This document compares Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Dynamics AX. It summarizes that Dynamics NAV is geared toward small to mid-sized businesses, is easier to implement and maintain, and offers flexibility for decentralized global operations. Dynamics AX is designed for large enterprises, allows for greater visibility across global operations but is more complex to implement and maintain. Both can scale as a business grows, but AX better addresses the needs of very large, complex multi-national organizations.

1. Microsoft Dynamics Nav vs Ax
-THE REAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MICROSOFT
DYNAMICS NAV AX
-Prepared By
Abhilash Warrier

2. *The Microsoft Dynamics product line includes several diverse ERP solutions. Each is designed for specific industries and
purposes, but the two that people often have the most trouble distinguishing between are Dynamics NAV and Dynamics AX. So
what’s the difference?
Dynamics NAV and Dynamics AX are both highly customizable ERP solutions available in many languages and
currencies and have an impressive international install base. Both solutions are agile enough to operate in one centralized
location or across multiple decentralized locations, and can scale along with your business. Both offer industry-specific
functionality to meet local and regional needs. NAV and AX are described equally by Microsoft as end to end comprehensive ERP
solutions with the ability to manage complex supply chains and inventory.
You won’t uncover the differences by comparing them feature to feature, and you can’t realistically define them by the number of
users they can handle, though many have tried. The real determining factors are at a higher level, and are based on how well the
solution aligns with the goals and growth plans for the organization it will support.
***Dynamics AX
Dynamics AX (AX) is Microsoft’s enterprise ERP and MRP solution. AX is a favorite amongst mid-sized to enterprise companies
especially within the manufacturing, distribution, supply chain & retail industries. It offers great support for companies with
complex needs such as: multi-country, multi-language, multi-site, multi-currency, etc.
***Dynamics NAV
Dynamics NAV (NAV) fits well within the small to mid-sized market (i.e. companies with annual revenues between 10 million –
500 million) but some small enterprise companies use it as well. In comparison to Dynamics GP, NAV offers more flexibility when
it comes to out-of-the-box (meaning not needing to customize the system) set-up and configuration. NAV fits the needs of
companies in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Etc. Like Dynamics AX, it also offers flexibility to accommodate the
needs of larger organizations that are doing business in multiple countries.
NAV has a very friendly user interface and it allows users to easily modify the user interface, the report formats, forms, etc.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV vs AX

3. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 vs AX 2012 R3
Microsoft Dynamics Nav
 Dynamics NAV is geared toward small to midsize companies ($5M –
$500M) with some international presence. It provides powerful technology
that smaller businesses otherwise may not be able to afford, allowing them
to compete with organizations many times their size. As the business
grows, the ability to scale and keep pace with organizational goals is
imperative, and NAV makes this very straightforward. Easy customization
and the ability to scale make NAV an excellent choice for many companies.
 Many NAV implementations require only a part-time project manager and a
small implementation team. AX often requires dedicated technical
resources to manage the solution once it’s up and running, while NAV does
not.
 Dynamics NAV is a very popular, effective ERP solution for growing
international businesses that don’t have such a complicated organizational
structure. Dynamics NAV does an excellent job of handling decentralized
global operations
Microsoft Dynamics AX
 In contrast, Dynamics AX is designed for large, enterprise class organizations
with a broad international presence. Organizations of this magnitude have
unique challenges, especially when it comes to large deployments across
multiple countries with each operating in their own language and
currency. Though both AX and NAV are designed to scale and grow along
with a business, one of the main differences between these solutions is that
AX is better equipped to address the specific size and scale challenges of
enterprise organizations.
 AX is much more complicated than NAV. The implementations are more
complex, take longer, require more decisions, and must have excellent
project management if you hope to succeed.
 However, Dynamics AX works better for managing end to end global
processes. As an example, this is especially important for large
manufacturing businesses because it allows them to view inventory across
international locations and have visibility into each area of the
organization. For complex enterprise solutions who need visibility across
multiple decentralized locations in different countries, this is best achieved
with Dynamics AX.
Scaling: Enterprise vs. Mid-
size
Complexity and Maintenance Costs
Global Operations vs. Global
Visibility

4. Microsoft Dynamics Nav
 Dynamics NAV is also available as hosted ERP solutions or a combination of
hosted and on premise. Choosing the cloud-hosted model further
increases the agility and breadth of these solutions.
Microsoft Dynamics AX
 Because of its enterprise capabilities, Dynamics AX was identified by
Gartner as one of three ERP solutions in their Magic Quadrant – along
with SAP and Oracle.
Agility and the Cloud

5. A question that people evaluating Microsoft Dynamics ERP often, “How many companies are using Microsoft
Dynamics?” These are the recently updated numbers from Convergence 2015 provided by Jim Desler, Director, Corporate
Communications at Microsoft.
2015 Breakdown of the Microsoft Dynamics customer numbers worldwide by product:
*Microsoft Dynamics® AX 20,000 Companies
*Microsoft Dynamics® GP 47,000 Companies
*Microsoft Dynamics® NAV 110,000 Companies
*Microsoft Dynamics® SL 13,500 Companies
*Microsoft Dynamics® CRM 40,000+Companies 4.4 million Users
Also:
Microsoft Dynamics Retail: 46,500
Microsoft Dynamics C5: 85,000
Microsoft XAL,C4/ Apertum: 30,000

6. General Data
Product Name Microsoft Dynamics
NAV
Microsoft Dynamics AX
Version 2016 AX7 2016
Price Range $8K -250K $20K -750K
Financing Option Lease, Owner Financing, Financing Lease, Owner Financing, Financing
Multi Site Yes Yes
Architecture .NET SOA,.NET, Cloud
Database Platform MS SQL Server, Cloud-Based (SaaS), MS SQL Express, MS
Access, Microsoft Azure
MS SQL Server, Oracle, Cloud-Based
(SaaS), Microsoft Azure
Server OS Mac OS, Windows, Compatible w/all Operating Systems Windows
SaaS Yes Yes
Implementation Time 2-3 Months 4-12 Months
Resources 2 Min 4 Min
Microsoft Dynamics ERP Software Systems
Comparison

7. Material Management
Product Name Microsoft Dynamics
NAV
Microsoft Dynamics AX
Inventory Controls
Manufacturing
Material Planning
Warehouse Management
Sales Order Management
Product Name Microsoft Dynamics
NAV
Microsoft Dynamics AX
Sales & Service Management Sales & Marketing
Sales Management
Financial Management
Product Name Microsoft Dynamics
NAV
Microsoft Dynamics AX
Business Intelligence AR/AP
Financial Management Dynamics AX Financial Features and
Summary
Fixed Assets
General Ledger
International
Project Accounting

8. Production Management
Product Name Microsoft Dynamics
NAV
Microsoft Dynamics AX
Project Management Bill of Materials
Product Builder
Production Key Features
Additional Capabilities
Product Name Microsoft Dynamics
NAV
Microsoft Dynamics AX
Human Resources Alert System
Business Intelligence
Compliance Management
Human Resource
Service Management
Services Support
Product Name Microsoft Dynamics
NAV
Microsoft Dynamics AX
Support Options Support Options

9. Thank You for Showing your interest in Microsoft Dynamics.