Upgrade or Reimplement?

In this article

Upgrade

Reimplement

You have two options when you are transitioning from an older version of LS NAV or LS Central to a newer one, upgrade or re-implement. Both options have their own set of advantages:

1. Upgrade

   • Upgrading from a recent version of LS Central can be faster and cheaper.
   • Works well if customizations are few and data is organized.
   • Data does not need to re-enter.

2. Reimplement

   • The legacy of old redundant code and data can be removed.
   • A new system runs a lower risk of corruption from potentially inaccurate data than an older system.
   • A new system is usually more flexible and runs faster.

There is a range of factors that you need to consider when you are deciding whether to upgrade or re-implement:

• The version of LS Central.
• The size of the database.
• Extensiveness of customizations.

When it is time to decide whether to undertake an upgrade or re-implementation, our advice is to re-implement if LS Central's version is older than version 14 and has extensive customizations. We suggest you focus mostly on bringing over master records, opening balances, and quantities. Leave behind the legacy of old redundant code, data, and so on.

Before you decide how to upgrade your solution, make sure to read the upgrade considerations in Important Information and Considerations for Before Upgrading to Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Upgrade

Depending on which version you are upgrading from and the degree to which your solution differs from the standard version of LS Central, you may want to prepare your solution for the upgrade.

The process consists of two parts:

1. When upgrading from Dynamics NAV to Business Central, you use the tools described in Upgrading to Business Central on-premises (version 14).
   For more information, see Supported Upgrade Paths to Dynamics 365 Business Central Releases.
2. Convert non-standard functionality and customizations to apps and per-tenant extensions. For more information, see:
   • Event Requests, Extensions, and Verticalizations
   • Deploying a Tenant Customization

If you are upgrading to LS Central SaaS, you run the cloud migration tool as described here.

Reimplement

When doing reimplementation, we suggest you:

• Convert non-standard functionality and customizations to apps and per tenant extensions. For more information, see:
  • Event Requests, Extensions, and Verticalizations
  • Deploying a Tenant Customization

If you are upgrading to LS Central SaaS, you run the cloud migration tool as described here.