It’s Time to Go Native — Cloud Native Finance Managers Share Their Frustrations with Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains in New Survey

In this recent article, we wrote in detail about the urgent decision Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains users need to make in light of Microsoft’s announcement that it will sunset the offering in stages. While those stages continue through 2028 for some users, others running early software versions faced deadlines as early as spring 2023. Even if your organization can delay its decision to upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains, it’s likely not your best choice.

 

Results from a recent survey of finance decision-makers across 201 small and mid-sized organizations indicate that many are frustrated with their on-premises applications. Many, indeed most, of those frustrations are all solvable with a move to a cloud-native financial application like Sage Intacct. You can read the survey results and other valuable insights in How a Cloud-Native Accounting Platform Can Streamline Finances. Below we hit on some of the most significant findings from the survey.

Real-time Access to Financial Data

48% of respondents cited improving data accuracy for real-time decision-making as a top priority.

Executive demands for information from all business areas can create a reporting challenge for staff, especially when that data is held in multiple disparate applications. Finance personnel must try to combine the data, usually consolidating it in spreadsheets.

With a cloud-native accounting application, you can access your financial data from anywhere, anytime, as long as you have an internet connection. This provides real-time insights into your financial performance, which can help you make better decisions more quickly.

Automate Financial Workflows

40% of respondents cited the potential to streamline manual processes as a factor in upgrading to a non-Microsoft cloud solution.

Manual workflows, duplicate data entry tasks, and extensive reliance on spreadsheets and other disparate applications are typical for companies running Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains and other legacy ERP applications.

Cloud-native accounting applications can automate bookkeeping tasks, such as reconciling bank statements, categorizing transactions, and streamlining approvals. These benefits will save you time and reduce the risk of errors.

Integration with Other Applications

30% of respondents mentioned challenges such as integration with other enterprise applications.

On-premises applications like Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains are notoriously rigid when it comes to integration capabilities. Typically, integration can only be accomplished through exports and imports or with hard-coded, custom-developed middleware.

Modern, cloud-based systems use application program interfaces (APIs) to connect to other business applications, such as payment gateways, inventory management systems, and CRM software. This allows for seamless data transfer between systems, reducing the need for manual data entry and extending all your applications’ value.

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