How to upgrade from Microsoft AX 2012 to Dynamics 365?

Migrating from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to Dynamics 365, though challenging and daunting, presents meaningful opportunities to transform your business. Even though you are skeptical about transitioning from AX 2012 to Dynamics 365, time is quickly running out. Microsoft released its cloud-based ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution, Dynamics 365 for operations, in 2016 against its previous AX 2012 version. In 2017, it was renamed Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations. Microsoft announced it would be discontinuing support for Dynamics AX 2009 Service Pack 1 (SP1), Dynamics AX 2012, and Dynamics AX 2012 R2. However, it will continue to offer security hotfixes for these three versions through the extended support period. So, if you are still using the old versions of Dynamics AX, you can purchase some additional licenses, which will be subject to the licensing model of the new Dynamics 365. Today, we bring you the top reasons why you should migrate from Microsoft AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 and how you can seamlessly complete the process.

Why upgrade from Microsoft AX 2012 to Dynamics 365?

The primary reason for switching to Dynamics 365 from AX 2012 is that the new version brings a bevy of advanced features, enabling your business to improve operational performance and meet customer demands, scale, and more. Listed below are some of the reasons to convince you to upgrade to Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations.

Integrated CRM and ERP functionalities

With an upgrade to Dynamics 365, you get the combined functionalities of ERP and CRM. The integration of front-end and back-end functionalities offers various advantages, enhanced collaboration, deeper actionable insights, and increased visibility. Eventually, it increases productivity and delivers greater efficiency. Furthermore, Dynamics 365 F&O connects different departments in a single place, eliminates data silos, and enables businesses to put their resources to optimal use. As a result, it reduces costs, gives customers the information they need, improves customer experience, and increases revenue.

Personal workspace

Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations comes with a personal workspace that helps businesses in effectively carrying out everyday activities. Additionally, you get improved user experience, improved productivity, and user satisfaction. Updated functionalities, greater productivity features, and the stability and security of Azure enable better intelligence, analytics, and workflows for improved business results – across all customer touchpoints.

Intelligent solutions

The built-in smart intelligence of Microsoft Dynamics combines the power of Cortana Intelligence, Azure Machine Learning, and Power BI into a unified solution. Furthermore, with insights, you can dive deeper into different business metrics, from anywhere and anytime. By upgrading from Dynamics AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, data collection and analysis becomes easy with rich visuals and data charts. With actionable insights, your business gets better business results, and unlimited scalability ensures your business grows at a stable pace.

Simplified data management

Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations will simplify the data management process of your business. Furthermore, Dynamics 365 will allow your business to use data from multiple systems and applications together and enable faster analytics through a common data model. You also get a unified data flow across ERP and CRM. Thus, you can analyze huge amounts of data and get a unified view of the business. As a result, you can empower your employees to deliver maximum results.

Connected ecosystem

Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations create an ecosystem of seamlessly integrated products, including Office 365 Power BI, SharePoint, and more. You will be able to access your preferred apps, collaborate with your teammates, view, edit, and share data, and make smarter decisions, faster. Eventually, it allows you to improve individual employee’s productivity, team performance, and overall organizational results.

Easy licensing

Licensing is one of the biggest hurdles of ERP implementation. However, you get a range of licensing options with Dynamics 365. You can select a plan that perfectly fits your business requirements. You can start by understanding the different options, and then you can either choose user licenses or device licenses or a mix of both. Furthermore, you should know how much each license would cost.

7 steps to upgrade from Microsoft AX 2012 to Dynamics 365?

Listed below are the steps to guide you through the process of migrating from Dynamics AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations:

Determine your migration timeline

Since Microsoft is ending the extended support for AX 2012, it will impact your implementation timeline. It’s important you treat the upgrade with utmost importance. Even though you have access to tools and resources to support the process, it is a fundamentally new application with striking architectural differences. Thus, it’s important you determine the migration timeline and understand its importance.

Map your journey

The transformational journey is not just a typical software update from the older version to the lates one. Rather, it enables your business to leverage powerful new tools to drive your business performance. Microsoft offers the tools to support your upgrade journey from AX 2012 to Dynamics 365. Your day-to-day business activities will be influenced by how you make decisions about data, analytics, integrations, and applications. Thus, you should understand how strategy, integrations, data, analytics, and applications play a role in migration from AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations.

Content upgrades and their implications

Microsoft delivers constant ERP improvements to Dynamics 365 with regular upgrades, with each update consisting of new features and all cumulative hotfixes since the last release. Furthermore, Microsoft is responsible for hosting Dynamics 365, service level agreements, and updating the application with new features and bug fixes. There are several benefits to this model, including increased system stability, more frequent feature updates, highly predictable updates to support scheduling, and high-quality service from Microsoft. However, continuous upgrades also present manageable testing challenges. Time is of the essence while upgrading from AX 212 to Dynamics 365 F&O. You will have a limited time to test additional overhead, plan upgrades to be done, and skills that will have to develop to use the testing tools and additional environments.

Data transfer

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a SaaS application with a different architecture as compared to Dynamics AX 2012. Thus, a lot of effort is required to transfer your data from one platform to another. The Microsoft data upgrade tools available to you will differ based on the Dynamics AX version you were using. Furthermore, tool-based upgrades will work well if you are using a more recent version of Dynamics, whether it has a relatively small database and limited number of customization options. Explore different strategies to convert your data to Dynamics 365 from the earlier versions of Dynamics AX, including tools and applications that will help with the upgrade.

Code upgrade

You must look for a way to upgrade code that offers a more robust solution and gives you a chance to move past your operational mistakes. Furthermore, you should ensure that it supports continuous updates and allows you to take advantage of new and advanced features.

Identify development implications

The biggest architectural change to Dynamics 365 from Dynamics AX 2012 is that the production instance is now a SaaS application. It implies that you will always have to access the latest version of the software. Furthermore, it also means that you will no longer have access to the database. Thus, you should learn how to within the framework of the app and use APIs to connect the data, and how to leverage middleware. More importantly, you should learn about the implications of upgrading from Dynamics Ax 2012 to Dynamics 365, how it results in the new development experiences, and the changes it brings to your business performance.

Determine integration implications

You must remember that you will not have access to the database. You would also have to consider leveraging cloud tools, including Azure Blob or Azure Service Bus. When you upgrade to Dynamics 365 from Dynamics AX 2012, you may not require as many integrations. With the upgrade, you will get access to new tools and features, along with first-party integrations. These integrations include Dynamics 365 Field Services or D365 Customer Engagement. you can look to minimize your team’s efforts and increase efficiency by leveraging Microsoft and partner integration templates.

FAQs

How do I upgrade from AX 2012 to Dynamics 365?

Some tips you should keep in mind while upgrading from AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations include outlining your scope, engaging your technology partner, building a cross-functional team, cleaning your data, and testing early and more often.

What is the difference between AX 2012 and Dynamics 365?

One of the biggest differences between Dynamics AX 2012 and Dynamics 365 is the infrastructure. Dynamics AX is traditionally on-premise and requires installation. You are also responsible for setup, maintenance, and security – including costs. On the other hand, Dynamics 365 is a completely cloud-based solution

Is Dynamics 365 the same as AX 2012?

The main difference between Dynamics AX and Dynamics 365 is that the latter is a completely web- and cloud-based solution, whereas AX is primarily a desktop-based application, with some web and mobile add-on components.

Is AX 2012 still supported?

The end of support was extended from October 12, 2021, to April 12, 2022, for Dynamics AX 2012 and Dynamics AX R2.