Open your application and click on gear icon > About

Expend the node ‘Loaded package and their model’, you will get list to installed packages and further drilling will give to respective model and version details.



2. Installed meta data hotfix, (Click here to check how to install metadata hotfix)
To get this list go back to your DEV box VM and open Visual studio as admin. Go to
Dynamics 365 menu > Addins > Apply hotfix
This will open a new window , select ‘View Installed Hotfixes’ tab


Here module refers to Packages while Model is same

Here are few more helpful post
1. https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/axsupport/2016/09/07/find-which-hot-fixes-kbs-you-have-installed-in-microsoft-dynamics-ax/
2. http://yetanotherdynamicsaxblog.blogspot.com/2018/01/list-hotfixes-using-powershell-in.html

Cheers;
Harry

Lubricant Marketers, do you have a way to effectively manage your Retail Fuel Sites and C-Stores all in one place?

(Yes, it’s possible!)

For Retail Fuels and C-Stores, CRM can be used to create transparency, provide a more thorough visualization and capture information with data integration, capture key information on stations and sites including sales, equipment, activities, and more, and analyze all stations and sites a business has.

Lubricant Marketers use Retail Fuels in CRM to capture information about sales volume, equipment management, activity tracking, and much more.

In CRM, you can set up all sites and stations, record site numbers and addresses, break down sites by territory or ownership type, and more. 

Lubricant Marketers also have the ability to categorize by brand and add improvement plans.

They may also opt to include contract expiration dates so sales reps can keep up with contract renewals.

CRM for Retail Fuels lets Lubricant Marketers keep track of to-do lists and utilize Activities for their sites and C-Stores; plus, they can keep track of specific equipment that’s at each site, even things like a popcorn machine or soda fountain!

Whatever Lubricant Marketers want to track in CRM for Retail Fuels, they can.

While you may currently be using methods like spreadsheets, multiple screens, documents, or binders to keep track of this information, CRM for Retail Fuels offers an organized and more efficient way to manage your Retail Fuel Sites and C-Stores.

Lubricant Marketers may opt to categorize their data by brand or region, among other key options, which makes it easy for them to filter data based on their preferences or needs.

Lubricant Marketers gain transparent data visualization and analytic reporting with Retail Fuel Sites and C-Stores in CRM.

Its success has been proven time and time again for Lubricant Marketers.

Discover how you can benefit …

Learn more about how Lubricant Marketers are using CRM to Drive Success in Ledgeview’s NEW eBook for the Oil and Gas industry!

Download it here.

Über die »Business Central Administration« (Snap-In für die Microsoft Management Console) können Sie bequem Ihren Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Server konfigurieren.

Allerdings scheint es ein Problem zu geben. Wenn Sie die »Database Credentials« von »Windows Authentication« auf »SQL Server Authentication« umstellen wollen, kommt es zu folgender Fehlermeldung:

Could not load file or assembly ‘Microsoft.IdentityModel.Clients.ActiveDirectory, Version=2.28.2.795, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35’ or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.

Das System sucht diese Komponente dort, wo das Snap-In für die Management Konsole (Datei »Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Server.msc«) liegt, d.h. im Client Verzeichnis C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central\130\RoleTailored Client.

Leider wird die Komponente nicht mit installiert. Aber nicht schlimm. Sie finden die gleiche Komponente im Server Verzeichnis C:\Program Files\Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central\130\Service.

Einfach die fehlenden Dateien vom Server in das Client Verzeichnis kopieren. Hier gelb markiert:

Zuletzt getestet mit der RTM-Version von Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Die Umstellung auf »SQL Server Authentication« ist immer dann notwendig, wenn Sie z.B. Ihre SQL Datenbank als Service von Microsoft Azure nutzen wollen. Weiter Informationen finden Sie hier: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/dev-itpro/administration/configure-sql-server-authentication

Noch ein Wehrmutstropfen zum Abschluss. Selbst nach erfolgreicher Umstellung auf »SQL Server Authentication« bleibt die Anzeige auf »Windows Authentication« stehen:

Schade. Das hat mit Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 noch besser funktioniert. 

When you create records in Microsoft Dynamics 365, a 16 digit unique id, called a GUID, is assigned to the record. If you look at the fields in an entity from a solution, you will see that every entity contains an id field that is a type of Primary Key. If you add new fields, you are not able to add a new field with a Data Type of Primary Key as each entity can only have one primary key. However, alternate keys provide a way around this.

As far as databases go, this is normal - each table contains one primary key that is the unique identifier for records and they can never be the same within the same table. What if you need to migrate or integrate data? Your source system isn't going to contain the auto-assigned GUID from the Dynamics 365 record. How do you link these systems together and keep them in sync without creating duplicate records and without creating a bunch of unneeded fields?

