Article

Lessons learned moving Dynamics GP customers to a cloud accounting platform

by John Silvani
President & CEO, Gravity Software, Gravity Software

Over the past four years we have moved many companies from their older on-premises Dynamics GP  systems to browser-based applications built on the Microsoft Dynamics cloud platform. These new solutions give organizations easier access and more efficiencies than they had before.

In making the decision to leave the on-premises world, similar concerns come up across many of these implementations. Most of them are entirely reasonable, and the work we do together with users to improve adoption and manage change also demonstrates the magnitude of the transition that is underway in enterprise software for buyers, vendors, and service providers. 

  1. Performance - GP users are used to their software having a "fat" client with the server in the closet behind them. With GP the on-screen feedback was usually immediate. Press a button and the screen changed or the report was done. Moving them to a world in which the server is hundreds or even a thousand of miles away changes everything. And performance can change. Today's response can take a few extra seconds as there are any number of uncontrollable variables between the user's computer and the servers holding their information. Accounting systems by their nature are transaction-based and very different that the typical web-based applications that only deal with one record at a time.
  2. Browser Issues - The Dynamics GP client is a dedicated application for accounting information and nothing else. By design this client does a lot of internal data validation and controlled access from 3rd party extensions. Along comes a browser with all its extensions. Watch a movie on Netflix in one tab and run your accounting system in another. Nobody closes their browser between applications, clears its cache and opens their accounting app. And ...

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About John Silvani

John Silvani, President & CEO of Gravity Software, combines his in-depth market knowledge with practical business strategies, meeting the unique needs of a broad client group.  In May 2001, he was recipient of the Crain's "Who's Who in Technology" award and continued to receive awards for his companies throughout his career. In 2011, he was recognized by Lawrence Technological University as one of the "Leaders & Innovators Honouree" in Michigan.

With 30 years in the software industry, John has become one of the nation's top respected resellers of business applications. His background and leadership has provided him with an understanding of the demands and needs for growing organizations. In 2012, John sold First Tech Direct, a Michigan Microsoft Dynamics reseller company and decided to develop an online cloud financial solutions for smart businesses, Gravity Software.

More about John Silvani