As of 2018, Microsoft Dynamics NAV has been rebranded as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Business Central is a cloud–based ERP system that builds on the features of Microsoft Dynamics NAV and is targeted primarily at small and medium-sized organisations. In addition to the scalability, accessibility, and countless other cloud-based advantages, it contains all of the features and capabilities of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV system.
If your organisation is presently using Dynamics NAV, you may wonder if it is worthwhile to switch to Business Central at this point. When considering an upgrade from NAV to Business Central, the following are the primary factors.
1. Cloud
When you upgrade from your on-premises NAV system to Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can take advantage of all of the cloud’s features and benefits. First and foremost, your organisation will always have access to the most up-to-date technology. Every month, updates for the Business Central application housed in the cloud will be carried out automatically.
You will also benefit from the protection provided by Azure and guarantee that your firm is better secured against cyber attacks and data breaches. Microsoft spends more than $1 billion yearly on data security and employs over 3,500 security specialists to keep your information safe. In addition, they have a service level agreement (SLA) in place for the cloud-based Business Central. Finally, as we’ll see in the following point, the cloud may assist you in lowering your total cost of ownership (TCO).
2. Costs
If you have Dynamics NAV on-premises, you have most certainly made an initial investment in a license and a yearly maintenance charge to keep it up to date. Your running expenditures included a significant portion of the price of your hardware infrastructure, SQL Server license, backup, and information technology resources. Cloud-based Business Central operates on a SaaS model, with user licensing determined by a monthly subscription fee for each user account.
This charge gives you access to all the services you need to manage your company. Hardware, information technology resources, and software updates are not included in the price. Moving your ERP to the cloud may reallocate your typical ERP expenditures from infrastructure, servers, and updates to a license cost.
As a result, expenditures become more predictable year after year. Furthermore, you won’t have to pay for future upgrading initiatives once you’ve switched to the cloud. Updates for Business Central will be provided at no additional charge, ensuring you always have the most up-to-date version. When you switch from an on-premises to a cloud-based ERP system, your total cost of ownership decreases dramatically over time.
3. Functionality and applications.
It relies on the fundamental functionality of Dynamics NAV and expands it, adding additional features like focus mode, late payment forecasting, fuzzy search, and other valuable tools, among other things. Business Central also connects perfectly with Microsoft 365, allowing you to do additional tasks straight from your Outlook client. This includes generating bids, processing orders, and sending bills without leaving the Outlook environment.
Microsoft AppSource, a collection of third-party extensions built by independent software vendors (ISVs), allows you to extend the capabilities of Business Central even further. It will enable you to try out the new program you’re interested in and then delete the add-on if it doesn’t fit your company’s requirements.
4. Obtaining Access
Business Central is hosted in the cloud (although an on-premises version is available) and can be accessed from any location and device anytime. If desired, users may undertake critical operations like checking dashboards, sending sales quotations, or filing costs through their smartphone or tablet, since the user experience is consistent across all platforms. The ability to operate your company from anywhere, as well as the ability to allow your workers to work from home, will be a critical advantage in the year 2020.
5. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Several advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools in Business Central may help you enhance productivity by speeding up repetitive operations and improving cash flow by assisting with inventory and bad debt management.
If you use Late Payment Prediction, for example, you may minimise your outstanding receivables by forecasting whether or not sales invoices will be paid on time. Using Image Analyzer, you can also provide suggestions for inventory characteristics.
6. Support Timelines
What is the expected time frame for support for your version of Dynamics NAV? Another important consideration when considering whether or not to upgrade is the cost of the update.
In terms of kind, assistance may be divided into two categories: Mainstream support and Extended support. If your version has reached or is about to approach the end of extended support, you will be unable to take advantage of the newest features, additions, and bug fixes. Integrations are becoming increasingly complex as well. By the time you reach the end of your life expectancy, your security upgrades will have expired, placing your system in danger of being compromised.
Conclusion
Upgrading from Dynamics NAV to Dynamics 365 Business Central may assist you in streamlining your business operations, reducing the total cost of ownership, and enabling your firm to operate more effectively. Just so you know, depending on the version of NAV you are now using and the length of time you have left on your maintenance contract, you will need to upgrade to Business Central at some point.
