Dear All, I am a .NET Developer working in Toronto. I have recently came to know about Navision. I have certain questions/confusion about Navision. I would like to know… + How is the Navision Development as a career option in Canada? + Does Navision has the potential to grow in Canada/US as much as in Europe? +Does Microsoft is serious about Navision in Canada? Please advice. Thanks Vishant
OK - I’m going to take a chance here - But I will proberbly get shot down. (I am wearing a bullet-proof west allready) First of: ‘Just because you are a skilled .net (or anything else) developer does NOT guarentee that you EVER will become a skilled Navision Developer’ Now what does that mean? - I say this because I have seen good developers around the world, but I wouldn’t ever let them loose on a Navision database. Navision is a concept - A main difference is, that you actually have a fully functional system, once you install it (besides the bugs features). And unless you understand the system, some developers have a tendency to re-write the wheel. As one of my former colleages once said:
quote:
They (non-navisionized developers) will useally get the task done, but they useally never get from point A to point B in a strait line
I am not saying this, to discourage you, but just to prepare you to expect to learn the concept of Navision before you do a ****-load of code. Now - Back to your original questions I belive that Microsoft are very serious with the Navision product, and are getting more and more interested in the Navision product vs. the Axapta (I am not saying they will discard Axapta). I belive I have heard, that the Navision product are the line, that MBS are selling more than the other lines (Axapta, Solomon, Great Plains). Microsoft has an enourmus sack of cash top use for marketing purposes hence a large potential. The US economy are slowly, but surely, getting back on track, and I belive US companies are getting more willing to spend money on IT again. If it’s going to be Navision or other that will gain the most, only the future can tell. Navision is owned by Microsoft - Who did .net? - The next generation of Navision (the merger of Navision, Axapta, Solomon, Great Plains) will be on .net - A Navision (or Axapta, Solomon, Great Plains) developer, that are also profecient on .net - I would guess would be in a good position - Quite in line with my first statement. I do not know the canadian market, but I belive that there will be opportuneties. I also see that a lot of companies will link Navision (or other systems) with the web. This might be a good way for you to get your feet wet with Navision, while still working with .net All the above is MY PERSONAL oppinion! - Any feedback are greatly appreciated. /Henrik (Navision Developer since 1995)
Thanks Henrik. You are right. Navision is a concept and we have to understand it from its base if we want to master it. I am also hopeful for a better future of Navision in Canada Vishant
Microsoft just committed to investing like 10 billion US dollars to its business solutions, and they have recently discovered that there is HUGE potential left in Navision. I would say Navision developers should be safe for another 5-10 years, but it will become increasingly integrated with .NET technologies. The only thing you should realise is that working with Navision requires you to understand business processes as well as technical issues. Navision development is very much directly related to implementing business rules rather than programming the database connections and such.
Hhelgesen, You say: “Navision is a concept”: In dictionary, “concept” can be defined as an abstracted idea [^] [:D]
“DOH” - As my idol, Homer Simpson would have said…
3 cheers to henrik!! he is absouletly right!! Navision is a concept,or lets say a perfect blend of Business logic and Technical know-how, so if u want to be a ‘Navision-Proffesional’,u should be sound in both!!
Henrik make a good point Many developers who comes from a VB/C++ background into the Navision world start off by writting a lot’s of code when often it’s possible to do the same by calling a standard Navision function. But once those developers start to have a good grasp of how the application works and how the standard code has been designed they become more efficient Navision developer. So really if I got one advice to give you when you design a Navision Solution is to get some insipiration from the standard application and ask yourself how MBS DK would have implemented it instead of how would have I done it in C++ or VB. each languages, framework has got it’s own philosophy, a straight replication of your knowledge into Navision can do you more harm than good. Also as Henrik already pointed out, with Navision you got a fully functional ERP, so it’s much more than mastering the syntax and the dev. environement (that’s the easy part!) Good luck with Navision!
I always tell people that it’s easy to know what code to use, but it’s hard to know where to put the code, and what properties to use together with that code.