Many finance and operations teams have to work around a legacy ERP or CRM system’s limitations, while revenue teams may be slow to integrate new tools and adapt to new models. That is because traditional customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems aren’t keeping up with the evolving business world.
Fortunately, Microsoft Dynamics 365 data migration offers an escape for organizations still relying on outdated platforms. Data migration to Dynamics 365 might be daunting, but this cloud-based ERP and CRM in one beats the status quo hands down.
Use this guide to understand the entire Microsoft Dynamics 365 data migration process, from initial planning to execution and post-migration optimization. Learn to migrate to Dynamics 365 with our experts’ insights on best practices, challenges, and cost considerations.
Benefits of migrating to Dynamics 365 for businesses
Microsoft Dynamics 365 migration offers overwhelming advantages over legacy on-premises solutions, including:
- Seamless integration with the Microsoft ecosystem: Dynamics 365 plugs right into Office 365, Power BI, Azure, and other Microsoft applications.
- Familiar user-friendly interface: Users familiar with Microsoft will feel at home with interfaces that have the look and feel of Excel, Word, Teams, and Outlook.
- AI-driven insights and automation: While AI capabilities are getting more common, Dynamics 365 is the only platform with Microsoft Copilot built in to deliver analysis, automation, and decision support based on your ERP and CRM data.
- Modular, scalable architecture: Microsoft’s modular subscription model reduces costs and makes it easy to scale as your organization’s needs evolve. IDC forecasts that by 2027, 75% of global businesses will start trading traditional monolithic ERP systems for modular solutions.
- All the benefits of moving to the cloud: Eliminate the cost of on-premise infrastructure and enjoy automatic updates, robust security measures, and the flexibility to access your systems from anywhere.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 migration strategy
Since moving to a new ERP or CRM is a significant infrastructure change, Microsoft Dynamics 365 data migration requires careful planning to avoid disruptions and maximize ROI. A structured approach will help you keep your project on track for long-term success.
Assessing internal resources and expertise
Before starting your Dynamics ERP data migration or CRM data migration, evaluate your organization’s needs and available resources. Migration complexity varies based on factors like company size, data volume, and existing systems. At Intellias, we find projects typically fall into three categories when it comes to Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementation:
- End-to-end implementation: Full solution design and deployment services.
- Solution enhancement: Supporting your team’s solution design or extending an existing implementation.
- Rescue and recovery: Consulting to help with stalled or incomplete projects.
Project management and timelines
A well-defined roadmap will keep your migration on schedule. Typical phases include:
- Planning: Assessing your current system, defining goals, and identifying risks.
- Implementation: Data migration to Dynamics 365, configuring the system, and integrating applications.
- Testing and validation: Running system checks and user acceptance testing.
- Go-live and optimization: Deploying Dynamics 365, monitoring performance, and fine-tuning processes.
Integrating with other systems
Since Dynamics 365 is made by Microsoft, CRM data migration and ERP data migration will both be the most straightforward for Microsoft implementation partners. Dynamics 365 is made to connect with Office 365, Teams, and Power BI. You may need APIs and middleware to connect to third-party systems. If you’re migrating in phases, integration with your legacy systems will also be critical.
Sometimes, legacy systems won’t gather all the data Dynamics 365 needs for analysis. In addition to deduplicating data and checking its integrity, you will need to test that legacy data is complete enough for compatibility with Dynamics 365. If not, ensuring completeness may require manual data input.
User training and adoption
The business value of your new system is proportional to end users’ ability to use it efficiently. Build change management into your strategy. When you bring stakeholders along the journey for your Dynamics ERP data migration or CRM data migration, they’ll be ready to hit the ground running.
A benefit of working with Intellias is that we’re more than a migration company. Our Dynamics 365 experts help you make the most of your new platform with training sessions and ongoing managed support services.
Risk management and contingency planning
To minimize business disruptions during and after Microsoft ERP data migration or CRM data migration, address key risks up front:
- Ensure data quality and integrity: Cleanse, deduplicate, and validate data before migration.
- Avoid downtime: Use phased rollouts or sandbox testing.
- Build in scalability: Design your setup to support future growth.
With the right plan, you can transition smoothly and unlock all the advantages of Dynamics 365.
Planning your Microsoft Dynamics 365 migration
How will Dynamics 365 support your organization’s business operations? Lay the foundation for success by assessing current systems, defining goals, and choosing the right approach.
Assessing existing data and systems
Conduct a thorough audit of your existing data and systems to identify redundant, outdated, or inconsistent data. Cleanse your data thoroughly to prevent post-migration issues. Also evaluate system dependencies to ensure seamless integration with Dynamics 365.
