Debunking Five Myths About Moving from Dynamics GP to Business Central
In the past year, Microsoft has announced that it will be ending sales of new Dynamics GP licenses and urges current Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains) and SL (formerly Solomon) users to migrate to Dynamics 365 Business Central. As a result, there has been a lot of confusion among GP users about the merits of migrating to Business Central rather than simply staying on GP. There has also been much misinformation about GP and Business Central among Microsoft partners who prefer one product over the other.
We want to address some myths surrounding migrating from GP to Business Central. Hopefully, this will help clear the air for Dynamics GP users to have an honest dialog with their partners about whether they should consider moving to Business Central.
Myth #1: Business Central can do everything Great Plains does
The honest answer is no; Business Central does not do everything GP can do. While both ERP applications perform the same basic functions, GP has some great features that are not in Business Central.
However, to be fair, Business Central has some equally great features and capabilities that GP doesn’t have.
Below, we show some of the major capabilities available in Dyanmics GP and Dynamics 365 Business Central – some are native to the applications, and some require purchasing an add-on product from a third-party Independent Software Vendor (ISV):
Myth #2: To migrate GP to Business Central, you need a GP migration tool
While Microsoft does offer a cloud migration tool to move from GP to Business Central, there are some restrictions to what it can do. Unfortunately, most GP instances will require additional work to migrate completely to Business Central (or to any other ERP, for that matter).
For example, there is no migration tool that will move custom fields, customizations, or any extra fields or data provided by ISV products. These changes will require manual intervention to make sure they are captured and moved to the new ERP.
Business Central has a great tool called Configuration Packages, which allows you to easily import your GP data from Excel spreadsheets. Your partner can assist you in mapping your data from the GP tables to the BC tables.
Myth #3: If I migrate to Business Central, I will lose my history!
Every company that changes its ERP will want access to its historical data. Some GP users have historical information that goes back decades. Once GP is successfully migrated to BC, there are several options available to access historical information:
- Keep it in the existing database to view it separately
- Access it using Power BI
- Use an ISV product like Popdock
To learn more, read our blogs, How Do I Access My Historical Transactional Data after I Upgrade to BC SaaS? and Popdock Technology Elevates Visibility of Historical Data in Dynamics GP to Business Central.
Myth #4: I won’t be able to use my favorite ISVs
Maybe. But maybe not.
ISVs design software to augment the features and functions of the base ERP product. For instance, since GP does not come with warehouse management natively, there are ISV products that work with GP to provide that capability. ISV products are also used to augment existing functionality in an effort to make it perform better.
On the other hand, modern ERPs, like Business Central, include many of the features and functions that used to require third-party add-ons, negating the need to purchase an additional product.
Microsoft’s AppSource lists over 4500 third-party apps for Business Central (or use the Extension Marketplace built into Business Central). If Business Central does not come with the specific capability you are looking for, chances are there is an ISV product that provides that function.
Myth #5: My data won’t be secure
We find that the majority of people who have GP are hesitant to move to the cloud because they want to keep control over their data, servers, and security. However, Business Central SaaS (Software as a Service) is just as safe and secure, if not more so, than hosting the application on-premises.
Business Central SaaS has the following security features:
- Secure Authentication Method
- Isolated Database
- Encrypted Backups & Network Traffic
- User Roles & Permissions within BC
- Entra ID – can access from anywhere, any device
- Plus, data belonging to a single tenant is stored in an isolated database and is never mixed with data from other tenants
Cloud-based Business Central offers secure data, anytime/anywhere access, automated updates, and ease of adding ISV products.
In addition, hosting Business Central on Azure leverages Microsoft’s investment in enterprise-level security, including intrusion detection, geographically separated redundancy, failover capabilities, and backup services.
However, if you prefer, you can host Business Central on-premises. In that case, you will be responsible for the maintenance and security of your hardware and software, along with managing updates and upgrades, just like a typical on-premises GP installation is now.
Find out more
If you’re considering migrating from GP to Business Central, get the facts before you decide. Download our eBook, Migrating from Microsoft Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central, and know your options before you decide.