What comes next for businesses using Great Plains Software

Plan for the future: find out what's ahead for companies using Great Plains software.

If you don’t know already, Microsoft has announced that it is sunsetting Dynamics GP and Great Plains software and has already ended support for some earlier versions of the ERP system. It’s not a secret that the software was much loved by its users, and so it can feel like Microsoft is leaving dedicated users and support networks holding the bag. The point of this blog is to help give companies a peek into the future and offer some sound advice regarding their ERP technology.

Full disclosure: while we would be lying if we said our consultants aren’t excited by the potential for new projects and want clients to sign ERP projects for Dynamics 365 Business Central contracts right away, the truth is Microsoft has given plenty of lead time for companies to make the best decision for what comes next regarding their business technology. Choosing to upgrade, migrate, and/or enhance a company's technology is a big decision, and with it comes the opportunity to discover business value, improve processes, and the risk of functional disruption.

Why Great Plains Software Was A Leading ERP System

If Great Plains wasn’t a great ERP system, Microsoft wouldn’t have acquired it. Over the last 20+ years, Great Plains has served thousands of businesses reliably as a fully featured ERP system with very few bugs and breakdowns. It’s no surprise the negative reaction to Microsoft’s decision to sunset the ERP system.

For any business, the technology that ties the company’s business functions together is the foundation of its performance and dictates the enterprise's ability to scale, which makes choosing a functional ERP system essential to success. With a robust pool of point solutions, many small to medium-sized businesses chose Great Plains because there was a readymade software tool or program specifically designed to support that specific industry. From doctors’ offices, small regional banks and credit unions, construction companies, consumer products, manufacturers, and more, use the software because it’s reliable, and the quirks and workarounds are well documented among its user communities.

Why Microsoft is Sunsetting Great Plains software

So, why would Microsoft sunset a beloved ERP system and potentially lose out on a not-insignificant source of revenue? Only Microsoft knows the truth. But, we at SSNW believe Microsoft’s focus is on innovation, AI, the cloud, Power Platform and Power Stack, databases, and security. Moreover, Microsoft has invested heavily in its mid-market ERP solution Dynamics 365 Business Central, which builds on what Great Plains did well and adds a litany of technology advancements to help boost business performance.

Luckily, Microsoft is giving businesses plenty of time to research and plan for their next pivot before mainstream support ends for Dynamics GP and Great Plains 2018. So, what comes next for businesses using Dynamics GP? What are the options? Is it possible to retain the qualities of Great Plains and Dynamics GP that businesses love and migrate to another ERP system? The short answer is absolutely.

Let’s lay out some aspects of Dynamics GP and Great Plains that businesses will want to retain when deciding what to do next about their ERP system. Here are five of the most important factors that GP users love about their ERP system.

1.      Centralized Financial Management

2.      Easy to setup and configure to use

3.      Process Automation

4.      Improved Visibility to Financial Data

5.      Data-Driven Insights

6.      Microsoft Ecosystem Integration

4 options for what’s next for businesses looking to upgrade or move ERP systems

1.      Stay on Great Plains – this is an understandable choice and may meet your organization's short-term needs. Implementing a brand-new ERP system can be costly and disruptive, but when there are many businesses that are committed to offering tech support for businesses that choose to remain on their ERP system it very well could make more sense to stick with GP to the end of mainstream support or upgrade to Dynamics GP until 2029. However, this isn’t a long-term solution, and there will come a time when your business will have to implement a new ERP system.

That being said, if your company chooses to remain with Great Plains or Dynamics GP until the very end of support (2031), then our recommendation is to continue to invest in your business technology by integrating new cloud-based solutions to add to your environment. This way you can keep your business as modern as possible while using Dynamics GP as your main accounting software.

2.      Option two: Retain your company's familiarity with Microsoft products and migrate to Dynamics 365 Business Central, or, for more complicated Dynamics GP enterprises, Dynamic 365 Finance and Operations (now called Finance and Supply Chain Management).

We at SSNW recommend any Dynamics GP user to migrate to the appropriate Microsoft Dynamics 365 option as soon as possible. This way you can begin optimizing your business, implement scalable technology infrastructure, and see sooner the ROI you expect from a technology investment.

