Yesterday I posted that FRx is being removed from the MBS price list and that none of its components will be available after May 1, 2010. But that is only for Dynamics GP users!
This is what I hear from MBS:
“For New or Existing Customers of Dynamics GP who do not yet have FRx, additional FRx may not be licensed, unless 1) they need a feature not offered in Management Reporter, and 2) they sign a written exception through the business desk by working through the partner’s PAM.”
For AX and SL, the integrations from Management Reporter will be available in the fall, so that’s probably when FRx will be removed from their price lists. The integrations will be for the newest versions of both AX and SL. NAV integration comes later.
Meanwhile, it would be good to put a tickler on your calendar so the deadline for AX and SL and NAV doesn’t slip past. You know how time flies. {smile}
This is a quick high level overview of Management Reporter, the next-generation FRx replacement. (Caveat: This product is not available for ERPs other than Dynamics GP, SL, AX and NAV.)
- 64 bit—native
- Back end completely rewritten—brand new .NET and C# code base replaces FRx’s VB6
- SQL Server instead of Access—way more stable
- Improved multi-user capabilities
- Report Library—centralized storage used to view reports and group reports into folders
- Report Viewer—replaces FRx’s Drill Down Viewer
- Undo/Redo—everybody is thrilled with this one
- Formatting and Images—can add logos, and formatting is done from familiar toolbars
- Column Page Breaks—everybody is thrilled with this one too
- XBRL—tag in the rows and generate the XBRL instance document
I am really excited about this product. Safe to say it’s been a long time coming.
I’m just back from Convergence (Microsoft Business Solutions’ end user conference) and I want to share the latest roadmap for Management Reporter (aka MR).
May 2010
- Management Reporter version 2 ships in May 2010
- Integrates only with GP
- All new GP 2010 customers receive MR
- Existing customers who upgrade to GP 2010 have the opportunity to stay with FRx or to migrate to MR
Feature Pack 1—planned for 2nd Half Calendar Year 2010
- Integrations to AX and SL
- Currency translation in GP (then MR will pull already translated currency)
- Integration to report on Forecaster data
Feature Pack 2—planned for 1st Half Calendar Year 2011
- Bi-directional text (right to left)
- Report scheduling
- Interactive report viewer
- Drill to Dynamics
Management Reporter 2012
- Adds light budgeting
- Further enhancements
Management Reporter 2012+
- Additional financial reporting, budgeting & forecasting
- NAV integration
This is a very quick list of circumstances in which you probably should not migrate (immediately) to Management Reporter:
- If you rely heavily on email distribution
- If you need to report on Forecaster data
- If you export to Excel and really need the ‘Format as Excel Outline’ functionality
- If you use FRx’s Currency Translation module
- If you extensively use Effective Dates (often used for Quarter To Date reporting)
- If you use lots of Row Linking
- If you rely on WebPort
But know that things are changing very quickly and functionality is being added every day. So while the above list is true today, it may not hold true in just a few months.
Another thing to know—there may be workarounds for the above list, especially for email distribution, Excel outline, quarter to date reporting, and row linking. (Even for WebPort; wouldn’t that be fun to ditch?) Anyway, there may be some creative solutions.
There may be other factors to consider too, and each situation should be considered on a case by case basis, but barring any big barriers I’d sure be tempted to go for it.
(Update on 4/29/2010: this is only for Dynamics GP users!)
I’ve already emailed clients about this but also want to post it.
Microsoft is removing FRx from its price list on May 1, 2010—this coming Saturday.
Meaning—if you want additional FRx licenses or modules you better get them now.
I can’t imagine buying and implementing Currency or Report Server or Webport with FRx’s replacement Management Reporter so close to shipping, but I definitely can imagine that somebody out there might need additional Drill Down Viewer licenses.
Who to call? I don’t sell FRx so the best place to start is your VAR.
(On 4/28/10 I updated screenshots and changed a bit of terminology in this post—Jan)
Today’s post is a high level comparison (a Shootout as we like to say in Texas) between the long-in-the-tooth but lovable (sometimes) FRx and its replacement product Management Reporter. I think you’ll see a lot of similarities and I hope this makes the thought of a migration a little easier.
One other item—this is a high level comparison of the user interface. Behind the scenes, things have changed drastically!
Oh yeah, as you probably are already well aware, Management Reporter is/will be available only for Dynamics GP, SL, AX and NAV. If you are running Sage or Epicor or one of the zillions of other ERPs that FRx integrates with, you can skip this post. Read More »
Hey these are my absolute favorite FRx shortcuts. Lots of these are for beginners, but I’m hoping some seasoned pros might pick up a new trick or two. Even with 15 years experience with FRx, I learn something new on almost every engagement. And you’d be surprised how long it took me to discover one of these! Read More »
