Microsoft Dynamics GP to Business Central Upgrades Thoughts: Consider all of your options
May 13 2020
Editor's Note: This article was co-written with Karen Riordan, VP Sales & Marketing for Menlo Technologies.
As the ERP landscape has shifted over the years, consultants that started in the same place have followed a different paths in terms of the products, industries, and clientelle. For a couple of Great Plains OGs like us, our individual journeys have led to interesting differences in how we view the current ERP upgrade landscape, especially for today's Microsoft Dynamics GP users.
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Why exactly move to BC?
Microsoft is pushing hard GP customers to move to BC.
The sad thing we found is that not only it is an expensive and time consuming process, but also in some aspects, the customer ends up moving to a software with less capabilities.
A quick example is that BC does not handle negative taxes naturally, and does not have an easy query tool like Smartlist / Smartlist Designer.
If you are a GP customer and your software is working properly it is better, easier and much less expensive, to move your GP to the cloud.
Why exactly move to BC?
Couldn't agree with you more, sometimes moving to BC is NOT the right answer. Moving your GP to a hosted environment requires less resources, both people and dollars. We are planning a podcast focusing on just that topic. Thanks for your feedback.
I disagree wholeheartedly with "upgrade"
For years I have cringed whenever someone would sell me on an "upgrade" to a obviously inferior product with a better funded marketing strategy. BC exists for one simple reason, accelerate and smooth out cash flow to Microsoft without actually having to do things like making upgrades that are worthwhile for customers to move to.
All the platitudes about all Microsoft cloud systems exist to remove value from customer expenditures by choosing to move future useful features development ARBITRARILY from sold systems to the cloud cash cow..
I cannot believe I am saying this, but wow, I miss Ballmer and the Microsoft leadership that did not all come from cloud. Microsoft has gone down the path of strong arm racketeering in order to get the "digital transformation" for its own income statement.
Hosting GP in the cloud.
Hosting GP in the cloud is a far better solution than upgrading to BC. All the benefits of the cloud (Backup, secure connection via VPN, expandability, etc) are easily provided by moving the SQL server and application to Term Server on a hosted environment. No retraining or conversion required. RoseASP has been doing this for a number of years, as well as others. The software is tried and proved over the years with full functionality. More capability than BC. Multiple windows active. Mulit-segment GL Accounts, not dimensions. Vast expertise available. RDP is avaiable on all PCs and Macs, so pick your workstation.
We should do a side by side comparison of GP in the cloud (not on premises ) vs BC. GP far outshines BC and will continue to do for a number of years.
The push for BC is nothing more than a bunch of marketing hype.