Product Management Update: March 2020

We are pleased to share our monthly Product Management Update for March 2020. A lot continues to happen at Microsoft and STAEDEAN.

In this issue, we will start with an update for different product groups, followed by a heads-up on expiring security certificates and an update on product documentation.

DynaRent

Our rental value chain is demonstrated in the cycle diagram below, based on extensive market research. We will base all our future developments on the KPIs per element in the value chain. Stay tuned for more updates!

STAEDEAN is working on Customer Portals for Rental, where customers can visit, login, and get the information they require about various aspects of their equipment rental transactions such as current rentals, equipment performance, as well as outstanding invoices.  

Business Integration Solutions

Since our last update, we have been working on several smaller features. However, we are also preparing for some major updates for Master Data Management Studio and EDI Studio—slated to be released later this year.

Below is a summary of the new features (check our release notes for more details):

Message alert framework

We have added a functionality to allow sending alerts in case a message or web service fails. As soon as a message or web service error occurs, all the concerned users can be notified.

New JSON Handler

To enhance the usage of the complex JSON data, we have introduced a new JSON handler, which will help with:

• Handling the same JSON names as in XML. The same JSON object names may be used multiple times in the JSON definition.
• Using fields as arrays.
• Explicitly defining an object as an ‘array' or 'object’.
• Initializing from an existing JSON file.

A private key for SFTP connections

So far, we were supporting user credentials to make a connection to the SFTP server only. However, with the new update, we will also be supporting a private key now.

Anywhere

From the Anywhere team, we proudly present a new solution called Anywhere for Retail. This solution has been built on top of the Anywhere mobility studio. It offers the store workers with an option to use mobile devices to assist their daily work such as receiving goods, store transfers, and item information inquiries.

Anywhere for Retail offers support for the following features:

• Item information
• (Tag) counting
• Profit and loss
• Receipt journal
• Label printing
• Store transfers

We are currently working on some additional processes alongside these. In the next update, you will hear about Item ordering, Movement journal, and Switch store.

Anywhere for Retail has passed the curation process and is listed on Microsoft AppSource. You can learn more about this solution on our website, where you can also connect with our sales team.

RapidValue (BPM Studio)

There are some exciting new features added to our RapidValue solution.

Add Work package groups and Work packages to business processes and requirements for better Task Management with RV-ADO integration.

You can now define Work package groups and Work packages to business processes and requirements in RapidValue BPM Suite and sync them with your Azure DevOps Setup. This feature enables the RV-ADO combination to offer good governance focused on business processes and IT Task Management. We will be working on some more enhancements in this area later.

Enhancements in Requirement Management and Publishing

You can now define Moscow prioritization categories (Must have, Should have, Could have, and Will not have) and the due date for better Requirement Management experience in RapidValue BPM Suite. Also, we have made some enhancements in the Publishing feature to provide more flexibility on what needs to be included in the output (scenarios, the status of requirements).

Conditional filtering of the business process hierarchy

You can now apply a filter to business process hierarchies across different workspaces to show only the business processes that meet the defined conditions. This is extremely useful for consultants while identifying business processes based on various circumstances.

Before you can use business process hierarchy filtering for a solution, you must initialize it. You can apply a filter to the business process hierarchies on these pages: business strategy designer, business process designer, scope definition, process verification, analyze gaps, work package definition, tests, and business process exercises.  

Further information available here: Conditional Filtering of Business Process Hierarchy - https://docs.to-increase.com/d365fo/RapidValue/3.0/en-us/BpmBusinessProcess_5637155090.html?nodeid=86?nodeid=86

Security & Compliance Studio

A new “Share” workspace

A new workspace, Security & compliance file share, is added to manage task recording and images. You can upload new task recordings and add them to scenarios (refer Add files to the scenario). All the task recordings added to different scenarios will be listed in this workspace, where you can also delete those that are no longer used in any scenario. Images can also be uploaded and added to the security request.

You can find more details in the ‘User and Training’ manual.

New Security Certificate

A new security certificate will be released for all STAEDEAN products for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and D365. With effect from August 29, 2020, this updated certificate is mandatory for both existing and new solutions.

As part of the new security certificate, your license(s) will be renewed (or required to be renewed), and we will send your unique license(s) to you by email.

What is the security certificate?

This certificate is required to assure you that the software deployed is a valid STAEDEAN software and not an unlicensed copy. This digital check, which is executed during installations and upon installing the license files, ensures that you are dealing with the right software you have purchased. This certificate expires every three years.

What do you need to do now, as a customer or partner?

Nothing, at this point. Our STAEDEAN Customer Success Team will reach out to you (after May 29, 2020) with clear instructions for customers. The same team will also contact all partners to set up a process that works best for all STAEDEAN customers. This team will keep tabs on your experience with all STAEDEAN solutions.

It can be helpful to add this security certificate to your Dynamics hotfix schedule.

What will happen when my security certificate is expired (after August 29)?

Customers using STAEDEAN Dynamics AX 2012 and Dynamics 365 for Finance & Supply Chain solutions will not experience any disruptions if the AOS services are kept running. However, when the AOS services are shut down (either for servicing operations or due to an incident), it is critical to implement the hotfix and renew the licenses before recovering the services. The implementation of the hotfix and the renewal of the license files are mandatory steps as a consequence of the Microsoft ISV Licensing framework to ensure compliance and authenticity of ISV IP. Read more about this framework here.

Once the required fixes and licenses are up to date, the certificate will be valid for three years, where the same update will be required to apply to your Dynamics AX and 365 Operations & Supply Chain platforms.

Product Documentation

We have centralized product documentation for our solutions on Dynamics 365 for Finance & Operations on docs.to-increase.com. This link will help you find on-line information about our solutions and get help in the areas where you need some guidance.

Our documentation writers use our RapidValue solution internally to explain the product and processes. The content in RapidValue is used to generate our documentation pages.

We also provide you with an option to give feedback on the documentation. You can find the feedback button at the bottom-left of each content page. We will use your feedback to improve the documentation.

We hope you enjoyed this update as much as we did! Don't forget to leave a comment with your questions or suggestions!