General

Dynamics 365 Business Central: Microsoft announces first details of the April 2019 version

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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralIn April Microsoft will release the next version of Dynamics 365 Business Central. Now first official information and news have been published.

Microsoft had previously announced that the April 2019 version will continue to guarantee the user a system that is modern, adaptable and intelligent. About ten weeks before the official release, it was also announced how these requirements should be implemented.

Powerful new functions for business customers

In order to make working with Dynamics 365 Business Central more pleasant for business users, the April 2019 version enables, among other things, more keyboard-centric scenarios. For example, functions such as quick entry and an improved list sorting will be available for faster data entry and analysis.

In addition, the new version offers a number of functions that enable advanced users to understand the work context better and faster. These include, for example, a work date that is displayed directly on the screen in relevant scenarios and an enterprise indicator that facilitates switching between different companies and databases.

Other productivity enhancements include features such as the focus mode for documents, the new page inspector, an improvement of the filters in Excel export and some modern interface elements (e.g. date picker, refreshed action bar and all-product navigation).

Continue reading Dynamics 365 Business Central: Microsoft announces first details of the April 2019 version →

Business Intelligence, General

Have a flexible and secure start into the cloud with the new Qlik Sense Multi Cloud

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Qlik Sense Multi CloudMore and more companies are moving data and applications to public and private clouds to take advantage of scalable data storage and processing. At the same time, there is still a need for local data storage and processing, for example for legacy systems or due to security and compliance regulations.

To address these challenges, Qlik Sense is offering new ways to deploy a multi-cloud architecture since one of its latest releases.

With the new deployment package “Qlik Sense Enterprise for Elastic”, Qlik Sense installations can be flexibly distributed, consumed and managed across a wide range of environments – whether in the cloud or locally. The architecture can be easily and flexibly adapted at any time – depending on how business requirements change over time.

The multi-cloud capabilities were developed to provide users with a unified platform that is easily and economically scalable, irrespective of the different local and cloud infrastructures. Accordingly, all users have a single, common license and login in all environments to make access easy and seamless.

Customers can benefit from the multi-cloud features since the release of Qlik Sense Enterprise June 2018.

General

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2019

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Merry ChristmasOnce again, time has flown by and 2018 comes to an end. Before the new year starts, the prisma group wishes you peaceful holidays and takes a short Christmas break.

The year 2018 was another year full of exciting and successful projects for us. We would like to thank you for the good cooperation and the trust over the past few months.

We also hope that our blog has provided you with helpful information and tips and look forward to meet new challenges and goals with you in the upcoming year. Until then, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2019.

Similar to the past years we replaced the typical Christmas gifts by donating the amount to various social projects in the Nuremberg area.

See you in 2019

Business Intelligence, General

Qlik releases Qlik Sense November 2018

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The Qlik Sense story continues – the last release of 2018 is again filled with numerous innovations and cool features. For the first time, the product’s engine includes Qlik Machine Learning capabilities. So there is a lot to expect in this area in 2019. The following shows an overview of the November release highlights:

Qlik Sense November 2018

Dashboard Extension Bundle

By the Dashboard Extension Bundle, the first standard integrated extensions made their way into Qlik Sense. The feature can optionally be installed during the update. By choosing this option, you will find five new extensions in “Custom Objects”, which are now officially delivered with Qlik Sense and fully supported.

  • With the “Date Range Picker” you can select a single date or a range of dates from a calendar.
  • The “Navigation Buttons” can be used to define selections and actions for the entire app.
  • Using the “Tab Container” several tabs can be created within a Qlik Sense object in order to be able to display different visualizations or analysis views compressed for a selection.
  • A “Show/Hide Container” extension helps to display several visualizations in an object depending on the current selection criteria.
  • The “Variable Input” extension allows you to specify values for selections using buttons, drop-down menus and text input fields.

Continue reading Qlik releases Qlik Sense November 2018 →

Business Intelligence, General

QlikView November 2018 – What`s New

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BI provider Qlik has provided the November release of its data analysis software QlikView. The new version features some exciting new features and improvements.

