ABOUT US 2 AN INTRODUCTION TO ERP FOR SMBS 5 ERP is mature at the enterprise level, however the mid-market holds significant opportunity 5 The SMB market for ERP will reach $10bn in 2005 5 MICROSOFT’S CURRENT ERP STRATEGY 6 Axapta is targeted at the high-end of the mid-market 8 Great Plains has a strong focus on analytics 9 Navision is popular in EMEA 9 Solomon has had limited success 10 Microsoft’s partner network is crucial to its success 11 Microsoft’s present strategy needs work 11 All four ERP products are facing strong competition from the likes of SAP and Oracle 12 We believe Microsoft is well positioned to make a name for itself in the ERP mid-market 13 MICROSOFT’S FUTURE ERP STRATEGY 14 Microsoft is focussing strongly on vertically aligned solutions 14 Why focus on the vertical? 14 Microsoft is enabling its partners to target 14 key industries 15 Project Green is Microsoft’s ERP convergence strategy 16 Support for existing products will continue until 2013 17 The transition to Project Green will come in two waves 17 THE FUTURE DECODED 18 Integration is integral to a good SMB focused ERP product 19 The price of an ERP product could be its key differentiator 19 Scalability is a must-have for solutions in the mid-market 19 APPENDIX 20 Future readings 20 Relevant links 22 SPP writing team 22 How to contact experts in your industry 22
