For users of Dynamics GP (formely known as Great Plains), an important factor in any decision around Dynamics GP is whether or not your version is still supported by Microsoft.
As Dynamics GP is an on-premise solution where you buy a perpetual license, you create a world where the version you buy is regularly the version you stay on. The reason it is hard to upgrade to future versions is Dynamics GP is regularly heavily customised during implementation and any update to the solution would rewrite any of these customisations. This has resulted in organisations getting stuck on aging technology. Once your version of Dynamics GP goes out of support this opens organisation up to risk.
With Dynamics GP, Microsoft generally offered 5 years of mainstream support for each version from launch and then an additional 5 years of extended support. Mainstream support includes features updates like Making Tax Digital or GDPR updates, these feature updates are normally limited to small adjustments and mandatory changes. Extended support is limited to bug fixes or at-risk security fixes.
When does Dynamics GP go out of support?
| Mainstream support | Extended support | |
| Microsoft Dynamics GP 8.0 | Out of support | Out of support |
| Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0 | Out of support | Out of support |
| Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 | Out of support | Out of support |
| Dynamics GP 2010 | Out of support | 13 October 2020 |
| Dynamics GP 2013 | Out of support | 10 April 2023 |
| Dynamics GP 2015 | 14 April 2020 | 8 April 2025 |
| Dynamics GP 2016 | 13 July 2021 | 14 July 2026 |
| Dynamics GP 2018 | 10 January 2023 | 11 January 2028 |
| Dynamics GP 2018 R2 | 10 January 2023 | 11 January 2028 |
What does this mean for me?
By running a core business application like Dynamics GP, that is out of support this means you are opening your organisation up to the following risks:
- Dealing with change – any change in regulation or tax becomes harder to deal with and will require a fix by your organisation. This extends beyond just external changes, any change within your organisation will normally require a change to your system and with older systems this becomes harder to support.
- Security – when the products are in support any bugs or security gaps are fixed by Microsoft, but once you are out of support any vulnerabilities in the system will not be fixed.
- Missing out – by running a solution that is over 5 years old, your organisation is not using the latest tech and is likely following processes from many years ago. It makes it harder to adapt and improve productivity and this is a risk in terms of competitive advantage.
To discover the actions available to your organisation, download our guide ‘What is next for Dynamics GP?’.