What Staying on GP Means for the Long Term
Posted on: March 6, 2024 | By: Page Wildridge | Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics Business Central
Microsoft Dynamics GP is an on-premises ERP solution for small- to mid-market businesses. Currently, Microsoft offers two ERP solutions for the mid-market Dynamics GP and Dynamics Business Central. Microsoft has made several announcements about the future of GP. The most notable announcement is that they have decided to stop new sales of the ERP starting in 2026. This means Microsoft is moving their interests towards Business Central. In this blog, we will cover what staying on GP means for the long term.
The GP You’re Using Today…
The GP you’re using today will be remain unchanged into the future. This means it will be the same GP you use tomorrow, and the same GP you’ll be using five years from now. Microsoft’s latest announcement signals that they are devoting their resources towards Business Central, their cloud-based solution. Microsoft will make minor improvements and updates but there will be no new major functionality, modules, or big improvements to GP in the future. This means that the GP you are using today will be pretty much unchanged for the rest of the time that you use it.
Less Accessibility
Working with an on-premises solution means less accessibility for you and your business. Unlike a cloud-based solution, you cannot access GP on your mobile devices or any Internet browser. Instead, you are limited to the computers where you have GP installed already. This also means no access or native integration to other Microsoft applications, such as Office 365. For example, Dynamics GP has limited access to Excel. However, this access is not the native integration to Excel, Word, and Outlook that users see in Dynamics Business Central.
Future Costs
As you are working with the same GP today that you will use in the future, you will need to budget for a certain amount of ongoing support in the future. Like all technology, issues will arise sometime in the future with the software and there will be things that break no matter what you do. Additionally, in the future, you will need to pay a specialist to help you with your system. Less and less personnel will be experienced with GP as time goes by, so your business should anticipate these costs and delays now.
Keeping Infrastructure Updated
Overtime, you will need to keep your servers and related infrastructure updated to keep your systems running. This includes updating your servers, hardware, backup systems, software, and more. Users who remain on GP will require these updates to keep their system secure.
Next Steps
Logan Consulting is a proud Microsoft partner, with expertise in both Business Central and Dynamics GP. If you are interested in finding out more about staying with Dynamics GP, or hearing about other options, contact us today to speak to an expert.