Microsoft Product Comparison
Compare Microsoft ERP Solutions:
Dynamics 365, Dynamics NAV And Dynamics GP
How do you know which Microsoft Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution is right for your business? Will it work for your industry? Can it manage multiple locations or global operations? Are you looking to transition from Dynamics GP to a true cloud ERP system?
While the best first step is to speak to our Dynamics experts to assess your needs, this page provides the major differences between the Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions to help you find the best fit. They all offer tight integration, powerful functionality and flexibility to scale—but we’ve provided comparisons by important factors such as company size, industry, global capabilities and deployment options.
Dynamics 365 Finance Vs. Dynamics 365 Business Central
We have many customers, particularly coming from Dynamics GP and Dynamics NAV, interested in building a cloud-based infrastructure on Dynamics 365 but not sure which solution is the right direction. Since D365 offers two approaches to ERP, it’s worth a brief explanation of each platform.
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Previously Dynamics 365 for Finance & Operations, this solution is designed to provide the most advanced functionality with the freedom to scale it to your exact needs. You choose from a wide selection of applications such as Finance, Supply Chain Management, Sales, Customer Service, Commerce and more. This gives midsize to large organizations powerful capabilities and unmatched flexibility to tailor the solution to specific requirements.
Dynamics 365 Business Central
Designed for small to medium-sized businesses, Business Central is a comprehensive ERP solution that includes all your core functionality built-in such as Finance, Supply Chain Management, Sales and Customer Service. It is integrated and ready to go, at one monthly price. Business Central is offered in two versions—Essentials or Premium—so you still have some flexibility to choose functionality and add applications to fit your business.
What’s on the roadmap for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform?
Access Microsoft’s Release Planner, a user-friendly way to see what is included in the upcoming release and what features will be available this month, as well as recently added features for to your favorite Microsoft solution.
Dynamics Solutions: Side-by-side Comparison
Review the below chart to understand the major differences.
Feel free to contact us for a recommendation to help you determine which solution would best fit your company's needs.
Company Size
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
Small to Midsize Business (SMB)
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
Small to Midsize, or Divisions of Enterprise companies
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Midsize to Large Enterprises
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
Small to Midsize Business (SMB)
Target User Range
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
3 to 250
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
5 to 750
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
20+
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
5 to 250
Global Operations
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
Supports global businesses that have a less complex organizational structure
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
Supports global businesses that have a less complex organizational structure.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Supports international organizations, multi-plant, and multi-schedule.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
Supports global businesses that have a less complex organizational structure.
Industries
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
Professional Services Industries, Wholesale & Distribution, Packaged Goods, Food & Beverage, Laboratories, Healthcare
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
Dynamics NAV is flexible and highly customizable. Because of the very large installed base and availability of add-on enhancements, it supports a huge variety of industries.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Manufacturing, Distribution, Public Sector, Retail, Project Based including Professional Service industries.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
Discrete manufacturing, service management, project management, supply chain management.
Manufacturing Modes
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
Integrated ERP solution for discrete and process manufacturers, field service, and project accounting with purchase of Extended Pack
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
Integrated ERP solution designed for discrete manufacturing. Will handle other modes with add-ons.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Designed to be a complete solution for discrete, job shop, process, lean and mixed-mode manufacturing.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
Integrated ERP solution for discrete manufacturers.
Multi-Company
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
Multi-company and intercompany functionality are standard
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
Multi-company is handled within separate companies and intercompany functionality is available.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Operate Multi-company within 1 database with easy interoperability between companies.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
Intercompany is available in Dynamics 365 Business Central.
Service Deployment Options
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
Perpetual or subscription licensing with either on-premise or cloud hosting
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
On-premise, hosted or Cloud options available as well as hybrid cloud deployments. Anywhere, Anyhow, Anytime.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Cloud-based. (Cloud connected on-premise option coming.) Anywhere, Anyhow, Anytime.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
Cloud-based, On Premise and hosted.
Client Deployment Options
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
Browser, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows Clickonce
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
Browser, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows Clickonce
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Browser, iOS, Android
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
Browser, iOS, Android, Windows Clickonce
Ease of International Functionality and Interoperability
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
Multicurrency, multilanguage, country-specific localizations in separate databases with multi-company consolidations to one database.
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
Multicurrency, multilanguage, country-specific localizations in separate databases with multi-company consolidations to one database.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Multicurrency, multilanguage, country-specific localization and multi-company within one database.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
Multicurrency, multilanguage, country-specific localizations in separate databases with multi-company consolidations to one database (based on availability).