Many of Business Central’s principles were shaped by users on Great Plains. Moving from Great Plains, businesses can prevent a jarring transition, offering the least disruption for their workers. There are clear migration pathways from Great Plains to Business Central. At SSNW we promise to migrate the finance function to Business Central within 90 days. Additionally, by retaining the same software ecosystem (Outlook, Teams, Power BI, SharePoint, etc.), workers don’t have to get used to other software systems that can cause frustration and resistance.

If your business is looking to retain the same functionality, user-friendly and easy setup system in your next ERP system, Dynamics 365 Business Central is by far the best option. As an added benefit, your business gains access to numerous business tools that help you maximize growth and scale.

Equally important, the Microsoft partner ecosystem is structured the same as Great Plains, offering thousands of ISV vendors for point solutions, ensuring your needs are met. One of the characteristics that run through Great Plains and Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management is the ability to configure and tailor the software around your business.

Now there are businesses out there using Great Plains who have had their IT partners shutter, leaving them without support and struggling to find partners who understand their needs. It’s enough to consider switching whole cloth to a new ERP system. However, Microsoft partners who have committed to Dynamics 365 aren’t going anywhere. So, by transitioning to Dynamics 365 businesses will be protecting their technology for future decades with competitive pricing.

Furthermore, Dynamics 365 Business Central and Finance and Supply Chain Management offer incredibly strong finance capabilities that are connected to robust Supply Chain Management systems that enable businesses to make strategic business decisions using real-time data that often lead to more business value.

Lastly, Microsoft is dedicated to its Dynamics 365 enterprise solutions, and businesses that choose its cloud-based technology will continue to benefit from its advancements in AI and updates to its business-grade tools in the Microsoft Stack and Power Platform. Every quarter, Microsoft offers enhancements and updates to their ERP platforms, giving users the most advanced tools possible.

Find out everything you need to know including features, timelines, and pricing in our GP to BC whitepaper.

3.      While businesses unhappy with Great Plains or Dynamics GP should still look at Business Central as a viable option because with a well-selected ERP partner businesses have the opportunity to reshape their technology to better suit their needs, there is the possibility that businesses are unhappy with Microsoft’s feel and user interface. In that case, a business could look for other mid-market ERP options such as Oracle NetSuite and Acumatica, and Sage Intact. However, our recommendation would be to review every ERP systems, Microsoft’s included, and determine the strengths and weaknesses, functionality and pricing of each system. Sometimes companies who implement NetSuite find themselves unhappy a few years down the line given a sharp price increase. With other systems, pricing structures get more expensive with an increase in usage and data storage.

4.      The last option companies have is to implement a niche, industry-specific solution. While some of these can be very good and immediately meet a business's highly unique needs, one thing to look out for is the technology’s longevity, security, and stability over the long haul. Often what drives companies to use Dynamics 365 is that the technology is built for scalability. The most secure and robust ERP platforms invest heavily in their ERP solutions to make them equal to technology’s latest advancements.

What’s next for your business and its ERP system?

Every business is different. Every business’s technology is set up a little differently. Often a business’s technology isn’t the focus point in ensuring a business’s success. And while a business’s success isn’t solely determined by technology, finding the right technology for your company can help your enterprise thrive for decades to come. So we recommend you take your time and select the right partner.

Dynamics GP still has a few years left of full functionality. So you have time to do deep dives into each option. We believe Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP platforms will be the best option 99% of the time, especially for users of Great Plains, but more than that, we want you to get the ERP platform that enables you to have the best version of your business.

How SSNW can help your company

We are a team of business analysts and system integrators, specializing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management. We offer free technology consultations and bring to every conversation a mindset dedicated to your business’s success. If we think your business would benefit more from a different technology solution, we’ll tell you. Our methodology always begins with your business, from the very first email correspondence to the post-go-live support, and identifying the issues you’re trying to solve. Next, we make sure we’re the right partners for you, ensuring we have the right industry expertise to configure the technology that enhances your enterprise’s processes. With that, businesses on Great Plains should begin planning for the next steps. Contact us if you’re interested in learning more about migrating your ERP to Dynamics 365 or want to discuss your current Great Plains software setup with a free ERP consultation!