Some of the highlights of the new and updated features of QlikView include:

Support to create and schedule files in QlikView Publisher

The new version of QlikView Publisher includes the “File Exists” task among the supporting tasks. This new supporting option can be used to trigger another task following the creation of a file. This is especially useful when the system creates files at irregular time schedules and is used to improve file creation and scheduling. A “File Exists” task completes successfully even when the corresponding file is not found, but does not trigger the following task in this case.

New Log File for QVS Engine Performance

A new QVS Engine log file is now available in QlikView November 2018 for optimized troubleshooting and document design. Because the Engine log file creates a large amount of log data, it is disabled by default and can be enabled for a limited period of time. The generated log contains DocId, ObjectId, ObjectType, NetRAM and PeakRAM, which show the user which objects in the app require the highest RAM capacity.

Separate Reload Performance Protocol

Special new log files now provide information about task performance in a separate form. Until now, this information could be found in the task logs. The new arrangement of the log files makes it easier to reload the performance analysis and keep record which documents consume the most resources.

Improved QlikView Script Loading Process

QlikView November 2018 provides the ability to load complete tables from an SSE-plug-in by making a single request in the QlikView load script.

Custom settings in the configuration files listed in the QMC

The new QlikView version makes it possible to display all “non-default settings” applied to the respective QlikView deployment directly in the menu of the QlikView Management Console (QMC). The displayed list can be used to document all custom configurations and thus provides an ideal basis to update or migrate the respective QlikView installation.

In addition to the new functions listed, the new QlikView version includes other new features such as support for .NET Framework 4.7.2 and the implementation of the Skia graphics library to enhance app visualizations. The following video provides an overview of the QlikView November 2018 highlights:

QlikView November 2018 - What's New

 

General

Dynamics 365 Business Central: New Name – New Licencing Model

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The current autumn releases of several Microsoft business solutions are on the market for a few weeks now. In addition to new features and improvements, the ERP software Dynamics NAV has also officially been named Dynamics 365 Business Central. Along with the new title there is also a new licencing model for the product.

What remains unchanged is the option to choose whether to purchase the software under the perpetual licencing model or simply rent it via subscription licencing. The former allows the buyer to purchase the solution for unlimited and unrestricted use and requires annual maintenance fee of 16%. In contrast, subscription licencing constitutes a model where the software can be used for a certain period of time. The subscription licencing model is therefore much more flexible and particularly suitable for cloud-based use as Software as a Service (SaaS). The product is billed monthly per user.

Business Central Licencing
Business Central Licencing (Source: Microsoft)

The licencing model underwent some changes during the introduction of Business Central. Instead of the previous Concurrent User model, the Named User model, which is already in place for nearly all other Microsoft products, is used now. The Concurrent User model merely offered restricted access to a set number of users being able to log into the system at the same time. In contrast, with the Named User model, only licenced users can be authorised – no matter whether they are working in the system concurrently or at different times. Every user who wants to access the system therefore requires his own licence. Existing Dynamics NAV customers with an active enhancement plan up to and including the 2018 version still have the option to extend their licence. In this case, previous Concurrent Users will also be available for purchase in the future.

Continue reading Dynamics 365 Business Central: New Name – New Licencing Model →

Business Intelligence, General

Qlik NPrinting: New features with the fall release

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NPrinting September 2018Within the scope of the recently launched Qlik release wave, which optimized the data visualization platform Qlik Sense again, NPrinting has been equipped with new functions, too.

The most important new features of the latest NPrinting version include the following areas:

Password protection
Since the September release, NPrinting has a password protection. It is possible to protect reports with both “read” and “read & write” passwords. Passwords can be set at report, publish task or user level. The preview in the Printing Newsstand is accordingly disabled for password protected reports.

Macros in Excel reports
Concerning the creation of Excel reports, it is now possible to integrate Visual Basic macros into reports and publish them in *.xlsm format.

Cookies
According to the new data protection guidelines, NPrinting cookies will be deleted immediately after session logout.

In addition, the latest version of NPrinting also contains numerous improvements relating to performance and stability.

Business Intelligence, General

Comprehensive analyses through multiple data sources

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IQlik Multiple Data Sourcesn many companies, clean data are the base of important business processes. Analyzed data is essential – especially for new insights or as a decision-making aid. Because these data don’t come from a single internal source any longer, the possibility of integrating external data sources should always be considered at choosing data analysis software.

