To all of my friends running their businesses on Dynamics GP and thinking about Upgrading to Dynamics 365:
As I am sure you are well aware, Dynamics 365 has been consuming a significant amount oxygen lately. Everyone seems to be talking about it and wondering what it means for their business. In fact, I just read a blog from a fairly popular and reputable site that was encouraging Dynamics GP Customers to consider upgrading to Dynamics 365 Financials.
In response, I have put together a comprehensive, step-by-step, detailed guide on upgrading your Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365. Are you ready? This may be the most important blog you have ever read. Got your pen and paper out? You will definitely want to make some notes for posterity. How about the camera on your phone? You may want to take a pic of this post and put it on Instagram so your kids will think that you finally ‘get’ social media!
So here it is. My simple, easy plan to Upgrade from Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365:
1. Don’t
Yep. That’s it. Don’t. There is no such thing as an UPGRADE from Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365. It does not exist. Period. So stop worrying about it. Just because you see lots of advertisements and blogs and social media posts about upgrading to Dynamics 365 does not mean it’s right for you.
Dynamics 365 Financials is targeted at the ‘S’ in SMB (Small and Mid-Sized Businesses). If you could run your business on QuickBooks, you could maybe run your business on Dynamics 365 Financials. It’s just like QuickBooks only less intuitive, harder use, and you might actually need to know something about accounting. So… perfect for a small business, right?!?
If you are running on Dynamics GP, you could MIGRATE to Dynamics 365 Financials, but the migration tool only migrates master records. Thus, you lose all the Data Fidelity you have spent years building. You also lose lots of (important?) functionality…and your ability to analyze and report on your data. But you do get some fancy outlook plug-ins, so that’s pretty even, right? This is NOT an upgrade for a Dynamics GP customer! It is a DOWNGRADE!!
Dynamics 365 Operations is targeted at the Enterprise space. Remember the product formerly known as Dynamics AX (Axapta)? Yep. That’s what this is. Great Product. If you are a global company with multi-lingual, multi-localization needs, this might be an upgrade for you… if you have a cool Million or two in the bank to burn on implementing it. If your business is the ‘M’ in SMB, this is also likely NOT for you.
Dynamics 365 Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Field Service and Project Service is the product formerly known as Dynamics CRM. This is a REALLY great product. But, you can’t migrate to this from Dynamics GP. Not an option. Not even if you wanted to. It’s CRM. Not Accounting. As they say in Jersey, Fuhgeddaboudit!
Bottom Line
If you are presently running your business on Dynamics GP and you see statements on the internet about how you “cannot afford to miss out” on Dynamics 365 Financials, know this…there is no such thing as an UPGRADE from Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365. It is just as fictional as a Jabberwocky, a Wookie and a Hobbit exploring the jungles of Tatooine.
You can digitally transform your business with Dynamics GP (we did). You can be in the Cloud with Dynamics GP (we are). You literally CAN afford to miss out on upgrading to Dynamics 365 Financials. It’s not for Dynamics GP Customers, especially when you see the bright future of Dynamics GP.
Shameless Plug
If you are running Dynamics GP and you really want to move to the cloud with a true Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, check out our PowerGP Online solution. It’s the EasyGP Cloud!. It has a native iPad experience. It has powerful cloud API’s. It has single sign on with Office365. It’s connected to Power BI. It runs in any browser on any device. It’s Built on Dynamics GP and Powered by the Microsoft Azure Cloud.
Best of all, PowerGP Migrate will migrate all of your Dynamics GP Data with no loss of fidelity. All of your history. All of your Transactions. All of your customers. All of the data about what your customers buy and when they buy it. All in the Cloud and ready to analyze with Power BI.
Call your partner today and ask about migrating to PowerGP Online. Or visit our site at PowerGPOnline.com to learn more.
