Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration: A Smart Move to Leverage Cloud Tech

Migration from Dynamics GP to Business Central is the latest buzz among business owners and decision-makers. There are several reasons behind the popularity of this migration, among which the ending of Microsoft GP support is the major one.

Just think of using a solution with no proper support and updates, and along with it, you have to deal with modern business issues that are pushing your business processes towards redundancies and growth decline.

Isn’t this concerning?

Yes, it is a concern for all businesses that are still running on Microsoft Dynamics GP, as the company has already notified all users about the end of GP.

Wait, before finding the best solution for all existing Dynamics GP users, we should learn about the need for Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration.

The need of Migration for Dynamics GP to Business Central

Let’s start understanding the urge to migrate from an image released by Microsoft.

On the top of the image, you can see two terms:

Fixed Lifecycle Policy: It is generally available to business solutions when a license is purchased in retail or volume. It offers a selective timeline to avail Extended and Mainstream Support along with the launch of a Microsoft product.

Modern Lifecycle Policy: Microsoft introduced it in October 2019 specifically for Dynamics GP. The modern lifecycle policy provides continuous support and service for the product. As pre-Microsoft data, businesses using GP can avail themselves of planned updates three times a year: June, October, and December.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 18.6 is released with a modern lifecycle policy, which means it will receive the latest tax norms, bug fixes, patch releases, and other updates automatically and on time.

If you are using Microsoft GP with a fixed lifecycle policy, you need to migrate or find a better solution before the end of extended support. And, if you are using a GP with a modern lifecycle policy, there is no need to worry. You can continue using it without any issues until Microsoft issues a new update about GP.

Here is the practical question: What’s going to happen if a Business doesn’t Migrate from Dynamics GP?

In such a scenario, a business may have to face some implications that directly obstruct its growth and efficiency. Businesses have to streamline operations without any active support and resolve common errors using internal resources.

This will make the system unprotected from data breaches and security threats. Even so, your system becomes obsolete when dealing with modern business practices and inefficient for market fluctuations. Also, the existing system restrains your business's ability to grow, achieve goals, and simplify business operations. 

When is Dynamics GP Support Going to End?

Support for Microsoft Dynamics GP depends on the version you are using. Based on the lifecycle policy and your GP version, you need to migrate to a better solution before the support ends.

The support of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 has been stopped by Microsoft in 2023, and as per the data, most of them have migrated to Business Central.

If you are using GP 2015, 2016, or 2018 versions, mainstream support has ended, and you need to take a decision before the end of extended support. For more details, you can check out the image above.

What are the available options for existing Dynamics GP users?

Look, you need to plan the future of your business now. Waiting until the support end isn’t a wise choice, as migration isn’t an instant practice. It takes months of work, sheer effort, collecting resources, and choosing the right partner who understands your business requirements.

As per our market research, you have two possible options:

1. Dynamics GP to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Migration.
2. Stay on Microsoft Dynamics GP using cloud services offered by a third-party partner.

If you are a growing business looking for a cost-effective as well as smart solution, you should migrate to Business Central.

If you are a developed organization and have a lot of resources to keep Microsoft Dynamics GP running, keep using the solution with the help of the right Microsoft Dynamics partner.

If you act today and understand the necessity, you will have a plentiful amount of time to understand and evaluate your business as well as its modern requirements to overpower competition. Delaying migration can help your competitor acquire more market share while acquiring more customers.

Being a smart business owner, you must know the major factor that can accelerate your business growth while building more opportunities for growth: cloud technology.

Why Migrate from Dynamics GP to Business Central is a Smart Move?

Business Central is an ERP solution for the businesses of today and tomorrow. It comes with powerful features that can streamline and manage entire business operations while being a cost-effective and impactful solution.

Microsoft Dynamics GP is a simple accounting solution built for SMBs. It can manage finance and accounting processes without any issues. But modern businesses have to deal with a lot more crucial operations other than finances, where the capabilities of Dynamics GP lack.

You must be aware of such operations that are necessary to manage, like sales, customer service, reporting, data analytics, supply chain management, marketing management, project management, and more. The management of different operations and departments makes it obvious for businesses to migrate from Dynamics GP to Business Central.

Business Central works on the cloud, which empowers you to access data anytime and anywhere with an internet connection. Also, Microsoft will take care of all updates, upgrades, and bug fixes without hampering any of the existing business operations.

The Simple yet Effective Process of Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration

The process of migrating can be simple or difficult, depending on the selection of your Dynamics 365 implementation partner. You need to put some effort into finding the perfect Microsoft certified implementation partner. However, Dynamics Square can be the steppingstone of your growth journey.

Being a certified Microsoft Solutions Partner, we follow Microsoft's methodology to implement, upgrade, and migrate the existing legacy system to Microsoft’s advanced ERP solution. Following an approved and tested methodology helps us make the migration process simple, effective, and successful.

1. Once you contact us, we will analyze your existing legacy system to find out its capabilities, issues, and features.

2. After collecting the information about your system, we will find your business requirements and the gaps where your current system is lacking to deal with modern business operations. We will:

• Find out your basic business and reporting requirements.
• Determine the areas where there is a need for customization.
• Analyze the unique processes based on your business and market.
• Find the scope of integrations to enhance the capability of the new Microsoft ERP.
• Finalize the server deployment based on your needs, whether cloud or hybrid.

3. After we collect the information required to migrate from Dynamics GP to Business Central, we will create a migration strategy and share it with you. This will offer you details about the entire process, from the time required to migrate to the total cost.

4. Once you approve, we will start the migration process.

5. After successful implementation of Business Central, we will configure the system based on your requirements and offer you training to fully utilize it.

6. After the successful implementation, we will offer after-sales support and ongoing maintenance as per the contract.

You have a sound knowledge of the entire migration process and why you should consider this on an urgent basis.

In case of any help or support, write us a mail at arshad@dynamicssquare.com or call us directly at +1 289 807 0740 for instant support.