Avoid the Temptation to Take Shortcuts: 5 Tips for a Smooth Upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics GP 10

I have lately been receiving and answering a number of questions, and building very detailed project plans, for upgrading from previous versions to Microsoft Dynamics GP 10. Much has been the buzz throughout user groups, community newsgroups, and various other outlets on the product that customers are almost tempted to skip right over test environments and other preparatory work to the actual upgrade. However, if you have carefully established that the new features will continue to benefit your company operations, improve productivity, and reduce costs, then I have the following tips for a smooth upgrade:

1.       Skip the RTM CDs and download the latest Feature Pack 1 DVD image. Yes, I have found it a lot easier to perform upgrades and new installations from the Microsoft Dynamics GP 10 Feature Pack 1 DVD image (now inclusive of Service Pack 3 and available on the CustomerSource and PartnerSource secure sites) than from the RTM CDs. Feature Pack 1 was released in June of 2008 and contains a number of enhancements that may be useful to your business. The most important thing: they are free! Feature Pack 1 also implements fixes to the installation process, such as support for multiple versions of Microsoft .NET Framework present under the operating system.

2.       Plan for (a few) test upgrades. Perform as many test upgrades as possible. Upgrading your Microsoft Dynamics GP system to version 10 may prove very difficult without performing a comprehensive test upgrade plan that includes at least two test upgrades.

A few days ago, I helped resolve a case in which the client had followed all recommendations in detail while upgrading in their test environment. Yet, when the upgrade was performed in the production environment, the Dynamics Utilities failed to complete the upgrade ...