Important Licensing Information for Microsoft Dynamics GP

Please read this if you are a Microsoft Dynamics GP client. Due to the addition of Navigation List Builder capabilities to SmartList Builder (SLB), the price of SmartList Builder licenses will be increased from $1,550 to $1,950 on May 1, 2010.

Q: If I used eConnect to create access to the Microsoft Dynamics GP database, do I still need users? 

A:  Yes, the customer still needs a license(s) for users accessing the Microsoft Dynamics GP system database.  The use of eConnect does not relieve the customer, VAR or ISV from the user requirements of the SLT.
Further, the Dynamics GP community has brought to our attention a misunderstanding about eConnect, the Software License Terms and the requirements for users.  Many people incorrectly believed that eConnect-created applications did not require user licenses.  However, the Software License Terms do require user licenses for all applications including those created through eConnect, specifically stating “In addition to the server software license, you must acquire user licenses for the total number of users that access the system database directly or indirectly.”

Q: Must every user who has any ISV, VAR or customer-programmed access to the Dynamics GP database have a user license? 

A: Yes.  Most capabilities programmed by ISVs, VARs or by customers amount to “direct or indirect” access of the Dynamics GP database.  In accordance with the software license terms (SLT), those capabilities require the user to have a legitimate user license like the DCO User.

Q: Must every user who has any ISV, VAR or customer-programmed access to the Dynamics GP database have a user license? 

A: Yes.  Most capabilities programmed by ISVs, VARs or by customers amount to “direct or indirect” access of the Dynamics GP database.  In accordance with the software license terms (SLT), those capabilities require the user to have a legitimate user license like the DCO User.

Q: What if a customer has 5 full access users and licenses one ISV product.  Do they need an additional 5 DCO (BRL customer) or 5 BP (MBL customer) users for the same 5 people (or any 5 other people) to secure the “indirect” access rights to the database in order to use the ISV product?

A: Yes they do.  A full access user’s rights to the data apply to “direct” access only.   This customer   needs their 5 full access users for “direct” access. Those same users require a separate DCO or BP user to access the Dynamics system database through an ISV, VAR or customer written program indirectly.

Separately, upon upgrade to Dynamics GP 2010 after May 1st, this BRL customer will get at least 5 DCO licenses in trade for the 5 Business Portal licenses that were previously included in the Full Access Users. In total, then, the customer would have 5 concurrent Full Access users for “direct” access, and 5 named DCO users with which they can access “indirectly” the Dynamics database through the ISV’s program.

Analysis Cubes, SSRS, Crystal, Excel Report Builder will all definitely require a DCO license to access GP data.

Business Ready Licensing (BRL) Customers:
Microsoft is exchanging several types of users for DCO in Dynamics GP 2010 for our business ready licensing customers which have an active BREP contract.  Among the users that will be translated into DCO users are:

• Business portal users that were issued with each full access user 
• Business portal users separately acquired, whether “employee” or “customer” users 
• DCO and DCO for MOSS users previously acquired 
• FRx drill down viewer users at a 1:1 rate of FRx drill down : DCO users 
• FRx report launcher users at a 1:1 rate of FRx report launcher : DCO users 
• FRx WebPort users at a 1:2 rate of FRx WebPort : DCO users 
• BE Full Access Users at a 1:1 rate of BE : DCO users

Functional Value for BRL Customers

Among the new capabilities delivered to customers via the DCO are:
  Management Reporter Viewer
  Microsoft SharePoint Foundation (formerly Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services)

• 3 new workflows 
• 83 new web services 
• Search

  Business Intelligence

• Executive centers & dashboards 
• 11 new Excel reports 
• 20 new SRS reports 
• 20 business intelligence features 
• 119 new charts and key performance indicators (KPIs) 
• Analysis cubes 
• Analysis cubes library

  Business portal user capabilities 

• Order management 
• Requisition management 
• Field service suite 
• Human Resources self service suite 
• Project time and expense

  Microsoft Dynamics GP system database access rights  for users
  DCO has been added to Dynamics GP Business Essentials edition to expand the market to which we can sell these licenses

Potential Discounts for BRL Customers

DCO Users have a price waterfall that depends on User Counts.  It is:

Module based licensing (MBL) customers

Customers with MBL licenses can order sufficient business portal employee or customer users at $40/user in the U.S. before May 1st to cover their needs for the foreseeable future.  After May 1st, additional BP users may be licensed at the DCO price level of $195 in the U.S.  Additional full access users, being concurrent but more expensive, offer another alternative for multi-person use in some cases where the access is “direct”.  No LMT is required.

While it may be to the customer’s advantage to enter into an LMT for many reasons (additional BRL capabilities, availability of the DCO and external connector, etc.), it is not a requirement.  Existing customers can license their current MBL situation under the software license terms (SLT) at the current BP user price before May 1st.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Please contact your I.B.I.S. Representative at 770.368.4000.