Dynamics AX customers are moving to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, gaining the advantages of a secure cloud ERP alongside familiar Microsoft functionality.
Encore can assist you every step of the way in your shift to Finance & Operations. We are here to help you make informed decisions, avoid business disruption, and manage the change for your staff to your upgraded ERP. This page offers an overview of what you need to know.
Note: Even though most customers, commentators, and consultants still call it Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations or Dynamics 365 F&O, Microsoft now technically licenses it as Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management.
Improved Security and Support: All Dynamics AX versions, as well as the Windows Server and SQL versions they depend on, have now reached the end of Microsoft support. Moving to Dynamics 365 gives you full and ongoing support from Microsoft, as well as regular security updates.
Scalable: Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations is a scalable platform that enables growth in your business.
Better Integration: Finance & Operations provides better integration capabilities with other Microsoft products such as Dynamics 365 CRM solutions, Power BI, and Microsoft 365 (Office 365).
No More Server Costs: Dynamics 365 is hosted in the Microsoft Azure cloud. You do not need to pay for servers or the infrastructure to maintain them. Cloud hosting is included in your user licenses.
Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations offers considerably more functions and flexibility than Dynamics AX 2009 in the areas of production, inventory, warehouse management, and financial dimensions. That means you’ll have more functionality once you move to Finance & Operations.
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.
Businesses on AX 2012, 2012 R2, or 2012 R3 will find the move to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations somewhat easier. The vast majority of the functionality in Finance & Operations 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 Finance & Operations interface is different than the AX interface, but after a day or so of adjustment, your staff will be able to find all the functions they are used to.
There are two different paths to move from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations: upgrade and migration.
During an upgrade, the complete database gets converted to the latest version, whereas in a migration, much of the historical data remains in the old system. Some of the criteria for upgrading vs. migrating include:
Upgrade
Migration
For more information, please see this article: Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations: Upgrade vs. Migration or watch this video:
It usually takes 6-12 months to move from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations. This includes the architecting, configurations of each module, customizations, integrations, testing, training, and deployment.
It’s important to plan ahead and speak with a partner who can provide guidance on the timeline for your business.
Projects for going from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations come in different sizes: Small, Medium, Large, and Supersized. We can give you high-level guidance on the size of your upgrade or migration project if you provide us with information about your current AX environment.
Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations has named-user licenses. For details on how licensing costs break down, and the basics of functionality for different license types, read our explainer on Finance & Operations license pricing.
For the prices of the four main license types, review this table:
Please note that all pricing is subject to change without notice. Always contact Encore for the most current product pricing.
There are 5 important parts to the process of moving your company from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations.
To find your best process and timeline for moving from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, we start by assessing your technical and business situation, which shapes the best options for your project. In our experience, your best path to Finance & Operations will depend mainly on 3 factors:
Also, we’ll help you develop a solution roadmap for your broader technology needs. Please contact us to start the assessment process for your business.
Although most of the underlying functionality is the same, the Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations interface has some significant differences from Dynamics AX. We 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 introductions to many of the kinds of configuration and functionality you may want training in, see Encore’s Finance & Operations Tips & Tricks articles.
Through the decision-making process, it’s important to consider the full technology roadmap for your business. Encore takes the time to understand your business needs, goals, and strategy, in order to create a technology plan going forward. We advise each of our clients on the best tools and processes for them. We’d be happy to help you design the technology roadmap for the future of your business.
At Encore, we are experts in both Dynamics AX and Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations. When we implement your new Finance & Operations solution, we also draw on our deep history and experience with AX deployments like your current solution.
Beyond AX and Finance & Operations, we have teams with knowledge and experience in all Dynamics 365 ERP and CRM solutions, Microsoft 365 (Office 365), Power BI and the Power Platform, the Microsoft Azure cloud, and more. These tools can extend the capabilities of Finance & Operations to meet your changing business needs as you grow.
We combine our comprehensive technical skill across the Microsoft stack with experience in change management so that we can guide you through testing, training, and user adoption – which are as important to your success as the technical implementation itself.
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. AX to Finance & Operations projects are complex, and often have surprises. As your Dynamics Partner, Encore takes the time to understand your business needs, goals, and strategy, in order to create a technology plan going forward.
Encore can help you plan out the timeline, technology choices, and cloud strategy that will unlock growth for your business. Reach out to your Encore account manager to start the conversation or contact us with the form below.