Shortlisted Microsoft Dynamics NAV, what next?

If you’re looking to review your existing software the first question is which products should you look at? Since Microsoft began offering business software over ten years ago, most systems analysts will agree that all organisations should evaluate a Microsoft solution as part of your due diligence (unless you are adamantly anti-Microsoft in which case I’m afraid that we can’t help!). Why consider a Microsoft Dynamics solution? Which Microsoft product should you look at (easy, the answer’s NAV!)? What else should be on your shortlist? How to you go about comparing? When I stop to consider the magnitude of the task ahead of you and the importance of getting it right, I am usually very glad to be on the sales side.

Why consider a Microsoft Dynamics Solution?

Put simply, because you probably already have a significant investment in Microsoft technologies. Microsoft ran a campaign a few years ago called “Everybody gets it”. I liked this as it does reflect a fundamental truth about Dynamics NAV, lots of people use it already, it works alongside products such as Office that your users are probably already familiar with so they will ”get” how to use the new ERP software extremely quickly.

The second key reason is the cold hard fact that Microsoft invests more money than any other ERP vendor. The roadmaps for each Dynamics solution show the commitment to on-going product development and support. The support plans guarantee ten years version support from release. No one else will state such figures so you are gambling on unknown product future. Our white paper, Business Case for Dynamics NAV explores the core areas of return in more detail.

Which Microsoft product should you look at?

Although there are four ERP solutions in the Microsoft Dynamics suite, I would say for UK companies, only two are worthwhile considering (our white paper Which Microsoft Dynamics ERP solution is for me? does look at all four and explains why I would only bother with two). Both offer pretty much the same broad functionality and both offer all the Microsoft advantages.

Of those two, Dynamics AX and Dynamics NAV it should be easy to decide which is for you; heavy-weight or middle-weight:

• Dynamics AX: Corporate level solution, positioned against SAP R3 and Oracle. This is the solution for companies with large, complicated requirements and the corresponding budget. AX is a complex solution and so will take time and effort to implement correctly. If you need a solution for 500+ users, uniting global locations on a single server and / or with complex manufacturing requirements then AX is for you.
• Dynamics NAV: Mid-market to lower corporate you will find NAV in companies ranging from 5 users to 700+. The latter tends to be distributed across local servers with a single install of up to 300 users more typical at the large end. Technically there is no limit to the number of users NAV can support; culturally large corporations will tend to lean towards a heavy-weight solution. NAV is extremely flexible, making it great for rapid deployments and organisations that need a system that will keep pace with changing processes.

What else should be on your shortlist?

Difficult area to second guess but typically you would look at whatever your current provider offers as a step up (unless your experience to date has been so awful!). Do bear in mind that many suppliers will disguise a new implementation as an upgrade, which is great as a commercial decision but may not help you work out what the effort required to implement and how different the user experience will be so make sure you evaluate as an entirely new product. For example, if you currently use Dynamics GP (Great Plains) and want to move to NAV, Microsoft will off-set your original investment against the licence cost; however, this won’t reduce the services required to implement Dynamics NAV.

You should also consider any industry-specific solutions. These are usually a great fit to operational processes and competitively priced; however, they may be weak in financial management and are often delivered by smaller companies with smaller R&D budgets, increasing risk of future-proofing and support levels.

You may also want to go for another big name (Sage, SAP etc) where there is confidence in on-going investment (albeit, and I know I’m repeating myself, no one invests as much as Microsoft!).

How to you go about comparing?

A wise old FD once said to me that the important thing is to select the product that will do the job. Sounds simple and obvious; however, over the coming weeks and months you will be blinded by flashy technology, super-whizzy features and functions you never knew existed. Mobile technology, executive dashboards and partner web-portals may well be on your key decision list but don’t let these distract from the down to earth basics of order processing, stock visibility and cash collection that are likely to be more operationally important.

Try to identify key requirements, separate these into functional / process requirements (e.g. must have serial number tracking, must support BACS payments etc) and technical requirements (e.g. must work on SQL database, must export to Excel etc). Of the two lists, consider what is essential and what is nice to have. Try not to be blinded by the limitations of your current system. Devise a score sheet of those must haves and make sure that each vendor clearly explains to you how their software will address these areas before allowing them to move on to the things they want to show you (nothing wrong with letting the sales people showing you something you wouldn’t have thought about, as long as you don’t end up with “magic beans”!).

We will be more than happy to help you compile the list of areas that are important to you and provide proof of how Dynamics NAV will fit your organisation.