Microsoft 365 Business Center was originally developed and sold in Europe before being introduced to North America in the late 1990’s. It is a complete ERP software solution for small to mid-sized organizations that is touted to be fast to implement, easy to configure and simple to use.

This system is especially appealing to businesses that need a flexible and adaptable system with customization capabilities. However, once any significant customization has been done, the software can be very expensive to maintain. Microsoft 365 Business Center also appeals to organizations that need to do extensive inquiries and research of orders, inventory, accounting and financial transactions for small manufacturing, etc. The speed and ease with which a user can “drill down” is amazing. Data can be easily filtered and analyzed in almost unlimited ways.

Microsoft 365 Business Center is an excellent solution for financial accounting and distribution. It also is a suitable ERP software product for light or straightforward repetitive manufacturing. But manufacturers will usually need third-party applications to meet more complex requirements involving engineer to order/configure to order or batch. Users who are familiar with Microsoft Office will find Microsoft 365 Business Center easy to learn, and will be able to quickly take advantage of its many flexible features. Input, processing and inquiry screens are consistent throughout the system.

Enhancements for 2018 include deeper integration of Dynamics NAV and Microsoft products by connecting them with each other in the same business environment such as Dynamics 365 applications, PowerApps, Flow, Office 365, Power BI, and third-party applications. The addition of Microsoft’s Cognitive services uses advanced algorithms to amalgamate artificial intelligence into their applications. An additional enhancement is the ability to import payroll transaction files in the Quickbooks IIF format by installing the Quickbooks Payroll File Import extension.