The Benefits of Transitioning from Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central

For years I’ve been having conversations with our Dynamics GP clients about moving to Dynamics 365 Business Central, and those conversations have become more urgent and important with the retirement date for Dynamics GP announced for the end of 2029.

Every Dynamics GP customer needs to evaluate their technology and decide on a path forward for their business.

Change can feel overwhelming, especially when it comes to your business system—but you’re not alone. The team and I at Encore have helped many clients successfully make the move to Business Central, and I understand the questions and concerns that come up along the way.

Customers often want to know what their business systems will look like once they’ve moved to Dynamics 365 Business Central. So, in this article, I want to explain the significant benefits of moving from Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central in one clear list.

In my experience with our customers, there are 8 main benefits that Dynamics GP clients get by transitioning to Dynamics 365 Business Central in the cloud:

• Connections with the Full Microsoft Ecosystem
• Security and Compliance
• Microsoft-Managed Infrastructure
• No More Costly Version Upgrades
• Remote Work Capabilities
• Predictable and Flexible Cost
• Improved Analytics and Reporting
• Built-in Generative AI

Stronger Connections with the Full Ecosystem of Microsoft Applications

Dynamics 365 Business Central seamlessly connects with other tools in the Microsoft ecosystem, including Excel, Teams, Power BI, Power Platform, and Dynamics 365 CRM.

You can invoice directly from Outlook, collaborate on Excel documents then publish them back to Business Central, do bank reconciliation faster with Copilot, expand your reporting with Power BI, or automate processes with Power Automate.

These integrations create a unified and consistent user experience, enabling your people to do more of their work in familiar applications. They reduce the time and focus lost by switching applications, and enable your solution to grow over time along with your business.

At Encore, we believe that it’s important to evaluate any ERP solution beyond its basic functionality and consider the broader technology “platform” it offers to your business. Here’s how our Chief Revenue Officer describes this approach:

Note that, like Dynamics GP, Dynamics 365 Business Central also has a broad community of 3rd-party ISV solution providers that can extend your functionality.

However, some of the functionality I know GP customers currently depend on ISVs for can now be replaced with the expanded out-of-the-box functionality in Business Central. We can help you identify which options will be best for your business.

Learn more: What Happens to My Dynamics GP Add-On Solutions When I Move to Dynamics 365 Business Central?

Security and Compliance

Sadly, I’ve watched data security become a more pressing concern for every business in recent years. And the technical reality is that it’s getting harder and harder to protect an on-premise system like Dynamics GP from modern cybercriminals.

With Dynamics 365 Business Central, your sensitive business data is stored in highly secure, state-of-the-art data centers that are owned and managed by Microsoft. Microsoft has thousands of engineers focused on security for its cloud applications, including Dynamics 365 Business Central. They stay ahead of evolving cybersecurity trends, and add security enhancements to the code when needed, so you can sleep better, knowing your company is secure.

When it comes to regulatory compliance with customer data, the benefits of Dynamics 365 Business Central are similar – Microsoft’s cloud storage rules can make sure that your data storage is secure and compliant. (For instance, you can choose whether your data is stored in the USA or in Canada.)

No Need to Manage Infrastructure

A common source of cost, effort, and complexity that I hear from our customers on Dynamics GP is the servers needed to host it. With any on-premise ERP, you need to purchase servers, store them safely, keep a disaster recovery plan for your data, and more.

This created significant hidden costs beyond the software cost of the licensing, and those expenditures are rarely included in conventional cost analysis.

Dynamics 365 Business Central in the cloud is entirely hosted by Microsoft. You will never need to purchase servers again, and your data will remain secure and accessible if anything should happen to your physical offices, like a fire or flood.

No More Costly Version Upgrades

In Dynamics 365 Business Central, you will always be on the latest version of the solution.

Every year, two major updates are automatically pushed out (one in the spring and one in the fall), as well as monthly minor releases. These updates contain new features as well as performance and security improvements.

Note also that you can schedule your Business Central updates (so you can make sure they don’t occur on your busiest days).

This automatic update routine means you can save a considerable amount of budget and effort compared to what was needed to keep Dynamics GP current by manually upgrading to new versions.

Remote Work Capabilities

With Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can enable your team to work from anywhere, on any device. The user experience is consistent across all devices and operating systems (Android, iPhone, etc.), making it easier for your people to stay productive while on the go.

Business Central is also fully secure for remote access, making sure that only the right people are accessing the data appropriate to their roles.

Predictable and Flexible Cost

Dynamics 365 Business Central has a predictable user license price that covers all your maintenance and infrastructure costs. There’s no more need to go and purchase servers, and there are no more surprise upgrade costs, like there were in Dynamics GP.

You pay per user per month or year, so you can add or remove user licenses over time as your needs fluctuate.

Analytics and Reporting

Dynamics 365 Business Central equips you and your team with faster and more detailed access to the data you need to make complex decisions quickly.

• Dimensional accounting lets you “tag” your data so you can more quickly drill down to find specific information like travel expenses across different departments.
• Predictive analytics (like the Copilot late-payment predictor) and data visualizations in Business Central help users get actionable insights from business data.
• You can also extract data and customize Business Central reports in a familiar interface via Excel layouts.
• And some businesses choose to further enhance their Business Central analysis capabilities with Power BI reports.

Built-in Generative AI

The Microsoft Copilot AI capabilities built into Dynamics 365 Business Central offer productivity gains for your workforce. From directly answering user questions and speeding up reconciliation processes to predicting late payments, Business Central puts the power of AI in your hands to improve efficiency.

Companies can also safeguard their data privacy and compliance with Microsoft’s governance tools for responsible use of AI. Learn more about Microsoft Copilot functionality in Dynamics 365 Business Central in our Copilot Features in Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Or learn more about the security of Copilot with Dynamics 365.

How Encore Can Help

At Encore, we are experts in both Dynamics GP and Dynamics 365 Business Central. Our teams for each product work together, so the people implementing Business Central for you can draw on the familiarity that our GP specialists have built up with your business and others like it over the years.

When deciding on your path forward, it’s important for you to consider the full technology roadmap for your business. We can help you identify how you can bring existing solutions together and leverage the current and future capabilities of the full Microsoft business stack: Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365 (Office 365), Copilot, Power BI, and more.

The Encore team and I have helped businesses like yours migrate to Business Central successfully. This empowers businesses to collaborate better, achieve their goals faster, and become better prepared for the future of business and technology.

You can learn more about transitioning to Business Central, or find out about our free on-premise to cloud ERP assessment. If you’re ready to take the next steps or get advice tailored to your specific situation, you can also contact us or reach out to your Encore account manager directly.

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