The storage of company data has gone through a major change in the recent years. In particular, the cloud movement into many companies means that information is no longer stored at a central location, but is obtained from multiple sources. Companies often base decisions on efficiency and go for various cloud models.

But the increased storage options pose a particular challenge to analytics tools, as all relevant data from the various sources must be put together without much effort. The best way to do this is to move away from data silos. Instead, the analysis software should extend across all data sources without having to migrate the data required for evaluation to a central location via various infrastructure barriers.

The various information formats are also important. It should be possible to include external social media data from the cloud in the analyses also as classics like Excel. Open APIs or other connectors can be helpful, as they allow the various sources, whether on-premise or cloud, to be linked to each other without any problems.

The user-friendliness of the software should also not be underrated. The combination of data should be flexible, scalable and simple in order to prevent user mistakes in data analysis and to be able to provide the required data as quickly as possible.

General

Microsoft publishes October release: Dynamics NAV becomes Dynamics 365 Business Central

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Microsoft rolled out the October releases for some of its business applications. The new version of the ERP software Dynamics NAV not only includes new features and improvements, there is also a new name: Dynamics 365 Business Central (On-Premises).

It has already been known for some time that after the last published version Dynamics NAV 2018, no new release will appear under the former name. Instead, the product line continues themed Dynamics 365 Business Central. Customers who are currently using a local Dynamics NAV solution can continue using it in future, but all subsequent versions of the product line will be published under the new name.

Dynamics 365 Business Central Roadmap
Dynamics 365 Business Central Roadmap (Source: Twitter/atotovic)

For new customers Dynamics NAV 2018 is only available until December 31st 2018. After that date there will only be Business Central (On-Premises) available. In addition, existing customers with Dynamics NAV 2009 or older versions can no longer upgrade to NAV 2018 starting January 1st 2019, only to Business Central (On-Premises).

Dynamics NAV customers with an active Dynamics Enhancement Plan can continue to use their current installation or upgrade to Dynamics 365 Business Central (On-Premises). The existing Dynamics NAV licenses and functions will be transferred to Business Central (On-Premises) accordingly. Downgrading to Dynamics NAV 2018 or earlier versions won’t be possible any longer.

Continue reading Microsoft publishes October release: Dynamics NAV becomes Dynamics 365 Business Central →

Business Intelligence, General

Qlik Sense September 2018 – What’s New

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Qlik Sense September 2018It’s time again – Qlik has released a new version of its data visualization solution Qlik Sense. Since the last release in June, a lot has happened.

After the positive feedback regarding the Insight Advisor, which supports the user with analysis and diagram suggestions since June, Qlik remains focused on its Cognitive Engine and Augmented Intelligence for Qlik Sense September 2018. In addition, the new release delivers some “QlikView like” features and more. General highlights of Qlik Sense September 2018 include:

Enhanced Advanced Authoring Features

The Qlik Sense September Release offers some additional functionalities in the area of Advanced Authoring. This simplifies the creation of sophisticated data layouts while accelerating application development due to its high user-friendliness. The improvements of the Expression Editor (e.g. restructured function categorizations and improved search functions) and the visualization control (e.g. conditional show/hide in pivot tables and customizable master measures) are helpful. In addition, you can now open apps by using a default bookmark with a predefined selection state.

New Mapping Features

In addition, the new Qlik Sense version offers enhanced mapping capabilities. For example, the release has a new map layer that depends on the density of the mapped points. The new “Density Map Layer” is a multicolor gradient background where the color intensity varies depending on the weight and closeness of the points.

Improved backend workflow, stability and performance

Qlik Sense September 2018 also removes several previous limitations of the Qlik Management Console (QMC) and allows, for example, to move multiple apps between different streams. In addition, the open source front-end framework has been updated to version 1.6.9 to ensure better performance and stability.

Enhanced connectivity

With the new release, Qlik has further expanded its connectivity options with Microsoft Azure DB and Jira connectors. The necessary security within the integrated connector to Presto is also provided by an extension of LDAP authentication. Large enterprise environments benefit from AirWatch EMM security for mobile access to Qlik Sense Enterprise.

An overview of the listed and other new features of Qlik Sense September 2018 is also available on YouTube:

Qlik Sense September 2018 - What's New

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