Annata
Tailoring a Future Proof ERP Platform

The decades old MRP and later the early ERP adopters are in a classic case of being left behind, desperately seeking to modernize and be at the forefront of the market transformation. From the typical buy and sell trading market to complex time-share and consumption based scenarios, the market is transforming from IT intensive nature to the new wave of evolving ERP solutions. With enterprises looking for solutions to help drive this change, “It was therefore a natural consequence to investigate further and eventually develop a standardized industry vertical addition to an ERP package we already knew well, i.e., Microsoft Dynamics AX,” begins Johann Jonsson, CEO, Annata. “We develop and implement a powerful management solution—Annata Dynamics IDMS, built as an add-on to Microsoft Dynamics AX to support industry specific solutions,” says Jonsson.

The Iceland based firm provides the next generation of technology solutions and professional services with its combination of deep industry experience and comprehensive capabilities. Since the launch of Dynamics AX 3.0, Annata has been building carefully selected industry vertical functionality on top of Dynamics AX, Dynamics CRM and Business Mobile Apps, all with upgradeability and usability in mind. “The newly introduced Dynamics AX will include much improved user experience with an extended use of Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services,” says Jonsson.

Annata provides a number of solutions for many industries which include automotive, rental, equipment and fleet. “From manufacturing, selling and distribution, to maintenance, Annata Dynamics IDMS is built to cover specific business needs,” adds Jonsson. The company’s IDMS not only creates a 360° view on the vehicle or equipment, it also focuses on the customer, their characteristics and performance. “We are very excited about making IDMS functionality available where it should be avail-able, as part of the back end ERP, within the front end CRM processes and or in mobile apps,” says Jonsson.

The company’s core offering finds wide adoptions across many different use cases such as—automotive, construction equipment manufacturers, their distributors and dealers, agricultural and forestry equipment manufacturers, tools rental companies, and fleet operators across 50 countries.

Annata Dynamics IDMS is more a platform of functional capabilities than a software package for a specific company type

“Annata Dynamics IDMS is more a platform of functional capabilities than a software package for a specific company type,” states Jonsson. For instance, Volvo Construction Equipment, Europe, was facing a problem of using a legacy platform that supported only a specific functionality in their distribution efforts in Europe. Their outdated platform tailor made for their own dealers was virtually impossible to modernize or upgrade to cater to the independent dealer community. Volvo could roll out the IDMS solution to all of their own dealers and to many independent dealers in Europe. The dealers not only received the IDMS industry functionality but also could take advantage of Volvo CE specific layer of capabilities out of the box.

With innovations focused on AX, CRM, Apps, IoT, and Machine learning, Annata’s emphatic focus is on the cloud factor. While continuously upgrading the IDMS solution, the company is en route to support customers in the cloud with an end-to-end business soft¬ware application, which offers a very high degree of fit, obviously limiting the need for custom development with consequently shorter implementation time. “The cloud is hugely important to us and the whole decision of having Annata dynamics IDMS in Azure marketplace is to make it available to companies supporting their transition to the Cloud,” says Jonsson. “We also have plans to introduce Annata Online, our own Cloud application platform, in the near future.”