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How to upgrade Dynamics CRM 2011 (on-prem) to Dynamics 365 (on-line)

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Posted on by ARTECH

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Hello

We are planning to do a CRM upgrade from CRM 2011 On-Premise version to Dynamics 365 Online. I would like to ask a high level question in terms of the upgrade path.

Do we have the option to move from CRM 2011 On-Premise to CRM 2011 Online and then upgrade all the way through the cloud (2011 online --> 2013 online --> 2015 --> 2016) to 365 online?

OR

Is it the only way i.e. upgrading from CRM 2011 on-prem to 2013 on-prem -->2015 on-prem--> 2016 --> 365 on premise and then to 365 online?

Will be helpful if you can advise me on this please? And I am trying to find a documentation from Microsoft on this to make a confirmation and provide that to the business please.

Thanks

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Noorahmad001 130 on at

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RE: How to upgrade Dynamics CRM 2011 (on-prem) to Dynamics 365 (on-line)

@Hauke we also need to upgrade one of client CRM 2015 On-Prem to Dynamics 365 Online. The have completely customized their CRM on-prem (custom javascript, html, web resources, css). Do you suggest Microsoft FastTrack is the best solution to perform this kind of upgrade.
Hauke Jacobsen 5 on at

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RE: How to upgrade Dynamics CRM 2011 (on-prem) to Dynamics 365 (on-line)

Dear AR,

We upgraded our current CRM 2011 on-premise environment to Dynamics 365 online. We were planning this upgrade from 2016 on and moved the first users in 2018. We are still upgrading another CRM 2011 instance which merges into cloud environment instead of an in-place-upgrade. It really depends on what type of upgrade you are considering to provide a feasible migration path and calculate the effort. Do you want to have the same processes and data in D365 or do you want to adapt to new features which weren't available in CRM 2011 (e.g. calculated fields, rollup fields...)? How large is your dataset? How much downtime do your business accept? And so on.

Microsoft offers a so-called "Fast Track" service to guide your way from on-premise into cloud which starts off by answering all these questions and I strongly recommend to make use of this service.

In an ideal world, you will provide your CRM 2011 database to Microsoft and they will do a behind-the-scenes migration of your database to the cloud. With some adaptions and preparation this might work for both customizations and data.

On the other hand, you need to adapt plugins, web resources, workflows and other development artifacts to the current version of Dynamics 365. We were forced into a FULL refactoring of our whole custom development before we were able to move into the cloud. You might also end up with performing an on-premise upgrade on your end and provide Microsoft with an upgraded version to move into the cloud (which we did, btw).

Bottom line: Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. The migration effort will depend on the effort you are willing to spend, the knowledge your organization has, the relation to the Fasttrack team and so on... It really is a journey and expect the journey to be rough sometimes. There is no general answer to your question. And do not trust anyone who tries to give you a simple answer.

Best regards

Hauke
Martin Doyle - DQ G... 5 on at

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RE: How to upgrade Dynamics CRM 2011 (on-prem) to Dynamics 365 (on-line)

You can go through the versions if the schema stays the same, however, we have helped multiple businesses jump versions and move directly from the existing schema to a new one which takes the benefit of the new data types and re-structuring of the schema to better suit the latest business needs.

Please let me know if you'd like to discuss possibilities?
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BB-07082110-0 on at

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RE: How to upgrade Dynamics CRM 2011 (on-prem) to Dynamics 365 (on-line)

I want to clarify that OP2OL Factory in FastTrack will do a "LIFT AND SHIFT" from 2011 to online for FREE. It does not matter how big or how small you are. You upload a backup and the FAstrack team upgrades it all the way for you and puts it in your sandbox Then it is up to you to fix the issues. They will do this as many times as you want until go live.

You also might want think of doing an SMA to asess your current system to see how easy it is to migrate. This is a free service as well and gives you 21 pages of output on issue that might arise when migrating.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/get-started/migration/standard-migration-assessment

Again both of these programs are free of charge BUT it is up to you or your partner to FIX any issues.

Let me know if you have more questions
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Jayme on at

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RE: How to upgrade Dynamics CRM 2011 (on-prem) to Dynamics 365 (on-line)

There is effectively only 1 version of Dynamics online, which means that there is no version 2011 online, nor any of the other intermediate versions. You have a couple choices available to do what you desire here.

1) Some customers choose to upgrade to Version 9.X on premise and later bring this online. This can be effective in allowing time to adapt to the significant changes between these versions and for very large databases, it reduces the time it takes to get the org online.

2) Microsoft will automatically upgrade the org through all the on premise versions needed to get to 9.X and proceed to restore it in online. The upgrade process can make a migration take more time and for very large databases, might not be feasible to complete in a weekend but for small to medium size databases, this is a good option.

You should plan to have an experienced partner assist with this migration because while the version is upgraded, the changes needed to make it work in online, such as updates to integrations, changes in reports, creation of UCI apps, etc still need to be done and an experienced partner can help you make good decisions.

As another respondent indicated, FastTrack guidance on this mitigation work is available for customers that meet certain revenue thresholds.

Use of Microsoft's migration tool mentioned is not subject to the revenue thresholds that FastTrack guidance would be. Instead the tool is available to all on premise customers wanting to move online. You can submit a nomination for both FastTrack and OP2OL Tooling support (sometimes called Migration Factory) here: https://aka.ms/op2olnom
Community Member Microsoft Employee on at

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RE: How to upgrade Dynamics CRM 2011 (on-prem) to Dynamics 365 (on-line)

Hello

To clarify, there is no way to perform the migration without the help of Dynamics 365 developers. All options will require the adoption of existing customizations and code for Dynamics 365 Online.

So, if you are going to migrate to Dynamics 365 Online, there are a few options for you:

1. Regarding the article: docs.microsoft.com/.../microsoft-fasttrack-dynamics-365

If your organization has a combined annual adjusted revenue of $300,000 or more, then you will be eligible for FastTrack, and basically, Microsoft will help you to get updated and move to online directly from your current version (2011). Of course, it could require developers' involvement from your side to solve the compatibility issue during the upgrade process with Microsoft.

2. If your organization is smaller, perhaps you might require assistance.

Contact me via Li for more details.

Stages of the process:

- Migrate/re-create your customizations, custom code, reports, etc. to Dynamics 365 Online

- Migrate all data from the existing environment to Online (you continue using the existing system)

- During some weekend migrate delta (only changed data)

- From now you will start using a new Online environment.

3. Perform the same involving your developers.

P.S.: Online Migration process by upgrading On-Prem environments to the latest version is usually not needed and is just a waste of time and resources until it is done by FastTrack.
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Rawish Kumar 13,756 on at

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RE: How to upgrade Dynamics CRM 2011 (on-prem) to Dynamics 365 (on-line)

Hi,

I dont think you can get an online dynamics 2011 anymore. So yes the option is to move sequentially.

Another option I can think of is - you can directly provision a dynamics 365 online and move all your customization directly there ( ofcourse there will be alot of compatiblity in terms of component, script etc would occur)

and then you move your data by using tools like SSIS, Scribe etc.

You might also wanna check www.microsoft.com/.../fasttrack --> if you have 250 + users , microsoft will help you onboard to online 365.

I dont think there is documentation you will get which talks about this in specific. All we can do is hear people experiences and ideas or work directly with Microsoft.