Dynamic Communities Magazine

Finding the business benefit to upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations by Connie Thompson, IT Manager, Alltech Inc.

Thinking about upgrading our existing Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 environment to Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance & Operations causes my blood pressure to rise, my stomach to sour, and my head to hurt. 

We have invested significantly in our current environment which includes:

•  Nine instances of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3
•  Four codebases (two with minimal modifications, two moderately customized)
•  Private cloud infrastructure
•  Several ISV and third-party solutions
•  Several integrations to external systems

We also have a considerable collection of technical and functional knowledge owned by our development team, support team, and end Users.  Shoot, we haven’t fully utilized the existing functionality in R3! The effort feels monumental.  So why consider putting myself and my company through this pain?  As with all large projects, you must begin by considering the business value of the investment.  What return on investment will be realized with a move to Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance & Operations?  A few items stand out to me:

» The promise of the Common Data Service (CDS) is compelling. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is in our portfolio of applications and implemented for several legal entities. We are exploring how Talent may fi t for us. Both applications share the Common Data Service. The Data Integrator’s ability to allow data to fl ow from prospect to quote to sales order to invoice and back supports our business’s need for speed.  Speed and agility are highly valued by our business leadership for providing a competitive advantage. 

» The analytical insights available from data across these applications would provide significant value which is not available today. The ability to use artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics with this cross-application data promises a way to see new opportunities or ensure existing opportunities are not overlooked. The addition of an enterprise data platform to aggregate this and other information at a multi-instance level puts the finishing touch on a potential gold mine of actionable information which our business is pleading for today.

» The idea of an “evergreen” ERP, never having to upgrade again, makes me smile.  Our company moved from Microsoft Dynamics AX 4 to AX 2009 to AX 2012 RTM to AX 2012 R2 to AX 2012 R3, so we thoroughly understand the effort and investment required to make these moves.  Allowing Microsoft to own the responsibility for keeping the system and the platform current is very enticing. The fact that you can opt-in for any new functionality (it is turned off by default) also provides comfort.

» On the other hand, we have many questions and concerns about losing control over the cadence and impact of these changes. Will we be required to invest in a dedicated testing team or an automated testing solution? The answer seems to be yes even while Microsoft is providing the Regression Suite Automation Tool, based on Task Recorder, to automate regression testing.  What happens if a bug impacts our ability to perform mission critical functions? How quickly will bugs be resolved when they occur? Will Microsoft feel the same urgency to fix the problem that we do? How do we manage the inclusion of company required enhancements with the monthly release cadence from Microsoft? On the positive side, Microsoft allows you to choose the schedule for receiving the updates (the second week of the month, for example).  

» One area of Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance & Operations functionality that really has our interest is the Regulatory Configuration Service for Tax, e-invoice, payments, and regulatory reporting.  As we do business in more than 100 countries, keeping our systems current with the latest regulatory requirements is a significant challenge. RCS’s configuration interface is a welcome respite from relying on Microsoft updates, in-country partners, or developing the code in-house. Using configuration will greatly reduce the time required and complexity to implement and test changes to requirements. Further, moving the ownership of these changes from our development team to the hands of in-country or in-region power Users, who better understand the regulatory environment, should make the process much more efficient.

» Finally, the ability to leverage the entire Microsoft ecosystem is very attractive. The interoperability of Microsoft Flow, Power BI, and PowerApps with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance & Operations is a game changer. The ability to leverage the power of Azure and Office 365 alongside Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance & Operations and Talent provides a persuasive value proposition.

Now that we’re revved up about the possibilities, let’s explore some of the effort to get there. For those of us on the latest Cumulative Update for R2 and R3, we can upgrade code and data in place one instance at a time. Your existing customizations must be recreated as extensions. ISV solutions and third-party code are not upgraded. You must install their solution available for Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance & Operations.  Check out appsource.microsoft.com for currently available solutions.  Recreating the existing customizations gives you a natural place to pause and consider alternative solutions. Can our business process requirements be addressed with existing functionality? Perhaps we consider changing our business processes? Writing the extensions to replace the custom code provides an opportunity to “get right” some of the existing customizations that we’ve been living with for years.  

Alternately, you can migrate master data only, one legal entity at a time. This may be beneficial if you desire to reduce the number of instances or rearrange which companies live in which instance. You would need to keep your existing systems in place for historical reporting.  To get started, Microsoft provides a project template in Lifecycle Services (LCS) which uses output from the upgrade analysis to estimate the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 prep effort and  the code upgrade analysis to estimate the development effort. It also provides a sandbox demo environment where you can perform your first fit/gap analysis.

Microsoft offers their FastTrack service which provides guidance about implementation best practices.  FastTrack’s goal is to reduce time to go live, drive User adoption, and increase customer satisfaction.  With the purchase of 150 or more Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance & Operations licenses, you receive access to TechTalks, workshops, assessments, a dedicated FastTrack solution architect, and the online Community Forum. There are many other aspects to consider which I haven’t discussed here like licensing costs, User adoption efforts, technical training for the IT team, rewriting interfaces to external systems, etc. Each company considering this upgrade journey should thoroughly and carefully explore all their options with their Microsoft Dynamics AX business Partner. Perhaps with enough meditation, Advil, and Zantac, the headaches, stomachaches, and tension won’t be too intense!