Moan and groan all you like about SharePoint, Outlook and other Microsoft products. We’ll happily listen to your troubles and agree. But this time around we have to say it: Microsoft Dynamics POS is pretty slick. The 2009 version of the software was released today and is an easy-to-navigate resource for SMBs managing retail businesses.
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of enterprise software that includes a CRM and various ERP solutions which can be either on-premise or hosted. Dynamics Point of Sale is specifically aimed at mid-market and specialty retailers, providing them with a tool for store management.
Microsoft Dynamics POS is a bit like their CRM option, but instead of focusing solely on a sales-based perspective, it’s aimed at comprehensive inventory and supply chain management for retailers.
The strength of POS 2009 is the role-based experience, which changes based on whether you’re a store manager, a cashier, or a sales rep, for example. What this means in practice is that Microsoft has made software centered on people, not just processes or departments. For all roles, there’s a clear, hierarchical folder structure that is intuitive to navigate.
Beyond purely functional business needs, Microsoft’s GUI for the software is also doing some interesting things with touch screens; it’s one of the few business products that is at all optimized for touch-screen monitors. However, it’s still a secondary priority for the package, and the real jackpot would be software that plays nice with mobile, not desktop touch screens.
Dynamics POS is a retail tool that should prevent the huge headache that so many Microsoft products for the enterprise can cause. It still carries the baggage of Microsoft systems requirements, but its user experience just works.
