Upgrade from Dynamics NAV to D365 Business Central
- Cloud SaaS or On-Premises?
- Full upgrade or clean slate upgrade?
- Migrate all customizations using a pure extension or hybrid approach?
- Upgrade or reimplementation?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a complete ERP from Microsoft for SMB segment. The product is part of the Microsoft Dynamics family, and is the successor product to Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The ERP is available in a SAS and On-Premises model.
Business Central comes with a very impressive Web And Mobile client. Its features and functionalities range from the basic to advanced capabilities in modules – Finance (G&A, Fixed Assets, AR, AP, Bank and Cash, Taxation, Inventory), Sales & Marketing, Purchase, Inventory and Warehouse, Manufacturing, Post Sales Service Management, Jobs and Resources for Project accounting.
Microsoft has planned to release new features in Business Central from April 2020 through September 2020. MS has recently released Business Central Release Wave 1 with improved usability, Better tools for admins and partners, enhanced application features. Microsoft plans to release 2 major updates each year with increased features and capabilities. The latest released version available is Business Central 2020 Wave 1.
Business Central helps the business to streamline their processes and enable the business to make smarter decisions. It helps in improving forecast accuracy while maintaining compliance and security.
Dynamics 365 Business Central is a direct for SMB organizations and has been able to address the business requirements, preferences and expectations for small and medium-sized businesses in the trading, manufacturing, eCommerce, Services & Projects business domain.
It works well in organizations with as low as 3 users ranging up to 500 users.
Dynamics 365 Business Central On-Premises works in a 3 Tier architecture. There are at least 3 components for Setup: 1. A SQL Db Server which shall hold the Business Central Database 2. An Application Server to set up the Application Services for Business Central (these could be more than 1 Server depending on the user base and the transactional volume) 3. IIS which is required to host the Web Client for Business Central. The users are supposed to access Business Central either on a Web Browser (IE, Firefox, Chrome etc.) or else through its universal Tablet/Mobile client.
Financial Management – Finance module provides accounting and finance solutions. With the help of this module, organizations can conveniently manage payables, general ledger, inventory, receivables, fixed assets, cash flow and many more.
Sales & Marketing – In Sales & Marketing, this term is mainly used for successful business growth. Making sales, it consists of telephone calls, one-on-one interaction meetings, etc. for building customer relationship.
Service Management – In which organizations handle profitable decisions such as quickly responds to service requests, response times, schedules, pricing and customer preferences. It manages all aspects of service orders.
Supply chain management – It manages the flow of goods and services. It shows the comprehensive process of goods from manufacturers to wholesaler to the consumer.
Manufacturing – With the help of manufacturing organizations can boost their efficiencies and manage production, bills of materials, capacity requirement planning, work orders and supply planning.
Project Management – In which, enterprises manage projects from start to completion for budgeting, resource planning and billing. Also handles the cost estimation and expenses of the projects.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central offers a range of licensing plans to accommodate different user roles and needs
1. Essential User
2. Premium User
3. Team Member
4. Device License
Business Central is purchased through a Microsoft authorised CSP or reseller.
The Essentials version of Business Central, you gain access to stable business functionality across areas like finance, supply chain management, CRM, HR, and more. If you need to utilize advanced features such as Manufacturing, a Premium user license is required. For users who require read-only access with limited write/edit capabilities, the Team Member User license is a suitable option. Here's the license cost for an online subscription, but please note that the cost of the perpetual license may vary by country:
1. Team Member: $8 to $15 per user per month
2. Essentials: $70 to $100 per user per month
3. Premium: $100 to $150 per user per month
Microsoft releases a minor release on a monthly basis and 1 Major update every 6 months. Its Online instance gets updated automatically on each release however customers need to plan the updates themselves in case of the On-Premises deployment
Yes, in case of Online SAS model
It is notified about updates in D365 Business central through the Admin centre, you can utilize the Admin Centre’s communication and notification features
Dynamics 365 Business Central On-Premises works in a 3 Tier architecture. There are at least 3 components for Setup: 1. A SQL Db Server which shall hold the Business Central Database 2. An Application Server to setup the Application Services for Business Central (these could be more than 1 Server depending on the user base and the transactional volume) 3. IIS which is required to host the Web Client for Business Central. The users are supposed to access Business Central either on a Web Browser (IE, Firefox, Chrome etc) or else through its universal Tablet/Mobile client.
Business Central Setup can be installed in a demonstration as well as production environment using a standard available wizard.
To access ongoing support for D365 Business Central, you have two main options. First, you can reach out to Microsoft for technical assistance by raising support tickets for product issues. Second, you can collaborate with Microsoft Partners and Resellers to receive personalized support tailored to your organization's needs.
A. For the D365 Business Central cloud deployment need reliable internet connection and supported web browsers, such as Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox.
B. For the D365 Business Central on premises deployment need a dedicated server, OS, Database Server etc.
Yes, Microsoft and its partners offer training and support services to help with the migration and ongoing use of Business Central.
Business Central typically uses a named user licensing model instead of the concurrent user model used in NAV.
Business Central provides out of the box connectors with D365 Customer Engagement, Office 365 application like Outlook, with Power BI, PowerApps, CDS and Automate. It also comes with a standard set of APIs which makes any 3rd party integration quick and easy.
Microsoft recommends using Office 365 for email and office applications due to its great compatibility with Business Central. However Business Central doesn’t restrict organizations from using other email providers.
Dynamics 365 Business Central is quite flexible and can be customized by trained/certified developers to address business needs.
By stop paying for the monthly subscription.
A well trained Business Central consultant can configure the various modules of Business Central basis the user requirements.
