Upgrading from Microsoft Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365, presents an opportunity to significantly reinvigorate your business operations. Moving to a more advanced system brings a host of new features, better integrations and scalability to support growth. This guide is designed to provide a detailed roadmap to help with this transition, ensuring upgrade process is as smooth as possible. Through careful strategic planning and ongoing support, this guide will help you use the full potential of Dynamics 365 to achieve your business objectives.
Dynamics AX End Of Support
As of 2021 Microsoft has ended Dynamics AX updates and support. Even though AX was quite popular ERP system, Microsoft identified it’s shortfalls and decided that it needed improvements, along with new functionalities. Dynamics AX was preceded by Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operation, which is now two separate applications MS Dynamics 365 Finance and MS Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management.
Microsoft has a standard lifecycle for ending support, typically providing three years of active support followed by two years of passive support. That support has already ended leaving the businesses with increased risks related to security vulnerabilities, compliance issues, and inefficiencies due to outdated technology. Good news is that, with the right tools and partner the transition can be quite smooth and straightforward.
Why Upgrading Dynamics AX is Important and Beneficial?
Upgrade of Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 brings several advantages for your business, which can help to gain an upper hand in relation to competition:
- Better Integration: Easily connects with other Microsoft products like Office 365 and Power BI, which speed up processes and analyze data.
- Cloud Solution: Offers improved accessibility, scalability and real-time data insights and updates.
- Security and Compliance: Has security measures and compliance management tools, ensuring data protection and regulatory adherence.
- Innovation and Efficiency: Introduces capabilities such as AI and machine learning to optimize operations and innovation.
- Continuous Updates: Regular updates provide new features and improvements without the disruption of major system upgrades.
- Wide Partner Network: Get help from a vast network of professional Microsoft partners and reduce IT overhead. Partners can assist in upgrading, supporting and developing Dynamics 365.
Read our whitepaper about Top 10 reasons to Upgrade Dynamics AX and get more details.
Do you have to Upgrade Dynamics AX?
For businesses content with functionality of Dynamics AX, the decision to upgrade might not be as straightforward. Although opting for a private consulting firm can extend support past Microsoft’s expiration, this choice often leads to significantly increased maintenance costs without any enhancement in ERP functionality.
Upgrading Dynamics AX: The Most Important Steps
Transitioning from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 is complicated and needs many complex steps to be fully realized. However, with the right set of tools and a guide the process can become easier and show great results afterwards. It is usually recommended to hire a Microsoft Partner to facilitate the transition, as they are experienced in the field and can do it faster without any “hiccups”. A more detailed guide is available at Microsoft Learn.
1. Assess Your Current System
Review your current Dynamics AX environment to determine customizations, third-party solutions, and integrations. Understanding what you have is crucial to planning what you need to move to Dynamics 365 platform with everything you need for your business.
2. Plan Your Upgrade Path
Depending on which version of Dynamics AX you are currently using (AX 2012, AX 2009, etc.), your upgrade path might differ. For AX 2012 users, you can directly move to Dynamics 365, while others may need transitional upgrades or re-implementation. Additionally, evaluate your unique business needs and mark them as areas for review and possible upgrade.
3. Data Cleaning and Management
Cleanse your data to ensure accuracy and completeness. This involves creating a data back-up, incase something goes wrong, like data loss or corruption. Afterwards, removing obsolete data, correcting discrepancies, and consolidating data sources where possible.
4. Implementing Dynamics 365 Upgrade
When executing the upgrade to Dynamics 365 trust your partner to complete the tasks, but always be ready to assist. Firstly, the partner will use use Code Upgrade Service available through Microsoft’s Lifecycle Services (LCS), which automates the analysis and adaptation of your existing code to ensure compatibility with Dynamics 365. Additionally, partner will use Data Upgrade and Migration to manage the transfer of your business data; this includes support for testing, which identifies and resolves issues prior to the final migration. Finally, a test is carried out to validate the functionality of the upgraded system. This includes unit testing, integration testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT) to confirm that all business processes perform as expected.
5. Training and Support
After the implementation it is necessary to prepare your team for the new system through detailed training sessions and support materials. Dynamics 365’s interface and capabilities differ significantly from Dynamics AX, so adequate training is crucial for good operation. This is usually done by the upgrade partner, as they know the system best.
6. Monitoring and Optimization
After going live, there’s a need to continuously monitor the system’s performance and gather user feedback to optimize processes and address any emerging issues. This support and managed services is also usually done by the implementation partner, but some business find an external partner.
Conclusion
Upgrading from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 is a significant step for any business. It offers substantial benefits in terms of system capabilities and operational efficiency. With careful planning, thorough testing, and effective training, organizations can ensure a successful transition that leverages the full potential of Dynamics 365. However, some might choose to stay with AX, there are options for that too, but requires support from reputable Managed Service Provider (MSP).
But if you ultimately decide to upgrade, following the guidelines provided in this article, you can complete it successfully and utilize Dynamics 365 to it’s full potential. Contact us if you want help in making a decision or help with implementation or D365/AX support.
