Dynamics GP has an official retirement date. Here’s what your company should consider for business continuity.
If your company uses Microsoft Great Plains (GP), you’re probably aware that Microsoft officially announced the end of life for GP. While Microsoft will continue to support GP until September 2029, a transition is on the horizon, and it is crucial to plan for business continuity. In this article, we’ll highlight what this announcement may mean for your company, options to consider, and some recommendations for futureproofing your business. Let’s dive in.
GP End of Life: Important Dates
Here’s a quick recap of Microsoft’s announcement and some key dates to keep in mind.
April 1, 2025: New sales of GP perpetual licenses will end.
April 1, 2026: All new customer sales of GP will end
Dynamics GP Modern Lifecycle
September 30, 2029 – Product support, updates, and customer support will end.
April 30, 2031 – Security patches and updates will end.
Dynamics GP Fixed Lifecycle
Depending on your version, you may have already reached the end of mainstream and extended support.
January 11, 2028 – Extended support ends for Dynamics GP 2018 and 2018 R2
How Dynamics GP End of Life Will Impact Your Business Operations
With this announcement, we hear a lot of questions and concerns around business continuity including:
How will this impact my day-to-day operations?
What will happen if we continue to use GP past these deadlines?
What are the challenges of staying on a legacy system?
In the short term, you may not notice any immediate impact on your business operations, and you can certainly stay put on GP until 2028 as you’ll still receive support and updates until then. However, keep in mind that using a legacy system comes with its own set of challenges and maintaining an outdated legacy system in the long term may cost your business a lot. Here are some factors to consider as you’re contemplating options.
🔎 Lack of Innovation Could Leave You Behind
One risk of staying on legacy systems is that you lose your competitive edge, resulting in missed business opportunities. While GP is a robust solution, eventually it will lack new features and product enhancements. As your competitors take advantage of features like automation, real-time reporting, and AI-driven technologies, you’ll have to rely on custom development to add new functionality (which comes with its own set of challenges.) In fact, customers using on-premises GP are already behind on many of the advantages a cloud-based counterpart can offer.
🔎 Outdated Security Can Leave You Vulnerable
Once Microsoft stops supporting security patches, this will expose your GP environment to vulnerabilities. Security threats are always evolving, and older systems are often more vulnerable, leading to data breaches and loss of sensitive financial information. A business running on a legacy ERP system is often at risk because it requires constant security updates and maintenance checks.
🔎 Tech Support Costs & Resources Will Rise
Once Microsoft stops supporting your GP solution and you plan to stay put, you’ll have to think about IT resources. You’ll either need to invest in training your existing IT team or recruit outside consultants with experience in legacy systems. This can get costly in the long run, (especially when your legacy system becomes obsolete and finding professionals who know how to work with it becomes harder.)
🔎 Potential Challenges Around Modules & Integration
There might be potential challenges in these areas once Dynamics GP officially reaches end-of-life. In March 2022, the Extended Human Resources and Payroll modules in GP were transitioned to a third-party provider and it might be possible for other modules to follow suit. Another factor to consider is integration. As a legacy system, it might become difficult to find third-party providers who still support integration with GP down the line. This means additional IT costs to figure out workarounds or alternative solutions.
🔎 Other Operational Pitfalls
Numerous other hidden costs can arise when you stay on a legacy system, including:
Operational disruptions resulting in downtime
Inhibited business stability and growth
Siloed data and inefficiency
Lack of mobility
To learn more about the hidden challenges of legacy systems, check out our article that covers this in detail: Costs & Challenges of Maintaining Your Legacy ERP Software
GP End of Life: What Are Your Options?
Most companies who are still using GP currently have a couple of options on what to do next and likely fall in one of these buckets after the announcement.
1️⃣ Ready for a Cloud Migration
Your company has been considering a cloud migration for a while now and this announcement has given you the opportunity to act on it soon. If you want to stay in the Microsoft ecosystem, you have the option to transition to the cloud with Dynamics 365 Business Central. Business Central is Microsoft’s flagship SMB ERP product, optimized to help businesses thrive in a new world of cloud and AI computing.
2️⃣ Considering the Cloud
Your company is not ready to move to the cloud just yet but has begun the process of evaluating a migration after this announcement. Your next steps would include evaluating Dynamics 365 Business Central and other cloud ERP replacements for a product fit as well as figuring out your requirements and budget to help you decide the right timing and plan for financial impact.
3️⃣ Business as Usual: Staying Put on GP
Your company plans to stay with GP for as long as possible or indefinitely. While there are risks and challenges to staying, especially once the security updates end, there are some options available for you to stay with GP more safely. These may include investing in a good support plan, updating your GP to the latest available version, or hosting your GP instance in the Azure cloud to enhance your security.
To sum it up, while Dynamics GP continues to be a solid option for many businesses today, the writing is on the wall for the future. Whether it’s the lack of new features, the eventual end of customer support, or the growing risk of challenges that come with a legacy system, now is a good time to start considering the long-term viability of your current solution. By proactively exploring your options, you can ensure that your business remains competitive and ready for whatever the future holds.
Considering Cloud Migration? Kwixand Solutions Can Help
If you’re considering a move from Dynamics GP to Business Central, Kwixand Solutions is here to help. As a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Partner and ERP consultants, we help businesses across North America through all stages of their cloud ERP transformation and set them up for continued success. Book a free consultation to chat with one of our experienced consultants.
Explore Insights Around GP & Dynamics 365
If you’re looking to learn more about Dynamics 365, GP migration, or cloud ERP, Kwixand Solutions has a library of resources to keep you informed. Here are some selected articles below to get you started.
About Business Central
Migrating from GP
Cloud ERP Migration