Cost Benefit Analysis of Microsoft Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration
As the end-of-life support nears Dynamics GP, most of its users are actively looking for alternatives. According to experts, Dynamics 365 Business Central is the ideal alternative. It is cloud-native, AI-enriched, and has all the tools that make it ideal for modern SMBs. However, one of the most critical questions that worries most CFOs, and their finance and IT teams, is the cost of Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration. At the same point of time, it is also important to quantify the benefits that the organization might gain from migration. To address this, we will be running a Cost Benefit analysis of Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains to Business Central Migration.
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The Fixed Costs of Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central Migration
These are the foundational investments. They are non-negotiable components of the overall cost of Dynamics Great Plains to D365 Business Central Migration. Here are the key ones:
Licensing Transition to Business Central SaaS ERP Platform
Range: US$ 70 to US$100/user/month
Dynamics GP perpetual licensing model does not ‘translate’ to the cloud. This means that if you are migrating to Dynamics 365 Business Central’s Cloud ERP platform, then you need to adapt to the SaaS licensing structure.
Without proper licensing, you might end up overpaying for unused or under-utilized capabilities.
To help you with this, Evolvous helps you choose the right license and help you benefit from CSP discounts. Our team will also help consolidate user roles to reduce your licensing footprint.
Environment Setup and Migration Planning
Range: US$ 2000 – US$ 7000+
Many GP environments are cluttered with unused modules, outdated customizations, and legacy integrations. So, when you are transitioning to Business Central, you need to ensure that the new platform is set up without such clutter, yet all information is properly migrated from Great Plains.
Our team of migration experts will run structured pre-migration assessments. By using advanced automation and sophisticated tools, we can cut down setup and planning times by as much as 40%.
Data Extraction, Mapping and Migration
Range: US$8,000 – US$20,000+
This is one of the most significant cost components. You see, GP data structure differs significantly from Business Central, especially when it comes to dimensions, posting setups, and historical data formats. So, you need to extract data by retaining all its essential characteristics, map it properly to the corresponding Business Central fields, and then execute the migration.
We use tried-and-tested data mapping templates and automation scripts to validate, stage, and migrate data accurately, reducing costs.
System Configuration
Range: US$5000 – $15000+
Before you start using Dynamics 365 Business Central actively, you need to get a few critical things ready. For example, you must reconfigure GL, set up taxation, security roles, and workflows, from scratch.
To optimize this cost component, we use industry specific Dynamics 365 Business Central templates, role-packs and security frameworks that align with the needs of your organization.
Transforming ISV Solutions
Range: US$2000 – US$10000+
Several popular GP add-ons like Mekorma, Binary Stream, and Key2Act, are not exactly what you call ‘cloud-ready’. This often makes them incompatible within the Dynamics 365 Business Central environment. It often leads to broken processes or costly last-minute fixes.
Evolvous evaluates ISVs and helps replace or rebuild them using the right tools as well as tried-and-tested Business Central extensions.
The Variable Costs of Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration
These costs depend on the size of the organization and scalability needs, and other requirements. Simply put, depending on certain factors, you might not need to make these investments at all!
But still, it is useful to be aware of the costs. Here are two of the main components:
Custom AL-Based Rebuild
Range: US$3000 – US$25000+
The dexterity-based customizations in Great Plains do not transfer efficiently to the extension-based architecture of Business Central. Therefore, you need to recode them in AL (Application Language).
Here too, we can help by eliminating all unnecessary customizations. We re-code only those customizations which are critical for your business. Our team adheres to the best practices to simplify customization and reduce development time and costs.
Role-Based End User Training
Range: US$2000 – US$10,000+
Business Central shares some of the same features that GP uses. However, in some respects, the difference is significant. Therefore, if specific users are not trained in the aspects of the platform that are most relevant to them. Then it can cause issues.
At Evolvous, we offer custom role-based training, tailored to their specific needs. This ensures faster adoption and better utilization of the platform’s capabilities.
