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The process of upgrading Dynamics NAV to Dynamics 365 Business Central is one that many businesses have reservations about. At Syvantis, we have upgraded many clients from NAV to Business Central and are familiar with the common concerns and how to alleviate them. ERP systems are absolutely vital for the day-to-day operations of many employees within these companies. Many companies also make use of different modification to NAV that add functions or streamline processes for their business, so they want to make sure they can continue to make use of these familiar features. Business Central is built to be a highly customizable system, so it can be molded to fit withing nearly every business need.
Why upgrade to Business Central?
Dynamics 365 Business Central is essentially the newest version of Dynamics NAV. It is built on the same framework, but expands on the features, functions, and leverages cloud technologies. Over the next few years, support for Dynamics NAV versions will be deprecated. This means no future year-end or security updates will be made available. Back in April this year, support for NAV 2016 was removed. Next year, January 11, 2022, will be the end of NAV 2017 support and NAV 2018 will lose support the following year. There are many other cost and operational benefits of upgrading to Business Central. Check out our blog on the topic to learn more.
What is the impact of the upgrade process?
While Business Central can be considered the direct upgrade from Dynamics NAV, the process of upgrading is not as simple as a normal version update would be in NAV. However, this does not necessarily mean there will be any more or less downtime during the upgrade. A copy of the application data is made and modified. The entire design and testing process has no effect on the live system or those working within it. When the new system is ready for go-live, it can be done over the weekend to avoid causing disruptions to work. The entire process typically takes around six months, but can vary depending on how many modifications need to be brought over.
Turning NAV mods into Business Central extensions
Many businesses utilize special customizations or additions to their Dynamics NAV system to provide new functions or change others. These modifications are based on the Dynamics NAV code base, so they will need to be reworked in order to fit within Business Central. This is why having more modifications can lengthen the upgrade process. Most mods are able to be converted into extensions. Extensions in Business Central are add-ons for the application that can add functions, change functions, or even add new services. They sound quite similar to regular modifications for NAV, but extensions are added to Business Central without needing to change any of the app’s base code. They are their own self-contained module to be added and removed with much more ease. This gives the extension developers much more leeway to focus on their own code, rather than Business Central’s. Many times, companies will find certain modifications become unnecessary after moving to Business Central.
Dynamics NAV is built on the C/AL code language, and these Business Central extensions are built using AL code. They are very similar languages with common syntax. This makes translating NAV mods into extensions much easier.
It is also much easier to create and add new custom solutions to Business Central with its cloud-based approach. Microsoft AppSource is a great place to find and quickly install new extensions for Business Central. Our blog here has much more information about the customization options of Business Central.
Get started
Upgrading your ERP system is certainly no small decision. Fill out the contact form below to speak with one of our consultants and get a picture of what your Dynamics NAV system can look like on Business Central. We can also set up a free demo of Business Central for you to try out. Click the button below to get started.
