The ROI of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Late last year, Forrester Consulting published one of their Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) reports for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. The report analyzes the cost savings versus the business benefits of migrating to the cloud-based Dynamics 365 Business Central solution. Forrester interviewed system owners and other stakeholders at companies in the $15-million revenue and 250-employee range. Overall, they found that the move to Business Central generated benefits of worth $466,000 over three years versus costs of $178,000—resulting in a net present value (NPV) of $288,000 and a Return on Investment (ROI) of 162%.

The study is timely, as Forrester believes that businesses are now actively considering replacing on-premises Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions with cloud-based applications. Forrester calls these Digital Operations Platforms, or DOPs. In this study, Forrester spoke with companies that had been running a disparate collection of Microsoft and non-Microsoft ERP tools on-premises.

The report reveals a number of quantifiable benefits for the companies that adopted Business Central, including:

• Savings on personnel—The use of Business Central enabled companies to avoid hiring the equivalent of a full-time employee (FTE) as well one part-time equivalent employee in finance and operations. They found they could continue to grow without adding staff, due to Business Central’s functionality, visibility and access improvements for finance and operations teams.
• Better operational flow—Companies switching to Business Central reported an 8% average improvement in their flow of operations. For example, operations and finance staff could get more work done with Busines Central. They reported improved workflows throughout the finance and operations groups. Team members used the time they saved to focus on making further iterative improvements to operations.
• Cutting over $44,000 in spending on third-party reporting tools and services over three years—After implementing Business Central, the companies interviewed by Forrester were able to leverage new reporting and analytics functionality, along with Microsoft tools like Power BI, to end their reliance on externally generated reports. They needed these reports so they could get more granular visibility into their businesses.
• Avoiding over $40,000 in solutions costs—Compared to the previous on-premises ERP instances, Business Central offered savings that came from lower license fees and less expenditure on infrastructure.

The report also listed unquantified benefits, such as:

• Improved Employee Experience (EX)—Forrester found that Business Central places fewer burdens on employees related to dealing with multiple systems. Previously, employees in finance and operations were frustrated by having to contend with more than one ERP tool. With Business Central’s integration with other Microsoft products, such as SharePoint and Power BI, it became easier to get work done through a set of connected systems.
• Real time visibility leading to increased confidence—The start of Business Central marked a turning point in managers’ confidence. Decision makers could now see key business data sets, as well as reports and metrics in real time. This made them more productive. It also helped them make better, faster decisions.

As the report reveals, moving to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a winning move, in financial and operational terms. We have helped many companies migrate to Business Central. To learn more about what’s involved, contact us for a demo and a free consultation.

See the Total Economic Impact™ of Business Central