Microsoft Dynamics users, have you been thinking about making the switch to NetSuite? Well, there has never been a better time than NOW. Why you may ask? Let’s dig in!
Microsoft, through changes in its application product strategy and roadmap, is sending a signal that customers should migrate from Dynamics GP, SL, NAV, AX or Business Edition to Dynamics 365 within the next several years. This means that up to 300,000 Dynamics customers are at a crossroads and need to evaluate whether to upgrade to Dynamics 365 or possibly switch to a new platform.
Seems simple enough, right? Just a standard upgrade. Here’s what’s actually going on.
Although Microsoft pitches migration between Dynamics versions as a simple upgrade, it is actually a 12-step process, according to Microsoft, requiring significant IT resources to execute. In fact, it is more difficult to migrate to Dynamics 365 in many cases, taking up to 24 weeks, than it is to implement NetSuite–typically 100 days or less!
What makes upgrading Dynamics complicated is inherent in its architecture. First, Dynamics SL, GP, AX and NAV, were all developed independently by different companies – Solomon Software, Great Plains, IBM/Damgaard Data and Navision, respectively. Microsoft acquired these companies and put their products into the Dynamics portfolio, but they continued to be developed in their own silos, as independent solutions.
Now Microsoft is attempting to simplify from four separate platforms down to two with Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations and 365 Business Central. With both of these incompatible platforms, the underlying complexity hasn’t been addressed, only masked. Dynamics 365 continues as a combination of different applications, written on different code bases, with different upgrade cycles, all using different databases stitched together through a common datastore and middleware layer. Moving from a legacy Dynamics solution to either of the Dynamics 365 platforms is complicated because every application, the integrations between every application and every customization built on the applications needs to addressed in some manner through either data conversion, rewriting code, rebuilding reporting, etc.
Contrast Dynamics’ overly complex collection of individual applications with NetSuite, a born-in-the-cloud, truly modern ERP platform. Unlike Dynamics, NetSuite is designed from the ground up to address an entire business, integrating ERP, CRM, supply chain management, manufacturing, ecommerce and more into a single platform with a unified data source. With NetSuite, not only is complexity significantly reduced but functionality is increased, allowing customers to manage and analyze their entire business from end to end in real-time. Plus, the more than 40,000 organizations using NetSuite are on the same version, receiving twice-per-year simple, automatic upgrades — keeping them in sync with the latest government regulations and functionality.
When you implement NetSuite in place of Dynamics or other similar solutions, you reduce IT complexity and evolve from IT problem solver to trusted business advisor to your customers.
So if you’re at a crossroads and considering making the switch to a cloud-based ERP, the time is now. The professionals at InnoVergent would be happy to further discuss how NetSuite can help you unify processes and gain a 360 degree view of your business.
Contact us at info@innovergent.com to avoid unneeded stress and headaches about the Dynamics upgrades.
Original post derived from John Goode here.
