Apr 12, 2011 11:04 GMT  ·  By

Customers can already download the first Beta development milestone of the next major iteration of Dynamics AX. Microsoft unveiled Dynamics AX 2012 to the world at the start of this week with Chief Executive officer (CEO) Steve Ballmer and Kirill Tatarinov, corporate vice president for Microsoft Business Solutions, delivering the keynote address at Convergence 2011.

The Redmond company had revealed earlier this year that the beta release for Dynamics AX 2012 was slated for April 2011, and it managed to live up to this promise.

Customers with valid Partner Source accounts can download Dynamics AX 2012 Beta immediately and start testing the upcoming iteration of the enterprise resource planning solution.

Microsoft Technical Fellow Mike Ehrenberg underlines that with Dynamics AX 2012, the development was focused on building an ERP solution tailored specifically to the way in which customers use it.

“If the fidelity between the software model and reality is high, then implementation is straightforward and the software is able to provide insight and empower the organization,” Ehrenberg said.

The introduction of the next version of Dynamics AX “is the beginning of why Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is different, and why we think it’s a breakthrough in ERP software.”

Companies involved in industries such as the following: manufacturing, distribution, public sector, professional services and retail, will find that Dynamics AX 2012 features out of the box capabilities for them.

Since a one-size-fits-all approach was out of the question, Microsoft built Dynamics AX 2012 to cater to as many customers as possible, while still delivering the feeling that it’s designed for a specific niche.

“Most industry-specific solutions only cater to that industry,” Ehrenberg added. “Offering five in one answers a real need that customers have to integrate solutions across industries. It gets organizations up and running faster, saves integration costs, and it supports greater accuracy across the application — meaning users get a single version of the truth.”

UPDATE: From Microsoft: "some of you are experiencing issues with the downloading of the AX 2012 Beta. The issues have been reported and are currently being investigated."