Microsoft decided on the life cycle of the product that they will stop supporting MS Dynamics 365 NAV for April 2021. As there are more updates and a lot to learn about what is next? Why the product is to move to extended support? What current customers and NAV users are expected to do?

We shall address all those parts in this article. If you are reading this, you may be a Microsoft NAV customer or you are exploring the Dynamics 365 NAV with Microsoft. Since Microsoft announced that the support for NAV will not available, it is well known that the product is in between of huge upgrades. Indeed, the old NAV is designed for SMB/SME organisation and the next question that arises is what is replacing this product? The answer is MS Dynamics Business Central (BC). MS Dynamics Business Central is a new product already available in the international market. The localisation version is now available in India too. So, NAV is now replaced by Business Central in India.

What if you are looking to buy NAV?

If you are looking for an entry-level ERP solution for SMB/SME/MSME then Microsoft NAV would have been a perfect choice. But since there will no support from Microsoft for NAV, it is strongly advised NOT to buy the licenses from this month onwards and wait for the new licenses of Business Central to come into the market. The good news is, the new solution Business Central is even better, updated, fast, and more interactive than NAV.

What if you have already purchased licenses and implemented Microsoft NAV?

If you have NAV and pay  Business Ready Enhancement Plan (BREP)? Then there is good news for you. Those customers who are due to pay their BREP in the month of July onwards can use the following benefits from Microsoft.

They have; both the version of NAV as well as Business Central, given that they must get converted to Cloud Platform System (CSP) and an equal amount of BREP or more must be paid for required Business Central licenses. Now that is not hard to understand. Let’s follow the example below.

Suppose company 'ABC' is paying Rs. 100,00/- as BREP and using NAV & due to pay BREP soon, then company 'ABC' may move on to CSP ecosystem, get benefits of both NAV as well as BC. Now once moved, the yearly expenses will be equal to BREP (i.e. Rs 100,00/-) they will be part of CSP and they get both NAV & BC. What they will get in Rs. 100,000/- is BC licenses at a discount of 60%. So, they can use a greater number of licenses on the cloud at the same rate as BREP they are paying for the current solution.

How to shift from NAV to new Business Central? What is the cost?

Licenses cost will be equal to BREP cost, whereas you must consider a good partner for migration from NAV to BC. This is subjected to the amount of data you have. You can also get in touch with specialists in this field to check what might the cost of migration in your organisation.

When you can buy new Business Central licenses?

It will be live on the distributors portal from 2 April 2021 and you can buy it on the same day.  

For any further queries on this get in touch with me on my profile. 

Also read: How to select an ERP solution for your organisation?

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