Do you still store your servers in a closet and manually input data from one system to another? Are your teams working from home, but still using clunky workarounds to access what they need?
And perhaps most importantly, is your competition capitalizing on each new opportunity while you’re stuck doing things the old way and falling short on customer expectations (unless you shell out another chunk of your budget)?
If you said yes to these questions, you’ve reached a point many small- to mid-sized businesses are arriving at today: Your old-school technology infrastructure is holding you back.
What worked before isn’t translating to modern operations. Businesses that still rely on legacy and on-premises technology are shifting their mindsets and investments toward Cloud-based solutions that position them to seize opportunities, no duct tape or workarounds required.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution because it doesn’t just centralize your infrastructure and smooth out processes, it opens doors and amplifies your business’ potential.
Technology Roadblocks Keeping Businesses On the Ground
Most legacy systems don’t support what businesses need to be successful today. Customers want seamless, more immediate experiences; employees want tools that help them be productive, remote or otherwise; and business leaders know the value of better data management for agility and decision-making.
Moving to the Cloud vs. your on-premises solution is appealing because, by its very nature, it supports growth, change and innovation. Compare this to outdated infrastructure that creates roadblocks like:
- Systems that drive core business functions aren’t integrated with one another, limiting data visibility and capabilities and gumming up processes.
- Many of those systems and related storage are still managed on-premises, including enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
- Most processes are still manual due to limited functionality of systems and lack of integration.
- Many companies have complex customizations tacked onto their infrastructure to enable the functionality they need.
For most companies, it doesn’t make financial sense to continue pouring money into on-premises infrastructure. Instead, you need a solution that allows you to:
- Centralize your infrastructure to allow systems to “talk,” reducing tacked-on solutions and workarounds.
- Remove roadblocks to efficiency in processes, operations and productivity.
- Be more agile and responsive amidst continuous change.
- Have the latest features and functionalities pushed to your systems automatically.
- Eliminate now-unnecessary costs related to on-premises infrastructure.
- Eliminate infrastructure-related barriers to growth and scalability.
With these improvements, you’ll vastly improve operations, customer experience, employee productivity (and satisfaction) and more. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can get you there.
Learn how the International Risk Management Institute (IRMI) shed the limitations of their on-premises systems with Enavate.
Read the Case Study
Business Central as a Launchpad for Business Value
Business Central isn’t just a system for operating your core business functions – it’s a propeller that amplifies your efforts and helps you uncover opportunities. Coming from on-premises solutions, you’ll shed all the aforementioned limitations and have the latest, greatest functionalities to leverage. Many of our clients who’ve migrated to Business Central learn new ways to leverage the software every day.
Five features of Dynamics 365 Business Central stand out as launchpads for businesses:
1. All the essentials in one solution.
Business Central reduces the noise, consolidating core business capabilities that would otherwise be scattered across disparate tools and software. Key business functions operate through the same solution, with the same unified data, for optimal productivity, accuracy and efficiency. Functions like finance, operations, service and sales work out of the same playbook —and that playbook is known for being easy to navigate and use. All this activity happens in the highly secure Microsoft Azure Cloud. And in Business Central, you can access Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Power Platform.
2. All the data to leverage in decision-making.
In consolidating your core business capabilities, Business Central centralizes your data. This gives everyone a singular source of truth and optimal visibility over individual functions and the business overall. Data doesn’t have to be transferred manually and is subject to triple-checking for accuracy, and the data you see will be closer to real-time thanks to automation and the Cloud. Generating reports is faster and more efficient with this unified data at your fingertips. And you can leverage Business Central and Power Platform tools to perform more precise forecasting.
3. All the visibility and control to pivot in a pinch.
Cloud-based solutions are far easier to scale than on-premises solutions. If you need more storage, users or functionality, you can add it to your solution without having to purchase and install new hardware. The Cloud grows with you, and it can be scaled back during downtime seasons or other business changes. This means, if you see an opportunity that has new requirements, you’re better positioned to go after it without causing business disruption or digging deep into your budget. If the venture isn’t a fit, it’s easier to drop than if you’d invested in hardware and manpower for it.
4. All the latest features —ASAP.
Updates to on-premises infrastructure are costly and time-consuming. Many companies forgo certain updates for budget and capacity reasons. Business Central gets updates automatically, which ensures you’re getting the most current functionality while keeping your system as secure as possible. Those upgrades that companies forgo often include important fixes to system vulnerabilities. You don’t want to have your guard down when a great defense is available in an upgrade.
5. All the access, available anywhere (when permitted).
Today, most businesses must be able to support remote and hybrid work. If you’re not on a Cloud-based ERP by now, you’ve likely had to invest in Cloud-based tools to enable collaboration here and there. With Business Central, many of those tools are consolidated and your remote employees’ processes all become easier, more streamlined and more collaboration-friendly. Empowering your teams to access the data and apps they need from anywhere when they need it, also contributes to the agility and resilience all businesses are chasing today.
“Moving to the Cloud is undoubtedly one of the best things you can do, just for ease of access,” Tammy Koehler, Chief Financial Officer at Andretti Karting and Games, one of clients told us. “You can log in anywhere and work anywhere. It gives you the flexibility to run quite a large company on Business Central.”
See the Case Study
Propel Your Business Forward With Business Central
As you can see, Business Central isn’t just a lift and shift into a newer model. It goes beyond basic operational functionality, allowing you to reach new heights at your business and eliminate unnecessary barriers. With it, you’ll be more agile in a world where expectations are in flux, so you can stay on top of your game no matter the conditions.
At Enavate, we help our clients not only migrate to Business Central and other tools, but also to leverage opportunities and functionalities in the Cloud that will build their business and keep them competitive.
Ready to move forward and explore how Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can get you where you want to grow? Contact one of our Enavate experts to get started.