Easy…Keys. Alternate keys.

How to Create Alternate Keys

The first thing you need to do is analyze your data. Just like a primary key, your alternate key must also be unique. If you use Account Number and you have duplicate Account Numbers, you won't be able to create your primary key using the Account Number field alone. What's great about alternate keys in Dynamics 365? You can use a combination of multiple fields to generate a unique key. Just consider what, along with your Account Number, is unique on all Accounts.

Within a solution, under the Entity, there is a component called Keys. You simply need to go to this area and click New. Give your alternate key a name and then select the fields that you would like as your alternate key. When you are done, click OK and a System Job will be created to generate your key.

A Few "Key" Pointers

If you have a lot of data in your system, it may take some time to generate the key as it needs to confirm that there are no duplicates. If there are duplicates you will see a status of Failed for your Key. Simply fix the data and then Reactivate the Key.

Not all attributes can be used to create an alternate key. In working with a v9.0 org, I was only able to choose from Decimal Number, Whole Number, and Single Line of Text fields. According to Microsoft, this list should also include Date/Time, Lookup, and Picklist fields. These additional field types will be available in a later update.

You can only have 5 alternate keys per entity and the individual keys must conform to SQL-based index constraints. If the key exceeds the constraints, you will receive an error message. You can delete keys as well but use extreme caution. You should make sure that you don't have any migration or integration jobs dependent on the key prior to removing it.

If you are using patch or upsert actions in your ETL program, use caution when selecting text fields as part of your key. The characters < > * % & : \\ will cause these actions to fail when writing to Dynamics 365.

When deploying solutions between orgs, you can include Keys that are part of your solution. When you import the solution into an org you must allow time for the system job to run and create the key just as you would if you created the key manually.

Maintain Data Integrity

If you're familiar with Duplicate Detection in Dynamics 365, you know that it has some limitations. The biggest limitation is that you cannot stop a user from adding a duplicate record. You can warn them but all they need to do is simply click 'Save Record' to by-pass the warning.

Alternate keys can give you more control over duplicate data, but this can go one of two ways if you are not careful when setting up your alternate keys. Consider setting up an alternate key for Contacts based on Phone Number. You would never be able to enter a 2nd contact with the same phone number. Unlike Duplicate Detection, if you use Keys, your users will receive a hard error and will not be able to continue to save the record. However, if you setup your alternate key to use First Name, Last Name, and Phone Number, it will help you maintain data integrity with fewer duplicates as your users will not be able to enter a 2nd contact record with the same name and phone number.

If you need help understanding or setting up Alternate Keys in your Dynamics 365 system, please contact us today!

Beringer Technology Group, a leading Microsoft Gold Certified Partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and CRM for Distribution. We also provide expert Managed IT Services, Backup and Disaster Recovery, Cloud Based Computing and Unified Communication Solutions.

The post Get the Most Out of Alternate Keys in Microsoft Dynamics 365! appeared first on CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365.

It is time to register for the NH/VT Upper Valley CRMUG Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement User Group Meeting! 

https://www.crmug.com/crmug/events/calendar?CommunityKey=6178ebc2-51fb-4a17-ab26-5b68420fd48c 

If you are familiar with www.crmug.com you can register using the above link OR send me an e-mail.

For my Albany, Boston and Montreal friends - You are also welcome to attend and are within a 2 to 3 hour driving window so perhaps an excuse to get out of the office and to do a little touring. 

Insight Works has announced that Value Stream Systems, a Medina, Ohio-based cloud and ERP business solutions company dedicated to helping small- and mid-market businesses achieve success through easy-to-learn and easy-to-use enterprise solutions, has joined its ever-expanding Partner Program as an authorized reseller. Through this planned long-term relationship with Insight Works, Value Stream Systems representatives believe the company is poised to enhance its foundation of leadership, honesty and entrepreneurial spirit, ultimately allowing its team to remain dedicated to delivering on promises and developing improved relationships with its own clients.

“With a focus on industry solutions and deep experience implementing Microsoft and other enterprise technologies, the Value Stream Systems team operates with an unwavering commitment to provide exceptional service and support, drive measurable results and build lasting partnerships with our customers,” states Brian Forish, Senior Technology Consultant at Value Stream Systems. “In partnering with Insight Works, we can take these attributes to dizzying new heights by leveraging the experience the company has garnered through infinite implementations, including accessing proven technologies that allow for more predictable consulting, integration time and more.”

