September 2019

Is Business Central right for your business?

Comparing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018

Comparing Business Central and Dynamics Nav

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central provides the same rich functionality as Microsoft Dynamics NAV — Microsoft’s flagship solution for the mid-size market that is used by over 160,000 companies worldwide.

Both solutions offer tight integration with other Microsoft cloud-based solutions such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales, Microsoft Office 365, etc.

Microsoft describes Business Central as: “An all-in-one business management solution that helps organizations streamline business processes, improve customer interactions and enable growth.”

Business Central vs. Dynamics NAV

Standard functionality

Just like Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Business Central functionality is divided across two packs. Essentials maps 1:1 to the functionality provided in the Dynamics NAV Starter Pack, and Premium maps to the Dynamics NAV Extended Pack.

The table below shows the high-level functional areas that are addressed by both solutions.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a software as a service ERP solution for the mid-size market. It was referred to as “Dynamics 365 Tenerife” during development and is often called “NAV in the Cloud.”

Business Central Essentials/Dynamics NAV Starter Pack

Business Central Premium/ Dynamics NAV Extended Pack

Financial ManagementGeneral LedgerCash ManagementFixed AssetsCurrenciesConsolidation

Financial Management PlusInter-company (Essentials)Cost Accounting (Essentials)

Supply Chain ManagementSales Order ProcessingPurchase and ProcurementItem ManagementLocationsBasic Warehousing

Supply Chain Management PlusAdvanced Warehousing (Essentials)

Jobs and ResourcesJob Planning, Budgets and InvoicingResource AllocationsTimesheets

Contact ManagementContactsCampaignsOpportunity ManagementD365 Sales Integration

Service ManagementService ContractsService ItemsService Order Management

AssemblyAssembly Bill of Materials

ManufacturingProduction BOMsWork Order ManagementCapacity and Demand Planning

Business Central delivers three key business benefits:• Business without silos

Can be used as a central hub that connects with familiar office tools through workflow (Microsoft Power Automate) and task automation (Office 365)

• Actionable insights Delivered with Power BI integration and through Azure intelligence tools, such as Microsoft Cortana for forecasting

• Solutions built to evolve A flexible platform that can scale to handle increasing volumes and complexity through support for Microsoft’s extensibility model

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Key areas of comparison

Enhancing the solutions

• Business Central can be enhanced only with “apps” purchased through Microsoft AppSource. There is no custom development. All apps are approved and published by Microsoft. It is possible to customize Business Central through tenant- or customer-specific extensions created and uploaded to the tenant by partners.

• Dynamics NAV can be enhanced through “extensions” purchased through the partner channel (pre-built enhancements that are approved by Microsoft) and through custom development. Customers can also skill-up and manage their own development.

Features for menu design, creating reports, etc. are included as standard in both solutions.

Hosting options

• Business Central is hosted by Microsoft on Azure in a public cloud.

• Dynamics NAV can be deployed on Azure, in a private data center or on premises.

Licensing

• Business Central uses subscription licensing that includes the application, hosting and maintenance in one per-user monthly fee.

• Dynamics NAV is available with perpetual or subscription-based licensing for the application (for subscription, the monthly fee includes maintenance); hosting is an additional cost.

Accessing the solutions

• Business Central is accessed through a web client (a browser) and mobile apps for smart phones and tablets.

• Dynamics NAV is accessed through a PC client (the Windows client), web and mobile app.

Both solutions also offer access directly from Outlook.

Which is the right solution for you?

Both solutions are aimed at the mid-size market. Business Central is priced to be attractive to larger SMBs and smaller organizations as they outgrow their entry-level accounting solutions and look for their first ERP solution.

• Business Central is aimed primarily at new users whose needs are well met by standard software. As the AppSource offerings mature and increase, more complex users will see this solution as a viable option.

• Dynamics NAV is aimed at users with complex needs (where enhancements are required) and for those who require an on-premises solution.

Learn more at www.dxc.technology

Comparing Business Central and Dynamics Nav

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