Three ways to Deploy Business Central

There are three different ways that Business Central can be deployed. We’ll cover each way and their pros and cons.

1) SaaS (Software as a service) - there is no software to install, no servers needed and is the easiest way to deploy Business Central. You are subscribing to a service. Backups are automatically made and automatic updates are rolled out periodically. The biggest benefit is you never have to perform a costly upgrade as updates are made automatically. If you do not want your data in the cloud, then this is not the method for you. Automatic updates have the potential of causing an issue, though this is rare. You also have very little ability to manage the environment as this is controlled by Microsoft. Since the software is on the cloud, if there is an internet outage, it may impact your ability to use the software.

2) Private cloud - you may purchase or subscribe to a Business Central license. The software would be installed on cloud server(s) as Azure to host Business Central. You will need Windows server along with SQL server and a web server. In this case, you can maintain the environment and have full control over it. This will be more costly than SaaS, as you will need to subscribe to multiple services and purchase licenses in addition to Business Central. You are responsible for backups and you may apply updates as you wish.

3) On Premise - you may purchase or subscribe to a Business Central license. In this case, the software is installed on your physical servers. You will need Windows server along with SQL server and a web server. You have full control over the environment. This will be more costly than SaaS, as you will need to subscribe to multiple services and purchase licenses in addition to Business Central. You are responsible for backups and you may apply updates as you wish. This method is ideal when you absolutely do not want your data on the cloud.

Your requirements will determine the best method. Seamless updates, automatic backups and no servers to worry about makes SaaS the ideal option for most.