Frozen Yogurt Wars Illustrate Value of Microsoft Dynamics GP Business Ready Licensing

This summer, my hometown (Denver) is in the midst of a frozen Yogurt war in that two new (for us) national chains are vying for the attention of our taste buds.  Pinkberry and Yogurtland just both recently opened their doors for business within days of each other and already and continually have lines of customers (yes, including me) lined up around the block at all hours of the day and night to sample their frozen treats.

Although they both sell frozen yogurt, the similarities end there. Pinkberry is counter service and offers a limited number of flavors and charges for each topping requested.  Yogurtland is self service like a salad bar, offering multiple flavors and dozens of  toppings – your cup is then weighed at check out and you pay by the ounce.

Which offers the better value? Obviously it is a matter of opinion (and taste) but relative to choosing an ERP software solution that is right for your business I think the answer is quite clear.

Pinkberry reminds me of the way Microsoft used to sell Dynamics GP – by the module.  You would pay extra for each piece of needed functionality.  Over time this could get quite costly if additional functionality was necessary to meet the growing needs of the business.  In addition, your yearly software maintenance costs would increase as new modules were purchased.

Yogurtland on the other hand offers an all inclusive pricing model – much like business ready licensing with Dynamics GP 2010.  You pay only for the number of concurrent user licenses needed – most of the additional modules are already included in the bundle purchased (business essentials or advanced management are the two bundle choices) Initially, a business might not need to deploy all of modules provided but over time they are available as the use of the ERP system expands. And the amount you pay yearly for software maintenance remains constant, regardless of the additional number of modules deployed.

Not every ERP vendor offers this efficient, all inclusive licensing model, so before you buy carefully consider both your current and future needs.  A module based solution from another ERP vendor might initially seem lower priced, but over time as additional functionality is required and added, the return on investment will be considerably lower than that of business ready licensing with Dynamics GP.

By: The Knaster Technology Group, Denver, Colorado Microsoft Gold Certified Dynamics GP Partner for over twenty years

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