For its part, Insight Works puts its clients’ needs first in order to build meaningful, long-lasting relationships, its representatives expecting the same from partners such as Value Stream Systems. The company’s Partner Program reinforces its dedication to providing global productivity solutions through established local dealers, with Insight Works reps constantly researching every potential partner to ensure its clients receive the same level of professionalism, expertise and care as its own clients do.

“At Insight Works, we’re in the business of providing solutions that add value for all stakeholders, and our Partner Program is no different,” says Brian Neufeld, Director of Marketing for Insight Works. “Through the Program, we aim to provide partners just like Value Stream Systems with products that expand on their own capabilities while empowering their own clients to be more productive, agile and efficient.

“To this end, we welcome Value Stream Systems into the Insight Works fold and look forward to a successful partnership well into the future.”

Through its Partner Program, Insight Works provides a full range of products and services dedicated to better business practices to deliver more value to partners’ customers. The company’s products are designed to enhance operational efficiency and deliver high returns with a short payback period, and include such notable solutions as Warehouse Insight, Shop Floor Insight, Advanced Inventory Count and Dynamic Ship.

About Value Stream Systems

Value Stream Systems is a technology services firm specializing in business applications and cloud solutions, its primary focus being to help mid-market and enterprise customers solve their business challenges through cloud computing, enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), portals and collaboration, custom software development, managed services and security and infrastructure. Learn more about Value Stream Systems at www.valuestreamsystems.com.

About Insight Works

Insight Works offers a comprehensive range of solutions to guide professionals through any ERP application needs, developing long-term relationships with clients through a “value-to-the-customer-first” philosophy at all points of any interaction or implementation. The company works closely with stakeholders to ensure they understand what industry pacesetters are doing, how they can adopt tailored best practices and how they can maximize their ROI and growth with the Microsoft technologies they employ.

Insight Works also offers a range of add-on modules such as Time Collection, Warehouse Mobile Solutions, Counter Sales, Inventory Count, Shipping and Scheduling as well as webinars, live events and written articles to educate users and enhance their returns within the supply chain.

Insight Works boasts offices in Canada and the Netherlands, comprising a complete global reseller network. For more information call (866) 440-7543 or visit www.DMSiWorks.com.

At PowerObjects, we have found that one of the most essential roles on any Microsoft Dynamics 365 team is devoted specifically to the data needs of the project – the data experts. Any enterprise is only as good as the data that it has available to support itself.

Therefore, critical to the success of any D365 project are each of the following:

• Diligent stewardship (definition, migration, and integration) of the existing legacy data.
• Design and implementation of efficient and effective collection.
• Integration with existing information.
• Representation of all new data “gathered” as part of the day-to-day operations of an organization.

We believe that the people who excel in the role of “data expert” share these qualities:

• Solid organization and communication skills.
• A decided thoroughness of their work.
• Adaptability to new data and new data sources.
• Adaptability to seamlessly move between related toolsets, technologies, and technological environments or platforms.
• Ability to comprehend the varied functional needs and methods of organizations and the people who make up those organizations.

Of course, these people also demonstrate the PowerObjects’ Core Values every day.

The work performed by a data expert varies from day to day, depends on the specific phase of the project.

The data expert enters a normal solution build during the PowerObjects’ planning phase, beginning with the efforts to transition from the Sales to the Delivery team – designed to explain/refine the tasks to be performed and to introduce, define the roles of, and empower the members of the combined client team.

Clients are encouraged to identify key indicators and functionality during the planning phase. These indicators will quickly identify the entities, fields, and relationships important to the customer and define the solution developed. Specific subject matter experts (SMEs) on the client side will quickly be identified or make themselves known during early discussions.

This phase focuses on setting the expectations of the client; translating the functional requirements of the client into the technical requirements and design of the solution; and identifying the new/modified/retained business processes involved. Together, this planning will define and refine the scope, cost, and timeline of the D365 project at hand. The planning phase aids the client team in understanding their own requirements, as the structure of D365 encourages process improvement. However, D365 should not be considered or presented as “the process.”

Each data migration/integration effort requires great care, thoroughness, and detailed planning. The work of the data expert normally begins in earnest during this phase – with the identification of unique identifiers of all source data, identification and definition of all source data elements to be migrated, and the mapping of the source data to be migrated and/or integrated into specific entities and fields within the D365 solution.

Simply put, mapping the data is determining the destination of the data currently stored in the current legacy system(s) into the corresponding D365 data structures, while confirming the format of the source and destination data. Most of the time, we use a series of spreadsheets to build out and refine this mapping work. The more specific these documents, the easier it will be to execute the migration/integration work.

