Is There Life After Microsoft Dynamics AX?
Consider Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as an alternative to Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management
If your business is running Dynamics AX, you should know (or perhaps already know) that Microsoft’s Mainstream Support for AX ended on October 12, 2021, and Extended Support ended on January 10, 2023. The impact to you is that Microsoft will not add new features or functions to the software, you will not be receiving regulatory updates, and you will not have support if anything goes wrong.
In other words, you should find an alternative ERP to Dynamics AX.
What are the options for companies still running Dynamics AX?
Do nothing – Let’s face it: changing your company’s ERP is an expensive and time-consuming task. If you already own Dynamics AX and it’s working for you, one option is to do nothing. But remember, you will still be upgrading hardware and operating systems to support an out-of-date application. The bottom line is that “doing nothing” will still cost you money and time.
Move to Finance and Supply Chain Management – Dynamics AX has evolved and is now Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management (F+SCM), a powerful ERP that does everything that AX did and more. The downside is that moving from AX to F+SCM is not a simple upgrade. It requires a new implementation typically taking over a year to implement, and will likely cost $1M+.
Move to another “Enterprise” ERP – If you think moving from AX to F+SCM will take time and money, moving to SAP or Oracle won’t be any easier or less expensive. The problem with this option is that, once the implementation is complete, you must completely retrain your personnel – at least F+SCM looks and feels like AX.
Move to Business Central – Business Central is considered by many to be an ERP that is used only by small and mid-sized businesses, not for large enterprises like yours. That used to be true, but not anymore. Today, most ERPs are cloud-based and scalable. That means that the complexity of your operations matters more than your company’s size. Business Central comes with the power and comprehensive features to support the needs of most financial, manufacturing, distribution, retail, and service companies.
Advantages of Business Central
Before you decide on upgrading to another Enterprise ERP, consider some of the benefits of Business Central:
- Runs in the cloud or on-premises
- Handles consolidations for muti-entity companies with different charts of accounts and different fiscal years
- Offers the same Azure and Power Platform tools as F+SCM
- It is easy to customize
- It is easy to integrate with other business applications
Plus, implementation times and costs are nearly half that of enterprise ERPs.
Download our eBook, Making the Move from Microsoft Dynamics AX: 5 Unexpected Reasons to Choose Business Central, and see why Business Central is a smart choice for many companies migrating from AX.
Questions? Contact ArcherPoint and see if Business Central is the right decision for your company.