Microsoft, Outer Edge Technology Donations Ratchet Up Duquesne Business Program

Business students at Duquesne University will kick their data managing practices up a notch, thanks to a new partnership with Microsoft and Outer Edge Technology.

Students in the information systems field will have  access to the latest—and one of the fastest growing—Enterprise Resource Planning technologies through Microsoft Dynamics, which interweaves an organization’s finance, accounting, manufacturing, sales, service and other internal and external management information. Microsoft Dynamics AX has been donated by Microsoft through its Microsoft Dynamics Academic Alliance program.

Through Duquesne’s Microsoft Dynamics Academic Alliance membership, professors will also have access to all of the products in the Microsoft Dynamics line, as well as a community of over 1,100 other educational institutions worldwide, all working for the same goal: to provide their students with relevant experience to help increase their chances of getting hired. Additionally, Duquesne will have the opportunity to connect with various local Microsoft partners and take part in various events.

Outer Edge Technology (OET), which offers custom, private cloud solutions, has agreed to host the system for free for one year. OET will provide the computing infrastructure, operational support and datacenter services in support of this new and exciting business program.

“OET understands the importance of real world training in preparing America’s college students to compete on a global stage and is committed to supporting outstanding programs like Duquesne’s master’s degree program for information systems management,” said Richard Emlet, founder and CEO of Outer Edge Technology.

These donations will clearly enhance the students’ working knowledge of this integrated technology—and their employability.

“We’re grateful to Microsoft and to Outer Edge for contributing technology that will provide our students with cutting-edge workforce skills and knowledge,” said Dean Alan Miciak of the Palumbo•Donahue School of Business. “The master’s degree in information systems management provides real-world, hands-on experience with leading edge technology and makes our students more marketable.”

“This will even further enhance the value of a Duquesne degree because companies are hunting for people with Microsoft Dynamics experience,” said Dr. William Spangler, associate dean for academic affairs in the business school, who has taught many technical and managerial courses in information systems. “Huge numbers of unfilled positions are available in this field.”

Medium- and large-manufacturing and other businesses are trending toward use of the Microsoft Dynamics AX system because of its ability to allow greater control of the total operations and budgets, and its delivery in Microsoft’s next-generation, integrated ERP and business productivity solutions.

“It manages an entire set of operations for business: buying and selling, to marketing, accounting, manufacturing, planning and logistics, virtually every business function,” Spangler said.

This fall, faculty have been familiarizing themselves with the software, and they will lead students in using the system in increasingly sophisticated case studies in the coming spring semester. While graduate students initially will be trained on the system, Spangler sees use of the software moving into undergraduate classes as well.