Microsoft partner Curt Finch recently wrote an article for MSDynamicsWorld.com discussing the phasing out of Business Portal in the latest release of Microsoft Dynamics GP. Microsoft will continue to support Business Portal for users of older versions of Microsoft Dynamics GP, but it will no longer be further developed, while users of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 will enjoy the major capabilities enabled by Business Portal built right into their enterprise solution.
Business Portal enables users to enter payroll information and timesheets, manage documents, and export reports through a web browser. Information can be shared with both employees and outside stakeholders such as vendors, all securely controlled through the granting of access rights. It works well enough for now, but all things can be improved, and Microsoft moved the needed capabilities of Business Portal into Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 itself to upgrade the technology and make it easier and quicker to expand and improve those capabilities going forward.
The following web-based capabilities are now built into Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015:
- Time and attendance
- Employee pay
- Employee profile
- Recruitment
- Skills and training
- Requisition management
Now it will be easier for Microsoft to more rapidly add new features and upgrade existing ones, and instead of developing capabilities separately for a tool based in Microsoft SharePoint, they can develop the web features holistically, as part of the entire Microsoft Dynamics GP process, all fully integrated. And without a dependence on SharePoint for these capabilities, Microsoft can more easily continue to bring out new features for mobile and web-enabled devices for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015. Look for those to be released every six months.
