State of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central & manufacturing 2020

We as NETRONIC Software, but also me personally (in my role as NETRONIC's CEO) have been engaged with Dynamics NAV (now: Business Central) and manufacturing for almost eight years. Year over year, we engaged more, we invested more, and we benefitted more. We benefitted from our customers, from our partners, and from this unprecedented Dynamics NAV / Dynamics 365 Business Central community. I feel that it is about time to give something back.

This "something" is a global market research study and its findings. We decided to leverage our global network of partners and customers to conduct comprehensive market research about the "State of Business Central and Manufacturing" in the year 2020. We do the study, we market the study, we analyze the findings, we write an extensive report, or to say it straight-forward: we do all the work that comes with that study, and we pay for it. However, we will share the report and findings. With everybody, for free.

Continue reading if you want to learn more, and if you want to contribute to the study.

Why a "state of Business Central and manufacturing" study?

I am a curious person and I am super interested in everything related to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and manufacturing. However, I oftentimes ask myself questions to which I do not find answers easily. Despite all the information available, and this vivid Business Central community.

To some degree, I sense that there is a general lack of market data concerning Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Let's start to change this.

Here are some of the questions that I had recently, and to which I could not find an easy answer:

• What is the average timeframe until when current NAV customers will move to Business Central?
• How quickly is the rate on-prem > cloud changing to cloud > on-prem?
• Is a typical NAV / Business manufacturing company make-to-order, or make-to-stock, or somewhat both?
• What is the average batch size of a typical Business Central manufacturing client?
• What is the average number of daily new production orders that a Business Central customer has to manage?
• What are typical challenges that manufacturers face that work with NAV, Business Central, or any other ERP?

I could continue this list forever, and easily crash the boundary of this blog post.

I assume that I am not the only person that is interested in such data. If this is true: let's collectively work on gathering it ... and I will prepare it for you for free so that you can easily use this kind of information whenever you need it.

Whom are both survey and report for?

The survey is both for Dynamics 365 Business Central (and NAV) customers AND partners.

It has questions that I ask you ... the customer. It has other questions that I ask you ... the partner.

That way, I intend to get a 360° picture of the state of Business Central and manufacturing in 2020.

I do not just want to focus on either the customer or the partner. It is about that specific market. And that specific market is equally shaped by customers and partners.

So please, take your time and help me with this market research. Independent if you are a partner or a customer: I promise that the report will contain information that is relevant to both of you.

How to contribute to the state of Business Central and manufacturing report?

The non-obvious first: please share this blog post and this initiative.

Please share this with your colleagues, your friends, and your customers.

The more people participate, the more meaningful the results. The more meaningful the results, the more valuable the "State of Business Central and Manufacturing - Report 2020" for you.

And the rest is easy and obvious. I created an online form that I kindly ask you to fill.

Most of the questioned are closed, with straight-forward options. It should just take 10 minutes of your time to complete.

Click the image below to get going.