Why 70% of ERP Implementations Fall Short and How Your Partner Selection Fixes It

Your Dynamics 365 implementation can go live successfully and still become an expensive problem later.

Gartner predicts that by 2027, more than 70% of recently implemented ERP initiatives will fail to fully meet their original business goals.

The proposal may look good. The implementation may stay on budget. Go-live may happen on schedule. None of that tells you how the system will be managed six months, two years, or five years later.

Dynamics 365 Business Central ships two major updates a year, in April and October, plus monthly updates in between. Over five years, that’s ten major release cycles to plan for. If a custom extension isn’t compatible when Microsoft’s enforced update period arrives, Microsoft may uninstall it to complete the update.

That makes your partner choice bigger than an implementation decision. You’re choosing who will keep your Business Central environment working as Microsoft keeps changing it.

So, the question isn’t simply who can implement Dynamics 365. It’s who you want responsible for what comes next.

What Microsoft’s Partner Badge Tells You, and What It Doesn’t

The Solutions Partner for Business Applications designation is Microsoft’s main signal of Dynamics 365 capability. To earn it, a partner needs at least 70 of 100 points across:

• Performance: net new customers.

• Skilling: staff holding Microsoft certifications, such as Business Central Functional Consultant or Developer.

• Customer success: deployments and usage growth.

It gives you a baseline for evaluating a partner. It doesn’t tell you which certified people will work on your project, whether they understand your industry, or how closely their delivery model matches your requirements.

Treat the badge as a starting point, not the decision.

Six Questions to Ask Every Dynamics 365 Partner

Choosing a Dynamics 365 implementation partner means looking beyond the proposal. Ask who will deliver the project, how they handle updates, and what happens when the implementation team hands over to support.

Red Flags to Watch For

• Customisation before process review. Heavy development proposed before anyone has mapped how your business works.

• No plan for updates. A proposal that ends at go-live, with nothing on release waves.

• A low fixed price with a vague scope. The gap usually returns as change requests.

• No references you can call. Especially in your industry.

What “Australian-Ready” Should Mean

A Microsoft partner in Australia should know how to put local requirements to work, not just switch them on:

• Microsoft’s Australian localisation, including GST, BAS business units, ABNs, withholding tax, and EFT (Microsoft Learn).

• Payroll integrations ready for Payday Super, which since 1 July 2026 requires super to reach funds within seven business days of payday.

• E-invoicing in the Peppol PINT A-NZ format, supported in Business Central.

• Data hosted in the Australia Azure geography.

Two Proposals, Five Years Later

(An illustrative comparison.)

The proposal price is the smallest number in a five-year ERP decision.

The Netsmartz View: Buy the Relationship, Not the Project

A partner’s long-term value is easier to judge when you see how they work before the contract is signed. We recommend four practical checks:

1. Run a real process demo. Give each partner the same workflow and your own sample data. See how they handle the process before discussing customisation.

2. Put release-wave management in the contract. Define testing responsibilities and timelines around every April and October update.

3. Start with standard features and proven industry solutions. For construction businesses, consider established AI-powered solutions such as ProjectPro before commissioning new custom development.

4. Meet the support team before you sign. Know who will handle your account after implementation, not just who is presenting the proposal.

The Bottom Line

Go-live is one day. The partnership that follows spans years, through major updates, new regulations, and changes in how your business runs. Choose a Dynamics 365 partner with a plan for everything that comes after implementation.

Talk to Netsmartz, one of top 1% Microsoft Solutions Partner, about implementing and supporting Dynamics 365 for your Australian business.

Frequently Asked Questions