In preparing for this article I had to do a lot of research on this topic because I had little knowledge of the Classic Client. Microsoft Dynamics NAV was introduced to me after the Role Tailored Client (RTC) was standard to the product. I studied and studied to gain all of the knowledge that I could in order to have the ability to give you the best and latest information so that you could make an informed decision. Then the question came of how to present the information to you without just giving you a lot of facts; something that would be meaningful and helpful to you. I decided to use an example that we all know about, purchasing a new car.
As a sales representative my car is one of the most important tools that I have. Recently I had to make the decision to purchase a new car and I was debating if I really wanted to purchase a new car because I wasn’t sure that I wanted to add the monthly expense of a car payment and an increase in my insurance premiums. I thought that I might just hang onto the car that I had because it gets me to where I need to go and there really wasn’t a monthly expense tied to it anymore. Although it didn’t have everything that I might want or need, it worked for now. However, I do depend on the car daily and there is the wear and tear on the car. Over time the car had become more unreliable and needed more and more maintenance and repairs thus more trips to the shop and the repair dollars start adding up. The car also need premium gasoline, a cost that was adding up on a daily basis so I was faced with the option of replacing the car with a newer model that is more up to date and equipped with features that fit my situation today. Five years ago cars weren’t equipped with the same accessories that are available today; technology has changed giving us more and useful accessories. In today’s car the dashboard is full of new features, built in iPhone/iPod plug-ins, voice activated navigation systems, etc., and these are features that can make life easier while bringing my costs down. When driving a car everyday like I do, these features become very important.
Let’s say you’re a sales representative as I am and your job is to get from point A to point B and back to point A again at the end of the day. Wouldn’t a built-in, voice activated GPS system be a wonderful thing to have? Not too many years ago I was using a Thomas Guide Map book and if you were in my line of work you had to have several of them because you crossed county lines on a regular basis. Do you remember looking up the name of the street in the index and then being directed to a page number, a row number and a grid position? You then had to navigate yourself from there. Not to mention that you had to purchase these every year because new streets were being added annually.
Then there was MapQuest, what an invention! I could actually go to the internet input my starting from and going to locations and print out directions and get there with ease. Then came the Magellan GPS, wow what a change! You could actually find a location by several different methods, by city, by zip or type of business, all of that from wherever you were. No-more finding a computer and looking for a printer, no more carrying several pieces of paper around with me. However, I did need to make sure that you had the Magellan available to you at all times and had it fully charged.
Today I can get a car with a GPS in it. You have a built in screen located in sight and a voice that directs you on how to get to where you are going to how to get back; all of this at your fingertips, no clunky books, no extra parts to carry, the dash board of your new car has all of this equipment built in for you.
You might be asking what all of this has to do with your business software. Well the new GPS is the Role Tailored Client. You can access many pieces of data from one screen. You don’t have to have stacks of printed data, reports and you don’t need to go outside of the program and into another program, Excel, Word, Outlook, to obtain information; you can do it right from your personalized desktop. You get to choose the information that you need when you need it. You have the ability to access multiple documents, pieces of information and reports all from one screen. You have the ability to see how many emails you have waiting for you, any important notifications or request that need attention. All of these changes can be made on an individual basis without our help. You get to choose how you want to view the information that you need. [Read more...]
