Dynamics 365 Business Central can be hosted in the cloud in two ways. You can host directly with Microsoft or with Fenwick Cloud.

This page is a deep-dive into the options available for your system. If you’re new to Business Central, you can learn more here.

Learn more about Business Central

See why it’s the best fit for your business.

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Comparing your hosting options

Each option has different uses depending on whether you’re implementing for the first time, or upgrading from an on-premises system.

Microsoft Hosted

Let Microsoft do all the heavy lifting. A simple managed solution that will suit most businesses.

No upfront infrastructure cost
Automatic updates
AppSource Marketplace & Extensions
Subscription licence

Fenwick Cloud Hosted

A balanced, hybrid cloud approach suitable as a stepping stone for a fully hosted Business Central instance.

No upfront infrastructure cost
Dynamics NAV add-on compatibility
Supported embedded enhancements
Perpetual license compatibility

Self Hosted

Take things into your own hands. The on-premises SKU can be installed on local servers and managed by your IT team.

Requires server infrastructure
Supports embedded enhancements
Perpetual license compatibility

Use Fenwick Cloud to uplift your existing database

Fenwick Cloud is the simple way to run your new or existing on-premises Dynamics 365 Business Central or Dynamics NAV system, without the overhead of managing servers and infrastructure.

It’s run on the Microsoft Azure platform, so you’re powered by the same platform that runs Microsoft Hosted Dynamics 365 Business Central systems.

Fully managed: No servers required

We can migrate your existing Dynamics 365 ERP system to a fully managed cloud solution.

Suits a Growing Business

Start with even a single user, then add or reduce capacity to suit your business. You don’t need to maintain or replace server hardware as your business grows.

Compatible with Customizations

With virtually no restrictions on customizations, you can still take advantage of Fenwick’s years of software development experience to enhance hosted services to your exact needs.

Flexible Licensing

You can keep your existing perpetual license, or move to a monthly subscription license — it’s up to you.

Physically and Digitally Secure

Fenwick Cloud is backed by Microsoft Azure, running in a Tier-3 data center with more certifications than any other provider.

Backed by Microsoft Azure

World-class reliability teamed with the Fenwick experts.

Reliable

Regular backups and failover capacity to physically distributed data centres. The hosted option gives you capabilities far in excess of most in-house services.

Uplift more than just your ERP

Got other applications you need to uplift to the cloud? We can help you with those too.

Microsoft Azure supports and Windows-based workload with little hassle. Speak with us and you might find you can uplift other applications alongside your ERP.

An on-premises and hosted comparison of responsibilities

The following components would be managed in an on-premises deployment, compared with a cloud-hosted solution. This applies both Fenwick Cloud and Microsoft-hosted solutions.

The following list of responsibilities identifies which party is primary responsible for that area.

Managed by you or your IT team

Managed by Fenwick, powered by Microsoft Azure

Managed by Microsoft

Area	Self-hosted	Fenwick Cloud	Microsoft Hosted
Users Who is able to access the system and use Business Central.
Application and Service Tier Runs the logic of the business application.
Database Holds your company data. Security, access controls, performance, etc.
Operating System Windows, updates, and associated licensing, etc.
SQL Server The engine that runs the database, and associated SQL licensing.
Virtualisation Management layer on physical hardware.
Servers Hardware, equipment, server racks, power, cooling, etc.
Storage & Backups Retention, point in time restore, off-site backup, etc.
Networking Firewalls, network connectivity, cabling, internet connection, etc.

A comparison of responsibilities when hosting Dynamics 365 Business Central

Hosted Dynamics 365 Business Central