Breathe easy, EthoTech is officially joining the Knights of GP movement. Here’s what that means for you, your commissions, and the future of Dynamics GP.
Let’s get the biggest point settled now: You do not have to switch away from Microsoft Dynamics GP.
We know the noise around GP’s end-of-life announcement has been loud. Microsoft is sending scary emails, partners are nudging you toward Business Central, and somewhere in the back of your mind, you’re wondering if you’re falling behind by staying put.
You’re not. This article explains why, very, very clearly.
What Really Happens After GP’s End of Support and End of Life?
It’s time to cut through the fearmongering here. Before you make any decisions about your ERP, you deserve to know exactly what Microsoft’s timeline means and, more importantly, what it means for you.
Big picture:
After the dates listed below, your system will keep running, your data will still be fine, and many GP partners and third-party ISVs, including EthoTech, will still support you.
To most people, this sounds awfully familiar, because it’s what they’ve already got going on. Our point is that nothing much will change; Microsoft is just making mountains out of molehills. (And yes, we know this sounds kind of anticlimactic and boring, compared to all the messaging you’ve been hearing.)
Details:
- End of Support means Microsoft will stop product support and quit releasing enhancements for Dynamics GP. It happens December 31, 2029. After that, Microsoft will continue to release security updates for GP.
What it means for you: Starting January 1, 2030, you’ll need to call your GP partner when you have a support question. (You probably already do that now.)
- End of Life means Microsoft will stop releasing security patches for GP. That kicks in on April 30, 2031. Your GP solution will keep working after that; Microsoft will just stop dedicating their in-house resources to GP.
What it means for you: Starting May 1, 2031, you’ll want to be connected to the greater GP community so you can continue to receive software updates.
More on that “greater GP community” in a moment.
Top Tip: Before Making Your ERP Decision, Seek Objective Advice
Now you know what’s going on and what all those terms mean. So… what do you do about all this?
Right now, the most important thing you can do is seek advice from partners who aren’t trying to box you into an immediate ERP “migration.”
In a previous post, we covered what it looks like to “migrate” from GP to Business Central. Read that post before you decide anything. The short version: it’s expensive, disruptive, and can take a year of your time. At that scope and cost, let’s call it what it is: a full ERP re-implementation.
Migration projects are always significant revenue opportunities for implementation partners. At the same time, Microsoft’s partner programs, incentives, and strategic investments are increasingly focused on Business Central and cloud migrations. Long story short: many of the people encouraging you to switch to Business Central have a significant financial incentive to do so.
To be clear, we’re not saying they’ll give you bad advice. We’re simply saying that you’ll likely get a more balanced perspective on your options if you seek input from advisors who can objectively discuss all of your choices, including the possibility that staying on GP may still be the best decision for your business.
You can find those partners in a free, open, educational community called the Knights of GP.
What Is the Knights of GP?
The Knights of GP is a growing, community-led initiative bringing Dynamics GP users, ISVs, consultants, and advocates together to shape what comes next for the platform. It’s a coalition of organizations and people who believe that GP can continue to evolve through integrations, enhancements, and collaborative effort, and who are putting their names and reputations behind that belief.
Why We’re Excited to Be Part of the Knights of GP
When EthoTech first started talking publicly about our commitment to GP by writing blog posts, making announcements, and telling customers we weren’t going anywhere, we didn’t know how many others felt the same way. We knew of one partner, Njevity, who was out there and committed to the platform, but beyond that, we weren’t sure.
It felt like we were on an island.
But it turns out, we were never alone. The Knights of GP showed us that there are many ISVs, consultants, and partners across the GP ecosystem who believe what we believe: that GP continues to be a viable option, that GP users deserve support, and that no one should be forced into a panicked migration just because Microsoft shifted its marketing focus.
The Knights of GP gives us GP stalwarts a name and a voice. And being part of it means our customers will benefit from the collective efforts of an entire network of organizations committed to GP.
For the long haul.
EthoTech’s Commitment to GP: 10–15+ Years and Beyond
Like others in the Knights of GP community, EthoTech is fully committed to supporting and enhancing our suite of Dynamics GP add-ons for 10–15+ years, well beyond the end of the GP lifecycle. We’re here for you, so you can ensure your business maintains the reliability, support, and innovation you need for commissions processing.
Like a lot of you, we’ve been putting our time and energy into GP for decades and decades. In fact, we joined the Great Plains and Dynamics GP world way back at nearly the beginning of the product (we weren’t there in its DOS days, but we’ve been there for everything else). Our founders were involved when Great Plains was still a privately held company under Doug Burgum, before it went public and long before Microsoft acquired it. We were part of the team that built the very first OEM module ever purchased by Great Plains, and we have seen the platform expand as it’s added more modules and capabilities from third-party developers.
We’ve watched this platform grow from infancy into one of the most powerful accounting systems in the mid-market. It feels like something we helped raise.
And we are not walking away from it now.
How We Plan to Support Our Customers on GP for 10–15+ Years
Our product roadmap has always been driven by our customers’ needs. For example, the tiers capability, including line-item-based tier structures, came from a customer who needed that functionality and didn’t have it. We built it, recognized that other companies would use it too, and now it’s part of the core product. That’s pretty much how we build all the enhancements.
After GP’s end of life, we plan to keep doing exactly what we’ve always done: listen carefully to our customers and build what they need.
Here’s our promise:
For as long as you’re on GP, we’ll maintain and enhance our solutions for you. 10 years, 15 years, as long as you want to keep using GP – you’re covered.
Want to Stick with GP? You’re Not Alone Either.
When we ran across the Knights of GP, we found out we weren’t alone. If you want to stick with GP, we’re here to tell you: you’re not alone either.
What we’re hearing from our customers is that they want to remain on GP. We hear things like, “GP still works for me. Why would I want to change it?”
When we talk to them, they tell us that switching away from GP would cost them a lot of money, cause a lot of headaches, and take up a lot of time. They can see that the resulting business disruption means a potential loss of revenue, increased expenses, and reduced productivity, as well as loss of key people. All of that is a steep price to pay, and it’s in addition to implementation costs.
By the way, we run our own business on GP. We use it every day, and we have zero intention of migrating.
Let’s Join Together to Build the Future of GP
As more customers, partners, consultants, and ISVs join the Knights of GP and make their voices heard, the movement will gain more power to shape what happens to GP beyond 2031.
To show our support, we are becoming a Preferred ISV with the Knights of GP, and we will be proudly displaying our Preferred ISV badge on our site.
To us, that badge is a visible, public affirmation of what we’ve always believed: that GP can continue to evolve through integrations, enhancements, and collaborative effort. It reflects our belief that the GP community deserves continued support, innovation, and advocacy, not a forced migration.
If you share these beliefs, we encourage you to join the movement too.
Let’s build the future we want, together.
The best thing you can do while others are distracted by migration decisions is focus on your business. The Knights of GP, and EthoTech, can help you do that.
Check out more blogs:
