For decades, Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Great Plains (GP) have been the backbone of the Chicago mid-market. From the manufacturing hubs in Elk Grove Village to the professional service firms in the Loop, these systems provided the stability needed to manage complex finances and supply chains. However, the landscape is shifting.
As we move through 2026, the term “End of Life” (EOL) is no longer a distant warning, It is a current reality. Microsoft is pivotally shifting its resources, security updates, and innovative energy toward the cloud. While Dynamics GP has a longer “Mainstream” runway until 2029, the year 2026 marks a major closing of doors for new sales and a sunset for several popular NAV versions. For Chicago SMBs still tethered to on-premise servers, the clock is ticking. This guide is designed to help you navigate the transition without disrupting your daily operations.
Understanding the 2026 Milestone: What Does ‘End of Life’ Really Mean?
When an ERP system reaches its end of life or end of support, it doesn’t simply disappear from your server. Instead, it becomes a “legacy” system. While the software may still launch, the ecosystem supporting it vanishes. In 2026, we are seeing a significant squeeze:
- Termination of Support for Key Versions: Versions like Dynamics NAV 2016 reach the end of their Extended Support in April 2026. This means zero security updates from Microsoft moving forward.
- Sales Restrictions: As of April 1, 2026, Microsoft is officially ending the sale of new subscription licenses for Dynamics GP to new customers. The door is closing on the ability to even start with these older frameworks.
- Lack of Compliance: Tax laws, payroll regulations, and GAAP standards change every year. Legacy systems eventually stop receiving these updates, forcing your accounting team into high-risk manual adjustments.
- The Talent Gap: It is becoming increasingly difficult to find IT professionals who specialize in C/AL (NAV’s coding language) or Dexterity (GP’s language). The new generation of talent is focused on the cloud.
If you are still weighing your options, our previous deep dive on modernizing legacy software explains why the transition is more of an opportunity than a chore.
Step 1: The Audit – Mapping Your Current Customizations
The biggest mistake Chicago businesses make during a migration is trying to “lift and shift.” Your NAV or GP instance has likely been customized over 10 or 15 years. Some of those customizations are vital; others are obsolete.
Before looking at new software, document every manual workaround your team currently uses. Are you exporting data to Excel just to run a basic report? That’s a sign that your current system is failing you. Modern solutions like Business Performance Analytics can now handle these tasks natively, eliminating the need for messy third-party add-ons.
Step 2: Choose Your Destination (Hint: It’s Business Central)
For NAV and GP users, the logical successor is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC). Why? Because it offers a familiar logic but with 2026-grade technology.
Unlike the static nature of GP, Business Central is an “evergreen” platform. This means you never have to perform a “big bang” upgrade again. The system updates itself in the background, much like your smartphone. Furthermore, for those in the local manufacturing sector, adopting Business Central in Chicago has become the standard for staying competitive in a high-cost market.
Step 3: Data Clean-Up – The “Don’t Pack the Junk” Rule
When moving to a new house, you don’t pack the trash from the garage. The same applies to your ERP. Most GP and NAV databases are cluttered with ten-year-old vendor records and closed purchase orders.
- Determine what to migrate: Most experts recommend two years of detailed history and opening balances.
- Archive the rest: Keep your old NAV/GP server as a read-only archive for compliance, but start your new journey in Business Central with a clean, fast database.
Step 4: Embrace the 2026 Advantage (AI & Automation)
The real reason to move now isn’t just about avoiding a “sunset” date; it’s about gaining a competitive edge. Business Central v26 and the 2026 release waves have introduced features that NAV and GP could never dream of.
We are now seeing the rise of Agentic ERP, where autonomous AI agents handle bank reconciliations and collections. By staying on a legacy system, you are essentially asking your employees to work with one hand tied behind their backs while your competitors use AI to automate their approval workflows.
Step 5: Partnering for a Smooth Landing
A migration of this scale is not a DIY project for your internal IT person. It requires a partner who understands the bridge between the old “On-Premise” world and the new “Cloud” world.
The transition involves:
- Permission Mapping: Redefining who can see what in a cloud environment.
- Integration: Ensuring your CRM, Shopify store, or proprietary warehouse software talks to the new system.
- Training: Helping your Chicago-based team overcome the “this isn’t how we used to do it in GP” hurdle.
Conclusion: The Cost of Inaction
In the Chicago business community, we pride ourselves on resilience and “The City That Works” mentality. But working hard shouldn’t mean working on broken systems. Every month you stay on a legacy NAV or GP platform, you incur “hidden costs”, the cost of manual entry, the cost of server maintenance, and the opportunity cost of not having real-time data.
With the 2026 deadlines approaching, Especially the end of NAV 2016 support and the new GP licensing restrictions. The window for a stress-free migration is narrowing. By acting now, you can turn a forced migration into a strategic upgrade that powers your business for the next decade.
Ready to Secure Your Future?
Don’t wait for the server to fail or the support to end. Let our Chicago-based experts help you map out a seamless transition from NAV/GP to the cloud.
Contact Avion Technology for your ERP Migration Roadmap today.
