Business Central On-premise vs Cloud (SaaS)

Recently featured in a blog by Roberto Stefanetti (Dynamics 365 Business Central MVP, blogger and author) if you’re weighing up the pros and cons of both Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central On-premise and the Cloud (SaaS), look no further than his Business Central battle cards.

Follow Roberto on Twitter here to find all of his great posts.

Aiding your businesses growth and allowing you to stay ahead of the curve, although Business Central is generally thought of as cloud-based, it can also be paired with Office 365 and other Dynamics 365 products for a fully integrated incidence.

Providing a side-by-side comparison, you can quickly and easily see what’s featured, or in fact not featured, to help you make an informed decision as to which one to go for.

Business Central Pros and Cons

With the October release of Dynamics Business Central fast approaching (1st October), the following pros and cons, sometimes also called battle cards, are based on the current version (as of September 2019).

You can find out what’s expected in the release here. But for the time being, we’ll focus the pros and cons on what’s available today.

Feature	On-Premise	Cloud
Environment	On Local, on Hosting (Azure) etc., ALL system is under control. You need Hardware or Hosting	NO Hardware. Cloud (SaaS) is on Microsoft Public Cloud. The environment is managed by Microsoft, you can only access a management console (Admin Console) to create copies and backups of the environment (development and production sandbox).
File System	ALL control, you are local.	No File System, I do not have (to date) access to the system, I only have the request of Business Central.
Project Lifecycle	Limited by updates	Unlimited, always updated
Functionalities	Essentials and Premium	Essentials and Premium
Connection/Internet	Fast, runs on local, persistent connection, not internet dependent.	Internet dependent: If there is no connection or slow, you can’t work, a minimum of bandwidth is necessary.
Installation	Classic DVD distribution and Cumulative updated	Nothing, ready-to go, only access to Business Central instance
Updates	No Automatic Update, installable manually or scheduled by custom procedure. Cumulative updates released and published. (a couple a month + a couple big a year)	Automatic updates allow you to have a constantly updated Cloud product. (a couple a month + a couple big a year)
Performance	You need a IT Manager or Consultant	Scalable, managed by Microsoft (with Support ticket…)
Accessing	Web Client, Universal App, Outlook Client, no more Windows Client	Web Client, Universal App, Outlook Client
SQL Server	NO more SQL Server Runtime- Only SQL Standard or best version.	Not available
Database	Local (Full Access)	Not available
Windows Client	Not available (from October 2019)	Not available
Web Client	Available	Available
Licensing	Nominal (named users)	Nominal (named users)
Dual Use Right (SaaS and On-Premise)	The use can acquire Cloud can download a license for On-premise	Cloud Licensing offer “Dual Right license”
Intelligent Cloud	With relative licenses it is possible to connect to the cloud via Business Central, you can view the same information from in Cloud and on local.
Scalability	Classic local environment, buy other server and resources or expand your system.	Business Central is hosted by Microsoft, on Azure in Public Cloud (Single-SignOn with Active Directory) Multi-tenant database, architecture based only on events and extensions (APP) – No system engineer is needed
Cost	May be more expensive than Cloud. Virus, Backup etc. System engineer is needed.	May be convenient (scalability) and utilization plan. Only at a monthly fee, cost scenarios can be made. No Virus, no system hacks, backup, accessible from anywhere with web client, nothing is installed, system always on.
Connectors (Flow, Power BI, PowerApps)	Connectors, you will configure Proxy, Endpoints etc. to connect to other apps and Web Services. You need activate SSL for secure connection.	Secure by Design (SSL native). A lot of Connectors ready-to go for Cloud. Only one-usernamepassword to connect everything. Web Services ready to go after publishing.
Development	Only Microsoft AL & VS Code You need a developer license to develop	Only Microsoft AL & VS Code No development license is needed to develop
App Only	Development with APP	Development with APP
Debug	Available in Production Environment	Not available in production, only in Sandboxes
Table Objects		You can’t delete data from some tables

Business Benefits Of Dynamics Central

Streamlining processes, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a comprehensive business management solution for small to medium-sized businesses.

It has many business benefits and advantages, from increasing your financial visibility (allowing you to make more informed decisions from your connected data), to optimising your supply chain and boosting sales.

Dynamics Business Central is highly adaptable, and can even help you deliver projects on time and under budget when using jobs and resources functionality, all the while remaining GDPR compliant.

Another advantage of Business Central is making it easier to run your business through mobile apps. Whichever way you choose to host your version of Business Central, TVision can help you implement, manage and maintain your finances.

For more information on the many advantages Dynamics Business Central and how we can help you, get in touch with one of our experienced team.