Dynamics NAV, GP Come to Azure

Partners may deploy Dynamics NAV 2013 or Dynamics GP 2013 systems for customers on Microsoft’s Windows Azure public cloud platform. Dynamics NAV and GP are Microsoft’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications for midsize organizations. Azure hosting could speed deployment of these applications and expand the set of partners who offer them as a service, and the project might yield guidance for other Azure customers and developers. However, Azure limits customers’ deployment options for the applications’ desktop components, and customers will need partners for deployment and support.

Microsoft-Hosted, Partner-Deployed

When deployed on Azure, the Dynamics NAV and GP applications and their supporting SQL Server instances run in Windows Azure Virtual Machines, inside a Windows Azure Virtual Network that secures connections between Azure and the customer’s premises. Microsoft does not deploy the applications to Azure for the customer or support them. Deployment must be done by a Dynamics partner or the customer. Support for production systems is only available through an authorized Dynamics partner, who must maintain the OS and database software as well as the application software, essentially using Azure for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). This contrasts with Dynamics CRM Online, a multitenant Software as a Service (SaaS) offering where Microsoft maintains and supports the application, database software, and OS. (Currently Dynamics AX, Microsoft’s ERP application for large organizations, is not available hosted by Microsoft in any form, nor is the Dynamics SL ERP application for project-based businesses.)