NAV Upgrade to Business Central

Always with the goal in mind right from the start

In the project preparation phase, the sales and presales phase, including the pre-workshops, serves to visualise the actual process. The kick-off and the workshop serve to visualise the target process.

Before getting down to work, the next steps need to be well planned. The foundation stone is laid with the definition or nomination of the project team. The objectives of the endeavour must be defined with this group. It is important to define the non-goals at the same time so that no unrealisable hopes are raised in any project member.

The following needs to be considered in this context:

• What functions are missing in my solution that would make day-to-day work much easier? Also: What is already included in the new standard that I can use for myself?
• Which functions are currently very well implemented and must be retained?
• Which enhancements, if any, can only be implemented after the upgrade has been completed in order to minimise the workload during the upgrade process?
• How many users will be working with the system in future? Because the licence will be converted from concurrent user to named user (the formula to be applied here is 1 concurrent user becomes 3 named users)
• What is the company's attitude towards the cloud and monthly software updates?

Sufficient time should be spent on this, because only a clearly formulated plan forms the perfect basis for flawless project implementation.

The project plan is drawn up jointly by the NAVAX project manager and the customer project manager and is consistently followed up. In addition, project management constantly monitors the budget and the progress of the project. We support this with project management tools. These make project collaboration more efficient and monitor adherence to the schedule and budget.

A well thought-out decision as an optimal basis

At the beginning of the realisation process in particular, decisions are made that are crucial for the company and will be binding for a long time. To ensure that these are well-considered, here is some information to support this.

The following must be taken into account when operating and redesigning BC/NAV:

• SaaS (Software as a Service) - "The all-round carefree package"

Microsoft is responsible for operating both the hardware and the software. This means that you are only responsible for the correct use of BC. We are there to advise and support you.

• Azure (IaaS - Infrastructure as a Service) - "The intelligent hardware and data platform"

If you need new hardware, this variant would be a further option to SaaS. With the scalability of the hardware, you are ideally equipped for the future.

BC offers a wealth of new functions and modules that you can use at no extra cost:

• Back to the roots - back to the standard - now the step can be taken to streamline the solution.
• A lot of data has accumulated over the years and it is high time to introduce a BI solution (Business Intelligence solution). Now is the perfect time to realise this. Take advantage of this opportunity and get more out of your data with clear analyses and dashboards that can be called up at any time.
• If you are already using Office 365 or Microsoft 365, full integration in BC is already pre-programmed in the truest sense of the word. In addition to the complete Outlook integration, the Excel export and import of your data from BC is also possible at any time without any problems. For example, changes can be made in Excel and automatically imported into BC. Receipts, orders, quotations, various documents and images can also be sent automatically as an e-mail from BC.

Thanks to the automatic integration of the individual modules from the Office package, various combinations are possible in conjunction with BC. We will be happy to advise you on this.

Joint workshops as the basis for a clearly structured implementation roadmap

Once all the above considerations have been made, the first implementation step can begin.

A project team is defined on both your and our side. Their task is now to shape the requirements. Namely, in the form that corresponds to the new BC and brings you the optimum added value. This takes place in joint workshops, during which the implementation details are precisely defined and you receive an initial picture of the result.

This step is important in order to define in advance the extent to which the system can be expected to fulfil its purpose for many years to come!

Start a successful implementation phase with a clear roadmap

Once a common understanding of the requirements has been established in the workshops and this has also been recorded in writing, implementation can begin.

This is the phase in which you usually only need to reserve time for queries. This is therefore a quieter phase for you and you can enjoy the results of the conscientious preparation.

Based on a data backup, the new system is brought into the desired and harmonised form. The main aim of this phase is to provide a test system that will be available for the live launch at the end of the project.

This is a briefly described but very important step. It is important to select the right partner for the implementation. Only if you choose the right partner who also understands the customer's needs will the upgrade project be a complete success.

Full focus on the test operation

It is particularly important to us that we provide our customers with a system that can be used to simulate live operation during the test phase. Testing is therefore the second most important part after planning.

In order to enable the key users to carry out these tests, training courses are organised at the beginning. The aim in this phase is to simulate live operation in such a way that there are no surprises when the system goes live.

It is therefore important to draw up a comprehensive test plan here too. We support you in drawing up this plan. Based on our many years of experience, we also provide a framework of test scenarios that usually only need to be adapted for the specific project.

This is our way of educating the "digital wonder" Microsoft BC so that it can be used in the best possible way for the user.

Not to forget: project marketing

In addition to the entire project, it is also extremely important to position the project and the results well internally.

All users who are to work with it in the future must be kept informed on an ongoing basis. After all, support can only be expected if there is both understanding and acceptance. The broader the support, the easier and smoother the introduction of the software will be for those responsible for the project.

Our tip: Give the project a well-sounding name. Because as soon as a name has been found, the project is immediately talked about favourably and with commitment.

Another important step: the acceptance of the system for live operation

Once all users have been trained and the tests have been successfully completed, the BC solution is approved.

This is both the starting signal and the prerequisite for live operation. This can either follow very shortly afterwards or a few weeks or months later. However, a point in time should always be chosen when the users have time to familiarise themselves with the new working environment. It should not be a time when the workload is already hectic enough due to annual accounts, seasonal additional workloads or similar.

With regard to end user training, care should be taken to ensure that this takes place close to the time of live operation.