This was the subject line in an email I received an email from one of my consultants; to which I immediately thought ‘what mad science experiment are you trying to perform on one of our customers?’.
I’m a little slow on Monday mornings as what he meant was ‘Which user interface do you recommend for Dynamics NAV 2016?’ Forgetting to mention that Microsoft calls the UI ‘Client’.
So what is a user interface or client? In summary, Microsoft makes business software useful. Useful applications are easily accepted and make your job easy to do. Microsoft has done a great job on providing options, usability and accessibility through programs called user interfaces. When I first heard of all of the options that were available in 2016 I was overwhelmed, but afterwards I realized if I was a user I would probably only pick one that best suited me.
This was an interesting article that I read about usability vs ‘liking’ and utility.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms997577.aspx
In 2016, Microsoft Dynamics NAV can be deployed on premise or in the cloud and customers can access their solution through role based interfaces on their desktop, in a browser, or with a native mobile app on a tablet or mobile device.
With Microsoft Dynamics NAV you can do more on the go, in the office, or at home with different client opportunities.
This means that there are 5 ‘clients’ available for the user to pick from.
- Windows Client
Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client, where the starting point is the Role Center. The Role Center can be customized to users individual needs based on their role, company, and daily tasks and is also present in any of the other client types below.
- Web Client
The Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client gives users access to Microsoft Dynamics NAV data over a network, such as the Internet. Being browser based the user can access NAV from anywhere with no client installation
- Tablet Client
Microsoft Dynamics NAV Tablet client is targeted at users in small and medium sized businesses that want to access data from a tablet. Some of the advantages of offering tablet solutions are portability and flexibility, when the users is away from the desk, on the train etc.
- Mobile Client
Microsoft Dynamics NAV Mobile client is Microsoft Dynamics NAV for iOS, Android, and Windows. Access all your data by connecting to your Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 server from your smartphone with the familiar, role-tailored experience and functionality on your mobile device.
- SharePoint Client
The Microsoft Dynamics NAV SharePoint client enables you to interact with Microsoft Dynamics NAV data from a Microsoft SharePoint website, SharePoint Online or SharePoint On-premise. Users can combine Microsoft Dynamics NAV functionality with that of Microsoft SharePoint to create collaborative workspaces and share data and insight with more people within the company.