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IFS Cloud Platform vs Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IFS Cloud Platform
Ranking in ERP
13th
Ranking in Activity Based Costing Software
7th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
CRM (21st), Customer Experience Management (7th), Field Service Management (2nd), Help Desk Software (11th), Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) (3rd), Local Government CRM (6th), IT Asset Management (10th), IT Service Management (ITSM) (10th), License Management (3rd)
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Busi...
Ranking in ERP
3rd
Ranking in Activity Based Costing Software
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the ERP category, the mindshare of IFS Cloud Platform is 2.4%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is 6.4%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ERP
 

Featured Reviews

Brendan Fisher - PeerSpot reviewer
Robust, customizable, and modern
IFS is a very large and complex software, and implementation of IFS can be challenging and may lead to a difficult lengthy project. It can take between 12 and 24 months in some cases to deploy. I have found that not all clients are fully aware of how big the task is that they're undertaking when they make a decision to move to software like this. Companies need to be more aware of the complexity of an ERP implementation project and while I fully recommend moving to IFS, it is not easy and does require business change when adopting an ERP solution. New features are a difficult ask - I work across multiple industries and everyone would probably choose a different feature. Maybe BIM in Construction or Customs link-ups for importers/exporters.
StefaanVandesompele - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides end-to-end accounting and finance module at reasonable pricing
365 Business Central integrates with Office 365 to streamline the invoice approval process. This allows businesses to manage and approve invoices efficiently within a unified system. Our organization plans to transition to the Dynamics 365 environment, where various functions will be centralized. We will consolidate everything into one system instead of maintaining multiple databases for each country with local data. Dynamics 365 is fully integrated, which should address many of our challenges when we migrate to this new environment. We look forward to seeing how it performs in practice. The project is progressing well overall, though integrating it with other tools and ensuring Dynamics 365 operates smoothly can be challenging. Dynamics 365 is user-friendly and effective. However, a deeper understanding of its technical capabilities and architecture might be necessary to optimize its use fully. The software landscape is evolving, and achieving the best reporting and functionality with just a click can be complex. A clear vision of what you want to achieve with Dynamics 365 is essential. Proper preparation and configuration are crucial to achieving the desired outcomes. This principle applies not only to Dynamics 365 but to all software packages. Understanding the system's flexibility and adaptability based on your specific business needs is key to its successful implementation. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"What I like about IFS Applications is that it's easier to use and implement than SAP. I also like that the IFS Applications team is more flexible than the SAP team."
"The most valuable feature is the distribution module."
"IFS Applications' best feature is the user-friendly interface that has a .NET Framework application in the front end and an Oracle database and WebLogic middleware."
"The main reason for the ERP project was to bring together our fourteen sites, which had until then worked in separate silos."
"The product is quite flexible."
"The platform is reliable and stable."
"All the modules are valuable in their own right, but everything has to go through the ERP. IFS has done an excellent job integrating the various modules to complete these processes. My expertise is in the finance module, but I have used the other verticals. It's an all-around good product."
"The workflow of the solution is very good."
"Has good integration with Power BI."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is cloud accessibility."
"It is easy to use, and it works very well for small-scale companies."
"For me, the main strengths of Microsoft Dynamics NAV are that it's user-friendly and light. These are its major wins. I have used other ERPs and their architecture were a little more complex when compared to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV architecture."
"Dynamics 365 Business Central is mostly used for financial management."
"The solution's integration between Teams, SharePoint, and Exchange Online is really helpful."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is the Teams application. I use Teams to share documents amongst my team members, have meetings, and talk to them."
 

