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Microsoft to end NAV 2018

Microsoft announces the end of mainstream support for Dynamics NAV 2018.


After 37 years of history, and according to the manufacturer's schedule, the NAV support service has been discontinued. This brings to an end a long saga that began in Denmark in 1987.



 

I have NAV 2018, how will it affect me? What is this "mainstream support"?


As you can see in the following link, Microsoft contemplates 2 dates for the end of support for the 2018 version: 
     - Mainstream Support: 10 January 2023
     - Extended End Date: 11 January 2028


Most Microsoft products have a lifecycle, beginning with a product's release and ending when Microsoft no longer supports the product.

A typical lifecycle lasts about 10 years and is split between Mainstream Support and Extended Support. An exception to this is Office 2019 which has an Extended Support of only 2 years. Our Compatibility Charts show the Extended Support end date for current versions of Microsoft Windows and Office.

Mainstream Support
Mainstream Support is usually in effect for the first 5 years or so of a product's life. During Mainstream Support, Microsoft provides new releases, updates, services packs, builds, fixes, and patches in order to enhance a product's security and reliability, close vulnerabilities, and fix problems.

Microsoft also provides non-security updates that enhance a product's design or functionality, accepts requests for feature or design change, and honors warranty claims.

Support channels and lengths vary, but much of the free technical support is self-help via Microsoft's online knowledge base. Diagnostic tools may be available for some products, and paid support providing more extensive help is an option.


Extended Support
Extended Support typically lasts about 5 years after the end of Mainstream Support. During Extended Support, Microsoft continues to provide security and reliability updates, and bug fixes, but non-security updates are not provided without a paid support agreement.

During Extended Support, Microsoft does not accept requests for new features or product design changes, or honor warranty claims.

Online self-help via Microsoft's knowledge base is available for at least 12 months after Extended Support has ended for a product. Paid support is available.
 

What should I do now?

First of all, don't panic!!! Dynamics NAV 2018 is a good product, you just have to keep in mind that Microsoft will not develop new features for this version. This means that some major updates related to for example, new tax regulations, may not be published for your version. Meanwhile Dynasoft will continue providing the service by adapting the update to NAV 2018, but it will not be covered by the yearly maintenance fee (known as BREP).
 

Next Steps:

  1. 1. Contact your Dynasoft team to analyse your current situation. A migration is always a complex and tricky process.
  2. 2. Reserve a budget line for the migration: complex and tricky is often related to expensive. It takes between 120 and 200 hours to perform the whole job in a regular NAV Enviroment. It can reach up to 1000 hours in highly customized instances.
  3. 3. Mark a date in your calendar, you will have to allocate some of your time to help us make sure no customization gets lost along the way.
  4. 4. KEEP CALM, , we have performed over 50 migrations in the last 2 years so you are in good hands!!

For futher information, please contact us.

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