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IFS Cloud Platform vs Microsoft Dynamics AX 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 AX
Ranking in ERP
4th
Ranking in Activity Based Costing Software
3rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
56
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 AX is 6.3%, down from 6.4% 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.
SherifAnter - PeerSpot reviewer
The sales and distribution modules are robust, and reliable, and seldom encounter issues
In GP, there are certain features like financial reporting that aren't part of the core GP package. Users might need to install additional components for these features. For example, there's a reseller product called Management Reporter, but many users would prefer to have the reporting capabilities integrated within GP itself, rather than relying on external tools. The manufacturing module in GP is quite basic, and those who require more advanced manufacturing capabilities often turn to third-party modules or tools. Additionally, you might be aware that in 2028, GP is expected to reach its end of life. Microsoft has already ceased selling GP to new customers. It's essentially the same product, but this marks the final year for GP's availability.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The workflow of the solution is very good."
"One of our favorite features is the "Info-Zone", which provides operational intelligence in flight and in context to guide both business users and support teams to productivity."
"Feature-wise, I like the way it provides inventory details...It is a stable solution."
"I like the connectivity and interfaces. In V10, it's easy to modify the interfaces and layouts, but it's becoming more complicated in the cloud. IFS is excellent at asset maintenance and incident management. They have specialized modules for IFS that cover incident and asset management and everything else connected to finance. The reporting in IFS is also easy to use."
"The best feature is the maintenance module, which is essentially an industry-specific workflow designed with a manufacturing module as per industry standards. It's very precise and specific without having complex functionalities. It's straightforward. Field Service Management is definitely a wonderful product that IFS has developed because it caters to field services. The energy and utility sectors can answer their business needs using the software."
"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."
"There are fewer fields on the user screen compared to other products. This makes the UI a little bit easier to understand."
"A high level of ERP can be handled in IFS."
"If anyone is familiar with Microsoft products then they can handle it easily."
"Dynamics AX provides a lot of functionality."
"The performance is good."
"The tool's most important capabilities are for retail and finance. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 doesn't have many integration capabilities, but Microsoft 365 has the most capabilities to integrate with any type of standalone software and has many more features."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics AX is customization."
"Supply Chain Management is an excellent feature."
"It is easy to use, and it has a great UI. It has very well-structured modules. In terms of setup and configuration, they're logically placed, which makes it easy for any user to pick up information and learn more about the system, rather than just be plain key users of that business operating system."
"In terms of features, GP offers a wide range of strong capabilities, particularly in the financial module."
 

Cons

"Documentation-wise, they need more."
"There are certain digital features that need to be incorporated, such as IOP."
"An area for improvement would be transactions, which can be tedious to complete as the process is very complex."
"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."
"IFS Applications is not robust enough to handle high-volume transactions, so it's not suitable for larger enterprises."
"The solution's reporting tools still require improvement."
"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."
"The solution needs to improve its documentation and user-friendliness."
"Microsoft Dynamics AX can improve system performance and security. The security is basic and needs a lot of improvement."
"There is room for improvement in the licensing model and associated costs of this solution."
"I sometimes put in wrong data that needs correction, but I cannot change it or approve it without withdrawing it. It will then take time for me to go back in and edit it."
"At times there are issues related to reporting, sometimes with the integration between two or three modules, and sometimes to the logic itself."
"The integration could improve for the future."
"It needs better financials and reporting from the system, not through Excel."
"The on-premises and desktop versions are not user-friendly."
"If I had to add something in the next release, it would probably be a mobile application for a sister application of Dynamics 365; not the ERP but the Dynamics 365 HR solution. It would definitely help if we could have Microsoft or a Microsoft partner introduce a mobile application for it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The product is reasonably priced."
"The additional cost that comes with the solution includes the overhead of the people who are trying to fix the tool issues. These people are trying to reproduce the issue and report it to the technical support and testing with them which is huge. It is the cost of quality in the end."
"Compared to SAP, the pricing for IFS Applications was very affordable. People using the solution would find that it's worth the money."
"Ask for all-inclusive pricing, as they are pretty flexible if you ask for custom models."
"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."
"We pay for a license to use the solution, which is not very expensive."
"It is better to buy implementation services from IFS than from partners"
"The pricing is expensive."
"We pay for licensing yearly to use Microsoft Dynamics AX."
"Comparatively, Business Central appears to be more cost-effective. Microsoft offers Business Central at only $70 per user per month in the US. In contrast, GP requires an initial investment, including around $9,000 for the GP license for three users and additional expenses for hardware. Therefore, the initial investment for GP is quite substantial. On the other hand, cloud-based ERP products like Business Central do not entail the same upfront investment and operate on an ongoing, subscription-based model."
"The yearly licenses are priced okay."
"It's too expensive for customers to take this on themselves. As partners, we will buy this on behalf of the customers and then charge this value for each project."
"I don't know how much this solution costs off the top of my head, but I know that the cloud and SaaS solutions are cheaper."
"The price of the solution could benefit from being less expensive."
"Microsoft Dynamics AX is not expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Retailer
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 needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics AX?
DAX is actually well supported by its development. Given that even in this old version of AX and taking into account that its predecessor D365 has been around since 2017, the DAX ERP is still worki...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Dynamics AX?
Right now, we are moving to a new ERP platform. It is in the cloud, and because of that, the cloud pushes updates every quarter, which could technically break our products. We are looking into an a...
 

Also Known As

IFS Applications, Assyst, IFS Cloud
Dynamics AX, Axapta, MS Dynamics AX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

China Airlines, Electrolux Group, Babcock, Cimcorp, Sky, Multiplex, Veolia. 
ConQuaestor, D & H Distributing, Sunny Queen, Mesa Associates, Britax Childcare, Ibema, Arafa, Sabo S.p.A.
Find out what your peers are saying about IFS Cloud Platform vs. Microsoft Dynamics AX and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,253 professionals have used our research since 2012.