Many companies are currently preparing to migrate their ERP solution to the cloud. The more innovative organizations because they see many advantages in areas such as functionality, availability, flexibility and innovation. The more cautious companies are feeling the pressure to move, as more and more providers are announcing restrictions in terms of availability, support and the expected innovations.
The challenge: How do you get rid of adjustments?
The general challenge for almost all companies still using on-premise software is how to get rid of their customizations. Here is some advice on how to do this successfully.
With traditional ERP implementations, it was completely normal to program in user-specific functions for individual companies. The Danish provider Navision Software even advertised at the time with the slogan „Navision works exactly the way you work“. So it was no wonder that many customers invested in customizations. Sometimes to secure and strengthen their competitive advantages. But often also to avoid necessary organizational changes. As a result, many companies lost flexibility, had problems with upgrades and ultimately had to make do with an outdated version.
Fast forward to the year 2023. With the internet, the world has become extremely transparent. And your current and future customers won't settle for anything less than maximum speed, adaptability and continuous innovation. For this reason, many organizations feel compelled to adapt (as best they can) to the desired standard. If only because the cloud concept is essentially based on sharing IT resources with other organizations.
Here are a few steps you should follow if you want to get rid of (at least some of) your old customizations:
- Identify the overlaps. Over the years, the standard functionality of ERP systems has evolved considerably. So many functions that didn't exist back then are now part of the standard solution.
- Check the business need. Some of your current adaptations from back then were based on (then) best practices, rules and legislation. But are they still relevant today?
- Old habits. It was not uncommon for employees to ask for adjustments because it was possible. Or simply because they were used to working in a certain way. And saw no reason to change anything. Are these colleagues still working in your organization?
- industry requirements. Over the years, many implementation partners have developed add-on solutions and extensions that focus on solving specific industry requirements. You can exchange customizations for these standard solutions that are well tested, documented and supported.
Please remember that it is both dangerous and expensive to bring old customizations into the new cloud era.
As a Dynamics 365 partner, we can assist you with all of the above steps. Contact us today to discuss your specific situation and create a plan.
After all, you can't do today's work with yesterday's processes and adaptations and hope that you'll still be in business tomorrow!