Cons

"An area for improvement would be transactions, which can be tedious to complete as the process is very complex."
"The user interface can be improved. When you're clicking through the screens, there are some icons or symbols that really need updating and would be more useful and noticeable if they are aesthetically pleasing."
"It would be ideal if, in the future, the product could incorporate IoT and blockchain elements. We'd like to explore more of these types of features going forward."
"IFS Applications can improve the reporting capabilities and increase the speed of feedback time in the IFS Applications. This would help with the overall performance of the solution and provide better experiences for customers."
"The next version has already been released, and some of the technical things are a little bit behind the curve in development. This is specifically security, maintenance, security role maintenance, and creation. This is in their new product, called IFS Cloud."
"We would like to see AI-driven CSI functions built into the tool that would allow us to quickly tie our improvement goals to metrics and activities, so Assyst will suggest the next steps to help us get closer to our goals."
"The solution needs to improve its documentation and user-friendliness."
"IFS Applications is not robust enough to handle high-volume transactions, so it's not suitable for larger enterprises."
"I am hoping there is more integration with other platforms, more features, and customization in the next release."
"Its task scheduling and manufacturing models need improvement."
"The UI is not particularly user-friendly and the CRM could do with some enhancements."
"The solution is stable, but it could improve."
"Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has been buggy in my experience and they should improve in this area. Additionally, there are too many updates. The updates involve a whole bunch of applications as part of the package, such as the Edge browser. The updates are too broad across the whole package of applications."
"Some of the control aspects such as auditing can definitely be improved. For example, auditing is not very easy, and the user permissions are complicated."
"The solution can improve by having better integration with Microsoft PowerBI and reporting."
"There is a need for improvement in consolidation and multi-country master data management."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There's an additional yearly cost for support."
"The pricing of the solution may appear to be expensive for smaller companies with only tens of users; however, for larger and mid-size industrial companies, IFS is able to win deals and the pricing is competitive in the market."
"IFS Applications is expensive software, but it's on par with SAP and Oracle. It's for large enterprises and government entities and not for small and medium-sized enterprises. They have one licensing model, but if you want to have a module-specific license, they provide component-based licenses. Unlike SAP and Oracle, it doesn't have different levels of licensing. It's one level of licensing."
"It is better to buy implementation services from IFS than from partners"
"Licensing is on an annual basis, with no additional costs."
"Pricing is an area that could be improved. They could be more competitive."
"Compared to SAP, the pricing for IFS Applications was very affordable. People using the solution would find that it's worth the money."
"There are varying license levels that you can purchase."
"NAV might be a little pricey for a small or medium-sized company, but all the solutions out there are."
"The solution's cost is reasonable."
"You have to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."
"Its licensing is yearly. In addition to the licensing cost, there is the cost of hosting on Azure."
"The license changes every year. Sometimes it's for fixed users, and sometimes it's for concurrent users."
"The cost is one of the benefits. If you don't want to go for the full-blown finance and operations, the pricing model is a lot cheaper and has now switched to being based on a per-user subscription. So, if it's on cloud, you now have an expense instead of a large CapEx. If it's on-prem, you obviously still have to continue with the licensing model that they have, but if you compare the features and functionality, in terms of the price that you pay, I find it's better than other products. My answer on the pricing would be slightly different, depending on the country you're in and the return on investment, based on the size of the company. It's well-priced internationally. I think the new model is priced even better because it's now subscription-based and, if you go for cloud, the return on investment is a lot quicker and if it's expense, you can cap it. If you do take the on-prem version, the licensing is still priced as what it used to be, so that would depend on what country you are in."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV has a pay-as-you-use payment model."
"The deployment cost us $70,000 and we pay around $18,000 annually for support, which we find to be expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IFS Applications?
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine or ten out of ten since it is an extremely scalable solution that can be used for various use cases with thousands of users.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IFS Applications?
The product is reasonably priced. The costs are justified by the value provided, considering the comprehensive features and minimal need for customization. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten.
What needs improvement with IFS Applications?
I am not able to recall much about batch. Documentation-wise, they need more. There is not much available online, and the documentation availability is on the lower side compared to other products,...
What do you like most about Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
The platform offers a robust and comprehensive cycle for supply chain and inventory management, with features like minimum and maximum settings, dynamic monitoring of inventory levels, and integrat...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
The pricing for Dynamics 365 Business Central is reasonable. The value for money is very high.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
There is a need for improvement in consolidation and multi-country master data management.
 

Also Known As

IFS Applications, Assyst, IFS Cloud
Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

China Airlines, Electrolux Group, Babcock, Cimcorp, Sky, Multiplex, Veolia. 
Harris Farm Markets, Mister Spex GmbH, Bounce Foods, Eurofin Services SA, Medica Medizintechnik, Associated Gaskets, Onduline, Sitka Surfboard Corporation, World Animal Protection
Find out what your peers are saying about IFS Cloud Platform vs. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,767 professionals have used our research since 2012.