Implementations
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
Moderate to low cost to implement and maintain. On-premise is more costly to maintain than cloud
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
Dynamics NAV has a moderate to low cost to implement and maintain.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Dynamics 365 Operations is functionally rich requiring more decisions during the implementation process but is much faster to implement than traditional on-premise ERP applications.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
Dynamics 365 Business Central is quick to implement and easy to use.
Development & Technical Tools
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
Integration Suite and Customization Suite including eConnect, Visual Studio, WebServices, and Dexterity with purchase of Customization Pack
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
NAV offers an integrated development environment where NAV can be configured and customized. Reports are designed and rendered using SQL Server toolsets.
Customizations to NAV can be developed using NAV’s event subscription model; this ensures smooth upgrades to future versions.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Full lifecycle services tools to administer, manage and deploy architecture, database and code base. Full development tools using Visual Studio and SQL.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
Business Central offers a modern development environment using Visual Studio to build, manage, and deploy code in a extensions model. Microsoft AppSource offers a complete liberal of prebuilt extensions that you can add as your business grows.
Business Intelligence
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
Business analyzer, Microsoft Power BI dashboard, numerous SQL reports
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
NAV offers a role-based interface with charting and dashboards throughout and also standard integration with Power BI.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Microsoft Power BI as well as several other business intelligence applications in AppSource.
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
Microsoft Power BI as well as several other business intelligence applications in AppSource.
Additional Capabilities
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
Human Resources and Payroll are standard with additional capabilities with Extended HR & Payroll pack; built-in workflow engine; public sector encumbrance and grant management, electronic banking suite, Power Apps, Flow, Azure IoT
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
Cortana Intelligence, Power Apps, Flow, Azure IoT, Common Data Model
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Cortana Intelligence, Power Apps, Flow, Azure IoT, Common Data Model
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
Cortana Intelligence, Power Apps, Flow, Azure IoT, Common Data Model
Our Focus
Microsoft
Dynamics GP
Transitioning to Dynamics 365
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2018
New licenses are no longer available
Distribution
E-Commerce Retailers
(B2B and B2C)
Manufacturing
Rental Companies
Home Builders
Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Manufacturing
• Engineer to Order
• Configure to Order
• Discrete
• Process
• Lean
Project-Based Services and Manufacturing Companies
Distribution
• WMS
• TMS
E-Commerce Retailers
(B2B and B2C)
Microsoft
Dynamics 365
Business Central
Manufacturing
Distribution
Project-Based Services
Service Management Companies
Are you trying to determine your total cost of ownership?
When determining whether the cloud is the right approach, many prospects ask about the total cost of ownership. One of the most cited advantages of cloud computing is the cost savings that can result from minimizing your onsite hardware and the resources required to maintain it. While the savings can be significant up front, over time cloud computing can be just as costly as on-prem deployments that have a substantial implementation cost. With on-premise deployments, you need to keep in mind several factors in addition to the software. These include IT infrastructure, maintenance, support, and regular upgrades.
Are you trying to determine which deployment method is right for your business? Would you like to compare the cost of an on-prem ERP solution vs. cloud deployment? Would you like to compare the cost of ownership over 3, 7, and 10 years to determine the best approach for your company?
Is it time to look at your current ERP system?
Do you need expert advice to help your company move forward?
Western Computer can help you identify applications and processes on your current ERP system that may be holding you back. Our consultants apply industry-specific business knowledge as well as software expertise to identify areas where your organization can benefit from modernized systems - and we'll help you chart the path to get there.
Value-added Western Computer Services
Western Computer’s consulting team offers deep industry and technical expertise across the above industries. We can provide a long-term roadmap for your Dynamics solution.
View full listing of WC Custom Solutions
Why Partner with Western Computer? We “Speak” Microsoft Dynamics
As one of the leading Microsoft Dynamics partners in the US, our experts thoroughly understand the differences between Dynamics products and how they work in various industries. By reviewing your organization’s specific requirements, we can help you choose and implement the Microsoft Dynamics solution that will provide impactful results and improve your bottom line.
We are here to empower our customers to get the biggest competitive advantage possible using state-of-the-art technology. With 35 years experience, we have the know-how to recommend the best option to modernize your business - from hosted, in the cloud, to a hybrid mix. Every business is unique, so let’s discuss options that are the best fit for your organization.