It is safe to say that Dynamics GP has been Microsoft’s workhorse ERP solution which can be greatly justified. However, with the emergence of Microsoft ERP solutions such as Dynamics 365 Business Central, it does pose the question as to whether or not Dynamics GP is still meeting the everyday needs of your business. If you find that Dynamics GP is not meeting these requirements, what can you do to solve this? You could go down the road of making changes to your current Dynamics GP solution or look to make the move to Business Central instead.
If your business is currently using Dynamics GP, why specifically are you considering your options? Has your business grown so much that Dynamics GP is now not big enough or have you made the decision to move to a more cloud-based solution?
Let’s take the first option, you are happy with Dynamics GP but you are looking to add cloud capabilities to it, you can achieve this in a number of ways. You could go down the road of hosting Dynamics GP in the Cloud however, the easiest option is to work with a Dynamics GP partner like ourselves who will be able to get your Dynamics GP solution in the Cloud via Azure. Put simply, hosting platforms can just hold Dynamics GP for you or they can help you to deliver a better overall user experience.
How do I assess whether or not Dynamics GP still works for my business and will Dynamics GP partners such as Advantage continue to support you?
Another question to ask yourselves is whether or not you are hacking away at your current Dynamics GP solution as you grow beyond its capabilities? Does your current Dynamics GP solution still meet your business requirements?
There are a number of reasons as to why your business might be outgrowing Dynamics GP. This could happen largely in part due to a combination of both functional & technology issues. Having a firm understanding of Dynamics GP’s primary operational constraints on a growing business can enable you to decide whether you need to look at moving to a more flexible Microsoft ERP solution like Business Central.
On the other hand, Dynamics GP could be holding you back if as a company what you wish to achieve no longer aligns with the software in its current state. This is where a move to Dynamics 365 Business Central would strongly be advised and therefore the best possible way of determining this is to speak to your current Dynamics partner to discuss this in more detail.
If you didn’t already know, Microsoft announced earlier last year that the Dynamics GP roadmap will run until at least 2028. As a Microsoft Gold partner with many Dynamics GP customers, we will continue to support GP customers for as along as Microsoft allows, however to ensure that your Dynamics GP solution doesn’t run out of Microsoft support, we would strongly suggest that if you wish to stay on Dynamics GP that you upgrade to the latest version of Dynamics GP. This can be arranged if you speak to your Advantage Account Manager or if you aren’t a customer of Advantage’s but want to be then speak to our experts now.
You may intent to stay on Dynamics GP or may be looking to move, the best thing to do is to talk to Advantage to discuss Business Central and compare the two solutions like for like.
Should I upgrade from Dynamics GP to Business Central?
It can be a difficult decision to make that’s for sure, we understand that. Dynamics GP has given you a reliable ERP and accounting solution for many years, but it might not be quite right to keep up with the demands of your growing business. Even if you decide to heavily customise it, you could be manipulating Dynamics GP too much and increasing the friction for your business operations instead of taking advantage of automation, optimisation as well as digital transformation. Advantage has been in the game long enough with GP to know how to take your business to the next level.
The messaging that you get from Microsoft is to upgrade to Business Central. However, this form of messaging also misses some important options that could lead to a better solution based on your specific requirements and plans.
If your business is currently using Dynamics GP and are considering if now is the time to upgrade, let us conduct a full Microsoft Dynamics System Audit for your system. This will provide you with some of the following:
- A comprehensive understanding on how shadow ERP elements have revealed gaps in your ERP system and reduced the efficiency of your business processes
- A frank discussion of solutions to any identified gaps and recommendations for improvements.
If you have already made your mind up to make the move from Dynamics GP to Business Central already, we’ve got a Quick Start Dynamics GP to Business Central package available so why not give our team at Advantage a call today to get started.
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