• May 16, 2024August 8, 2024
• Jennifer Barnett

The Essential Shift from Dynamics NAV to Business Central 

For companies entrenched in Dynamics NAV, transitioning to Business Central may evoke apprehension. However, the enhanced functionality and improved usability of Business Central make it a move worth considering. Unlike some Microsoft products available for direct purchase, Business Central requires procurement through approved partners like Business Computing (BCI). 

With the launch of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, effectively the next iteration of Dynamics NAV, the Dynamics product line undergoes its most significant transformation in years. Many of our clients are already embracing this shift, and from our experiences, we’ve distilled four key tips to facilitate your transition to Dynamics 365 Business Central. 

Exploring Dynamics 365 Business Central from Within

Dynamics 365 Business Central is tailored for emerging businesses surpassing basic accounting or inventory systems. It’s a cloud-based management solution consolidating people, processes, and data on one platform. Built on Microsoft’s “Common Data Model,” it simplifies data management across applications, enabling easier access and analysis for employees without technical expertise. In simpler terms, Dynamics 365 Business Central brings together all the tools needed to manage finances, sales, projects, operations, and more in one easy-to-use platform, accessible from anywhere. 

Business Central offers a holistic view of your operations, encompassing: 

• Financial Management 
• Sales and Service Management 
• Project Management 
• Operations Management 
• Supply Chain Management 
• Reporting and Analytics 

Dynamics NAV to Business Central: Your Upgrade Path & Benefits

Business Central offers the familiar functionality of Dynamics NAV, but with added flexibility, scalability, and accessibility in the cloud. It caters to businesses of all sizes and complexities, allowing organizations to start with essential apps and expand as needed. Setting up a basic plan without extensions is quick, with businesses becoming operational within minutes. However, strategic planning, data migration, customizations, and training require additional time. As Microsoft’s main ERP system, Dynamics 365 Business Central is the future, offering mobile access, enhanced reporting, and modern technological advances. 

• Improved and expanded integration with Office 365 and other Microsoft applications 
• Automated workflows and artificial intelligence 
• Better customization via Extensions 
• Microsoft Flow interaction for automating workflows 
• Customizable work are tailored to individual preferences 
• Seamless data sharing with your CRM system 
• Enhanced Power BI Integration for in-depth data analysis and reporting 

User Licensing and Deployment Options

Dynamics 365 Business Central operates on a monthly subscription model, with fees assessed per user depending on the number of simultaneous users each month. Users enjoy the convenience of Single Sign-On and compatibility across multiple devices, such as iOS, Android, and PC. This enhances accessibility and supports remote work, particularly in today’s mixed office-based and home working setups. Staff can effortlessly access the web app from any device, streamlining tasks and boosting efficiency. Additionally, Microsoft provides licensing transition offers, facilitating the transition from NAV to Business Central and ensuring cost-effectiveness for businesses. 

Choose Your Deployment Option

When implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, businesses must decide between two deployment options: cloud-based or on-premises. Each option presents unique advantages and considerations that require careful evaluation. Contact a Business Central consultant to discuss the best choice for your business today. 

Features	Business Central in Cloud	Business Central On-Premises
Responsibility for updates and maintenance	Automatic updates & Features Releases from Microsoft.	Your IT team or external IT service providers are responsible for this.
Backups & Disaster Recovery	Microsoft ensures a 99% assurance for uptime & multiple backups.	Count on in-house IT resources to maintain backups.
Scalability	Smooth flexibility-only asks for subscription fees for additional users.	Need Additional investment in the systems.

Work how and where you want to work

For your employees, Dynamics 365 works like the familiar Microsoft Office tools, working seamlessly with Outlook, Word, and Excel to help you complete common tasks from your inbox. And you get the same powerful capabilities across iOS, Android and Windows platforms for a secure experience across your desktop, laptop and mobile device. As a Microsoft product, the solution integrates fully with Microsoft Office365, other solutions and many other extendable applications. 

Simplify common tasks with native Microsoft 365 integration.  

• Set up customers or vendors, create quotes, process orders, and submit invoices without leaving your inbox. Easily export data in Excel and create outgoing documents directly in Word.  
• Make better business decisions with advanced analytics. Access, model, and analyze data across multiple dimensions. Seamlessly sync data with Microsoft Power BI to create compelling dashboards and data visualizations.  
• Utilize the power of AI for predictive inventory, sales forecasting, cash flow forecasting, and overdue payment predictors.  
• Combine big data, predictive analytics, and Internet of Things (IoT) to transform all information sources into more actionable intelligence. 

End of the road for Microsoft NAV: How Can Beyond Key Help?

Microsoft has ended the mainstream support for Microsoft NAV. This means if you are an existing Microsoft NAV user, you would no longer receive product feature updates or security updates from Microsoft. Businesses still using Microsoft NAV might incur additional costs and limited growth due to a lack of cloud-powered benefits like centralized data and more automated workflow in a legacy solution. No matter if you are looking for NAV technical support, Dynamics NAV Upgrade or Migration to the cloud, we have got you covered.