How CPM Tools Can Help Migrate to Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, both Business and Enterprise editions, are seemingly the destination for current users of on-premises Dynamics GP, SL, NAV and AX products. Unfortunately, the journey to transition to Dynamics 365 is more than just moving data over because you are replacing your data source.

We will explore the ins and outs of transitioning to Microsoft Dynamics 365. We will also cover how corporate performance management (CPM) can help with their autonomous databases to store your historical data, financial reporting and budgeting applications.

How to Move from On-Premise ERP to Dynamics 365

Throughout the Dynamics user group forums, I have seen more than one thread revolving around how to move from one on-premises Dynamics ERP to Microsoft Dynamics 365. The most important takeaway appears to be that you should work with a partner and have an internal project manager to work with the partner consultants.

If you go deep into the threads, you will read of hours, days, weeks, months, and sometimes a year or more to prepare to go live with a new accounting system. The complexity of this project is not to be underestimated, and that is why your fellow Dynamics users recommend you use the right partner to implement.

Let’s explore how CPM can stabilize the transition from whatever Dynamics or other on-premise ERP you’re using to Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Benefits of Using CPM Tools to Integrate with Dynamics 365

At this point in the evolution of enterprise technology as a supportive complement to running a company today, CPM tools like financial and operational reporting as well as budgeting, forecasting, and modeling are basically not an option for an organization of any healthy size. We are all figuring out our roadmap to moving to the cloud and the right CPM tools can stabilize the process.

A modern CPM solution can help streamline and connect your on-premises and cloud dots in a data warehouse. Whether you go with an on-premise or cloud data warehouse this solution provides a singular space for your diverse data types that you can then leverage and report on.

With the right modern data warehouse, robust integrations are key because they connect your data sources with the data warehouse solution. A CPM solution with a data warehouse and a single report writer can report off your unified repository and help simplify the process. You won’t have to worry about switching between reporting functions within each of your data sources, logging in and out of each tool, or worrying about how to connect disparate systems.

If you do research correctly on the reporting tool, you can significantly upgrade your analyses from the reporting functionality built into Dynamics.

How to Identify Your Organizations Needs

It’s important to identify what your organization would like to achieve in terms of reporting and budgeting with the data sources that you would like to use for reporting.

In terms of platform, are you looking for an on-premises Excel add-in, web and cloud-based, or proprietary tool? There are pure cloud solutions, like Adaptive Insights and Host Analytics.

If you’re not ready to be 100% cloud or want some flexibility, you can go with a solution that offers both on-premise and cloud deployment, like the Solver suite, which is an Excel-powered and web-based reporting and budgeting offering. Reporting live on-premises or integrating data from the cloud or on-premise data warehouse gives you the flexibility that your growing company needs. Both financial and operational reporting can be achieved, with drill-down and drill-to functionality – and it’s built on the Excel framework, meaning your team does not have to learn additional formatting and formulas outside of the popular spreadsheet program.

How to Transition to Dynamics 365

The two most important tasks to accomplish when moving to Dynamics 365 is to seek experiential advice from fellow users in user group forums or in person at conferences. You need to connect with a software reselling partner that possesses the right expertise for your industry, your project, and your goals in this project and the bigger picture of your technology roadmap.

User groups that meet in person will provide the most productive networking sessions, but you can also gain valuable insights and connect with fellow users that have a similar experience of migrating to D365 online.

When it comes to partners, do your research until you have narrowed it down to partners that can skillfully assist you, based on your particular objectives within your industry. One user’s comment suggested interviewing the consultants from the reseller instead of stopping after conversations with the sales team.

In addition to gaining a partner, it’s important to have an internal project manager that helps to connect your organization with the partner team to make sure the project is moving forward in the right ways.

Contact Solver to Learn about Integrating with Dynamics 365

When migrating to Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations there are a lot of more detailed considerations to make in terms of data sets, custom fields and more. It can be quite overwhelming, but CPM solutions can stabilize your processes, and the importance of the right qualified partner cannot be stressed enough.

Solver, Inc. is happy to partner with you to migrate to Dynamics 365. We offer an easy-to-use, Excel- and web-based reporting solution for Microsoft Dynamics that enables teamwork and streamlined decision-making capabilities, both in the cloud and on-premises.