Dynamics 365 Business Central Upgrades

Many of our customers have  already made the move to Dynamics 365 Business Central and we’ve learnt many lessons along the way. So, here’s our top 5 tips on what to consider when planning your move to Dynamics 365 Business Central from Dynamics NAV.

1. Q: Do I have to move to the cloud?
   • A: No, Dynamics 365 Business Central will continue to be available as an on-premises deployment.
2. Q: Can I still continue use, and purchase, new users for Dynamics NAV/BC?
   • A: Yes, provided that you have a current enhancement plan, you can continue to purchase extra Dynamics users.
3. Q: How is Dynamics 365 Business Central licensed?
   • A: Perpetual license plus annual enhancement plan are available for On-Premise installs.  Subscription licenses are available for both Cloud and On-Premise installs.  All users are now licensed on a Named User basis.
4. Q: We currently have a lot of customizations. Can we take those customizations with us?
   • A: Microsoft has changed the way customizations are delivered (to make it a whole load easier to upgrade going
     forward). If you have customizations you still need they can be redeveloped as AL extensions (the new way of adding extra developments) complete with the automated tests recommended for the regularly updated SaaS platform. However, when most customers upgrade, they often find many of their original customizations are no longer needed by the business, are now in the standard product or are available as an app from Microsoft AppSource.
5. Q: What extra functionality is included with Dynamics 365 Business Central?
   • A: With each release of Dynamics 365 Business Central, Microsoft publish a full list of new/updated features and capabilities: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Updates
6.  

If you want to standardize ALL your code but also KEEP ALL your data then a Clean Start Upgrade is the option for you. Any feature GAP Fits can be addressed by Extensions or AppSource Addons as appropriate.

Key Considerations:

• Do you want to include a move to Cloud or On-Premise.
• Do you want to drop customizations if no longer used or replaced by standard features.
• Do you want to replace customizations with ready made AppSource solutions.
• As your license may move from Concurrent users to Named users this needs to be considered.

Next Steps:

• We first arrange a 20 min Teams call to discuss your requirements and timelines.
• We then book a remote technical review (40 mins) so we can gather your current system configuration.
• After typically 8 working days we will revert with a fully costed upgrade proposal & recommendations.

This is a no obligation process and is free of charge.  So why wait reach out to us to begin the process and modernize your platform.

If you like what you have and just want to future proof or avail of new features then a Full Upgrade is what’s needed. We will of course first review your installation and advise if any of your customizations are redundant, now standard features or have App addon alternative offerings.

Key Considerations:

• Do you want to include a move to Cloud or On-Premise.
• Do you want to drop customizations if no longer used or replaced by standard features.
• Do you want to replace customizations with ready made AppSource solutions.
• As your license may move from Concurrent users to Named users this needs to be considered.

Next Steps:

• We first arrange a 20 min Teams call to discuss your requirements and timelines.
• We then book a remote technical review (40 mins) so we can gather your current system configuration.
• After typically 15 working days we will revert with a fully costed upgrade proposal & recommendations.

This is a no obligation process and is free of charge.  So why wait reach out to us to begin the process and modernize your platform.

Modern Lifecycle Version Support

Product Release                              Release Date     End Date

19.x  BC 2021 release wave 2          Oct 1, 2021         Apr 12, 2023

18.x  BC 2021 release wave 1          Apr 1, 2021         Oct 11, 2022

17.x  BC 2020 release wave 2          Oct 1, 2020         Apr 12, 2022

16.x  BC 2020 release wave 1          Apr 1, 2020         Oct 12, 2021

15.x BC 2019 release wave 2           Oct 1, 2019         Apr 13, 2021

Fixed Lifecycle Version Support

Product Release                              Release Date      Extended End Date

14.x  BC Spring 2019 Update           Apr 1, 2019         Oct 11, 2025

13.x  BC Fall 2018 Update                Oct 1, 2018         Apr 12, 2025

11.x  Dynamics Nav 2018                  Dec 1, 2017         Jan 11, 2028

10.x  Dynamics Nav 2017                  Oct 27, 2016       Jan 11, 2027

9.x    Dynamics Nav 2016                  Jan 3, 2016         Apr 14, 2026

8.x    Dynamics Nav 2015                 Dec 17, 2014      Jan 14, 2025

7.x    Dynamics Nav 2013                  Dec 30, 2013      Jan 10, 2023

6.x    Dynamics Nav 2009                 Mar 15, 2011      Jan 14, 2020

5.x    Dynamics Nav 5.0                      Apr 1, 2007         Apr 11, 2017