Key Risks When Migrating from Microsoft GP to Business Central — and How to Mitigate Them
Migrating from Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) to Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC) offers long-term benefits such as improved cloud capabilities, better integration with Microsoft’s ecosystem, and a more modern user experience. But the transition comes with its own set of challenges.
To ensure a smooth and successful migration, it’s important to understand the primary risks and explore practical strategies to manage them—particularly if your organization relies on field service operations.
1. Data & System Risk
Common Pitfalls:
- Data migration complexity: Structural differences between GP and BC can make it difficult to transfer historical financials, service records, and job data without errors or loss
- Integration breakdowns:Integrations between GP and third-party tools (especially for field service or mobile access) may not carry over directly into BC.
Mitigation Strategies:
- Use specialized partners with experience in GP-to-BC transitions.
- Clearly define what historical data needs to be moved and what can be archived.
- For service-centric organizations, third-party tools that integrate natively with BC to restore or enhance field-related functionality without custom development.
2. Functional & Process Gaps
Common Pitfalls:
- Loss of key features: GP may include modules or ISVs for service management that don’t have equivalents in BC out of the box.
- Customization mismatches: BC's extension-based model is different from GP's, requiring a rethink of certain custom workflows or reports.
Mitigation Strategies:
- Conduct a feature gap analysis before migration to understand what needs to be rebuilt or replaced.
- For field operations, explore BC-compatible field service solutions that replicate or extend existing GP functionality without requiring extensive customization. Tools like ExpandIT Field Service are often used for this purpose, providing a bridge between scheduling, technician mobility, and service order management.
3. People & Adoption Challenges
Common Pitfalls:
- User resistance: Employees comfortable with GP may find BC’s interface unfamiliar or unintuitive at first.
- Training overhead:Field technicians, in particular, may face steep learning curves if the new system introduces significant workflow changes.
Mitigation Strategies:
- Include end users early in the planning and testing process to build familiarity.
- Provide structured training sessions and ongoing support.
- Tools that offer intuitive, role-based experiences—especially for field staff—can accelerate adoption. For example, mobile-ready service platforms that integrate with BC can help maintain continuity in technician workflows while minimizing disruption.
Cost & Project Overruns
Common Pitfalls:
- Unexpected costs: Licensing, development, and third-party services can add up quickly during migration.
- Timeline delays: Rebuilding custom functionality—like field service dispatching or reporting—can extend go-live timelines.
- Compliance risks: Incomplete migration of service and audit data can lead to regulatory or operational gaps.
Mitigation Strategies:
- Build a detailed project scope and budget, accounting for extensions and integrations.
- Prioritize solutions with proven BC compatibility to avoid costly custom builds.
- Ensure field service records and customer history remain accessible in the new system, using BC-aligned tools to maintain audit trails and service documentation.
Final Thoughts
While the migration from GP to Business Central is an opportunity to modernize and streamline, it’s also a time to reassess what’s essential to keep your business running—particularly for service-driven organizations.
Leveraging tools that are already aligned with Business Central—such as ExpandIT Field Service—can help you addr ess specific needs around scheduling, mobile technician access, and service order management without adding unnecessary complexity. These solutions are especially useful when looking to preserve and enhance field service capabilities during the transition.
Careful planning, the right migration partners, and thoughtful technology choices will make all the difference in a smooth, cost-effective move to Business Central.
