What are Microsoft partners discussing with Dynamics NAV clients today?

This episode of the MSDW Podcast is sponsored by Nomad eCommerce. Ramin Marghi of Catapult ERP wrote recently about the challenges of on-premises ERP today, and why Dynamics 365 Business Central in the public cloud addresses those challenges – if not directly, then through a change of approach that will help set organizations on a new course for the future. On this episode of the podcast, Ramin discusses some of the issues that define today's SMB ERP climate in the Microsoft channel. You can't discuss this topic without examining the history of Dynamics NAV and what the product's evolution has done to move organizations forward (or not) over the years. Broadening the outlook even further is the accelerating pace at which Microsoft has prioritized ERP-adjacent technology like the Power Platform tools. Those advances may be even more interesting to an owner of a legacy ERP, Ramin believes, as those peripheral capabilities could offer a more realistic way to bring improvements to an organization's processes and data than an ERP upgrade. Show Notes 1:00 – Making the professional transition from accounting to ERP delivery 2:30 – Why is now the time to shift focus to Business Central in the cloud 5:30 – What risks does a company face when they have been "living with" an on-prem ERP for too long? 7:30 – How do clients react to the cloud-first argument today? 8:45 – How to explain the tension between cloud skeptics and cloud progressives 10:30 – Is it a partner's role to build excitement about Business Central to an on-prem ERP client? 15:00 – Companies who could choose either a lower mid-market solution like BC or an upper-mid to enterprise solution like D365 Finance and Operations 17:00 – The long-term promise of the Common Data Model as it relates to ERP 20:00 – NAV vs BC parity, and why it's not always the right argument 21:30 – What else in the Microsoft cloud is worth paying attention to? 24:00 – Why NAV customers are paying attention to Power Platform, even if they're not ready to upgrade. 25:00 – What else can an organization do to invest for the future other than upgrading their ERP? 31:00 – When should you develop an extension for Business Central vs a Power Platform-based solution? 34:30 – Why great Power Platform demos and working solutions are gold for partners on the front lines of the channel. 36:00 – Mix of new and upgrading Business Central customers