Defining project goals and KPIs: selecting your Target Operating Model
Migrating to a new ERP or CRM is an opportunity to optimize business operations. To maximize the Dynamic 365’s benefits, define a Target Operating Model (TOM) that aligns the new system with business objectives and workflows.
A well-defined TOM determines how to balance people, processes, and systems to achieve your goals. Use it to set key performance indicators (KPIs) for migration success, including:
- Efficiency gains such as reduction in manual data entry, reporting accuracy, decision-making speed, and process automation rates.
- System adoption metrics such as user engagement and training completion rates
- Integration success with business applications.
For a medical and beauty retailer, establishing the right goals ensured a smooth migration of financial processes to Dynamics 365. They successfully reduced inefficiencies and improved financial reporting speed and accuracy without interrupting existing systems. The finance organization had defined those operational goals in their TOM before migration.
Choosing the right migration approach: big bang vs. phased
Dynamics ERP/CRM data migration generally takes one of two migration approaches:
|
|
Pros |
Cons |
|---|---|---|
|
Big bang migration |
• Minimizes transition period
• Project team can focus on one phase at a time • One-time change management |
• Bugs get exposed to everyone
• Project team must satisfy all stakeholders at once • Higher risk of disruption |
|
Phased migration |
• Reduced risk of disruption
• Additional time to prepare for change management • Ability to target early adopters who will forgive initial bugs |
• Longer resource-intensive go-live phase
• Project team splits attention across user groups • Additional cost to keep old system running in parallel |
There is no simple rubric for choosing your approach. Weigh factors including business complexity, risk tolerance, and resource availability.
Stakeholder involvement and risk mitigation strategies
Migration success depends on buy-in from key stakeholders. Engage leadership, IT teams, and end users early to ensure alignment. Conduct risk assessments to anticipate potential challenges, such as:
- Data loss or corruption: Implement rigorous backup and validation procedures.
- User resistance to change: Provide comprehensive training and change management support.
- Downtime risks: Use sandbox environments for testing before going live.
Key risks and how to mitigate them
A poorly planned Dynamics 365 migration may encounter misalignment, inefficiencies, and challenges. Here’s what could go wrong, and how to prevent it:
- Misalignment of system capabilities and business goals: Clearly map the system’s capabilities to your business goals and define how Dynamics 365 will support core workflows and functionalities.
- Poor user adoption: Tailor training programs to specific user groups. Employees who understand how Dynamics 365 works will be more eager to adopt it, and have more patience for the learning curve.
- Integration challenges: Define your integration strategy early by mapping out how Dynamics 365 connects with legacy systems and third-party applications. Address data compatibility issues by ensuring that data is cleansed and validated before migration.
- Scope creep and budget overruns: Use your TOM to clarify project goals and boundaries during the planning process. Develop a roadmap that outlines critical deliverables to keep the project focused on key priorities.
- Scalability issues: Design the system to support expansion based on your business’s projected growth. Plan to accommodate future needs without requiring significant changes.
Step-by-step data migration process in Dynamics 365
A well-planned ERP/CRM data migration follows set stages. This structured approach will minimize risks, protect data integrity, and ensure business continuity.
Preparing for data migration
One of the most important best practices for Dynamics 365 data migration is ensuring clean, structured, and relevant data before migration begins. Putting your data in order will reduce complications down the line.
- Evaluating data: Retain only relevant records, archiving historical data that is no longer useful, and align datasets with Dynamics 365’s structure.
- Cleaning and deduplicating data: This step standardizes formats, corrects inconsistencies, and eliminates duplicates to prevent errors in reporting and automation.
- Ensuring compatibility: Mapping data fields between legacy systems and Dynamics 365 will avoid gaps where required fields are missing. Validating system dependencies will also prevent disruptions.
Step-by-step migration execution
Unfortunately, there is no single data migration tool; Dynamics 365 migration will take a variety of tools and processes.
- Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) process: Pulling data from legacy systems, transforming it for Dynamics 365’s data model, and loading it into the new system. Depending on the complexity of your data migration to Dynamics 365, this step can involve using Microsoft’s Data Migration Framework, Azure Data Factory, and third-party tools.
- Data validation strategies: Running pre-migration tests to identify inconsistencies, conducting sample data imports, and verifying record integrity before full deployment.
- Minimizing system downtime: Using sandbox environments for testing, scheduling migration in low-activity periods, and employing a phased rollout for complex implementations.
