Jet Express for Microsoft Dynamics NAV was officially launched last week. This “baby brother” of the Jet Reports suite provides an easy tool for reporting on NAV data directly from within Excel. Part of the excitement is that it is offered without additional charge to NAV 2009 users. Anyone with a valid enhancement plan can download the software from CustomerSource.
Strangely Microsoft has been very quiet about this launch. Perhaps they are concerned that you get what you pay for. In Brussels, the concept of “free” has been previously debated. You don’t get Jet Express for “free” as you have to have paid for your NAV licence and Microsoft Enhancement Plan (I wonder if it could be seen as a “free gift”, is there any other kind?).
Any partner who suggests this is free is withholding quite a few caveats to hit you with later. One of the biggest concerns is who will provide support. This shouldn’t be an issue as the solution is extremely easy to install and use, especially if you have a good general understanding of how your data is structured. However, not all users are as proficient with tools such as Excel. If you can’t construct pivot tables or basic formulas, please don’t try Jet Express and don’t expect partners to provide free training via the support desk.
So what is included in this gift from Microsoft? Whatever you do, don’t call it “light” (or even “lite”!). I prefer to think of it as a sample or amuse-bouche. Let’s face it; Jet Reports still want to sell their Essentials and Enterprise offerings. Jet Express does allow you to pull data from NAV tables into Excel and do basic queries against the general ledger. Much more than that and you’ll need to upgrade.
You can find out more about the launch of Jet Express. Or you can contact us as we have been working with Jet Reports for over five years.
