Integrating Other Applications - Microsoft Dynamics NAV’s Flexibility Means You Don’t Always Have to Reinvent the Wheel!

Here’s a dilemma that established organisations sometimes have when looking at investing in an ERP solution. They know they need a new system. They know they will gain major benefits from the functionality of a product like Microsoft Dynamics NAV. However, one or two specialist areas of their current business processes rely on heavily developed or bespoke legacy software.

If this legacy software is old, unstable, difficult to support, slow, or generally not as efficient as it could be, then the decision to replace it as part of a new ERP strategy is an easy one. But what if the bespoke software works perfectly well? What if you’ve invested a lot of time and effort over the years, tailoring the solution to the specific area requirements, and it’s delivering value to your business?

There are a number of options. For example, you could write off the software and re-develop the functionality as part of your new ERP solution. Or, you could continue using the bespoke software ‘outside’ of your main ERP system. Neither of these options are ideal. However, if you choose Microsoft Dynamics NAV as your ERP software, there’s also another possibility.

Unlike many other ERP solutions, accredited business partners can access nearly every part of Microsoft Dynamics NAV’s coding. This, along with the way that the product has been developed, means it’s often possible to cost-effectively integrate Microsoft Dynamics NAV with other software applications, including in-house and bespoke software.

To gain the fullest value from an ERP system, it needs to be integrated as far as possible throughout your organisation. Microsoft Dynamics NAV is built using modern development techniques, tools, and standards. In addition, a large part of Microsoft Dynamics NAV’s code is unprotected. So, if you have in-house, niche, or bespoke software already in-place in a particular area of your business, and you would like to continue to use it, it’s often possible (and realistic) for a qualified Microsoft Dynamics partner to integrate Microsoft Dynamics NAV with it.

Here’s an example. Concentrix TSG recently helped an organisation to implement a comprehensive ERP system using Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The organisation, that supplies specialist IT hardware, has a wide variety of customers, and these customers have a lot of different requirements. Some of these requirements are quite complex, and there’s also a lot of variation in the products they provide.

To make it easier for the company’s Sales staff to quickly, accurately and reliably specify the right product for their clients, their in-house IT department had developed a Product Configurator application. This had been a major project for their IT staff, with the application being developed and refined over a fairly long time period. The bespoke Product Configurator worked well, the users liked it and it had been in place for quite a while when the company recognised the need for an ERP solution.

Although it would have been possible to develop a similar product configuration application within Microsoft Dynamics NAV, the company didn’t want to reinvent the wheel. So because of the architecture and flexibility of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Concentrix TSG was able to integrate the Product Configurator application, without extensive rework or redevelopment.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is one of the most adaptable ERP solutions available. The Microsoft Dynamics NAV licence model means you can keep licence costs to a minimum, and you can use just about as little or as much functionality as you like. If there’s cross-over with existing software this flexibility can be a major advantage. Microsoft Dynamics NAV can even be deployed to act as a hub to a range of other business applications.

Whether Microsoft Dynamics NAV will integrate with any particular bespoke, specialist, or other software application depends on a number of factors. Although it’s often possible, Microsoft Dynamics NAV does have its limits and integration may not always be the most realistic or cost-effective option. So, if you have software you would like to integrate to Microsoft Dynamics NAV, talk to your business partner about your requirements. If you’re a UK organisation and need more information about the potential of Microsoft Dynamics NAV for your business, please contact Concentrix TSG.

By Concentrix TSG Ltd – Microsoft Dynamics NAV and CRM specialists