Dynamics AX to D365 Upgrade Services
Migrating from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 is a significant undertaking. You need the services of an experienced Dynamics partner to help you take the least disruptive, most efficient path.
- Process for Transitioning to D365
- How Long Does It Take?
- AX 2009 to Dynamics 365 Considerations
- AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 Considerations
Note: The Dynamics solution that AX customers transition to is usually called Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations or D365FO. However, Microsoft now technically licenses it as Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management.
Initial Assessment and Advice
To find your best process and timeline for moving from AX to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, we start by assessing your technical and business situation and the best transition options.
We provide this service on a small contract, after which you’ll be better positioned to understand the costs, benefits, consequences, and options for upgrading your ERP.
In our experience, your best path to D365 will depend mainly on 3 factors:
- AX Version: As with any ERP, earlier versions will take more work to move to the newest version. Learn about moving to D365 from AX 2009 or moving to D365 from AX 2012.
- Customizations & Integrations: We’ll advise you on the best ways to handle your existing customizations and integrations. Depending on technical details, there are several options here, including Power Platform and custom development work. See below.
- Your Business Needs: Your Dynamics Partner should focus your transition project on the functionality crucial to your business. That could be international accounting and compliance, process manufacturing, multi-site warehousing, or something else.
Also, we’ll help you develop a solution roadmap for your broader technology needs. Microsoft’s D365 business application stack includes more than ERP: it also can include customer service, sales functionality, field service, and more.
Solution Architecting
For large projects of this nature to be successful, it’s essential for you and your partner to develop a shared “10,000-foot view” of how your business needs match up to the solution and the transition process.
Our solution architects provide that view, assessing your top-level business flow and requirements, determining how your current AX configuration can be translated into Dynamics 365, and advising on how long the project will take.
Furthermore, having the architecting completed at the beginning gives us the wherewithal to know when corrections or tweaks may need to be made to the plan.
Technical Work and Testing
During the project, we configure the system to support your business processes, create your users and assign security roles, and more.
Note that your team needs to dedicate time to testing and business process explanations, to ensure a successful transition to D365.
For testing, we’ll guide you through best practices and testing scripts.
For data migration, depending on your AX version, you may need our assistance to match up your current data to the correct fields in D365. We’ll create an import template for you.
Some AX to D365 Finance & Operations upgrade projects also include the following:
Customizations and Integrations
Some custom development work is necessary in many transitions from AX to D365.
But we won’t simply do every customization you request, then send you the bill. First, we’ll explain the possible alternatives and costs associated with those customizations.
We’ll also help you decide whether each of your existing customizations is best replaced by:
- New out-of-the-box functionality in D365
- Next-generation add-ons
- Power Platform apps or automations
- Business process changes
Power BI, Power Apps, and Power Automate
Power BI: Many, though not all, customers choose to enhance the reporting native to D365FO with Power BI, which lets you get insights from your data more easily and quickly.
Power BI reports can also be helpful during the process of moving to D365, because you can use them to monitor if data in the new system matches up properly to the old.
Power Apps and Power Automate: We can help you speed up repetitive processes and sometimes replace the need for customizations to fill gaps between the ERP and your business needs, using Power Apps and Power Automate. Learn more about Power Platform with D365FO.
User Training
Your people will need training to ensure full adoption of the solution. The D365FO interface has some significant differences from Dynamics AX. And you may have streamlined some of your business processes during the upgrade.
We often use a “train the trainer” methodology, because building up your power users and early adopters is a great investment for the future of your business. Those internal experts can then go on to help the rest of your company make the most of the upgraded system.
For introductory articles to many of the kinds of configuration and functionality you may want training in, see Encore’s D365FO Tips & Tricks articles.
Ongoing Guidance After Go-Live
Whether it’s for further training, technical support, product roadmapping, or future implementations (like Power BI), you need continued support from an experienced partner. That partner should understand your business and your ERP.
How Long Does It Take to Upgrade from Dynamics AX to D365?
It usually takes 6-12 months to move from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365. This includes the architecting, configurations of each module, customizations, integrations, testing, and deployment. It’s important to plan ahead and speak with a partner who can provide guidance on the timeline for your business.
AX 2009 to Dynamics 365 Upgrade: Special Considerations
Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations offers considerably more detail and flexibility than AX 2009 in the areas of production, inventory, warehouse management, and financial dimensions. That means you’ll have more functionality once you move to D365. To ensure you leverage that new functionality effectively and achieve full user adoption, discuss these changes with your Dynamics Partner at the start of the implementation process.
For the same reason, user adoption for people accustomed to AX 2009 will take slightly more effort.
AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 Upgrade: Special Considerations
Businesses on AX 2012, 2012 R2, or 2012 R3 will find the transition to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations somewhat easier. The vast majority of the functionality in D365FO already exists in AX 2012, especially in R2 and R3. So, if your business processes and needs are largely unchanged from when you configured AX, your partner can mostly take your existing business configurations and migrate them to the cloud.
Admittedly, the D365FO interface is different than the AX interface, but after a day or so of adjustment to the UI, your finance and operations staff will be able to find all the functions they are used to.
Why Choose Encore for Your AX to D365 Upgrade
At Encore, we have the experience you need to help you through the upgrade process.
- We’ve performed over 2000 implementations.
- We have over 800 customers.
- We have experience across the entire Dynamics 365 business application stack.
AX to D365 transition projects are complex, and often have surprises. We won’t always be able to tell you what you want to hear, but we will always tell you what you need to hear.
Encore Information
Contact Us
To discuss moving from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 with our experts, contact us.