The Pros and Cons of Partner-Led vs In-House Business Central Implementations

Choosing the right implementation approach is a crucial decision that impacts the success of your Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central rollout. While both partner-led and in-house teams have merits, several key factors like business central implementation partners, costs, expertise, customization, and support should guide your decision.

In this detailed article, I’ll share insights from over 10 years of experience to help you weigh the pros and cons of each approach.

Comparing the Costs

Cost is often the first concern examined. At first glance, an in-house implementation seems like the cheaper option. However, once you factor in expenses like training, certifications, dedicated development resources, and the accumulated experience needed, the scales begin to tip in favor of a partner.

For example, I estimated it would cost around $200,000 to build a capable in-house Business Central team for my mid-size manufacturing company. This included salaries, training, certifications, hardware, software, and the significant ramp-up time to develop proficiency.

In contrast, we could bring in an experienced partner for a fixed fee of $120,000. Their team came fully trained and certified, with all the necessary development tools in place. The partner model also provided flexibility to easily scale resources up or down as needed during different phases.

Evaluating the Experience Factor

With over 30,000 customers globally, Dynamics 365 Business Central is feature-rich yet highly complex. Most in-house teams lack the historical knowledge and cross-industry expertise that partners cultivate through years of focused Business Central implementations.

In my case, it was invaluable to have seasoned experts guide us through critical design decisions during the initial rollout and beyond. They brought best practices accumulated from diverse customer engagements across manufacturing, distribution, services, nonprofits, and more. We could apply these learnings tailored to our specific business needs and industry.

An experienced partner also better understands pitfalls to avoid. They know how to maximize out-of-the-box features for a smoother implementation while advising on when customizations add value versus increasing complexity. Their expertise significantly de-risked our rollout.

Assessing the Need for Customizations

Business Central provides extensive built-in functionality for most industries right out of the box. However, if your business has unique processes that require heavy customization of core modules, an in-house team may be better equipped.

Partners excel at deploying Business Central rapidly by leveraging native functionality. But most shy away from niche custom work that necessitates deep platform knowledge. For complex custom requirements, the flexibility of having in-house developers skilled in the Business Central architecture may trump other factors.

During implementation planning, clearly identify any customizations upfront. Weigh their value versus complexity before deciding on resources. For core custom capabilities, the choice may be developing in-house skills from the start.

Evaluating Ongoing Support Needs

The launch is only the beginning. Dynamics 365 delivers continuous updates that your Business Central solution needs to keep pace with. At this stage, I've found partners provide better support options compared to the bandwidth of an in-house team.

They offer flexible support plans to supplement in-house skills where needed. Their expertise across financials, supply chain, manufacturing, sales, and CRM can fill gaps. With access to broader resources, they can cover vacations, absences, and spikes in demand.

As the solution evolves, a good partner helps strategize and roll out new capabilities to address changing business needs. Their guidance tailors new features to maximize value while controlling disruption.

Finding the Right Balance

In summary, for most organizations, partner-led implementations offer the best starting point. Their experience delivers a robust solution faster and more cost-effectively.

Once the core Business Central rollout is complete, gradually building out an in-house support team can provide a cost-optimized model for the long term. The key is striking the right balance between leveraging external expertise and developing internal capabilities focused on your business priorities.

With the right partner and plan, you can realize the full benefits of your Dynamics 365 Business Central investment - both during implementation and for the life of your solution.