Over 5 – 10 years after release, all Dynamics NAV versions lose mainstream and then extended support, which means no new features and eventually no security updates, leaving systems exposed to cyber and compliance risks.

Upgrading to Business Central moves you to a fully supported, modern ERP platform that receives regular feature and security updates from Microsoft. This helps you avoid disruption, reduce technical debt, and align your core business system with Microsoft’s long‑term cloud roadmap.

Business Central provides a modern, role‑based interface, native web access, and rich mobile apps, which immediately improve user productivity and adoption.

You gain stronger finance, supply chain, project, and reporting capabilities, including advanced analytics, dashboards, and tighter integration with tools like Power BI, Excel, and Teams.

You can also simplify infrastructure with cloud or hybrid deployment, scale more easily as you add companies or users, and take advantage of Microsoft’s AI‑driven automation and Copilot features over time.

All Dynamics NAV versions are already out of mainstream support, and extended support for NAV 2016, 2017, and 2018 is ending or will end soon, which increases security and compliance risk if you stay on NAV.

Business Central is actively updated with security patches, global regulatory changes, and features such as improved data protection, environment management, and sustainability reporting. Running on the Microsoft Cloud also gives you enterprise‑grade security, high availability, and a clear upgrade path, so your ERP stays current without disruptive re‑implementations.

With Business Central you retain familiar NAV processes but get a richer, browser‑based and mobile‑friendly UI, improved navigation, and better personalization for each role. You can work from anywhere on desktop, tablet, or mobile across Windows, Android, iOS, and macOS, with single sign‑on to the wider Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Built‑in capabilities now span finance, sales, purchasing, inventory, warehousing, projects, manufacturing (with Premium), and analytics, with standard integrations and AppSource extensions reducing the need for custom code.

If you are on an older Business Central on‑premises or online release, you still need to plan periodic upgrades so that you stay within Microsoft’s supported versions and can receive the latest features and security updates.

Depending on your current version, you might be able to move directly to the latest release or need to follow a staged upgrade path through one or more intermediate versions, especially for older on‑premises deployments.

Direction Software can assess your existing Business Central environment, review extensions and customizations, and propose a structured technical and functional upgrade plan with clear timelines and risk‑mitigation steps.

Direction Software LLP is a long‑standing Microsoft Gold Partner for Business Solutions with almost 20 years of experience in Dynamics NAV and Business Central implementations and upgrades.

The team has delivered 80+ ERP projects and 10+ NAV upgrade projects across more than 10 countries and 20 industries, supported by 30+ Microsoft Certified Professionals. This depth of experience helps ensure a structured upgrade assessment, minimal disruption, preservation of critical customizations, and a realistic roadmap for cloud, on‑premises, or hybrid deployment.

Direction starts with a no‑obligation upgrade assessment where experts review your current NAV version, customizations, user count, deployment preferences, and timeline to propose a tailored upgrade roadmap and effort estimate.

You receive guidance on the recommended path (cloud, on‑premises, or hybrid), indicative timelines and cost range, and how your existing modules and add‑ons will map to Business Central.

During execution, Direction focuses on reusing your proven NAV processes, simplifying or retiring unnecessary customizations, and training users so that you can transition with minimal downtime and faster time‑to‑value.