Get Detailed and Accurate Cost Estimates for Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration
The costs mentioned above depend on a range of factors, like data complexity, size of the organization, and others. To get detailed and accurate cost estimates for Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration, contact our team today.
The Financial Benefits of Microsoft Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration
Now that we have some idea about the costs of Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration, let us look at some of the financial benefits that you can realize after carrying out the migration. Please note that the following benefits are just an example for a 120-plus employee size company with a significant volume of operations.
Reduced Infrastructure Spend
Potential Benefits: Save up to US$15000/year
Time to Realize: Immediately
When you migrate to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you practically eliminate the need to pay for server maintenance, SQL licensing, and other infrastructure overheads. This significantly reduces your operating costs.
Lower Project Overruns
Potential Benefits: Save up to US$6500/year
Time to Realize: Immediately, after full migration
If you execute migration with the help of a certified Microsoft Dynamics 365 consultant like Evolvous, then you will have a better chance of avoiding data integrity issues. This will save you a lot on change requests and rework.
Fewer Reporting Errors
Potential Benefits: Save Up to US$10000 /year
Time to Realize: Within 3 to 6 months
The dimensional structure of Business Central, along with its inbuilt validation tools, reduces human errors in reporting. Over time, you can make incremental savings by cutting down reconciliation time and compliance issues.
Faster Month-end Close
Potential Benefits: Save Up to US$8000/Year
Time to Realize: Within 3 to 6 Months
Dynamics 365 Business Central allows you to automate posting routines, gives you access to integrated subledgers, and streamlined approval workflows. By reducing manual efforts month-close, you can complete the overall process much faster.
Smarter Business Process Automation
Potential Benefits: Save Up to US$22,000/Year
Time to Realize: Within 6 to 12 Months
You can also integrate Dynamics 365 Business Central with Microsoft Power Automate to complete critical functions faster. In fact, our Power Automate consultants can help you replace the hard-coded logic with the low-code processes from Power Automate. This reduces IT dependency and reduces the time it takes to complete recurring workflows.
Increased Uptime and Scalability
Potential Benefits: Save Up to $7000/Year
Time to Realize: Immediately
Thanks to its cloud-native nature, you will have to deal with less downtime and round the clock for remote teams. Apart from that, when you are looking to scale up, you no longer need to invest in additional hardware or reconfigure system infrastructure.
Apart from these, you also get several other benefits like better consolidation of ISVs, fewer support tickets, and increased real-time visibility with the help of Power BI. All these benefits, when taken together, have a significant positive impact on your budget.
Explore the Full Range of Benefits of Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 Migration
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Comparison of Costs and Benefits of Migration
Now that we have covered both costs and benefits of Dynamics GP to Business Central Migration, let us all bring it all together.
In the chart below, we have done a cost and benefits analysis of migration. Again, this is for a 120-employee company, and the benefits are the ones realized over a period of one year after migration.
Please note:
- Apart from licensing and the occasional system configuration, all the others are just one-time costs only.
- The benefits are realized every year after migration. However, after a prolonged period of use of Dynamics 365, the savings can be different YoY.
| COSTS | BENEFITS | ||
| Item | Estimated Costs | Item | Potential Benefits |
| Licensing (for 120 users) | 12000 | Reduced Infrastructure Spend | 15000 |
| Assessment | 5000 | Lower Project Overruns | 6500 |
| Data Migration | 15000 | Fewer Reporting Errors | 10000 |
| System Configuration | 10000 | Faster Month-end Close | 8000 |
| ISV Transformation | 8000 | Consolidation of ISV | 9000 |
| Rebuilding & Reengineering | 18000 | Automating Key Processes | 22000 |
| Training | 6000 | Fewer Support Tickets | 9500 |
| Increased Uptime & Scalability | 7000 | ||
| Real Time Visibility with Power BI | 8000 | ||
| Improved Audit Readiness | 6000 | ||
| Total | 74000 | Total | 101000 |
Optimize the Costs of Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central Migration
Contact our specialized Dynamics 365 Migration Consultants and discover how we can help you save up to 20% on the cost of migration.
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