Microsoft has made an extensive investment in its Dynamics 365 platform, and the company has made it abundantly clear that Dynamics GP is not part of its future. While Microsoft is still supporting Dynamics GP for now, but that’s only until 2023 and only if users upgraded to 2018R2.
Microsoft never planned on abandoning its Dynamics GP users, and it has a vested interest in making sure its GP clients have a path moving forward with Dynamics 365.
That said, since Dynamics 365 is a cloud ERP platform, many GP users are hesitant to moving to Dynamics 365 and the cloud. They are often aware of the benefits of moving to cloud ERP, such as not having to upgrade, mobility, and scalability. However, many of these users have the following other concerns in regards to moving from on-premises to the cloud.
1: Will my cloud subscription price keep increasing?
Well, there’s certainly a possibility that that can happen. However, most of the platforms have been very stable throughout the years in terms of pricing. When price increases have come, it’s a result of extensively expanded capabilities of the platform. While it really hasn’t happened too often throughout the years, there’s certainly a risk when you go to the cloud that that price could increase from year to year.
Dynamics 365 has options in terms of years of commitment, so you can create price certainty for longer periods of time. Depending on the application, there are different options available to set prices for a fair amount of time into the foreseeable future.
2: IS it Safe?
Microsoft is one of the leading software companies in the world, spending billions of dollars on data centers to make sure that those environments are safe and secure from people with bad intentions to get to your data. There’s little that you could do with an on-premises deployment on your own that would be more secure than what Microsoft is doing today.
Many incidents of data theft and compromised security are inside jobs by unhappy, current or recently departed employees and contractors. They will try to do damage to whichever systems they can reach, in the cloud or on-premises.
3: Will my third-party solutions work?
That’s going to be a case-by-case basis. There are some applications that are embedded inside of our ERP systems that we’ll have to look at, and potentially find different options.
However, most partners and ISVs supporting leading ERP solutions are creating and evolving their products to follow the standards for interoperability established by cloud ERP leaders. However, because the most advanced cloud ERP environments support integrations with cloud, as well as on-premise software, you typically have a greater choice of available solutions or can continue to run preferred software products you already own.
4: How will the cloud impact my multiple integrations?
There are a number of middleware applications available, if there isn’t a native integration between the applications you’re running today and the cloud ERP solutions we support. It doesn’t matter if it’s cloud-to-cloud, or cloud-to-on-premises, there are a lot of different solutions we can leverage to make sure that any applications you need to integrate will integrate to your Cloud ERP platform of choice.
5: ERP implementations are expensive and disruptive. what's in it for me?
We understand that implementing a new ERP system isn’t a walk in the park; however, ERP implementations are much more streamlined today, for several reasons, the cloud being one of them. The hardware element of the project is eliminated, mitigating environment and infrastructure issues. Due to advances in collaboration technology, you can engage stakeholders in multiple locations, without having to bring everybody into a room together. Project stakeholders can often participate from anywhere, making the implementation process a bit easier to swallow and quicker to deploy.
6: What if I lose internet access?
By and large, internet access has become much more stable over the years in most areas, making it less of a concern. If this is a major concern for you, we can set you up with a “hot spot” assessment to provide a connectivity heatmap and address any vulnerabilities we detect.
7: What about compliance?
We often get the question around compliance with different things, like ITAR, FDA compliance, or HIPAA compliance. Many of these compliance requirements, depending on the platform, have been addressed by third parties, to make sure that there is additional security in place to protect that data.
Some industries will have to stay off public cloud environments, which we are happy to discuss on a case-by-case basis.
8: Will forced upgrades break my system and distrupt my business?
In most cases, no. One of the key features of Cloud ERP is automatic upgrades, the idea of version-less software. Dynamics 365 Business Central has two primary releases throughout the course of the year. Two times a year, your application is updated to incorporate the latest and greatest features and functionality available in the market. Microsoft uses a managed version upgrade process to minimize business disruption.
Customizing ERP applications in the cloud is a lot faster and easier than on-premises solutions because the code base is standards-based instead of proprietary. So, when your cloud application is upgraded to a newer version, customized components are brought over to the new version seamlessly, without the need for painful re-programming or development. As you know, business critical customizations do not automatically migrate over to the upgraded version of GP or other on-premise solutions, increasing the cost and complexity of upgrades with on-premises ERP.
Cloud ERP solutions are a great way to stay ahead. You don’t have those big upgrade events that you had in the past with on-premise software and it’s a much more seamless way to continue to evolve your use of the application.
9: We already know gp. why change?
We understand that change is never easy. You’ve likely been using GP for a long time and you know the nuances of the solution and how to best use it to run your business. While moving to the cloud will require some changes to the way you operate today, you might be surprised at how quickly you’ll adjust to Dynamics 365, and the operational efficiencies you may be able to achieve along the way.
Cloud solutions, like Dynamics 365, are designed to be user friendly and intuitive, much like the mobile applications users are familiar with today. Both solutions come with their own native mobile apps, making remote access even easier. Employees can be productive whenever they wish to be, and they can also engage with their colleagues, customers, and trading partners at any time, anywhere.
Finally, the right technology can make a vast difference in your ability to compete for talent, recruit people who are a great fit with your company and retain them through a significant stage in their careers. Millennials and younger people expect powerful technology tools without the hurdles and inefficiencies of older software. Your employees are highly motivated to achieve their personal and professional goals by working in your organization. They will welcome modern mobile, collaborative, and productivity tools to help them advance. For them, the design of interfaces and workflows makes a big difference in their every-day success and satisfaction at work.
Ready for Dynamics 365 cloud-based erp?
Now is the time to get your essential operations and systems in the cloud. Together, we’ll get your business future ready.
