UPDATE: This article has been updated with new comments from a Microsoft spokesperson.

Microsoft has alerted partners of plans to end the sale of Dynamics GP to new customers over the next three years. Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises solutions will also be shifting to subscription-based licensing only, ending the perpetual license option.

Microsoft will stop selling new perpetual licenses for new customers of Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises and Dynamics GP in October 2025. And the sale of new Dynamics GP subscription licenses for new customers will end in October 2026.

These decisions do not impact the ability of existing customers of GP and BC on-prem to run their systems, add users, or license capabilities. And Business Central on-premises sales will continue via subscription-based licensing. But the change effectively sets an end date for new customer sales of GP.

A Microsoft spokesperson told MSDW that the company will continue to uphold its commitments to existing GP customers with support and updates. They stated:

This change doesn’t impact Microsoft’s plans for providing necessary regulatory/security/usability updates for Dynamics GP beyond this date. Longer term, we will recommend new customers seeking an on-premises ERP solution consider Dynamics 365 Business Central on-premises or Dynamics 365 for Operations on-premises, Enterprise Edition. 

"For EXISTING customers, nothing is really changing," said Chris Dobkins, president and CEO of Microsoft partner Njevity. "That said, I can see how this might spook some customers into looking at alternative ERP solutions for their businesses. Although, I don’t think as many will move to BC as Microsoft likely expects."

Microsoft's spokesperson added that the changes are part of the company's goal to  achieve licensing alignment across Dynamics on-premises and online solutions.