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Dynamics 365 Community / Blogs / Dynamics 365 Center by Ratnesh / Take Your Finance Managemen...

Take Your Finance Management to The Next Level: Upgrade AX to Dynamics 365 Now

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Ratnesh Kumar Profile Picture Ratnesh Kumar 99
Hey there, business professionals! Are you among the 70% of finance & accounting leaders grappling with financial closing and accounting operations challenges due to manual processes? Then the most important question you must ask yourself to join the other 30% of successful businesses is, "Is your business ready for cloud deployment to achieve maximum productivity?"

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, upgrading from Dynamics AX to cloud-based Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations is the need of the hour. We understand the required financial commitment for an upgradation process. Therefore, we are here to address all your queries to help you make an informed decision within your budget for business scalability.

Without further delay, dive into the blog so that you do not miss the opportunities that lie ahead. It's time to future-proof your financial management system and unlock new levels of efficiency and productivity.

What is Microsoft Dynamics AX?
Dynamics AX is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that enables businesses to manage and enhance their finance and operations processes. It empowers organisations with robust functionalities to handle manufacturing, planning, supply chain management, etc.

What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations combines global financials and operations of MNCs, empowering individuals to make timely and informed decisions. The solution enables businesses to quickly adapt to evolving market demands and drive accelerated growth.
The advanced ERP solution empowers businesses to automate and manage their financial processes. It offers real-time visibility to aid in decision-making, predict future results and promote the growth of an organisation.

If you are uncertain about the differences between Dynamics AX and Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, let’s take a closer look to get a clear picture.

What are the differences between AX and Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations?
The key distinction between Dynamics AX and Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations is the basic infrastructure. While the foundation of Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations is a cloud solution hosted on Microsoft Azure, AX primarily functions as a desktop-based application supplemented with web and mobile add-on components. Check the table given below to understand it better.
 
   Dynamics AX  Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations
Version  Previous version of Microsoft's ERP software  Part of the broader Dynamics 365 suite 
Deployment 
  		 On-premises or hosted on private servers  Cloud-based, hosted on Microsoft Azure 
Licensing 
  		 Traditional perpetual licensing model  Subscription-based licensing model 
Updates 
  		 Cumulative updates are released periodically  Regular updates and feature releases through the cloud 
Integration  Can be integrated with other Dynamics AX modules  Combined with other Dynamics 365 applications 
Scalability 
  		 Scalable, but requires additional hardware and resources  Integrated with other Dynamics 365 applications 
Accessibility 
  		 Accessible from within the organisation's network  Accessible from anywhere with internet connectivity 
Flexibility  Customisation and extensions require more development effort  Offers flexibility through configurations and extensions 
User Interface  Traditional client-server interface  Modern, web-based user interface 

Now that you know the differences, let’s explore why you should upgrade your NAV system to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations.

What is the Need for AX Upgrade?
Microsoft Dynamics AX users will no longer receive product feature updates or security updates from Microsoft as it has discontinued the mainstream support for the solution. Therefore, the outdated AX solution will lack the latest features, modules, and integration essential for efficient business operations.
  1. Limited functionality

An outdated AX system does not provide a centralised hub for data storage for seamless financial management. Therefore, it cannot deliver intelligence and insights in real-time to facilitate informed decision-making.
 
  1. Security vulnerabilities

Due to Microsoft's discontinuation of security updates for the AX solution, the system lacks the latest security features, increasing its vulnerability to security breaches and data theft. It can result in financial losses and non-compliance with data protection regulations leading to business loss.
 
  1. Lack of business intelligence

The outdated AX solution lacks real-time analytics in financial processes to predict issues and proactively provide solutions for cash flow management. It can limit the businesses' ability to grow and adapt to changing market demands.
 
  1. Inefficiency and reduced productivity

The AX solution without cloud deployment cannot support evolving business needs due to the lack of automation capabilities, real-time collaboration, and business analytics. It can result in time-consuming manual tasks, redundant processes, and decreased employee productivity.
 
  1. Difficulty in scaling

The outdated AX solution struggles to manage higher transaction volumes, increased data storage needs and expanding user bases without feature-rich tools and technologies. The lack of advanced reporting tools makes gaining business insights and improving your team's performance difficult.

What are the Early Warning Signs to Upgrade Dynamics AX?
Migrating from AX to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations is a substantial decision for any business. Although there is no fixed AX upgrade timeline, several key warning signs suggest it may be necessary to consider an upgrade.
  1. When AX is approaching the end of its mainstream support, it serves as an indicator to contemplate an upgrade to maintain uninterrupted business operations.
  2. When AX fails to receive new advanced features like Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations due to the absence of feature updates, it signifies the necessity of an upgrade.
  3. If integrating Dynamics AX with other systems becomes challenging, the technology stack may become outdated.
  4. When AX encounters difficulties accommodating your business growth, upgrading it can offer the scalability required to meet expanding needs.
  5. When AX's interface and accessibility become burdensome or outdated, migrating to Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations can enhance user experience and boost productivity.

What is the AX Upgrade Methodology?
If you are contemplating upgrading Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations but are unsure about the AX upgrade methodology, you have found the ideal resource. The entire upgrade process can be conceptualised as three overarching phases: Analysis, Execution and Validation.

