Perpetual Licensing for Business Central Ends on April 1, 2025: What It Means for You
Microsoft has made an important announcement that from 1 April 2025, they are putting an end to perpetual licensing for Business Central. This means that purchasing on-premises Business Central will be available only through subscription-based licensing.
Who is affected from this change?
The discontinuation of perpetual licences applies to new customers. If you are an already existing customer using NAV (Navision) or Business Central ERP with an active Enhancement Plan, it will not affect you - you will still be able to add users to your licenses and upgrade to a newer version of the system.
What is the difference between perpetual licenses and subscription licenses?
Perpetual licenses
Perpetual license means that you pay for the license upfront, and you can use the software indefinitely. This is a large one-time investment and a cost-effective option in the long run for businesses that want full ownership of the software. However, you may need to pay for ongoing support and maintenance services to keep the software up to date.
Subscription licenses
The popularity of the subscription-based model is rising due to the move towards SaaS solutions. A subscription licenses means that you pay a monthly fee to use the software. The monthly cost includes technical support and software updates. You subscribe to the right to use the software; but you do not own it. Subscription licenses have some major benefits compared to perpetual licenses – such as scalability, lower IT maintenance costs, flexibility, ongoing support. They can also be cancelled at the end of the term without penalties.
What happens now that you can no longer purchase perpetual licenses?
Microsoft is advancing the shift towards the cloud by taking steps such as discontinuing the perpetual licensing. The SaaS model of Business Central is available only via subscription licensing and does not support perpetual licensing. It offers a scalable, secure and cost-effective solution for businesses aiming at modernization.
The cloud also ensures lower upfront costs, automatic updates of the system, high security measures, unlimited accessibility, easy scalability and seamless integration with other Microsoft products or third-party apps.
If you are still using Dynamics 365 Business Central as an on-premises solution or an outdated on-premises version, you are missing out on the security enhancements and functionality advancements that Microsoft invests in every year. Be sure to consider your upgrade.
