Microsoft has set up two tracks for developers to certify applications for Dynamics GP 2013. The company noted this ends the practice of the last five years in which there was a single set of certification requirements. Microsoft said the change is being made because "with the evolution of partner solutions from being primarily on-premise to a mix of on-premise and cloud solutions, we realized that a single set of requirements does not fit for all partners." Read more...

Retail Pro International has made available the AppCard customer loyalty service with its Retail Pro POS applications. The company said cloud-based AppCard requires no integration with the POS. The system works with both Retail Pro 9 and Prism and enables merchants to offer shoppers personalized offers, earn rewards and free gifts, and get live digital receipts via the AppCard smartphone app or Web account, AppCard also offers analytics with data accessible through a dashboard or by drilling down to reports. There is also a five-tier loyalty program so that customers can receive more rewards as they increase spending. Retailers can also tailor offers customers’ purchasing history, age, gender, buying preferences, geographic location

Adaptive Planning has named SAP veteran, Carolee Gearhart, as VP of global channels and partners. Gearhart was global VP for SAP's OEM business from  November 2010 through December 2012 and had been VP of business development from April 2006 through October 2010. She was VP of global channels for PeopleSoft from 1992 through 2001. The Adaptive planning job is a new position and Gearhart's responsibility is to grow the channel from its current 400 members.