In the previous chapters, we covered the implementation process of Microsoft Dynamics NAV for new customers or companies that had not used Microsoft Dynamics NAV before.
What about companies already using Microsoft Dynamics NAV that want to upgrade to the latest version?
Upgrading to a newer version of Dynamics NAV, unfortunately, is not like upgrading Microsoft Office where it can be done with clicks of buttons. It's a project that has to be planned and executed carefully.
In this chapter, we will explain the migration process coming from almost all the previous versions of the application. We will go through the steps that should be done and the tools that are out there to help us execute the upgrade process.
The topics covered in this chapter are as follows:
- An explanation of the upgrading philosophy in Dynamics NAV
- A brief checklist of all the steps required to upgrade from the previous versions
- An in-detail explanation of all the steps pointed in the checklist
- The tools that must be used in the upgrade process
- The tools that can be used in the upgrade process to make the whole process easier
Prior to the release of Dynamics NAV 2015, upgrading was a tremendous project that required hundreds (sometimes thousands) of hours to bring you to the latest version.
The reason why the upgrade required a lot of time was because of modifications done in your database; essentially, the less you modify, the faster the upgrade. In fact, if you need to upgrade from versions prior to Dynamics NAV 2013, you may see similar estimates as during a new implementation.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV can be used with no customization at all, but that's almost unheard of. That's like buying a Ferrari and only driving it at 25 miles per hour. Once the users discover the power of Dynamics NAV and how flexible the software is, they will want to make changes to give them a competitive edge in their industry. It's like the users suddenly discover the power of the force.
One of the greatest selling points for Dynamics NAV is the ease of making changes to the software. There is no need for other applications to edit the application code since Dynamics NAV has its own code editor. There is no need for full compilations of code projects, and there's no need for deployment of the new solution since modifications can be done on the fly and they get to the end users right away.
They can be minor customizations, such as adding an existing field to a page or creating a new field in an existing table. They can be mid-size customizations, such as modifying some minor standard behavior. Or they can be major customizations, such as developing a whole new functionality or changing the way the major standard functionalities behave.
When you get a new version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV and a new application code file, a merge process has to be done to ensure that customizations done in a specific version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV are carried out into the new version of the application. The upgrade process can be done automatically with the PowerShell upgrade since Dynamics NAV 2015.
However, even with the automated PowerShell upgrade, some steps in the merge process and data migration process will have to be done manually by a Microsoft Dynamics NAV developer because of conflicts in the automated process.