This article discusses the considerations associated with migrating from Microsoft Dynamics CRM on-premises to Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Originally published in Q3 2017 D365UG/CRMUG Magazine
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 1.0 was released in 2003 and was an on-premises based solution. Versions 1.2, 3.0, 4.0, and 2011 were subsequently released over the following eight years. Version 2013 was released in the summer of 2013, and the online version released in the fall of 2013.
The first several releases of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online did not have parity with the on-premises version, but that has changed. Versions 2015 and 2016 were released, and we saw the online version surpass the on-premises version in new features. Today the online version of the platform is significantly more feature-rich.
In November 2016, Microsoft rebranded the product to Microsoft Dynamics 365. With this rebranding came a new license model (see below).
On-Premises or Online?
There are two paths to get to Dynamics 365: upgrade a current on-premises system and then migrate it to Dynamics 365 or upgrade a current on-premises system to Dynamics 365 on-premises (yes, Microsoft does offer an on-premises version of Dynamics 365; a lot of people are surprised to learn this). Microsoft takes a “cloud first” go-to-market approach where new functionality is released first for online, and in some cases, functionality is only available in the online platform, including:
- Connected Field Service
- Field Service enhancements
- Customer insights
- Gamification
- Project Service Automation enhancements
- Immersive Excel experience
In deciding between remaining on-premises versus migrating to online, cost is always at the top of everyone’s criteria. I have performed many five-year cost comparisons between on-premises/online, and in most cases, if you factor in the cost of maintaining/upgrading/replacing hardware and underlying infrastructure, the five-year total cost of ownership is generally comparable. If you have an Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft for licensing, you may qualify for dual-use rights, which allow you to run Dynamics 365 on-premises, online, or both.
Considerations
If you decide to migrate to Dynamics 365 online, the first step is to evaluate several key areas of your current on-premises system:
- License Considerations – When Microsoft rebranded the product to Dynamics 365, the licensing model also changed. In prior versions, there were three license types: Advanced, Basic, and Essential. The Advanced license gave a User access to all built-in “base” functionality (there were some exceptions like Social Engagement). The basic license removed access to Sales functionality (like Opportunity management). Finally, Essential was mainly for Users who needed light access to view information in the system. Dynamics 365 has Application licenses, Plan licenses, and light User access to the system. The Application licenses enable a User to access specific functionality (Sales versus Service for example). Plan level licenses allow Users access to all application functionality. The Team Member license allows a User to view existing records. When considering migrating to online, each User must be reviewed to determine the specific functionality they need access to and select the proper Dynamics 365 license.
- Customizations – All customizations in Microsoft Dynamics CRM must be reviewed for compatibility with Dynamics 365. A lot has changed in the product over the years, so depending on how many versions behind your system is, you may have to address Java script, custom code, custom workflows, etc.
- Integrations – Typically all integrations that are in place with an on-premises version of the platform will have to be updated to point to the APIs of the online version of the platform.
- Custom Reports – The online version of the platform has a different way of querying the database; thus, all custom reports will need to be reviewed and likely updated to use “fetch XML”.
- Third-Party Applications – Each third-party application in use with Microsoft Dynamics CRM will need to be reviewed to determine compatibility with Dynamics 365.
- Client PC Requirements – Dynamics 365 may require you to upgrade some client PC components. We recommend no less than a fairly current technology CPU with 2.0 GHz or faster, four GB of RAM, and a solid state hard drive (if possible). The client PC must be running Windows 7 service pack 1 or higher, Internet Explorer 10 or 11, and Office 2010 or higher.
Upgrade
To migrate to Dynamics 365 online, your on-premises system must first be upgraded to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 or Dynamics 365 on-premises. The system will need to go through the different releases (version 4, 2011, 2015, and 2016). There are two primary approaches to performing the upgrade:
- In-Place Upgrade – In this approach, the system is upgraded on the current hardware. Newer versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM will likely require newer versions of SQL/Windows etc.; a review of the hardware the solution is running on must be performed to determine compatibility. Note: This approach will take your system offline while the system is being upgraded.
- Staging Environment – In this approach, you create a separate environment in which you’ll perform the Microsoft Dynamics CRM upgrades. This allows you to leave your production system in place and unaffected while the upgrades are taking place. There is one additional step in this approach: A process to catch data entered in production, the data “snapshot” that was taken to load into the staging database.
Migration
If you were migrating from online to on-premises, you can request a copy of the SQL database and simply load it into an on-premises-based system. Going from on premises to online is not so easy. You can export customizations and load them into the online system (provided they are compatible). To get your data from on-premises to online, the data must be migrated. A data migration involves moving records from the on-premises system to the online database. There are tools like Scribe that do a good job of migrating data. We recommend reviewing your on-premises database to determine its current size; this is important for determining your cost for Dynamics 365 online storage. In most cases, documents make up the majority of database size (email attachments, sales literature documents, Knowledge Base article document attachments, etc.). If you have a sizable database due to documents, we recommend integrating SharePoint Online with Dynamics 365 to manage documents as SharePoint’s storage is much less than that of Dynamics 365.
Training
Lastly, due to the significant differences in the User interface and functionality from older versions to Dynamics 365, your Users should be trained. We recommend two hours of training per User.