Predictably, there’s a lot of interest surrounding the release of the latest version of Microsoft’s flagship ERP system, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. 

But amidst the hoopla, it’s easy to overlook the fact that some companies have been already been living with it on a daily basis for some time—indeed, in some cases since early versions of parts of the new system became available in late 2009. What’s more, so too have a small handful of carefully-selected Microsoft Dynamics implementation partners, chosen for their breadth of vision and in-depth expertise. 

One such pioneering partnership: Microsoft Dynamics AX solution provider eBECS, and JJ Food Service, a £140 million 700-employee Enfield-based supplier of catering supplies and foodstuffs to restaurants, pubs, canteens and snack bars. 

But JJ Food Service CIO Rif Kiamil is quick to reject the ‘beta tester’ label. ‘Beta tester,’ he insists, is an overly-simplistic description of the company’s involvement in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012’s gestation. “Quite simply, unless there was a clear value to the business, we wouldn’t do it,” he says. “But participating in Microsoft’s Technology Adoption Programme (TAP) gives us early access to features of AX that are strategically important to us. Today, we’re benefiting already from features that are only now becoming generally available to companies outside the TAP programme.”   To read more click here.