Navision Software was founded in 1983 by three Danish entrepreneurs: Preben Damgaard, Jesper Balser, and Henrik Lykkegaard. The company initially focused on developing accounting software for small and medium-sized businesses in Denmark.
In 1987, Navision Software released its first ERP system, called Navigator, which was designed to integrate different business functions and provide a unified view of business operations. This system was later renamed to Navision Financials and became the foundation of the Navision product line. Known for its strong financial management, Dynamics Nav and Navision is used primarily by larger businesses instead of Dynamics GP, appealing largely to companies with a $50m+ turnover.
Navision continued to expand and grow its customer base throughout the 1990s and In 2000, Navision Software merged with the Danish software company Damgaard A/S to form NavisionDamgaard A/S.
Shortly after the merger, Microsoft expressed interest in acquiring NavisionDamgaard to bolster its position in the ERP market. Microsoft’s acquisition was completed in 2002 for a reported $1.3 billion, and the Navision product line was rebranded as Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
Jesper Balser continued to work for the company for several years, serving as Vice President of Business Development within Microsoft’s Business Solutions software department. Henrik Lykkegaard left in 2000, but remained active in the Danish business community as an investor and advisor thanks to the profitable Microsoft buyout.
For years, Microsoft Dynamics NAV was a popular choice for businesses. Dynamics NAV includes more functionality than typical entry-level accounting systems. Core processes include financial management, business intelligence and reporting, procurement, inventory, field service management, supply chain management, and project and job accounting.
In its day was comprehensive enough to support continued long-term growth to manage multiple companies or units.
However, On the 10th January 2023 Microsoft has announced that it is de-supporting Dynamics NAV, and will no longer provide updates, bug fixes, or security patches beyond certain dates for specific versions of the software. This has left many businesses wondering why Microsoft is making this decision.
The reason behind Microsoft's decision is to focus on newer versions of the software, such as Dynamics 365 Business Central, which is the cloud-based successor to Dynamics NAV. Dynamics 365 Business Central offers a modern and flexible platform that is better suited to the evolving needs of businesses today.
Here are the dates for the end of support for various versions of Dynamics NAV:
- Dynamics NAV 2009: Jan 14, 2020
- Dynamics NAV 2013: Jan 10, 2023
- Dynamics NAV 2015: Jan 14, 2025
- Dynamics NAV 2016: Apr 14, 2026
- Dynamics NAV 2017: Jan 11, 2027
- Dynamics NAV 2018: Jan 11, 2028
After these dates, Microsoft will no longer provide support, which means that businesses using these versions of Dynamics NAV will be more susceptible to security risks and other issues.
If you're currently using one of these versions of Dynamics NAV, it's essential to start planning for a migration to a newer cloud-based accounting solution such as bluQube. While this may seem like a daunting task, it's important to remember that a modern solution can offer significant benefits over an outdated one. At bluQube our migration has a fixed price, fixed timescale and comes with superior support as standard.
Once you’ve migrated to a modern finance system, invoices are processed faster, Reports are produced faster and in the end, your business finances will run more smoothly and efficiently.
The de-supporting of Dynamics NAV is a significant change for businesses that have relied on the software for years, but clearly it's a necessary step.
Microsoft have a habit of holding on to dated software and if they want to continue to innovate and provide solutions that meet the needs of businesses today, they need to look to the future, and that’s not in Dynamics Nav.
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