June 5, 2025

    What’s the Cost of NOT Moving to Business Central?

    In today’s fast-paced digital economy, sticking with a legacy ERP system like Microsoft Dynamics NAV, GP, or on-premises Business Central is more than a tech decision—it’s a cost liability. A recent Forrester Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study, commissioned by Microsoft, lays bare what businesses stand to gain—or lose—when deciding whether or not to migrate to Dynamics 365 Business Central in the cloud.

    Spoiler alert: The longer you wait, the more you stand to lose.

    The Stakes: $529K in Lost Net Value Over Three Years

    ROIForrester’s analysis of a composite company (150 employees, $15M in annual revenue) found that migrating to Dynamics 365 Business Central resulted in a 265% ROI, a net present value (NPV) of $529,000, and payback in under 6 months.

    That means if your organization doesn’t move to BC, you’re effectively leaving over half a million dollars of value on the table across just three years.

    Let’s break down where that value comes from—and where legacy systems are quietly draining your profits.

     

    Wasted Productivity: $96K Lost in Efficiency Gains

    Legacy Dynamics systems are notorious for:

    • Requiring heavy manual input and reconciliation
    • Lacking real-time data and reporting
    • Slowing down finance and operations staff with fragmented processes

    Productivity-IncreaseWith BC, organizations improved finance productivity by 15.6% and operations productivity by 12.5%. This translated into $96,000 in reclaimed value over three years—even after adjusting for the fact that not all time saved will go toward high-value work.

     

    What you’re losing by staying on-prem:

    Staff who could be focused on strategy and growth are stuck managing outdated processes, manual spreadsheets, and siloed data.

    See Business Central Functionality in Action with an On-Demand Demo

    Third-Party Dependency: $178K in Avoidable External Fees

    Legacy systems require frequent external consulting for:

    • Custom report generation
    • System integration maintenance
    • Technical upgrades

    Asset-109Forrester found that companies migrating to BC cut third-party IT and reporting costs by over $80K annually, because the cloud platform is easier to configure and maintain in-house. Over three years, that adds up to $178,000 in savings.

     

    What you’re losing by staying on-prem:

    You remain dependent on external consultants for basic functionality—racking up ongoing fees and delaying innovation.

     

    Infrastructure and Maintenance Overhead: $91K in Avoidable Costs

    Maintaining legacy ERP systems is expensive. Between infrastructure, upgrades, and IT staff time, the costs add up quickly.

    Business Central eliminates:

    • On-premises server and datacenter costs
    • Manual version upgrades
    • Excessive internal maintenance hours

    The composite company cut 90% of its legacy ERP support costs by Year 3, saving $91,000 in present value.

    What you’re losing by staying on-prem:

    You're overpaying for infrastructure that doesn’t scale and continually requires patching, upgrading, and staffing.

     

    Missed Revenue: $364K in Sales Productivity and Pipeline Growth

    Forrester found that sales teams using legacy ERP systems were often delayed in updating CRM systems, responding to customers, or finalizing deals due to poor access to real-time data. With Business Central, sales representatives gained access to critical customer data in the field, resulting in:

    • Sales-Productivity15% improvement in sales productivity
    • 5% increase in closed deals
    • $600K in additional revenue and $364,000 in profit over 3 years
    What you’re losing by staying on-prem:

    Slower sales cycles, fewer closed deals, and customer dissatisfaction due to delays in quoting and support.

     

    Hidden Costs of Legacy Systems

    Beyond the measurable costs, there are several hidden costs to sticking with an outdated ERP:

    Slower Decision-Making

    Legacy systems rely on static data that is often delayed, forcing leadership to rely on outdated reports, increasing the risk of poor or misinformed decisions.

    Low Employee Morale

    Staff using clunky, outdated systems report lower satisfaction. Business Central’s modern UI and native Microsoft 365 integration (Outlook, Excel, Teams) reduce frustration and training time.

    Poor Customer Experience

    Legacy systems make it harder to respond quickly to customer needs. With BC, 85% of organizations reported improved customer satisfaction and 71% improved customer retention.

    What you’re losing by staying on-prem:

    A better culture, stronger brand loyalty, and your competitive edge.

     

    The Cloud Payoff: Flexibility and Scalability

    Business Central empowers companies to scale without overprovisioning infrastructure. This agility is invaluable as SMBs grow or face market changes.

    Legacy ERP systems struggle to keep up with:

    • Rapid hiring or turnover
    • Multi-site operations
    • International expansion
    • Seasonal demand fluctuations
    What you’re losing by staying on-prem:

    The ability to pivot and grow on your own terms—without massive IT overhead.

    See Business Central Functionality in Action with an On-Demand Demo

    Subscription Model: Predictable, Scalable Cost Structure

    With BC, businesses move from a CapEx-heavy model (hardware, licenses, upgrades) to a more predictable OpEx model. Licensing is per user, per month, and scales with your needs.

    • Forrester’s composite company paid $85 per user per month
    • Total subscription cost over 3 years: $98,532 (a fraction of legacy ERP TCO)
    What you’re losing by staying on-prem:

    Budget flexibility, simplicity, and cost predictability.

     

    Total Financial Impact: The $729K Wake-Up Call

    Net-ValueTotal three-year benefits: $729,000
    Total three-year costs: $200,000
    Net value: $529,000
    ROI: 265%
    Payback period: Less than 6 months

     

    The Cost of Inaction

    Let’s be clear: we’re not just talking about cost savings. It’s about opportunity cost—what your business is missing by staying on a system that slows you down.

    You Lose Time

    Manual processes and disconnected systems cost your team hours every week.

    You Lose Money

    Consulting fees, infrastructure upkeep, delayed deals—all of it adds up.

    You Lose Growth

    Without real-time visibility, automation, and mobility, you risk being outpaced by competitors using modern cloud tools.

     

    How Enavate Helps You Capture the Value

    As a trusted Microsoft partner, Enavate specializes in helping SMBs migrate from legacy Dynamics systems to Business Central using our proven Xcelerate methodology. We minimize downtime, mitigate risk, and deliver a solution that’s right-sized and purpose-built for your business.

    We’ve helped thousands of clients move confidently to the cloud—and the TEI study only validates what we see every day: staying on legacy systems is more expensive than moving forward.

    The next time someone says “it’s too expensive to move,” remember: it’s more expensive not to.

    Business Central isn’t just a cloud ERP—it’s a growth engine. And for SMBs trying to do more with less, now is the time to leave legacy behind.

    Get Started on your journey to Business Central with a Free ERP Roadmap Consultation

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