Common migration challenges and how to overcome them
Even with careful planning, Microsoft ERP/CRM data migration can present serious challenges. Here’s what to anticipate and how to overcome:
- Data loss risks: Your customer data is precious. Reduce the potential for damage with rigorous backup and validation procedures before migration. Check critical business data with automated data reconciliation tools.
- System downtime: The phased rollout strategy reduces the risk of downtime by letting teams validate data and functionality incrementally. Even with a big bang rollout, you can minimize disruption by scheduling migration during a low-activity period.
- User adoption hurdles: Time implementation with business cycles to reduce overwhelm. and provide role-specific training. Assigning internal champions or superusers early on will help build buy-in.
Effective data migration equals efficiency gains
Done right, Microsoft Dynamics 365 fuels efficiency with next-level visibility into enterprise-wide activity. A retail company migrating its finance processes to Dynamics 365 achieved 50% faster reporting with seamless integration.
Post-migration optimization and support
Successfully migrating to Microsoft Dynamics 365 is just the beginning. Getting the most out of your system takes additional steps and long-term support.
Testing and validating the new system
Even with careful migration, discrepancies can emerge after go-live. Avoid problems by:
- Running data reconciliation checks to verify accuracy between legacy and new systems.
- Conducting user acceptance testing (UAT) to confirm workflows align with business needs.
- Monitoring system performance to detect inefficiencies or unexpected behavior.
An Intellias retail client discovered inconsistencies in financial reporting post-migration. This turned out to be caused by missing data fields. A structured validation process identified the source of the problem in a legacy system and resolved the issue before it impacted operations.
Performance tuning and enhancements
Fine-tuning Dynamics 365 can unlock additional potential by:
- Adjusting workflows to eliminate bottlenecks and improve efficiency.
- Optimizing integrations with external systems to achieve seamless data exchange.
- Leveraging AI-driven analytics to enhance decision-making and automation.
Ongoing support and system monitoring
Your IT team—or Intellias as your ongoing managed support services provider—will dedicate time and attention to maintaining your Dynamic 365 system’s integrity and driving continuous improvement as your business needs evolve.
Best practices include:
- Implementing proactive monitoring and security updates to minimize risks
- Providing user support and training to improve adoption and efficiency
- Reviewing usage to identify enhancement opportunities
It was great working with Intellias. They were always able to deliver on what they promised and bring the right, high-quality developers on board. Even in harder phases of the projects, the developers worked tirelessly to deliver on the deadline and initially we were able to meet it. The best part of the experience was probably the fact that the developers were truly seen as part of the team and we worked long-term together.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 migration tools and resources
Given how much your business will depend on Dynamics, CRM migration to Dynamics 365 is an involved process. Microsoft offers several enterprise-grade migration tools, and third-party solutions provide additional flexibility for unique requirements.
Microsoft-native migration tools
Microsoft provides tools within its ecosystem to cater to various levels of complexity, data sources, and data volumes:
- Configuration Migration tool: Moves your configuration data, such as settings, workflows, and security roles, from one environment to another, provided they’re running identical versions of Customer Insights – Journeys
- Import Data Wizard: Simplifies the process of importing bulk data into Dynamics 365 with minimal manual configuration.
- Data Migration Assistant: Assists with legacy system migration to Dynamics 365 by ensuring compatibility and performance while moving your schema, data, and uncontained objects to Dynamics.
- Azure Data Factory: Supports ETL and ELT for hybrid and multi-cloud scenarios, automation, real-time processing for large-scale migrations and cloud-to-cloud data movement.
Third-party migration solutions
Depending on your data architecture and business-specific needs, you might also consider third-party data migration tools, including:
- KingswaySoft’s SSIS Integration Toolkit: Integrates with SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) to facilitate data migration and integration tasks.
- TIBCO’s Scribe Insight: A flexible and scalable cloud-based solution for data migration and integration.
- eOne’s SmartConnect: Simplifies integrations between Dynamics 365 and external applications.
Choosing the right tool for your migration
When choosing tools for your Dynamics ERP migration or CRM migration, you’ll need to consider a number of factors:
- Data volume: How much data are you migrating?
- Migration approach: How much data are you moving at a time?
- Timeline: How quickly do you need to move that data?
- System complexity: Which tools best support the architecture of your source systems?
- Customization needs: How much control do you need over data mapping?
- Up-front costs: Are the tools included with your Microsoft license, or do they require additional investment?
- Total Cost of Ownership: Are you setting yourself up for additional costs in the future?
Microsoft’s tools will be sufficient for many Microsoft Dynamics 365 implementations. Third-party solutions may offer more control for diverse data sources or highly customized workflows. A qualified Microsoft implementation partner can help you determine what’s best suited to your situation.
