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Case Study · Designwerk (Volvo Group)

From Business Central v14 without interruption to v28 On-Premises

Designwerk, a company of the Volvo Group, uses Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as its core ERP system for business-critical processes. The manufacturing module and the service module are particularly relevant here, as they are directly embedded in operational workflows.

Alongside the structured data migration with DataMigrate Pro, IO Integrated also handled the code conversion of the existing customizations. The move from BC14 to BC28 was completed within a few weeks – without downtime for the line.

Book a free Upgrade-Check → View the v14 to v28 upgrade path
Out of Support

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central v14 no longer receives updates.

Mainstream and extended support for Business Central v14 have expired. There are no more security updates, no hotfixes and no direct, official Microsoft upgrade path – which is what prompted Designwerk to make the move to v28.

See the v14 to v28 upgrade path
End of support October 2025
No more updates under the Modern Policy

Starting point

Designwerk ran Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central v14 On-Premises as its core ERP platform. The solution was closely tied to the company’s operational workflows, particularly in manufacturing and service.

These two modules place particular demands on a migration. In manufacturing, processes around production, materials, availability, feedback postings and planning have to work reliably. In service, it is about service orders, spare parts, histories, ongoing cases and fast access to relevant information.

A longer ERP outage would therefore not only have affected administrative processes. It could have had a direct impact on ongoing operations. For Designwerk it was therefore decisive that the move to Business Central v28 happened in a controlled way, quickly and without interrupting the line.

Project objective

Designwerk was to move from Business Central v14 On-Premises to Business Central v28 On-Premises without putting ongoing manufacturing and service processes at risk. That involved several central requirements:

  • Modernizing the existing Business Central environment from v14 to v28
  • Converting existing customizations and individual code components
  • Structured transfer of the productive data
  • Minimizing the risk of moving to the new version
  • No downtime for the line
  • Continued operation of the on-premises model
  • A project sequence that is as lean and predictable as possible

The changeover was not to take place as a traditional high-risk big bang. Instead, a controlled migration approach was chosen in which the target environment, code conversion and data migration were prepared cleanly and aligned with one another.

The challenge

Moving from v14 to v28 is more than an update.

In productively used on-premises environments, the real complexity usually does not come from installing the new version. The critical point lies in the interplay of data, individual customizations and running business processes.

Problem
Numerous technical changes between the versions

Between Business Central v14 and v28 there are new platform levels, changes in the standard and changed requirements for existing extensions. A purely technical version bump would not have been enough.

Solution
Target-oriented modernization

Business Central v28 On-Premises was prepared as the new target environment, while the existing v14 environment served as the starting point. Code, data and target environment were deliberately considered separately and then brought together cleanly.

Problem
Customizations do not simply keep running

The existing customizations from Business Central v14 were directly connected to operational workflows. A migration would have been incomplete if only data had been transferred while the customized process logic no longer worked reliably.

Solution
Code conversion for Business Central v28

IO Integrated reviewed the existing customizations, adapted them and prepared them for Business Central v28. The goal was a working, maintainable and more future-proof solution – not an unchecked copy of legacy structures.

Problem
Manufacturing and service tolerate no downtime

Manufacturing and service data are needed in day-to-day operations. An unclear or incomplete data transfer would have had a direct impact on the work of the departments.

Solution
Prepared and validated data migration

With DataMigrate Pro, the data transfer was prepared, validated and carried out in a controlled way instead of being treated as a single critical step shortly before go-live. The changeover took place without interrupting the line.

Project approach

Five steps from analysis to an uninterrupted changeover.

IO Integrated used a target-oriented modernization approach: instead of merely pushing the existing system forward technically, code, data and target environment were built separately and then brought together.

Process

Modernization in five steps

  1. 01

    Analysis of the existing BC14 environment

    The project started with an analysis of the existing Business Central v14 On-Premises environment. The focus was on the existing customizations, the relevant data areas and the processes relevant to manufacturing and service. What mattered was which components are business-critical for ongoing operations – in manufacturing and service in particular, small deviations can have large effects in day-to-day business.

  2. 02

    Building the BC28 target environment

    The new Business Central v28 On-Premises environment was prepared early and served as the basis for code conversion, data migration and validation. Because the target environment did not only appear at the end of the project, technical adjustments could be checked, data transfers prepared and central processes tested. That considerably reduced the risk of the later changeover.

  3. 03

    Code conversion for Business Central v28

    The existing customizations from Business Central v14 were reviewed, adapted and prepared for v28. This step was particularly important because the customizations were directly connected to operational workflows. IO Integrated therefore handled not only the technical data migration, but also the structured code conversion.

  4. 04

    Data migration with DataMigrate Pro

    DataMigrate Pro was used for the data migration. The solution enabled a structured transfer of the relevant data from Business Central v14 into the new v28 environment. Instead of treating the migration as a single critical step shortly before go-live, the data transfer could be prepared, validated and carried out in a controlled way.

  5. 05

    Validation and an uninterrupted changeover

    After code conversion and data migration, the new environment was validated. Central workflows, migrated data and individual functions were checked – with manufacturing and service at the centre. The combination of a prepared target environment, converted code and data migration allowed the changeover to happen in a controlled way, without interrupting the line.

Results

The move from Business Central v14 to Business Central v28 On-Premises was completed within a few weeks. Designwerk received a modernized Business Central environment with converted code, migrated data and a current technical foundation. At the same time, the on-premises operating model was retained.

The most important operational success: the changeover happened without downtime for the line. For a company that uses Business Central in manufacturing and service, that is exactly what counts. The migration had to work not only technically, but also respect ongoing operations.

DataMigrate Pro was a central building block in this. The solution made the data migration controllable, traceable and predictable. Combined with the code conversion, this created a complete modernization path – not just a technical version update.

Key facts

Key facts at a glance.

Customer Designwerk, Volvo Group
Contact Olivier Brandes
Source system Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central v14 On-Premises
Target system Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central v28 On-Premises
Project type Version change and technical modernization
Solution used DataMigrate Pro
Scope Code conversion, data migration, target system setup, validation
Relevant modules Manufacturing and service
Special requirement Uninterrupted changeover without downtime for the line
Project timeframe A few weeks
Results Modernized BC28 on-premises environment with migrated data and converted customizations
Customer testimonial · Designwerk (Volvo Group)

With DataMigrate Pro, the move from BC14 to BC28 was done in a few weeks – with no downtime for our line. A clear recommendation for anyone still hesitating.

Olivier Brandes
Designwerk, Volvo Group

Why DataMigrate Pro made the difference here

In ERP migrations, the risk rarely lies in the technical installation of a new version alone. What is decisive is the interplay of data, customizations and running processes. That interplay was particularly important at Designwerk, because the manufacturing module and the service module are closely tied to day-to-day business.

DataMigrate Pro helped make the data migration predictable and controllable. The new Business Central v28 environment could be prepared, populated and validated before the changeover took place. The code conversion complemented this approach: existing customizations were neither ignored nor reinvented, but specifically prepared for Business Central v28.

The result was an approach that delivered considerably more than a traditional update. Designwerk was able to modernize its existing solution, retain business-critical processes and move to a current Business Central version without interrupting the line.

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