Although Dynamics GP (formerly Great Plains) and Dynamics 365 are both accounting packages marketed by Microsoft, they are very different packages, and like all high-end accounting packages they can take years to master, and they require years of practical experience to learn their quirks. An analogy would be to compare horses to camels. Although horses and camels are both mammals, and they both have four legs, and they both can run, nevertheless they are very, very different animals.
Most Dynamics 365 installations are crippled versions of Dynamics NAV (formerly Navision), though some are a crippled version of Dynamics AX (formerly Axapta). Most Dynamics 365 installations are the NAV flavor; Dynamics AX is priced to compete with SAP installations, I have not seen the dealer price list in decades, but dealers tell me that once you add the charges for needed features to Dynamics 365, the cost of Dynamics GP vs Dynamics 365 are sufficiently comparable that cost is not a significant factor.
Dynamics CRM is a contact manager that can be integrated with Dynamics GP/BC/365/NAV/AX or any other accounting package using SmartConnect, Scribe, etc.
There is no doubt that the developer and administrator positions for Dynamics 365/BC/NAV/AX outnumber those for Dynamics GP by over twenty to one. However, at the user group conferences the Great Plains GPUG members outnumber the total all the other user groups combined. Demand for third party enhancements for Dynamics GP remains strong. And there are new installations, a leading manufacturing/distribution vendor, SalesPad, integrates with Dynamics GP, but does not integrate with Dynamics 365. (Is SalesPad secretly developing a Dynamics 365 integration?)
We have every indication that Microsoft will formally support Dynamics GP for the next decade or longer, the recent release of their Service Based Architecture integration software confirms this. At the last GPUG Summit show, MicroSoft committed to supporting GP formally through the year 2028.
Which leads us to two main questions:
QUESTION 1: When should current users of Dynamics GP convert to Dynamics 365/NAV/AX?
At a recent local GPUG user group we asked a leading local VAR to discuss under which situations a current Dynamics GP user would be compelled to convert to Dynamics 365/NAV based on functional features. One specific scenario where there is a compelling reason to convert is if you rely on the accounting package for your warehouse functionality, that NAV has a more capable inventory module than GP. Other than that, there were no compelling reasons to convert.
There are some other differences worth mentioning. Great Plains has only main GL account segment, and a location segment that can be flagged in the inventory module, while NAV has logic tied to multiple GL account segments. When you see referential integrity listed as a Dynamics NAV plus do not be concerned, Dynamics GP enforces data integrity through code rather than SQL foreign keys.
How should the CLOUD affect your decision? The CLOUD is not magic, it is simply remote servers where the security logins have been very carefully thought out. There are vendors like Njevity that specialize in offering a cloud option for Dynamics GP. However, if you have over several dozen remote sites you may wish to consult with your VAR whether Dynamics 365 makes sense for you. And unfortunately, YES, the commissions and consulting fees they would earn during this transition will affect the VAR’s opinion in many cases.
Data conversion from Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 is not really seen as an issue by many VARs. Many VARs have already written their own data conversion process using SmartConnect or other tools, and you can easily use Power BI to provide the necessary merged views into your historical data. For these reasons, Microsoft may not need to write a data conversion routine.
However, even when you only need to convert the main customer/vendor/inventory/GL records, it is always costly and painful to convert from one accounting package to another, ESPECIALLY when you have significant customizations created over many years.
QUESTION 2: Would Dynamics GP be a good choice for a new installation?
If you have experience using Dynamics GP, by all means, feel free to choose Dynamics GP for a new installation. Do not worry about whether you can find support for the product, much of GP support is shifting to the national GPUG groups and the many consultants and users who are active in GPUG (Great Plains User Group). You do not have to worry about the support issue for another decade or more.
However, the fact that Microsoft has laid off their top marketing and support staff, including David Musgrave, shows a certain ambivalence towards the product. Developers who know how to program for both the Dynamics GP and Dynamics 365/NAV/AX platforms usually prefer to develop in Dexterity for Dynamics GP. Since Dynamics GP stores its data in SQL tables, there is nothing internally that will prevent Dynamics GP from running on any future hardware or software platforms. Since Dynamics GP was originally developed first for BTrieve and CTree tables, adding support for MS SQL in version 3X, it is missing some SQL-specific features like foreign keys, but this does not cause any upgrade or performance headaches.
Also, my job and gig hunting experience these past few months reveals that for every high-end Dynamics GP opening there are twenty Dynamics 365/BC/AX/NAV positions. Which also means that every year that passes will means that it will be more and more difficult to find qualified professionals to fill Dynamics GP Administrator and Consultant positions. When your Dynamics GP staff decide they want to retire, their replacements may also be near retirement age, but you cannot ask them that question, because then you will be discriminating against people who are nearing retirement age!
In summary, Great Plains has many years of life left. Long live Great Plains!
COVID-19 OBSERVATIONS
Unfortunately, the question of whether or not to wear a mask has been politicized. Personally, I wear a mask anytime I plan to be near anybody, or when I plan to be inside for a long period of time. To me, there is a false assurance in knowing that if I catch COVID-19 I “only” have a two percent chance of dying. What a two percent mortality rate implies is that I have a ten to twenty percent chance of being miserable and/or hospitalized wondering whether I might die, and if I don’t die there will be significant chance that my breathing and/or vitality would be permanently impaired. Fortunately, I do not need to take that risk, and I will not work onsite just to demonstrate that I am indeed working. I have no problem going onsite for periodic meetings, as long as everyone else INSIDE in the building is also wearing masks and taking appropriate precautions.
IMHO, the best overall COVID-19 articles are by the Science Editor of Atlantic magazine:
https://www.theatlantic.com/author/ed-yong/
Dynamics GP Tips and Traps For Users and Developers 