20 April 2023

Top 5 Questions on Moving ISV Solutions from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 – An Infographic

The Covid-19 pandemic has indeed accelerated digital transformation! According to a McKinsey Global Survey of executives, companies have accelerated the digitization of their customer and supply-chain interactions and their internal operations by three to four years.

Talking about digital transformation, we cannot talk about moving from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations without talking about independent software vendor (ISV) solutions. ISVs are companies focused on specific industries and solutions with vast experience in the areas covered by their solutions.

Why choose an ISV solution over a custom-built one?

Each business is unique, and so are business needs. So, implementing Dynamics 365, for example, can take care of 70% of your business needs. Now for the remaining 30%, you can get your implementation partner to work on the missing functionality, or you can get an ISV solution that instantly meets your needs. The ISV works with you to identify the gap and introduces you to potential solutions that can plug that gap. You also get the chance to leverage the domain expertise offered by the ISV.

When you opt for a custom-built solution, it becomes your responsibility to ensure that the software works on future versions. Also, maintaining the customizations might be pretty expensive, considering the time and effort involved in testing the solution. On the other hand, with an ISV solution, the ISV takes up version upgrades and maintenance, taking that burden of spending time and resources off your shoulders.

Initial steps to move ISV solutions from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365

If you already have a few ISV solutions on Dynamics AX, the first step is to find out if these ISV solutions are available on Dynamics 365. If it is available, then a new deployment of the ISV solution is all that’s required. Very rarely, it may not be possible to replicate the functionalities of the ISV solution in AX, on Dynamics 365. In such cases, you may have to look for suitable alternatives.

How can To-Increase help?

At To-Increase, we offer a range of vertical and horizontal ISV solutions. We help minimize the impact of dealing with multiple ISVs as it’s easier to deal with one global ISV that can take care of multiple requirements. When it comes to migrating to the cloud and maintaining products in the cloud, our strength lies in scaling up quickly, and we make sure that we are ahead of the curve.

Here are some of the questions we receive on migrating ISV solutions from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365.

What is the first step before moving my ISV solution to Dynamics 365?
How can I minimize impact when I need to move multiple ISV solutions?
Will the cloud version of an ISV application cost more than an on-premises version?
Do I have to take on the burden of maintaining ISV applications?
How do I evaluate an ISV before I get started with my upgrade journey to Dynamics 365?

ISV Solutions in Dynamics 365