Key Takeaways from Our CIO Roundtable on Dynamics 365 Business Central

As an IT leader, keeping up with technology trends and continuously refining your strategy is essential. In the first of our four roundtable discussions tailored for CIOs and IT leaders, we delved into the strategic applications of Microsoft technology, with a focus on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Attendees had the opportunity to hear from peers and experts, gaining valuable insights and best practices for optimizing Microsoft investments and fostering innovation. The participants represented a diverse range of experience, from those actively using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to others transitioning from legacy Microsoft Dynamics NAV or GP solutions, or even multiple older systems.

Dynamics 365 Business Central – An Overview

Dynamics 365 Business Central is a comprehensive business management solution from Microsoft that integrates various aspects of a company’s operations, providing a unified experience. It’s crucial for businesses because it streamlines financial management, automates workflows, and offers real-time insights into financials, supply chains, and customer relationships. This cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tool is adaptable, scalable, and designed to grow with a business, making it an asset for companies of all sizes. With features like advanced customization, seamless integration with other Microsoft products, and compliance assurance, Dynamics 365 Business Central enables businesses to optimize their operations and drive growth.

Watch the Roundtable Series for CIOs: ERP Focus

Key Discussion Points from the Roundtable

Many topics were discussed, but key discussion points centered around operational efficiency, data security and compliance, and customization and scalability.

Operational Efficiency

Participants who are using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central particularly noted that operational efficiency has improved. The burden of hardware management is alleviated with a move to the cloud. One participant reported that their financial planning and analysis team could do so much more with information gathered from Dynamics 365 Business Central, along with great reporting in Power BI. Our host Jeff Smith, pre-sales solution engineer at Velosio, reminded participants who mentioned using Solver that Solver (formerly BI360) works with Power BI. Solver complements Power BI dashboards by providing budgeting, reporting, and data warehouse functionality that, combined with Power BI, provides an enterprise solution for planning, reporting and analysis. You can also embed Power BI dashboards within the Dynamics 365 Business Central interface.

Another participant who is not yet using Dynamics 365 Business Central is considering it because it is robust, customizable, secure, and SOC 2 compliant. An additional participant is now using three separate legacy systems for business management and is looking at Dynamics 365 Business Central as a centralized hub for their business. They already use Microsoft 365 so consider themselves “Microsoft-centric,” making Dynamics 365 Business Central even more appealing.

Data Security and Compliance

One participant discussed how moving to Dynamics 365 Business Central has improved security for their organization, especially as a publicly traded company. There was a security breach in the past when an accounting clerk installed ransomware on their computer, but this is no longer the case with cloud-based Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Dynamics 365 Business Central offers a comprehensive security system to protect your database and the information it contains from unauthorized access. It allows you to specify what authenticated users are allowed to do in the database, such as what data they can read and modify. The security features include application security, Azure security service tags, and security tips for business users. Additionally, Business Central supports only Transport Layer Security (TLS) version 1.2 or later, ensuring that data is transmitted securely. The security system also provides different levels of access control, including database, company, object, and record-level security, allowing for granular permissions. Moreover, Dynamics 365 Business Central includes user authentication, role-based access control (RBAC), data encryption, and auditing and monitoring to enhance data security. These robust measures ensure that sensitive business information is well-protected in the cloud environment.

Integrating security in Dynamics 365 Business Central with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) enhances the security protocols by centralizing user identity and access management. This integration enables single sign-on (SSO), allowing users to access multiple services with one set of credentials, thereby reducing the risk of password-related breaches. Additionally, it supports advanced security features such as conditional access policies and multi-factor authentication, which provide layers of protection against unauthorized access. By leveraging existing Microsoft Entra ID infrastructure, organizations can manage user access to Business Central more efficiently and ensure compliance with security policies.

