One of the things that made Project Madeira so good for me was the guidance you got to start using it. Really nice arrows and explanations take you through different tasks both when you first sign up and on demand later if you need them. It makes it as simple as possible for any user to learn what they need to do so well done Microsoft.
Obviously in the entry level market that project Madeira is targeted at this is critical but it’s probably the biggest barrier to adaption in the mid-market to. The number of presales presentations I’ve attended where the feedback has been ‘it’s obviously a really capable product but I’m worried that it’s too complex for our users’ isn’t close to single figures. Similarly, with existing users it’s frustrating that they often don’t use half the product because they can’t figure out how they should on their own and one to one training from an expert cost more money than their management will justify (stupidly).
So will this cool new tool in Project Madeira make a significant difference? Well sorry to disappoint but for most I believe the answer is no. The reason being that I believe they have used a third party tool called Walkme presumably contracted specifically for Project Madeira but unlikely to include any other Dynamics NAV users.
I contacted Walkme a few months ago after it was suggested I talk to them and found that
· They say they are enterprise market focused.
· Minimum subscription is 200 users.
· Minimum subscription is £19,000 per annum.
There is a free entry plan but you only get three walkthroughs with limited steps (just 5 clicks) and any ERP system needs many more than that. Its not worth starting with just this but I understand its just a trial and they really need to get subscribers to pay the bills.
What I do believe is that if they had a subscription that allowed 10 custom walkthroughs and had another 40 standard Dynamics NAV one’s (after all most Dynamics NAV users use a lot of standard processes right?) and made the subscription £100 per annum per user they would soon make make more from the Dynamics NAV community they do out of their enterprise focused ones. Not likely to happen was what they guy told me though so I’m not holding my breath.
So the midmarket is still looking for a simple training and documentation tool for Dynamics NAV. With it’s easy customisation features this would save a massive amount of time and effort as well as increasing the adaption and improving the quality of the user experience.
And I’d speculate that Microsoft are not going to fill this need if they have bought the technology in for their new platform. That leaves the way clear for a third party. Any ISV out there like to create something at a cost the average Dynamics NAV customer would justify?
