Upgrading to Cloud ERP? How Dynamics Business Central stacks up against the competition
Organizations that are looking to upgrade their current ERP system to a modern, cloud-based system will typically do their research on all available options. For the mid-market space specifically, providers like Microsoft, SAP, and NetSuite all have cloud-based ERP applications that offer similar functionality. It can be difficult to wade through the many online resources and sales calls to determine the best solution. To make it easier, we have put together a high level comparison between Microsoft’s premiere mid-market ERP application Dynamics 365 Business Central, and the most common competitors include NetSuite, SAP, and Epicor. For full comparisons with deep dives into the background of each application and customer reviews, check out our comprehensive product comparisons.
Business Central background
Dynamics 365 Business Central was released in April 2018 as an “all-in-one business management solution.“ Built on the functionality, code, and development experience of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Business Central is a native-cloud solution that delivers a modern, browser-based ERP experience. Designed to integrate directly with Office 365, Business Central features extensive customizability and extendibility options via PowerApps, Microsoft Flow, and Power BI. For a full break-down of the history of Dynamics ERP applications and Microsoft’s direction moving forward, check out our blog series on the topic.
What are the stand-out benefits of Dynamics 365 Business Central?
As part of the Dynamics 365 ecosystem, companies that are already utilizing other Dynamics 365 or Microsoft 365 applications like Sales, Service, or Excel, will discover that the integration of data between these applications is easier than trying to integrate with other ERP systems. Users will also have the added benefit of single sign-on across all Microsoft business applications thanks to Azure Active Directory. This means that users will only need to remember a single username and password across all applications they use. Navigation between Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365 applications is simple with a web page for all available applications.
Pricing
Licensing: Starts at $70/user/month with additional plans and add-ons available. Check out all pricing.
Billing Frequency: Monthly
Release Schedule
Microsoft releases two major updates to Dynamics 365 Business Central per year – in April and October. These updates will include new capabilities, performance improvements, and better support experiences. All releases are automatically updated however, any major changes to the user experience will be turned off automatically giving administrators time to test and enable these features as they see fit.
Customization
A major strength of Business Central is its flexibility and ability to integrate with Microsoft and other 3rd party applications. This is done by creating custom apps, installing 3rd party apps from Microsoft AppSource, or working with 3rd party services. Business Central is built to maximize customization, so the majority of app development requires little to no coding.
Dynamics 365 Business Central vs SAP Business ByDesign
Business ByDesign, SAP’s ERP solution for midsized businesses, was announced in September of 2007 and was said by then CEO Henning Kagermann to be the most important announcement of his career. Aimed at companies between 100 and 500 employees in size, the product was initially launched in Germany and the United States but expanded soon after.
Pricing
Licensing: Business ByDesign has a base cost of $1704/month that includes 5 enterprise users, but because SAP requires a 20 user minimum, the real price will be around $3969/month for 20 enterprise-level users, the most comparable license to standard Business Central users.
Billing Frequency: Monthly
Release Schedule
Business ByDesign receives one significant update per quarter addressing key capabilities, legal compliance and localization, user experience, analytics, and integrations. The latest update was Release 21.02 which was made available on February 2nd, 2021.
Customization
Business ByDesign is similar to Business Central in that it was made to allow for a large amount of modifications and extensions in personal workspaces. Forms, reports, and fields can be modified by all users by adding or removing what’s there. Users can also use Adaptation mode to create custom sections,edit the theme, branding, and overall feel. The ByDesign Studio allows for more advanced customizations like implementing business logics.
Dynamics 365 Business Central vs Oracle NetSuite
NetSuite, founded by Evan Goldberg in 1998, was one of the world’s first accounting systems that was entirely web-based. From 1998-2007, both the product and company grew rapidly, culminating in a successful 2007 Initial Public Offering. NetSuite was officially acquired by parent company Oracle for more than $9 billion on July 28, 2016, though the two companies had experience working together on the Oracle Small Business Suite in the early 2000’s, when NetSuite was still NetLedger.
Pricing:
Licensing: NetSuite prices are not published publicly. Estimated pricing is $999/month + $99/user/month.
Billing Frequency: Annual
Release Schedule
NetSuite has two major version updates per year that are typically released in February/March and August/September. These major releases contain new functionality or enhancements to existing features. NetSuite recommends working with an implementation partner to test and implement every release.
Customization
NetSuite allows for a similar amount of modification as Business Central does through its SuiteCloud Platform. The SuiteCloud allows users to personalize their dashboards and feeds, build custom apps, and incorporate third-party solutions through SuiteApp.com. In addition to the SuiteCloud and SuiteApps, NetSuite has connections with SAP, SalesForce, and Google Apps.
Dynamics 365 Business Central vs Epicor
Epicor Software Corporation provides ERP, CRM, and other industry-specific software to over 20,000 clients. Epicor sells services through a Partner Network, like many Microsoft Dynamics products. Founded in 1972, Epicor began selling its initial accounting system in 1984 when it was known as Platinum Software Corporation.
Pricing:
Licensing: Epicor and Epicor partners don’t list pricing information on their websites and can only be obtained by contacting the Epicor Sales team or a partner directly. One site has reported prices of $175/user/month while another provided an estimate of $40,000 or more per year for 10 users. Billing frequency and up-front implementation costs are similarly not listed online.
Release Schedule
There is no official schedule or notification before Epicor ERP updates are made, but they typically occur twice a year, in March and October. The most recent release, 10.2.300, was announced on October 4, 2018 and made available to users on October 18th. Before that, version 10.2.200 was released on March 14, 2018. Update releases contain a variety of enhancements and fixes across the system and one or two significant new features.
Customization
Epicor is highly customizable thanks to its Kinetic Design and Kinetic Framework components. The Kinetic Design side allows users to modify pages layouts, icons, colors, and other interface elements to fit the user’s preferences and brand. Kinetic Framework is its own website containing sample code, tutorials, a code library, API documentation, and more that developers can use to build custom apps for their Epicor environment.Another feature, Epicor Service Connect, is a software for users to build a variety of automated workflows that run between Epicor and third party apps.
Get started
Schedule a time to meet with our Dynamics 365 Business Central team, get your questions answered, and get a live demo of specific capabilities in the system.