Microsoft Updates Business Portal

That means the product, officially dubbed the Microsoft Business Solutions Business Portal 2.0, can now share SharePoint Web Parts, prebuilt code, useable on that platform. There are Microsoft and third-party Web Parts such as document libraries, calendars and editors. Release 2.0 is shipping now, Microsoft said.

The current Release 1.2 of the portal which added PKI and other perks shipped last August.

The company said it has also enhanced the Human Resource Management Self-Service Suite adding multilevel direct reports and performance review features. There is also a new payroll time and attendance module for Solomon users.

While the portal functionality is part of the Foundation Layer for Great Plains and Solomon applications, users must pay a client-access license to access. Microsoft is cutting that fee in half from $40 per user to $20 per user. Customers can purchase a license for unlimited users for $40,000. Access to other functions can cost more. The HRM module, for example, ranges in price from $500 to $2,500. The KPI (Key Performance Indicator) module costs $3,000.

For more on the Business Portal, see CRN.