Conexionline 2018 | Keynote Marko Perisic, General Manager of Microsoft Dynamics 365

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Following the last post we published about the keynote by Magnus Norddahl , CEO of LS Retail, the most anticipated speech at coneXionline 2018 was that of Marko Perisic, General Manager of Microsoft Dynamics 365, in which he revealed the joint plans of Microsoft and LS Retail for the future.

As you may know, Microsoft announced during the last few months the most anticipated news about the future of the popular ERP software package Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Dynamics NAV 2018, on-premise, was released in late 2017 . Its new cloud-based version, Dynamics 365 Business Central, was released in spring 2018 .

Following the Dynamics NAV release schedule, LS Retail NAV will soon be available in two versions as well :

LS NAV 2018
LS Nav 2018, released in January 2018, employs the same technology and architect database code as LS NAV 2017 (which will be supported until the end of 2021). LS Nav 2018 also supports Events and Extensions technology , which allows third parties to easily add and maintain their customizations to the system . This will also allow for the constant addition of new functionality and delivery of new updates to LS Nav 2018 until the end of 2019. Furthermore, the system will be supported until the end of 2022.

LS NAV 365
LS Nav 365 (in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central) is expected in fall 2018. LS Nav 365 will be fully integrated with other products in the Microsoft stack – meaning it will be able to work with products such as Office 365, Power BI , PowerApps , Cortana, and more. Customers will have the option to run the system on-premises as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) in the cloud, or on Dynamics 365 as a hybrid solution .

This is great news for all retailers who are interested in LS Nav 365, but are currently using or planning to implement LS Nav 2018, as well as for retailers who do not want to wait until fall 2018 to upgrade their management system.

The hybrid plan
LS Nav 365 can also be deployed as a hybrid solution , i.e. a combination of on-premises and cloud-based applications in the same IT environment . Although not all retailers are already familiar with it, the hybrid cloud promises to be the next big thing in IT. Research firm Gartner predicts that by 2020, cloud usage will be primarily hybrid .

A hybrid model provides the ability to choose how and to what extent you want to rely on cloud-based services . A hybrid model allows even companies that cannot rely on a stable network connection to take advantage of the innovation taking place in the cloud . At the same time, hybrid solutions are also ideal for companies that want to preserve their on-premises investments and want to innovate while maintaining a cautious approach .

At ARBENTIA we believe that the launch of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central fits very well with the hybrid vision of the future shared by LS Retail , a solution of which we are official distributors. We believe that, in the future, retailers will increasingly use a combination of cloud-based and on-premise systems, all without sacrificing speed, flexibility or functionality.