Keeping Dynamics NAV running after Microsoft ended mainstream and extended support means your system no longer receives security patches, bug fixes, or compliance updates. In practice, this exposes your organisation to growing security vulnerabilities, integration failures, and rising maintenance costs, risks that compound the longer you stay on an unsupported version. The sections below address the most common questions organisations ask when weighing whether to stay or migrate.
What security risks come with running an unsupported NAV system?
Running Dynamics NAV after end of support means Microsoft no longer releases security patches for the platform. Any vulnerability discovered after that date remains permanently unaddressed, leaving your system open to exploitation. Attackers actively target unsupported software precisely because known weaknesses will never be fixed by the vendor.
The practical consequences go beyond theoretical risk. Unpatched systems are vulnerable to ransomware, data breaches, and unauthorised access. Because NAV often sits at the centre of financial, inventory, and order management processes, a successful attack can halt operations across the entire organisation. The longer the system runs without patches, the larger the attack surface grows as new vulnerabilities are discovered and published publicly.
There is also a knock-on effect on your broader IT environment. Security tools, firewalls, and endpoint protection can reduce exposure, but they cannot substitute for vendor-level patches. If your NAV instance connects to other systems, which it almost certainly does, those integrations create additional entry points that an unsupported ERP cannot adequately protect.
Does running NAV after end of support create compliance problems?
Yes. Running an unsupported ERP system creates real compliance exposure, particularly under frameworks such as GDPR, ISO 27001, and industry-specific regulations. Many of these frameworks require organisations to maintain software at supported versions as part of demonstrating adequate data protection and information security controls.
Auditors and regulators increasingly ask about software support status as part of their assessments. If your NAV system is flagged as unsupported during an audit, it can trigger findings that require remediation, delay certifications, or in serious cases result in fines. Cyber insurance policies are also beginning to exclude or limit coverage for incidents involving unsupported software, which shifts financial risk back to the organisation.
For multinationals operating across multiple jurisdictions, the compliance picture is more complex. Different countries apply data protection and financial reporting requirements that may each carry their own expectations around system integrity. An unsupported NAV system makes it harder to demonstrate consistent control across all of them.
What happens to NAV integrations and third-party add-ons over time?
As Dynamics NAV ages beyond its support window, the third-party ecosystem around it gradually stops keeping pace. Independent software vendors update their add-ons and connectors to align with supported Microsoft platforms. Over time, your NAV integrations with tools like CRM systems, e-commerce platforms, reporting tools, and logistics software will begin to break or require increasingly expensive custom workarounds to maintain.
Microsoft itself moves its own connected services forward. Connectors built for older NAV versions may lose compatibility with updated versions of Microsoft 365, Azure services, or Power Platform. What worked reliably two years ago may require significant rework today, and that rework cost falls entirely on your internal team or your support partner rather than being covered by standard updates.
The cumulative effect is a system that becomes progressively more isolated. Each year, fewer partners have the expertise to support older NAV versions, the pool of available consultants shrinks, and the cost of maintaining custom integrations rises. Organisations that have explored their ERP transformation options early tend to avoid this gradual erosion of connectivity and capability.
How does staying on NAV affect total cost of ownership?
Staying on an unsupported NAV system typically increases total cost of ownership rather than reducing it. The apparent saving of avoiding a migration is offset by rising costs in several areas: custom development to replace missing functionality, specialist consultants who charge a premium for legacy expertise, security tooling to compensate for absent patches, and the growing risk of a costly incident.
There are also indirect costs that are harder to quantify but equally real. Productivity losses from system limitations, manual workarounds that staff build around gaps in functionality, and the management time spent firefighting integration failures all add up. When organisations do a full cost comparison, the ongoing expense of staying on NAV often exceeds the projected cost of migrating to a modern platform.
One useful exercise is mapping your current annual spend on NAV-related support, customisation, and workarounds against a realistic migration budget. Many organisations are surprised to find the gap is smaller than expected, particularly when the long-term operational benefits of a modern cloud-based platform are included in the calculation.
When should an organisation migrate from NAV to Business Central?
The right time to migrate from Dynamics NAV to Business Central is before the risks described above begin to materialise, not after an incident forces the decision. For most organisations, that means starting migration planning now if they have not already done so. Microsoft Dynamics NAV support has ended, and the gap between NAV’s capabilities and Business Central’s continues to widen each release cycle.
The decision point depends on a few specific factors:
- Your current NAV version: Older versions carry greater risk and have fewer migration pathways available
- Compliance obligations: If your sector or jurisdiction has strict data protection requirements, the compliance risk accelerates the timeline
- Integration complexity: The more third-party systems connected to NAV, the more planning the migration requires, starting earlier gives more room to do it properly
- Organisational readiness: A migration touches processes, people, and data, not just technology, so internal change capacity matters
A structured starting point is a maturity assessment that maps where your organisation currently stands across systems, processes, and people. This gives you a clear baseline before committing to a roadmap or budget, and it identifies the areas that need the most attention before go-live. We typically recommend this as the first step for any organisation considering a Dynamics NAV to Business Central migration.
Business Central is Microsoft’s actively developed successor to NAV, built on the same functional foundation but delivered as a modern cloud platform with regular updates, a broad partner ecosystem, and deep integration with the Microsoft stack. The migration path is well-established, and organisations that plan it properly can make the transition without disrupting daily operations.
How Optinus helps with your NAV migration
We support organisations through the full journey from an unsupported NAV environment to a stable, modern Business Central implementation. Our approach covers every phase where risk is highest:
- Maturity assessment to map your current NAV landscape, data quality, and organisational readiness before any budget is committed
- Data migration management using rigorous As-Is/To-Be analysis and testing procedures to prevent data loss or errors during the transition
- Cutover management with meticulous planning and real-time monitoring so the switch from NAV to Business Central does not disrupt your operations
- Change management to prepare your teams for the new system and drive genuine adoption, not just technical go-live
- Hypercare and aftercare in the weeks and months after go-live, when issues are most likely to surface
Our consultants have hands-on experience from real ERP migrations at leading multinationals, not just frameworks and methodologies. We are active across Microsoft Dynamics 365 and other ERP platforms, available both on-site and remotely across the Netherlands, Belgium, and internationally.
Explore our ERP migration and transformation services to see how we structure each phase of the journey. Ready to discuss your specific situation? Get in touch with us and we will help you understand what a migration from NAV looks like for your organisation.