One of the advantages of Dynamics 365 is dual use rights. This allows customers the option to deploy the server software either in Microsoft’s cloud or in a private on-premises or partner-hosted cloud
Both versions of Business Central (cloud and on-premise) have the same features and functions—the big difference is the platform. Business Central On-Premise is built for on-premise deployment. It can also be hosted in the cloud, but it can’t offer the same seamless experience as a fully managed cloud-based solution
Dynamics 365 Business Central comes with out of the box integration / plugin / configuration for O365 Outlook.
Business Central offers terrific value by integrating with other Microsoft cloud services, including Office 365 and can be customized or extended for specific industry needs with PowerApps, Microsoft Flow, and Power BI. They have standard / out of the box connectors and connections available with Business Central.
Business Central offers terrific value by integrating with other Microsoft cloud services, including Office 365 and can be customized or extended for specific industry needs with PowerApps, Microsoft Flow, and Power BI. They have standard / out of the box connectors and connections available with Business Central.
Business Central provides out of the box connectors with Power BI. It also comes with a standard pack of Power BI reports and dashboards for finance and sales.
Microsoft releases a minor release on a monthly basis and 1 Major update every 6 months. Its SAS Online instance gets updated automatically on each release.
Both versions of Business Central (cloud and on-premise) have the same features and functions—the big difference is the platform.
Dynamics 365 Business Central SaaS cannot be hosted on your own cloud infrastructure. It is a cloud-based solution that is hosted and managed by Microsoft in their data centers. However, choose to deploy the On-Premises version of Business Central can be hosted in the private cloud or own infrastructure.
The duration can vary based on data complexity, customization, and system size, but it usually takes several weeks to a few months.
1. Simple: No tampering of Core, only New objects added (Approx. 1-2 Months)
2. Medium: Core modified but publishers available (Approx. 3-4 Months)
3. Complex: Core modified publishers not available, Dot Net variables used, SSRS reports and Integrations (More than 3 Months)
Microsoft Dynamics Business Central Platform has integrated Sales function with AI and Machine Learning. The two applications are programmed to share insights by Predictive analysis.
Predictive models developed on Azure learning platform can drive Dynamics 365 Business Central options, thereby allowing users to utilize built-in features for late payments or upcoming inventory forecasts. A combination of historical data as well as real-time information generated by the moment serves as the backbone for Business Central intelligent capabilities.
The Cloud Migration Management assisted setup guide in Business Central can help you migrate data from Dynamics GP. You can migrate data from Dynamics GP 2015 and later versions of Dynamics GP to Business Central SAS
Migration is a one-time data move, once you migrated, Business Central SaaS will become your primary solution and your existing Dynamics GP system will only be used to search across your historical GP data or for reporting purposes. Microsoft has developed an extension, that make migration process easy. Dynamics GP Data Migration Extension is available for free at AppSource. With this extension you can migrate the following modules: GL Accounts and balances, Customers and Customer Opening, Vendor and Vendor Opening, Item and Inventory Balances.
The essential difference is that Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations has a lot more built-in ‘enterprise functionality’ compared with Business Central. While F&O is targeted at Multinational medium to large organisations and groups of enterprises, Business Central targets Small to mid-size enterprises. While F&O provides multiple country localizations inside of a single instance as out-of-the-box for 37 countries, Business Central comes with separate localized instances for each country. It provides localization for 19 countries.
Using the AL Language, a custom extension can be designed. Once has to learn working on AL code and Business Central.
In case of one time migration, Business Central provides data migration utility called Configuration Packages. For a continuous data transaction between 2 systems, an integration need to be developed either using standard APIs or else through custom APIs.
Business Central provides standard APIs for an integration for major entities. One can also develop custom APIs.
It refers to integration with O365 applications like Outlook, Excel, Word and OneNote
Dynamics 365 Business Central is the new version of NAV however the major difference lies in its advanced platform, cloud compatibility, GUI and integration with O365, D365 Application, AI and Power platform.
Dynamics 365 Business Central is the newer version of NAV which has been running in organizations and industries across the globe from more than 2 decades. Microsoft has roadmap defined for Business Central future versions. This clearly signifies that any organization can easily rely on Business Central & Microsoft for their business application
Dynamics 365 Business Central provides the best tools and effective solutions to manage and comply with the GDPR rules It allows:
1. Easily find and filter data
2. Manage personal data with Dynamics Business Central modules
3. Give security: protect data with integrated tools
4. Analyse and keep records updated.
Dynamics 365 Business Central is the new version of NAV however the major difference lies in its advanced platform, cloud compatibility, GUI and integration with O365, D365 Application, AI and Power platform.
Dynamics 365 Business Central is the new version of NAV however the major difference lies in its advanced platform, cloud compatibility, GUI and integration with O365, D365 Application, AI and Power platform.
If you are still on NAV, you should upgrade your NAV to Business Central without any further delay. Your NAV version might be already out of main stream support.
There might arise some issues related to compatible s/w on the server like .Net framework version or SQL version. Otherwise, the installation shall go smooth.
One can upgrade to Business Central On Premise using the Upgrade process and the Upgrade toolkit. This activity requires enough technical knowhow of Business Central, AL code and upgrade process.
Alletec is a Gold partner and prominent name in the MS Dynamics space for Dynamics 365 Business Central solution and services.
Dynamics 365 Business Central comes with standard HR module with basic features to record Employee records. It also provides out of the box feature to maintain Employee Ledger.
AL code is the modern language used in custom Extension development for Dynamics 365 Business Central.
Dynamics 365 Business Central provides out of the box feature to configure and run G/L Consolidation to consolidate General Ledger for several related companies.