers and partners home in on communitymembers with specific profiles by conducting searches by industry, location,product line and other criteria. Microsoft receives content from trusted newsoutlets Thomson Reuters and MSDynamicsWorld.com to the site. More informationis available at http://community.dynamics.com.

"I have been using the Microsoft Dynamics Community for more than a year,and it is a great forum for exchanging knowledge and networking with expertprofessionals. I have gotten to know industry experts, asked and answereddetailed questions, and held discussions with peers on a regular basis," saidArijit Basu, principal consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers India andMicrosoft Dynamics AX MVP. "Microsoft Dynamics Community is a must for allindividuals -- customers and partners -- who want to improve their businessand help one another with networking and sharing knowledge about MicrosoftDynamics products. It feels good to be part of such a dynamic community."

About Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of financial, customer relationship andsupply chain management solutions that helps businesses work more effectively.Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specializedservices, these integrated, adaptable business management solutions work likeand with familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entirebusiness.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader insoftware, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize theirfull potential.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.