Migrating from GP on premise to Business Central cloud based

Overview

Recently, our team worked on a project for a mid-sized distribution and light manufacturing company that required migrating from Microsoft Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central Online. The client had been using GP for over a decade and was seeking to modernize its ERP environment by moving to a scalable, cloud-based solution.

 

Client Profile

• Industry: Distribution and Light Manufacturing
• ERP History: Microsoft Dynamics GP (GP 2018 R2)
• Size: 30 ERP users across 2 companies
• Data: 10+ years of historical financial and operational data
• Modules Used: Financials, Inventory, Sales Order Processing, Purchase Order Processing

 

Project Goals

• Migrate to Dynamics 365 Business Central Online
• Preserve historical data for auditing and reference
• Minimize downtime and operational disruption
• Retain user security and permissions where possible

 

Challenges Encountered

• Volume of Historical Data
  • Over 10 years of GP data needed evaluation and partial migration.
  • Decision had to be made about what to bring into BC versus archiving.
• Multiple Company Structures
  • Two GP companies with different fiscal calendars and chart of accounts.
  • Needed a consistent dimensional mapping strategy for BC.
• Azure Data Integration & Performance
  • Migration required use of Azure Data Factory and Self-Hosted Integration Runtime.
  • Large tables needed staging and performance optimization.
• User Permissions Transition
  • GP security roles do not translate directly to BC.
  • Manual mapping and validation of roles had to be performed.
• Downtime Management
  • Client required migration with minimal disruption.
  • Replication strategy had to be planned with incremental syncs.
• Legacy Customizations in GP
  • SmartLists, customized reports, and Dexterity scripts were used.
  • Identified which items to recreate in BC using modern tools.

 

Our Approach

We followed Microsoft’s official guidance and best practices for GP to BC migration:

• Preparation & Readiness
  • Ensured all prerequisites were met (GP version, SQL Server compatibility, Azure setup).
  • Installed migration extensions in BC: Intelligent Cloud, GP Migration, localization extensions.
• Company Configuration & Data Strategy
  • Defined clear migration configuration for each GP company.
  • Migrated last 5 years of GL, AR, AP, and inventory data.
  • Enabled historical snapshot feature where needed.
• Azure Data Lake Archive
  • Full GP database archived to Azure Data Lake.
  • Allowed secure access to legacy data without bloating BC.
• Replication Execution
  • Installed and registered Integration Runtime.
  • Used cloud migration setup wizard to configure source and target.
  • Performed full and incremental data replication runs.
• Validation & Data Upgrade
  • Reviewed diagnostics and logs.
  • Ran upgrade process to map and transform GP data into BC schema.
  • Validated with key finance and operations users.
• Cutover & Post-Go-Live
  • Final replication and upgrade executed over a weekend.
  • Disabled migration connector after successful go-live.
  • Decommissioned GP servers.

Results

• Migrated 5 years of transactional data successfully
• Historical GP database archived to Azure Data Lake
• Users transitioned to BC with redefined security roles
• Minimal downtime (under 4 hours during final cutover)
• Client now operates fully on Business Central Online

Conclusion

This project demonstrated our deep experience with cloud ERP migrations, especially for mid-sized companies looking to modernize their financial systems. By leveraging Microsoft’s tools and carefully planning the GP-to-BC migrations journey, we ensured a seamless transition with zero data loss and minimal operational impact.

If you’re considering a similar migration, our team is ready to guide you through every step from planning and data assessment to go-live and post-deployment support.