Customization and Scalability

One participant said they can customize Dynamics 365 Business Central to fit their business, especially in the areas of reporting, data import, automation invoice approvals and purchase orders. Interestingly, a participant who is using Microsoft Dynamics NAV feels like a lot of customization is needed to make it work for their horticultural business. Rather than spend more time and money customizing NAV, they are investigating a migration to Dynamics 365 Business Central. The participant says, “a lot of these things that we would have to build are already included and, certainly the modern features [within Dynamics 365 Business Central] and having mobile interfaces is going to be a better set up for us,” says the participant. One participant mentioned they are afraid to customize a solution too much because it makes upgrades difficult, but our host pointed out that customizations in Dynamics 365 Business Central are performed as extensions instead of at the code base of the solution, meaning that you’re never making upgrades more difficult. A participant noted that as a single IT person at a small company, Microsoft tools such as Power Platform and Fabric allow him to do so much without a lot of upfront cost.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central offers versatility and scalability to accommodate the growth and varying complexities of businesses. It is designed to manage the demands of small to mid-sized organizations, as well as adapt to the needs of larger enterprises. The system provides resource elasticity, ensuring that as a business expands, Business Central can scale in real-time through autoscaling and dynamic load distribution. This is crucial for businesses experiencing fluctuating load patterns due to factors such as time of day, seasonality, and the number of active users or external integrations. With a high degree of database scaling efficiency and the ability to handle billions of API calls, UI interactions, and server sessions weekly, Dynamics 365 Business Central stands out as a robust solution for businesses aiming for growth without the worry of infrastructure limitations.

The Role of AI and Microsoft Ecosystem in Dynamics 365 Business Central

Our host introduced Microsoft Copilot and its integration with Dynamics 365 Business Central. Copilot allows for queries like “show me past due invoices,” or queries about bank reconciliation or cash flow predictions around inventory management, and late payment predictions, which enhance decision-making.

One participant echoes what perhaps a lot of IT professionals are thinking: “I’ve worked in the technology space for about 15 years, and I don’t think I’ve seen something change and grow as fast as AI has. It seems like every week it has a new cool trick that it does, but it hasn’t quite mastered what it can and will do. I am cautiously optimistic about it.”

Dynamics 365 Business Central is tightly integrated into Microsoft 365. Our host demonstrated the Dynamics 365 Business Central interface to Microsoft Outlook. For instance, if you receive an email from a client looking for a quote, you can create a quote on the fly by activating Business Central within Outlook. You can then email the quote, and the information is saved back in Business Central due to seamless integration.

Lessons Learned from the Roundtable

Implementing Dynamics 365 Business Central successfully within an organization requires a strategic approach that encompasses both technical and human factors. A robust implementation strategy should start with a clear understanding of the vision and business drivers, ensuring that the project aligns with the organization’s goals and objectives. It is essential to engage key stakeholders early and maintain clear communication throughout the process. Training is a critical component of this strategy, focusing on empowering users to effectively utilize the new system, which leads to successful adoption. Customization and configuration of Dynamics 365 Business Central should be done with the aim of meeting specific business needs while minimizing complexity. Additionally, investing in change management and providing ongoing support are vital for sustaining the success of the implementation. It’s also beneficial to stay informed about the latest updates and best practices for Dynamics 365 Business Central to ensure the organization is prepared for continuous improvement and adaptation.

One participant said that after implementing Dynamics 365 Business Central, there were holes in end user training, and they had to retrain some individuals. They wish they had organized more end user training from the outset. It’s helpful to record Teams training sessions so that they can be revisited over time for a refresher.

The participant also talks about the importance of correctly setting up role-based user permissions from the outset. Their team is having to revamp some user permissions so that they correspond directly to the role within each department. “Another neat thing that’s happening this year with Business Central is that they’re actually moving a lot of those security groups into Azure,” says the participant. “Within your Microsoft 365 environment, you’re able to add onboarding into Microsoft 365, assign a user to a specific security group, which would then give them all their permissions when they set up the user for Dynamics 365 Business Central too without any additional steps. I think that will give us better security just through having a better understanding of what each security group provides in terms of roles and permissions,” the participant continues.

Conclusion

Businesses can look to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for improved operational performance, data security and compliance in the cloud, and ease of customization and scalability. CIOs are cautiously optimistic about AI and its role in business management. Participants were excited to see Microsoft Outlook’s integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, and a sneak peek of Microsoft Copilot.

Embarking on an ERP implementation journey requires meticulous planning and clear requirements. For CIOs, the process begins with a thorough understanding of the business’s needs and aligning them with the capabilities of potential ERP systems. It’s crucial to consult with key stakeholders and end-users to define the business requirements that the ERP system must meet. Establishing a realistic budget and timeframe is equally important to ensure the project’s feasibility. A comprehensive ERP requirements checklist should include core functionalities, integration capabilities, user-friendliness, and scalability to accommodate future growth. Additionally, considering the type of ERP partner and vendor that aligns with the company’s culture and long-term goals can significantly influence the success of the ERP implementation. By following these steps, CIOs can lay a solid foundation for selecting an ERP system that will drive efficiency and support the organization’s objectives.

Reach out to Velosio for more personalized discussions around your ERP requirements or to schedule a personalized demo of Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Watch Roundtable Series for CIOs – ERP Focus: Dynamics 365 Business Central