Note that not all legacy data will be migrated. Historic data stored in a customer’s legacy system is often found to contain duplicate, inconsistent, incomplete, or outdated information. The data expert may identify risks associated with certain “dirty” data while working with a client’s data set. They will offer client team members assistance in data quality and data cleansing methods and best practices; but data cleansing work is normally the domain of the client. History has proven that it is better to resolve data quality/cleanliness issues PRIOR to migrating data – ensuring only the most useful and cleanest data will be moved into the D365 instance.

Furthermore, data in the source systems may not be aligned exactly with the destination D365 entity receiving the data. This requires that the entire “column” of data be manipulated to match what D365 is expecting to receive. These individual steps are sometimes described as “transformation formulas.” For example, the existing name field may need to be cut up or “parsed” into the D365 firstname and lastname fields, or all telephone numbers must be presented in a certain format (e.g., “###.###.####”).

Powerful data integration tools, such as SQLServer Integration Services (SSIS), KingswaySoft, Scribe Insight, and the Microsoft Azure
products and tools, are available to the data expert to do the migration/integration work. While data migration/integration are two different processes, the methods and skill sets used are very similar.

Data Migration is the process of moving data from one system to another. Considerations include:

• Format of the data transferred.
• Planned, one-time (or infrequent) transfer of data.

Data Integration is the process of building and maintaining the synchronizing (transfer) of data between systems. Considerations include:

• Format of the data transferred.
• Recurring transfer of data.
• Frequency of the transfer.
• What will trigger the transfer.

Additional factors that will affect the level of effort and duration of a data migration/integration task are:

• Number and size of the source data legacy system(s).
• Volume of data (the number of tables, rows, columns to be processed).
• Types of data.
• Use of option sets or “picklists.”
• Number and complexity of the transformational formulas required to put the data into a format acceptable to the destination entity field.

Specific care must be paid to the steps required to match, dedupe, and integrate distinct source data available, as well as the coordinated migration of data into the developmental (or Sandbox) instance.

The integration mapping will often follow that of the migration mapping, which can be used as the starting point of integration mapping efforts. The mapped-to destinations will often coincide, but the source of data and the processes to get to that destination will vary. Therefore, integration and migration processes should be conceived and developed as separate functionality.

The most satisfying part of the data expert’s work is seeing the populated data entities’ data joined with the work of the application developers – representing the visualization of the client’s expectations on screen. Once data is merged with forms, reports, and dashboards of the application, and then viewed by the customer through the eyes of the D365 toolset, the connections of the functional and the technical requirements are seen. his is also the opportunity to fine tune the components of the solution. Fine tuning allows our team to deliver the solution originally envisioned, prepare the solution and the client for user acceptance testing, and ultimately deploy the data migration and integration components as integral components of the overall D365 solution to the client’s production environment.

We hope this gives you a view into what being a data expert is like! We’re always looking for great talent at PowerObjects, check out open roles and apply on our website here.

Happy Dynamics 365’ing!

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is critically important for small to medium-sized businesses (SMB). Since these businesses often have limited IT resources and budgets, it is imperative for them to make sure they choose the right ERP system and do not go broke in the process. Facing such obstacles, every SMB should consider Cloud ERP, which offers lower cost and complexity and more flexibility than traditional on-premises ERP.

Cloud computing is a method of deploying services, applications and/or platforms over the Internet without requiring the user to install software, maintain infrastructure or manage servers. It is usually provided as a service on a subscription basis rather than sold as a high-cost software package. Users can access cloud ERP from anywhere using supported devices, which usually includes computers and mobile devices. Updates and maintenance fees are generally built into the subscription model.

Adoption of cloud ERP has been slower than other business applications, such as CRM, perhaps because of the critical nature of ERP and some apprehension business decision makers might have regarding the cloud. Nevertheless, the number of ERP vendors offering cloud solutions is growing.

Cloud ERP offers a number of benefits, such as:

• Users can access it from anywhere as long as they have an Internet connection.
• Data is updated in real time and is consistent across all departments, making it more reliable.
• It is easily scalable since you can add or remove resources as needed.
• Cloud is very competitive so vendors are highly motivated to provide better, lower-cost service than their competitors.
• Startup costs are lower, and it is easier to switch to another vendor.
• Vendors handle deployment and maintenance requiring less IT expertise from you.

Deciding to move to the cloud is only the first step. You also need to make an informed decision about which cloud provider to choose. SMB Group has published a research report, Clearing the ERP Clouds, which offers an extensive look at the benefits of cloud ERP and advice on how to choose a good product and vendor. Download here.

When you are ready evaluate your ERP options contact CAL Business Solutions. 860-495-0910 x4 or sales@calszone.com.

By CAL Business Solutions, Connecticut based Acumatica and Microsoft Dynamics GP Partner, www.calszone.com.