Executive Summary
- Microsoft is investing in the future of the Dynamics GP platform with their Modern Lifecycle program
- The GP roadmap will continue to be driven by GP customers, a growing community of over 47,000 businesses with a rich ecosystem
- Greenstone will continue to invest in the CINCH/Intellego platforms, keeping current with Microsoft’s Dynamic GP Modern Lifecycle release cycle and adding features to serve unmet customer needs
- Hosting options for GP and CINCH exist and are proven
Overview
Greenstone Systems is the premier provider of software solutions and services for both independent and cooperative grain originators, grain and pulse processors, and agriculture retailers. One of our primary software solutions is CINCH, which is also branded as Intellego and exclusively marketed to the ethanol industry by one of our trusted industry partners, Christianson PLLP.
CINCH/Intellego is deeply integrated with Dynamics GP, a business solution from Microsoft with more than 47,000 small and medium-sized organizations around the world. The install base for Dynamics GP continues to grow annually. This document includes a brief history and strategic direction for CINCH/Intellego. It also provides a strong sense of Greenstone’s focus and expected priorities as it relates to the CINCH/Intellego solution.
**Further references to CINCH apply to and include Intellego.
Background on CINCH
CINCH was originally developed and launched in 2004 by e-Markets and was the first hosted ERP for agribusinesses. Cultura Technologies acquired e-Markets in September 2013, and the CINCH product line is currently managed by Greenstone Systems, a Cultura company.
Since the acquisition, Cultura Technologies has continued to invest in and expand CINCH. Improvements have included new functionalities, partner and customer requested improvements, upgraded integration capabilities, and support of new Dynamics GP releases. Greenstone has recently adopted a two updates-per- year release cadence that is centered around planned releases and updates from Microsoft for Dynamics GP.
CINCH has a proven integration platform called CINCHX that supports industry standard XML standards including CIDX and AgXML. CINCHX processes thousands of transactions each day from agronomy, scale automation, and other systems. CINCH also has a robust integration to the Insight/Dynamics CRM platform.
Greenstone offers and supports a hosted environment for CINCH customers not wanting to invest in infrastructure. This turn-key environment allows customers to remote-desktop into a fully managed environment where all updates, patches, backups, and disaster recovery are managed by Greenstone.
No other agribusiness ERP system running on a Microsoft Dynamics platform comes close to the depth and proven capabilities of CINCH for agricultural retail, cooperative operations, grain originating, grain marketing, and processing (grains, oilseeds, and pulses).
The Latest for Microsoft Dynamics GP
In 2019, Microsoft officially implemented their Modern Lifecycle program with Dynamics GP. This is fantastic news for CINCH customers and prospects as Microsoft’s other mainline products are supported continuously and managed in this way, proving a deeper commitment to Dynamics GP.
With the Modern Lifecycle, Microsoft commits supporting Dynamics GP as long as it remains an active product. This guarantees the following three annual releases at a minimum:
- Mid-Year Update (June/July)
- May be driven by regulatory changes
- Feature Update (October)
- Larger update that includes new features
- Year-End Update (November/December)
- Regulatory, tax updates
Quality fixes will be included in each update and hotfixes will be released as needed. Microsoft’s intention with the Modern Lifecycle is to keep customers as current as possible on the latest releases and encourage them to apply at least one update per year.
What Modern Lifecycle Means for CINCH
Greenstone will leverage Microsoft’s ‘stay current’ policy to keep CINCH customers on updated versions of both Dynamics GP and CINCH, producing the following two major CINCH releases each year:
- One in August/September to be compatible with the Dynamics GP’s June/July release
- One in early December to be compatible with the year-end release
Microsoft’s Plans for Dynamics GP
Our development and product management teams regularly meet with key individuals at Microsoft who manage and direct Dynamics GP. These active relationships with key individuals on the Dynamics GP leadership team serve as a conduit of communication that serves Greenstone’s customers well.
Microsoft continues to invest to secure its base which includes enhancing Dynamics GP, showing that their long-term commitment to the large Dynamics GP customer base is strong.
The Future of CINCH
Greenstone realizes the most valuable part of any information system is our customers’ data combined with robust rules and features that help customers enforce their controls. Accordingly, Greenstone will continue to:
- Provide CINCH releases that are compatible with each Dynamics GP release
- Continue to extend and deepen CINCH’s already robust and proven functionality to serve other roles within our customers’ businesses
- Proactively plan for CINCH’s future
- Invest in the CINCH roadmap to ensure an actively growing and expanding set of functionalities
- Go to extraordinary efforts to secure and protect that data within the code and functionality of our products
- Look for creative ways for our customers to have access to their powerful data
- Seek to identify and address underserved roles through mobile and web-based solutions that leverage the proven CINCH/Intellego platform
CINCH customers are confident in their current and future business operations because they are fully supported by a progressive and innovative technology partner. They also know that that future enhancements to CINCH will be made in lockstep with our powerful mobile apps.
Greenstone’s Commitment
Greenstone Systems is committed to continuing to provide an industry-specific solution on top of a Microsoft Dynamics ERP solution, along with timely and transparent communication. We respect your investment and understand how mission critical the CINCH and Dynamics GP platforms are to your business. Thank you for your partnership and continued investment in the Dynamics GP and CINCH/ Intellego platform.
CLICK HERE to download a PDF of the 2020 Statement of Direction for CINCH. If you have any questions or would like to further discuss this topic, please feel free to reach out to Mark Hisken, Product Manager for CINCH, at mark.hisken@culturatech.com.