Analyse
The analysis phase assists in estimating the necessary effort for the upgrade and aid in creating a project plan. You can conduct these activities before purchasing Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, enabling you to make an informed decision by gaining insights into the effort and resources needed for the upgrade.

Execute
In the Execute Phase, businesses carry out the tasks outlined during the Analyse phase. To progress to the Execute phase, you need to acquire finance & operations apps and ensure the availability of resources capable of working on the upgrade.

Validate
Upon entering the Validate phase, you can access environments containing your upgraded custom code and data. This phase encompasses the validation and testing procedures to ensure the upgraded environment functions as intended. Additionally, it involves the necessary preparations for the go-live phase.

Now, it is time to discover the robust capabilities of Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, which underscores the importance of considering the AX upgrade.

Capabilities of Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations
Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations helps you to revamp your financial models to anticipate, adapt and flourish amidst unexpected disruptions. It empowers you to maximise financial visibility and profitability to meet evolving business needs.
 
  1. Improve financial decision-making

It enables you to enhance your business's financial processes by leveraging finance tools encompassing reporting, embedded analytics, and AI-generated insights to drive agility and fuel growth.
 
  1. Streamline and automate your business operations

It empowers you to incorporate finance solution into essential processes and automate tasks to enhance productivity, accommodate evolving business models and optimise financial performance.
 
  1. Minimise expenses

It helps you manage costs and optimise expenditures throughout business operations worldwide through process automation, budget control, planning, analysis, and advanced financial intelligence.
 
  1. Reduce global risks

It streamlines regulatory reporting, electronic invoicing, and global payments by utilising a guided, rule-based chart of accounts and a no-code configuration service, resulting in simplified processes.
 
  1. Automation and AI facilitate financial decision-making

It powers integrating capabilities into cash flow forecasts, drives continuous improvements across all financial domains, and expedites digital transformation through AI and automation.

How Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations Drive Economic Impact?
Leveraging the capabilities of the Microsoft Cloud, Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations empowers your businesses to achieve global scalability, financial agility, and operational excellence. You can enhance decision-making, drive better outcomes, and boost productivity with real-time insights and automated processes.

On behalf of Microsoft, Forrester conducted a study to examine the impact of implementing Dynamics 365 Finance, revealing a significant return on investment (ROI) and cost savings as follows.
 
  • An impressive ROI of 122% over a span of three years
  • A substantial cost savings of $3.5 million through legacy-to-advanced solution transition
  • A notable 55% improvement in finance personnel productivity

Benefits of Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations
Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations empowers businesses with innovative features to optimise their financial processes. The robust solution is enriched with advanced features, including budgeting, finance reporting, cash flow management and support for multiple currencies.
 
  1. It efficiently manages financial operations centralising or distributing operations, enriched with integrated reporting and predictive financial analytics.
  2. It enhances your team's productivity by integrating seamless processes and tasks, leading to optimised efficiency.
  3. It enhances financial capabilities, leveraging intelligent processes such as proactive credit management, bank management, revenue recognition, etc.
  4. It helps you to stay compliant with rapidly evolving regulatory requirements, utilising globalisation and tax configuration figures, e-invoicing capabilities, and payment processing.
  5. It helps you achieve your business objectives with a modern, customisable cloud financial management solution, integrating existing systems and offering flexible deployment options.
  6. It helps you to gain business visibility, enhance financial controls, optimise cash flow, and expedite strategic decision-making.
  7. It drives financial growth with automated recurring billing, risk mitigation, accurate calculation, and financial statement reporting.

What is the Pricing Structure of Dynamics 365 Finance?

Dynamics 365 Finance offers a flexible subscription-based pricing option to fit your specific business budget. The transparent pricing structure suits the needs of any small and mid-sized business or large enterprise. 
 
You can contact Australia's leading Microsoft Support Partner to get your business management solution at the best price offers. At present, the market rate of the Base License of Dynamics 365 Finance in Australia is $247.10 per user/month. 

Now that you know the significant advantages of Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, having a Microsoft support partner is essential to utilise the solution's full potential without any disruptions.

 
Why Choose a Technology Support Partner as your Upgrade Partner? 

A technology support partner focuses on providing efficient transitions, ensuring that upgrading is painless. It guarantees a smooth transition through professional advice, painstaking data migration, specific customisation, seamless integration, thorough user training, and continuous support.

A Microsoft support partner can provide a range of services to help ensure your business maximises the benefits of Dynamics 365 and stays ahead of the competition. They can offer technical knowledge and aid in adapting Dynamics 365 solutions according to your company's requirements.

Contact a Microsoft support partner for a hassle-free upgrade to get Dynamics 365 for Finance to leverage the improved features.

Conclusion
It has been reported that public cloud implementations will dominate new midsize financial management projects, accounting for 60% by 2024. Likewise, 30% of large and global projects will also opt for public cloud solutions.

Therefore, it should be clear by now that it is important to upgrade your Dynamics AX solution as soon as possible, enabling you to reap the benefits of the robust capabilities of cloud-based Dynamics 365. Every day you postpone your transition to the cloud, you hinder your digital transformation potential.

From enhanced scalability and improved accessibility to real-time analytics, integrated reporting and AI-powered capabilities, this platform has everything to fuel your business growth. Embrace the power of Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations and unlock new possibilities of efficiency and growth in your financial operations.

Your journey towards a smarter, more agile financial future begins now!



 

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