How easy is the upgrade path to cloud AX?

For smaller AX customers, the struggle is one of picking the right upgrade path:

  • Do nothing until the current software becomes inoperable?
  • Switch to a new ERP solution.
  • Stabilize on the latest version of AX. Port modifications or hope that the latest and greatest version can meet your requirements.
  • Upgrade to D365FO with a commitment to go “vanilla.”
  • Bite the bullet and upgrade to D365FO with an upgrade of your existing customizations.

The costs of upgrades are especially high for smaller companies with extensive requirements. The task of estimating the number of deprecated objects can be daunting if you fall below the 150-user threshold required to have a dedicated Microsoft solution architect work with you during an upgrade to Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations. Or you may not want to make the investment in the 20-user minimum D365FO license to use the tools provided in LCS.

Are you an AXSMB?

The typical life-cycle of a business sees it implement three ERP systems. QuickBooks, an “Upgrade” to QuickBooks and finally a “Real” system. This is at least one, if not two systems too many.

Over the last decade an “AXSMB” was the term used for that special class of company that had “champagne requirements but a beer budget.” These were companies that would have loved to be on QuickBooks or Dynamics GP based on their budget. However, because of sophisticated business requirements that could only be met with an enterprise-level ERP solution, bit the bullet and made the investment to step up to Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Hyrbrid cloud solutions for AX and D365

The critical infrastructure question we have had to address for companies contemplating an AX to D365 upgrade has to do with on premise data collection. Distribution companies with bar coded inventory control, manufacturers with shop floor data collection stations or retailers with point of sale cash registers all have some local requirement to capture, store and update data if their connection to the cloud ERP system goes down or has latency issues.

In speaking to an industry expert on our AX to D365 podcast series focused on considerations for the hybrid infrastructure model he posits out that the infrastructure requirements for D365 are just a part of the puzzle. In his words, the fait accompli of businesses moving all of their business applications to the cloud, it is critical for organizations to develop a complete cloud strategy that includes legacy systems.


Subscribe to the Mailing List



turn on dynamics logo

Nuvollo is Partners with turnondynmaics for secure AX hosting!