An Introduction To The Dynamics AX Companions Project

When you first start implementing Dynamics AX, it may seem like you have bitten off more than you can chew and it may seem a little overwhelming. Even though you know your business inside and out, you don’t know how this is supposed to translate into the setup and configurations required by Dynamics AX. To make it even worse when you talk to implementation consultants, initially it may seem like they are talking a different language because they know the application, and you can barely pronounce journal. In order to successfully implement Dynamics AX, you need to translate your business knowledge into terms Dynamics terms so that your business partners will be able to then find the best configuration for you to meet your needs.

The best way to learn Dynamics AX is to actually roll up your sleeves and start setting it up yourself, and there are a few options available to you to get there…

• You can get your partner to give you training on-site, which is a great option, except it is rather expensive and every time that you need to train someone then there is an additional cost, and also there is a lot that may be left unsaid by the trainers just because they assume a certain level of knowledge that you may not have yet.
  
• You could try to download the training material that is available on the Microsoft site, but this is very granular and usually focuses on a very particular topic and it also has an expectation that you know a little about Dynamics AX as well, so there is a learning hurdle that you need to get over before you can start using it to training yourself, and also there isn’t a clear path on where to start.
  
• You could buy some of the Overview books that are available on Amazon, but most of these are geared towards developers and tell you the minutia of how to program the system or on how to create a report, but it doesn’t show you how to perform a single transaction.
  
• You could go to Customer Source and try to try to use that to guide you through the setup, but that is even worse for a Dynamics AX novice because although all of the documentation there is technically correct, there are no examples, or screen shots to guide you on your way while you are travelling through the system.
  

All of the options initially look like this:

When what you really need is this:

The Solution

That’s where we come in. The Dynamics AX Companions project was developed to give people a resource that they could use to start building the foundation of knowledge about Dynamics AX starting right at the beginning, and also then build upon that foundation so that you can learn some of the more clever features within the system that you can take advantage of without overwhelming you.

One of the resources that we provide are the Bare Bones Configuration Guides for Dynamics AX which is a set of 19 hands on guides that take you step by step through all of the setup of Dynamics AX along with instructions telling you exactly what you need to do, where you need to do it, and also every step is illustrated with a screen shot so that you don’t have to guess where you should be, or what the screens should look like.

Each guide builds upon the prior guides starting off with the creation of a blank company, all the way through the configuration of all the main modules. When you are done working through all of them you should know 90% of what there is to know about setting up a simple company within Dynamics AX giving you a great jumpstart on learning how everything works.

In The Works

To make this a true training resource we are also reformatting the books as PowerPoint presentations that you can use as a trainer to guide the classes, and when used in conjunction with the Student Guides you have a classroom in a box that you can use yourself for performing your own in-house training.

Getting Access

Through the eBook subscription on the Dynamics AX Companions site you get access to all of Bare Bone Configuration Guides, plus all of the additional premium content that is delivered on the site through the Tips and Tricks for Dynamics AX, and also the Introduction and Configuration Blueprint Guides that fill additional training gaps that you might find useful after you have gained a level footing with Dynamics AX.

The Enterprise eBook Subscription allows you to give your entire staff access to these resources through one single subscription, which you can purchase in increments of 10 users and works out to be a 50% discount on the licenses.

Need More Information?

Web:         www.dynamicsaxcompanions.com
Email:         info@dynamicsaxcompanions.com
Twitter:    @daxcompanions