Article

Navigating Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Licensing: What Does it Mean for the Customer?

by Mariano Gomez
Chief Technology Officer, Mekorma
October 09 2012

[Editor's note: details on the Starter and Extended Packs have been updated for accuracy]

If you have been trying to keep up with all the licensing hoopla surrounding Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 and are still confused about how it all is going to work, you are probably not alone. Just about every day it seems, something new is added to the way pricing is going to work.

The first pricing announcement was presented to partners on July 7, 2012 with the introduction of the new Perpetual Licensing model, covering Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013.

Following up with the announcement, Microsoft delivered more details of the new pricing model - marketing it as ‘Napkin Pricing' - at the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) 2012, held in July of this year with the goal of getting prospective Microsoft Dynamics GP customers "past the price and look[ing] at the solutions". The model would simply allow account executives to provide a fast quote of the Perpetual Licensing models based on the potential number of users a prospective organization would procure. Frankly, the numbers are pretty simple:

  • Starter Pack USD $5,000  (includes 3 full users)
  • Extended Pack USD $10,000
  • Full User USD $3,000 * Number of Users
  • Limited User USD $600 * Number of Users

The difference between the starter pack and extended pack amounts very closely to the current Business Ready License (BRL) model, with the starter pack functionality reflecting the current Business Essentials model and the Extended Pack reflecting the current Advanced Management model, however with both new models delivering far more application features for the announced ...

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About Mariano Gomez
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Errol
Submitted by Errol Schoenfish on Tue, 10/09/2012 - 11:25 Permalink
Mariano did a good job of representing the new pricing model. I would like to make one clarification. The Starter Pack includes 3 users and then you add users from there. The Extended Pack is an add on to the Starter Pack and carries no additional users.(ie. The Starter Pack is a required purchase and a pre-req for purchasing the Extended Pack)
Mariano
Submitted by mgomezb on Tue, 10/09/2012 - 11:41 Permalink
Errol, I appreciate the clarification. Certainly goes to show that I am still learning it all :-) MG.- Mariano Gomez, MVP
Jennifer
Submitted by JenniferW on Wed, 10/10/2012 - 08:11 Permalink
I would like to know if there will be a cost to move from MBL to perpetual licensing. All I can find is it says there is no cost to go from BRL to perpetual but nothing about moving from MBL.
Mariano
Submitted by mgomezb on Thu, 10/11/2012 - 11:33 Permalink
@DEvans & @JenniferW: Technically speaking, you should have transitioned your MBL to BRL under GP2010 and GP2010R2, however MS has not really set out to enforce this, though in all fairness, many customers could not understand and/or partners did not explain the benefits of doing this. After all, for many customers it would have involved an increment in their annual maintenance plan. However, I am not currently aware of any MS plans addressing the move from MBL to Perpetual, though I suspect to see something coming out of Fargo fairly soon. If logic prevails, the plan should be similar to what was offered to move to BRL. The big question remains however: is moving to Perpetual Licensing - from MLB, that is; BRL is a MUST - going to be enforced by MS and/or will customers take up on the offer even if it means an increase to their annual maintenance, but under the understanding that they may now be able to leverage additional modules that under MBL would have otherwise cost them a lot more. It's left to be seen... MG.- Mariano Gomez, MVP IntellPartners, LLC.