Are You Still Using PrintVis on the Microsoft Dynamics NAV platform?
We think it’s very important to emphasize that PrintVis and Business Central (formerly Dynamics NAV) are a seamlessly combined solution. This means that upgrading to the newest version of PrintVis will move your base ERP platform – Dynamics NAV – to the latest version from Microsoft. So aside from all the different print-specific functionality that PrintVis adds with each release, let us share with you the benefits from the Microsoft side of things.
Some primary reasons to upgrade to Business Central from Dynamics NAV include the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of a cloud-based system, cost-effective licensing, free bi-annual updates, built-in Power BI, improved user interface, seamless integration with Microsoft 365, and access to a wide range of apps through AppSource.
But, truth be told, a better way to look at this might be the risks of not upgrading your system.
What If I Don’t Upgrade?
As mentioned, Dynamics 365 Business Central has replaced Dynamics NAV. This means all future development, enhancement and support efforts from Microsoft will go towards Dynamics 365 Business Central, not to Dynamics NAV. There are typically 3 phases of support for Microsoft Dynamics products:
- Mainstream Support: product receives new features, security, and non-security updates.
- Extended Support: product receive security updates.
- End of Support: product receives no updates.
Dynamics products receive mainstream support for the first five years, followed by an additional five years of extended support. After 10 years, there is no further support provided. Some older versions of NAV are already out of support, while others are nearing the end of their mainstream support period. Given this, it is a wise decision to move to Business Central, as NAV is no longer a long-term solution – and its security may be compromised without regular updates.
Left: Business Central. Right: Dynamics NAV Role-Tailored Client
What are some other benefits of upgrading to Business Central from Dynamics NAV?
- It offers significant enhancements compared to previous versions of NAV/Navision
- It is designed to be faster and more user-friendly
- Business Central can be accessed from any device, anywhere
- It has a wide range of new integrations and extensions to improve your system’s efficiency
- It can adapt to the growth and changing needs of your business.
Upgrading may cause some upheaval, but once you upgrade you’ll never look back. After that, future updates are easy and automatic and your company is on a stable, secure, modern platform.
We know this is more focused on Microsoft than PrintVis – but we are essentially talking about the “chassis” into which PrintVis is developed.
New, Print-Specific Functionality with Each Release
Don’t forget all the new features from PrintVis that you haven’t been able to enjoy if you’re still on NAV. We add new, print-centric functionality as well as improving upon existing functions, with each release (typically with two major releases per year, following Microsoft’s schedule for Business Central releases). Here are some recent examples: PrintVis 18, PrintVis 19, PrintVis 20, and PrintVis 21.
From an Experienced NAV Partner
Let’s conclude with some thoughts from one of our longtime Partners:
“Cloud obviously is the way to go…makes it easier to scale, easier to add or remove licenses, and much more secure than an on-prem world. Also, I think that the fundamental way it’s designed is fantastic. It moves the power from the partner to the end user…via AppSource and designing in extensions—the old systems require a dev license and are hard to add or remove ISVs but in the current environment you can easily add or remove things (WMS, Credit Card, Order Entry, etc…) with just a few clicks.”
In Conclusion…
We hope this is helpful – and we encourage you to contact your managing Partner with any questions about your upgrade. There are dozens of articles about this, mostly from a few years ago when Microsoft made a big change in the programming language – from C/AL to AL – and many companies using NAV made the jump to BC14 and a path to the cloud.
By the way, we at PrintVis had to do the same – because we use it too. 😊