NAV to Business Central Upgrade

WHAT IS AN UPGRADE?

Upgrade is a process executed by your Microsoft Partner whereby all your business data from your existing NAV Database is ported to reside in its new house – The target destination system, in this case Microsoft Dynamics Business Central. All your existing customizations are also made available in your new system by taking one or more of the following possible approaches:

  • Refactor / redevelop the code with new tools (Al, extension based)
  • Replace the customization with a COTS (commercial off-the-shelf system) extension
  • Suggest a process improvement / change to accomplish the end result with more efficiency.

Historically, upgrading a software system, such as your ERP or Business Management Software, was always considered as an optional task – if you are  comfortable with your existing system – if it meets all or most of your current needs then it was considered prudent to stay put ! Not anymore!!

The modern landscape of software solutions is changing at such a fast pace that if you are not fast enough to adapt to the changes that are being implemented in your industry or in your market space, very soon you will be left behind to deal with outdated systems. The longer you wait, the more you are at the risk of getting stuck with an obsolete system. Not only you will be at a substantial disadvantage as compared to your competition but also it will cost you more to catch up.

Upgrade to the software systems is often dictated by – The innovation in the underlying hardware/infrastructure systems and the active support you can expect to get from the vendor. Microsoft limits its support up to the last two versions of a given product, keeping this in mind it is prudent to stay current on one of the most important systems in your organization.

Some of the questions which people raises while contemplating whether to upgrade or not :

  • NAV application is too customized. This is not applicable much to Business Central because of Event based and Extension based customizations as handled in BC.
  • NAV Database is too large. Database Size is not an issue anymore both from a licensing standpoint or hard disk space standpoint. Very large databases can now be successfully upgraded in a practical window of time – such as over the weekend.
  • NAV version is too old to upgrade. Microsoft provides upgrade paths from one starting point to the latest destination version. At the most we will have to use more than one steps to go from the older version to the latest version.

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