Time flies! This is also true when you consider the current international ERP arena. Exciting cloud-based innovations are appearing faster than ever before. Artificial intelligence is flooding the market with breathtaking new possibilities. Development departments have to work a lot of overtime to keep up with all these developments. Unfortunately, it is not possible to keep adding new versions without managing existing older versions. For this reason, all providers have some kind of version policy. This policy states how long users can expect full support. It also states what you can expect when this support ends. Here's what you can expect if you continue to use your on-premise Dynamics NAV solution.
Your Support Levels In accordance with the Microsoft Lifecycle Policy, each version of Dynamics NAV receives 10 years of support: 5 years of basic support and 5 years of extended support. Basic support includes new features and security and non-security updates. Extended support only includes security-related updates. Basic support for all Dynamics NAV versions no longer exists since the beginning of 2023. Extended support is only available to companies using versions 2015 to 2018. None of the support rules apply to users of versions older than Dynamics NAV 2015!
The cost of your support. As the number of users declines Microsoft is expected to further increase the cost of your annual maintenance of Dynamics NAV. This means more costs for less support.
The availability of your support. All NAV partners are fully focused on Dynamics 365 Business Central and migrating their resources to the corresponding cloud offering. You must therefore expect decreasing availability of support, development and advice - especially if you are working with an old version.
Your cyber risks. Hackers are always looking for weaknesses. You will often find these in older versions with decreasing software support. Are you prepared for these additional risks?
Your hardware investments. The amount of data is still growing at a breathtaking rate. Expect continued investments in storage capacity and other server-related matters.
Your innovation. Like all ERP providers, Microsoft also relies heavily on its cloud offerings. So the real innovation happens at D365 BC. Think big data and the AI-based Co-Pilot. Expect the innovation in Dynamics NAV to slow down.
Your migration speed. If you're thinking about migrating to Dynamics 365 BC, keep in mind that such a transition can easily take 6 to 12 months. Especially since most potential partners are currently very busy.
Your strategic question. As a professional business today, can you afford to use an ERP system with minimal or no support?
Want to know more about what migrating to Business Central means for your business? Then you should contact us today.
Comments