Microsoft Business Solutions today announced the acquisition of accounting products from Encore Business Solutions, Inc. that are critical to the success of customers and partners in the public sector. The acquisition includes Encore Business Solutions' not-for-profit accounting products and the intercompany payables management and requisition management modules currently sold by Microsoft Business Solutions under an OEM agreement with Encore Business Solutions.

Microsoft Business Solutions—Great Plains 8.0, scheduled for release this summer, will include functionality essential for Microsoft Business Solutions and its partners to conduct business in the public sector: grant management, fund accounting, and encumbrance , which tracks and monitors the commitment of funds prior to invoicing. In North America alone, there are an estimated 2.3 million public sector entities, which include government, not-for-profit, education, and healthcare organizations.

Today's announcement follows closely on Microsoft Business Solutions' recent provision of details on its strategy to enable independent software vendors (ISVs) to build additional industry-specific solutions by focusing on providing an extended platform and applications. "Enhancing the core horizontal functionality in Microsoft Great Plains 8.0 by offering an industry-enabling layer for organizations in the public sector is a vital step in taking action on the strategy we recently outlined," says Dave O'Hara, vice president, business development, Microsoft Business Solutions. "It will let our ISV partners go further with us as they will be building on top of a more robust foundation. Our partners will have greater opportunities to really focus on their specific areas of expertise and develop applications that address the challenges of organizations in the public sector."