At an ERP Crossroads? Let insightsoftware Guide Your Path.
Over the past several years, many organizations have shifted their technology focus to the cloud. From a technical perspective, that has required a delicate balancing act, managing tradeoffs between the old and the new. Business leaders have sought to minimize the level of disruption their teams face while modernizing business applications, increasing integration, and adding important new functionality.
At some point, though, that process reaches its natural end. Modernizing legacy applications requires significant investment, with diminishing returns. To accomplish the key technical objectives that contribute to connected data, increased agility, and greater profitability, there comes a point when business leaders must make a clean break with the past.
In the case of your enterprise resource planning system, this means choosing a new ERP that meets your needs right now while also having the capacity to scale as your business grows. The ideal ERP upgrade delivers greater value to your organization by enabling higher efficiency, stronger operational control, and innovation. If your business is currently using Microsoft Dynamics GP, Dynamics SL, Dynamics NAV, or Dynamics AX, the natural choice for your ERP upgrade will be Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC) or Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management (D365 F&SCM).
Both D365 BC and D365 F&SCM are built with a cloud-first strategy and available in on-premises (on-prem) and cloud deployments, giving you the flexibility to choose the implementation that works best for your business needs, now and in the future. In this blog, we discuss the pros and cons of each deployment and how insightsoftware can help simplify your ERP migration regardless of which path you choose.
Moving to the Cloud
When you’re pursuing a cloud-first business strategy, it only makes sense to upgrade from on-prem technology solutions to cloud solutions. Dynamics 365 Cloud is Microsoft’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) ERP solution, hosted in the cloud and protected by Microsoft’s secure servers. Its scalability and flexibility make moving to D365 BC Cloud or D365 F&SCM Cloud ideal for organizations that want to easily scale their resources to accommodate growth and adapt to changing business needs without the need for extensive infrastructure investments or upgrades.
By moving to D365 BC Cloud or D365 F&SCM Cloud, your business users can access the software from anywhere without the extra step of logging in through a VPN. This is a particularly attractive feature for companies pursuing a remote work model.
Microsoft regularly updates the software, so you never need to worry that you’re working with an out-of-date ERP. Additionally, your IT team is free from the maintenance and support of the software, saving precious time and resources. However, moving your data to Microsoft’s secure server means you have less direct control over your data.
Dynamics 365 Cloud ERPs have a low initial cost thanks to the lack of upfront costs associated with hardware and installation; as a monthly subscription, however, the long-term costs can eventually surpass the price of an on-prem installation.
Pros: Scalable, flexible, accessible, low initial cost, automatic software updates
Cons: less control over your data, no control over when updates occur, recurring costs can add up over time
Migrating On-Prem
While migrating to the cloud offers many benefits, there are also reasons why you may choose to stick with an on-premises implementation of D365 BC or D365 F&SCM. If Dynamics 365 is hosted on-prem, you purchase the software license, and the database is kept on your server. This gives you complete control over how and where corporate data is stored and provides greater customization and control over the software environment.
Because you must purchase sufficient hardware to meet your team’s data storage and processing needs, the initial cost of an on-prem D365 ERP deployment can be substantial. Your IT department will handle the hardware’s ongoing care and maintenance, so expect the long-term costs to be roughly equivalent to one IT employee’s annual salary.
With an on-prem implementation, your data accessibility is not dependent on internet availability; this is particularly beneficial if your business operates in an area with unreliable internet access or frequent outages. Your business users can access the ERP via an in-office network connection, allowing them to complete BAU reporting tasks even during internet outages or downtime. However, employees will need to access the company network through a VPN to be able to work remotely, adding a layer of complexity for remote-first business models.
Pros: complete control over your data, not subject to internet connection, more ability to customize
Cons: high upfront implementation costs, less accessible for remote work, puts more responsibility on your IT department
D365 F&SCM Migration Simplified
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Dynamics 365 Cloud offers specialized expertise, frequent updates, and scalable resources, while an on-prem D365 BC or D365 F&SCM implementation offers control, data location control, and customization. Regardless of the model you choose, it’s crucial that you invest in tools that ease the transition to your new ERP from legacy systems. insightsoftware’s Jet solutions significantly lessen productivity disruptions for finance teams during ERP migration, allowing team members to swiftly adapt to their new reporting environment.
This comprehensive business intelligence and data warehousing platform empowers finance teams with intuitive, familiar tools that work across multiple Microsoft Dynamics ERPs, setting them up for long-term migration success. Boasting on-prem and cloud implementation options, Jet Analytics can help seamlessly transition your finance operations from your legacy ERP to your new ERP while maintaining efficiency and unlocking the power of agile finance. Additionally, as one of insightsoftware’s unified, modular applications, Jet Reports allows you to integrate fast, flexible financial reporting with budgeting, planning, and controllership applications. Get more done with less risk by bringing all your insightsoftware applications together in one place.
Jet clears your path to ERP migration by:
- Providing report portability. Gain instant access to your reports on the web or from a mobile device. With complete report management, report automation, and a collaboration and publishing platform, you never have to second guess if you or your team are looking at the right information.
- Eliminating roadblocks to productivity. You don’t want your BAU reporting tasks to slip while employees adjust to their changed working environment. By connecting to both current and legacy systems, your team can report across both instances, via an intuitive interface they know and love. Jet streamlines your reporting and keeps the wheels spinning during migration, so you don’t miss a beat when it comes time for month-end close.
- Removing the need to migrate legacy data. Porting information can be a painful and expensive process. By housing it within a data warehouse, Jet effectively eliminates the need to validate and migrate your legacy data, while still giving you the flexibility to draw accurate data from multiple locations.
When you’re making the move from legacy Dynamics ERPs to a Dynamics 365 ERP, it can be easy to feel lost. But by leveraging the right technology, you can greatly reduce the time and effort involved in ERP migration. Jet Reports and Jet Analytics make the transition easier and less expensive by streamlining reporting, saving time, and creating a single location to access all your mission-critical data. Download our Jet Solutions brochure to learn more.
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