Best practices for successful migration to Dynamics 365
At Intellias, we know that technology alone doesn’t guarantee success—people do. Our team supports yours in whatever capacity you need, delivering smoother transitions with lower risk and faster ROI. We’ve refined our approach based on more than 20 years of real-world experience.
Here’s what we find sets a successful Dynamics 365 migration apart:
1. Aligning migration with business goals
- Defining a Target Operating Model (TOM) to ensure Dynamics 365 aligns with business objectives.
- Setting KPIs for success, such as process automation rates, reporting accuracy, or system adoption.
- Engaging key stakeholders early to align IT and business priorities.
2. Ensuring data readiness and integrity
- Running data audits and cleansing efforts early prevents errors post-migration.
- Using automated validation tools reduces data integrity issues.
- Mapping legacy data fields to Dynamics 365 ensures compatibility.
3. Structuring the migration for minimal disruption
- Choosing the right approach (big bang vs. phased migration) based on business needs.
- Implementing sandbox testing before go-live to catch issues early.
- Scheduling migrations during low-impact periods to reduce operational risk.
4. Driving user adoption and long-term success
- Embedding change management into the process helps ease adoption.
- Providing customized training ensures employees can use Dynamics 365 effectively.
- Offering ongoing managed support helps businesses maximize their investment.
Intellias has serious technical capability and really understands how to build things well and efficiently. But more importantly, they can join the dots between technology and business value.
Cost considerations for Microsoft Dynamics 365 migration
Given the many variables involved in every Microsoft Dynamics 365 instance, costs vary widely. Your cost for migrating to Dynamics 365 will depend on factors including system and data complexity and support needs.
Breaking down the costs
- Migration services: Working with a migration company adds up-front costs, but a smooth integration will save costs in the long run. Implementation costs vary based on the complexity of data migration, integrations, and customizations. A straightforward Dynamics CRM data migration will cost less than a multi-system ERP migration with a parallel legacy system.
- Licensing and subscriptions: Since Dynamics 365 is a SaaS product, you will need to factor in ongoing subscription fees. Fortunately, Dynamics 365 is modular so you only have to license the modules you need. Pay attention to contract options, from 1-year subscriptions paid monthly or annually to longer 24-month and 36-month subscriptions.
- Customization and development: Some businesses can work with out-of-the-box Dynamics 365 features, while others require custom development, which adds to the cost.
- Training and onboarding: Your new system will only help the business if relevant employees know how to use it. Training programs, documentation, and onboarding sessions for teams to get up to speed will add to costs.
- Ongoing support and maintenance: Managed services help you handle system updates, troubleshooting, and optimizations after implementation.
Keeping costs under control
- Start with a clear migration plan: Defining business goals and requirements upfront prevents scope creep and unnecessary spending.
- Work with an experienced migration team: Going it alone can divert important resources from other projects, cause delays, and keep you from getting the most out of your new tool. Work with Microsoft Dynamics 365 experts to build a more optimal solution, implement it faster, and start seeing ROI sooner.
- Do more training in-house: Intellias’s “train the trainer” model helps you onboard quickly and cost-effectively. We focus on training your line managers, who can then disseminate training in-house.
- Purchase through a trusted Microsoft reseller: Intellias works with approved relicensing suppliers who purchase bulk licenses and pass the savings on to our customers.
- Share managed support service costs: While dedicated support can be faster, we also offer a more cost-effective option. We cross-training our support teams to provide support for multiple companies so you can share the cost of ongoing support.
Key takeaways for a successful Dynamics 365 migration
Whether you’re still considering options or you’ve decided to migrate to Dynamics 365, you now have the key takeaways from our experts:
- [Planning] Start with a clear strategy Defining your Target Operating Model (TOM) will ensure Dynamics 365 aligns with business goals from day one.
- [Preparation] Prepare your data carefully Cleaning, mapping, and validating data before migration prevents errors and speeds up implementation.
- [Migration] Choose the right migration approach: Whether you opt for a big bang or phased migration, structuring the transition to minimize disruptions is key.
- [Validation] Verify and fine-tune Perform data integrity checks to verify everything works as intended, then start optimizing to perfect your new platform.
- [Training] Invest in training and support Employees need the right tools and guidance to fully leverage Dynamics 365’s capabilities.
- [Managed Services] Think beyond go-live Continuous monitoring, system tuning, and ongoing support will help you get the most from your investment.
Cloud migration to Dynamics 365 is in reach. It just takes careful planning, a well-defined strategy, and the right expertise. If you’re ready to get started, reach out to our experts today.
