It's always interesting to see when software trends are failing. Four years ago, software vendors couldn't get over their love affair with the big "enterprise" customers, ditching their small business and mid-market customers in favour of wealthier global concerns. The accounting software industry was no exception.

Now the trend is reversing itself, due in part to the fact that there are only a relative handful of enterprise customers to be had - and most of them do not want to go through the pain and cost of switching accounting systems unless it is absolutely necessary. Today, the mantra is to move into the mid-market, where companies are forced by growth to upgrade their systems. Little software vendors are moving up to the mid-market; big vendors are moving down.

But it is more than that.

The globalization of the marketplace and the growth of electronic commerce are causing fundamental shifts that make the mid-market an important - if not the most important - segment of the marketplace. Added to that are three trends within the industry:

* The growing importance of integrated customer relationship management. The wall between the front office and the back office has crumbled as companies demand better, faster access to key data at every level of the organization.

* Online integration. It's not enough to have the data available - it has to be accessible throughout the organization, across national boundaries and in multiple locations. This shift makes reporting tools and intranets as important as the Internet to today's company.

* Better customization tools. With the advent of better SQL platforms and programming tools, it is possible to build a custom accounting solution for an industry - or even a single company - faster and at a lower cost than ever before. The result is that accounting software companies are branching into two camps - those that use a toolkit of separate but integrated applications, picking and choosing the building blocks for each client, and those that use a basic set of open-source modules that can be rewritten to meet the needs of each.

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS GP

Forget all the name changes: The reason to pay attention to this software is its usable interface, its solid accounting structure and the fact that it is an integrated, adaptable business management solution that helps executives, managers and staff more easily access information that is meaningful to their specific role and responsibilities.

Its innovative and advanced features have put this product at the forefront of what Microsoft calls "Wave One" of its Dynamics product line, combining enhancements in business intelligence, connectivity and Web integration.

More than any other mid-market accounting solution, Microsoft Dynamics GP has embodied the value of SQL Server and .Net functionality and the power of Microsoft Office. It is delivered with 21 role-based user templates, over 160 Web Services interfaces, contextual business intelligence tools, and integration with Microsoft CRM. Added to these are a familiar Microsoft Office 2003 user interface, new Business Analysis Cubes for Microsoft Excel, expanded reach and functionality around Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, and a Visual Studio 2005 development environment for extending Microsoft Dynamics GP forms and business logic, as well as connecting through Web Services using standard Extensible Markup Language (XML) templates.

Dynamics lives at the cutting edge of Microsoft technology, and at the upper end of the mid-market. Once aimed solely at companies with less than 1,000 employees, it has been made more scalable and adaptable to the needs of companies emerging from the mid-market and stretching for the enterprise - with the ability to serve a handful of users all the way up to the enterprise-level organization with over 100,000 customers, vendors or inventory items.

Microsoft Dynamics GP retains its accounting roots and its friendly interface, while serving as a platform to extend the meaning and value of accounting software. Market acceptance of its many new concepts remains to be seen, but accountants and their clients won't be disappointed by either the level of accounting power in this new version or by its ability to deliver a solid set of interesting and innovative features.

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