5 Levels of Long-Term Partnership with Your Business Central Provider: Build Smarter, Operate Stronger

In today’s unpredictable business landscape, stability isn’t just a goal – it’s a necessity. A Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner shouldn’t just implement software – they should work alongside you to build operational strength, engineer smarter systems, and operate with confidence.  

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Microsoft’s Updated Partner Program

If you have ever struggled with an upgrade project, or lack of responsiveness from your partner, you’re not alone. Recently, Microsoft updated their partnership program, requiring partners to go even further to prove their knowledge, experience, and ability to successfully implement their solutions. You’ll always want to look for a Microsoft partner that has achieved a solution partner designation. There are six designations based on specific solution areas and each partner is evaluated in Performance, Skilling, and Customer Success.  

Whether you need a hands-on partner who can provide support 24/7, or you simply need them for upgrades, partner relationships vary and should always be adding value to your organization. If you feel that your current partner is not providing the added knowledge and expertise required to get the most out of Dynamics 365 Business Central, you may just be out of sync with your partner in terms of the type of relationship you actually need - or it’s possible you just haven’t found the right software partner yet. 

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Evaluating Different Levels of Partnership

To understand the true value of a Dynamics 365 Business Central software partner, you need to decide what partner relationship type you need. Here are the 5 levels of common partner relationships:

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Partner Relationship Type 1: Transactional

When you need to add or remove licenses, you’ll need a partner in order to make the purchase. There are businesses who may have experts in-house that maintain and update their Business Central environment. In these cases, a transactional partner may suffice for your needs. Your Business Central admin should have a relationship with the contact at your partner in order to process license changes or make any updates to your account.  

Microsoft licensing changes frequently with new features being added or removed, and additional products coming to market as attach licensing opportunities such as Copilot for Business Central. Your partner can keep you informed on new licensing structures and opportunities for cost savings when possible.  

At RUX, we provide our cloud customers with the ability to manage their own Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) or Dynamics 365 licenses. If you need to add a new user or product, you can simply log into the system at any time and make your change. The self-serve portal is a option unique to RUX, enabling you to adjust licenses yourself, or reach out to us for help and advice before you make any changes.  

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Partner Relationship Type 2: Update and Upgrade Advisor 

Dynamics 365 Business Central is a SaaS product built in the cloud. There are eight minor updates annually, with two major updates happening in the spring and fall of each year. The updates can automatically be applied to your environment, similar to updating an app on your phone. However, we do recommend testing updates in your sandbox prior to pushing them into production. While ISV’s now serve as extensions, it is advised to test these major updates in case there is any disruption to your process flows, automations, or ISV solutions.  

For those organizations still operating on Dynamics NAV, now is a great time to update to Business Central. Business Central can help you take advantage of additional visibility into your business that will help you make better decisions. The shift also helps you reenvision your business processes, eliminate manual effort, and do more with less.

But here’s the truth – this transition isn’t always easy, especially if your NAV system is several versions behind or heavily customized. That’s where a Microsoft partner like RUX comes in. We can help you navigate the shift in development tools, map your current processes to Business Central, and guide you every step along the way. We’ve done this before, and we bring proven processes, real-world experience, and a steady hand to guide your upgrade.

Partner Relationship Type 3:  Ongoing Technical Support 

While many Dynamics 365 Business Central partners can help get you up and running, not all will stay with you to ensure your system continues to evolve and deliver value. Every partner is different. Their depth of experience, support offerings, and commitment to the best interests of their clients varies. When choosing a partner to implement Business Central, make sure to ask about ongoing training, updates, and strategic guidance that you will need as your business grows and new features and functionality are released for BC.  

When a partner truly operates as an extension of your team, they’re there long after go-live to provide ongoing education and optimization of your system. With Dynamics 365 Business Central, your ERP is built for the long-haul, evolving with you as your company grows.  

Partner Relationship Type 4: Ongoing User and Technical Support  

Without a full in-house IT team supporting your Business Central environment, reliable, ongoing support isn’t optional – it’s critical. From day-to-day troubleshooting to major issues that could arise, you need a partner who is committed to keeping your ERP running to avoid any disruption to your business. It’s important to work with a partner who offers responsive support and differing service levels to meet your specific needs. Make sure to ask your Microsoft partner about their offerings related to:

• Dedicated support resources who understand your system and goals.  

• Guaranteed response times (SLAs)

• Proactive updates and training

• Support tiers and pricing

Not all partners offer the same level of service. Some may lack the infrastructure or experience to support complex environments, while others may only provide basic help desk support. Take the time to vet your partner’s support model—ask about their response times, escalation paths, and how they handle ongoing training and system optimization.

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Partner Relationship Type 5: A True Partnership 

A true partnership relationship means both parties are committed to working together to get the maximum value out of the system. The partnership is based on mutual respect. The actual level of interaction will vary, depending on the customer’s internal support capability, but the two parties are working in tandem with proactive planning, regular contact, and strong technical capabilities. The customer will be assigned an account manager who understands the capabilities of both the core product and key add-on products that may bring further value to the customer. 

What Business Central Software Partner Level Do You Need? 

Typically partners who are involved in the original implementation project have the consultants and support techs with first-hand knowledge of your system and setup. Ideally, you want to choose the right partner from the beginning to avoid having to change support partners and get them up to speed. Here are some questions to ask when considering what your individual software partner relationship should look like: 

1. Do we need a partner just for implementation, or for long-term strategic support?

2. What kind of post-implementation support does the partner offer?

3. Will the partner proactively help us adapt to new Business Central features and updates?

4. Does the partner understand our industry and business model?

5. How involved will the partner be in helping us grow and scale?

6. What’s the partner’s track record with long-term clients?

7. How flexible is the partner’s support model?

RUX engineers Business Applications that strengthen businesses to operate with ironclad integrity, today and tomorrow.  

With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as our bedrock, our solutions deliver robust functionality that can handle the complexities of your industry. End-to-end visibility and sophisticated configurability give rise to a unified, frictionless system.  

We capture how your assets and inventory are deployed, consumed, and maintained, converting those signals to the insights you need to make smarter and faster decisions. Now your business functions flawlessly and has the resilience to scale as it evolves. You’re in control, always equipped for what’s ahead.

Contact our team to chat about your specific business goals and your current challenges. We’ll prove to you that we’re the right partner for your needs, or we’ll suggest another partner for you.