Many organisations assume that cloud ERP removes the need for IT infrastructure involvement. The reality is more nuanced and more important than ever.
“It’s all in the cloud now, so our Infrastructure team doesn’t need to be involved.”
We hear this a lot from clients making the shift from on-premises Dynamics GP to cloud-based Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. On the surface, it sounds reasonable. No more physical servers. No database backups to manage. No VPNs or remote desktop sessions.
But here's the catch. Cloud ERP doesn't eliminate the role of infrastructure. It just changes it.
And ignoring that shift can lead to security blind spots, failed integrations, and frustrated end users.
It’s not ‘no infrastructure’. It’s different infrastructure
When organisations move to the cloud, the infrastructure moves too. But it doesn’t vanish. Instead of on-site servers, you’re now relying on Azure services, Microsoft 365, cloud identity, and network routing to deliver secure, stable ERP access.
Here’s where Infrastructure teams still play a vital role:
- Identity and Access Management. Business Central is tightly integrated with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD). Ensuring correct identity provisioning and conditional access policies is critical.
- Security and Compliance. Managing secure access, MFA enforcement, device compliance, and logging remains an infrastructure responsibility.
- Network Configuration. Your ERP’s performance can still be affected by latency, DNS resolution, firewall settings, and endpoint configurations.
- Device Management. Business Central usage on mobile devices, laptops, and kiosks may still require endpoint policies and device support frameworks.
- Integration Gateways. You may still need to connect to on-premise systems such as warehousing or legacy financials, which means planning for hybrid connectivity and secure API access.
Rather than stepping back, your Infrastructure team needs to be re-engaged with a new lens.
The real shift: From owning servers to owning outcomes
Imagine you’ve moved into a smart home. The air-conditioning, lighting, and garage door systems are all now managed remotely. There’s no air-con remote, no need to replace lightbulbs, and no fuse box to fiddle with, but when the temperature’s wrong, the lights aren’t syncing with your app, or someone’s locked out, who do you call?
You still need someone who understands how the systems work together. Someone who knows the blueprint, the connections, and the controls behind the interface.
That’s your Infrastructure team.
In a cloud ERP world, they are not racking servers anymore. They are ensuring secure access, reliable connectivity, device trust, and hybrid system compatibility. They are the ones who can spot when an identity policy is misaligned, when network latency slows down approvals, or when mobile access introduces a compliance risk.
Cloud doesn’t make infrastructure irrelevant. It makes it invisible until something breaks.
ERP in the cloud is still an enterprise system
Just because it lives in the cloud doesn’t mean it’s plug-and-play.
ERP systems like Dynamics 365 Business Central are the foundation for your operations. They impact how you manage finance, supply chain, payroll, reporting, approvals, and more. That makes them a shared responsibility across departments, with Infrastructure playing a key role in that shared ownership.
Ask yourself:
- Who manages user access and data loss prevention across connected systems?
- Who ensures single sign-on works smoothly across Teams, Outlook, and Business Central?
- Who secures the endpoints accessing your financial system?
- Who monitors audit logs for anomalies or potential breaches?
If your Infrastructure team isn’t involved in answering these questions, your ERP migration might be headed for surprises.
Planning a Business Central migration? Bring the whole team
Successful ERP projects aren’t just about selecting the right product. They’re about alignment. Between IT and business. Between the current and future state. Between what’s moving to the cloud and what still needs to be managed on the ground.
That’s why we always recommend engaging Infrastructure teams early in any Business Central project.
This is especially true for Dynamics GP clients transitioning to the cloud.
We’ll help you:
- Map out your hybrid-to-cloud connectivity requirements.
- Ensure Microsoft Entra ID, MFA, and endpoint policies are ready.
- Define roles and responsibilities for access, backup, and recovery.
- Plan for integration, reporting, and security beyond go-live.
Don’t leave it to chance. Involve your infrastructure team now
Moving from Dynamics GP to Business Central is a big step. But it’s not a step away from infrastructure. It’s a step toward modern infrastructure.
Let’s make sure your team is ready.
Book a discovery meeting with our ERP transition specialists today
We’ll walk you through the technical planning, role realignment, and cloud-readiness assessment that sets your project up for success.
Get started at https://www.pa.com.au/gp-to-bc/
