The Bare Minimum Requirements Needed for Business Central Online
Updated: Aug 17, 2021
Popularity for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central over the past year has reached heights only Kong saw when battling Godzilla. For the record, Kong bows to no one and would never be defeated by Godzilla, but that's an entirely different discussion so let's get back to the topic at hand. Business Central's ability to be accessed from anywhere there's an internet connection proved more helpful than anyone could have imagined over the past year because of the pandemic. Businesses that had already implemented Business Central online as their ERP software were better prepared than most to make the transition to remote working, and the businesses who were not as prepared were left scrambling to find a solution. For a lot of these businesses the solution was to migrate/upgrade to Business Central online but with the bare requirements needed because the effects of the pandemic really took a toll on their business. So, what are the bare minimum requirements needed to run Business Central online? They are...
Internet Connectivity
First and foremost, you're going to need an internet connection. As your internet goes so does Business Central online. What kind of internet speeds are we talking about? It's going to vary for pretty much everyone because there are a lot of variables that go along with this, such as your computer's hardware and the strength of your internet connection. I've seen Business Central run great with a strong internet connection with internet speeds as low as 50 megabits per second. I'd personally recommend having a strong internet connection with that has speeds of at least 100 megabits per second---especially if your organization has a lot of data.
Business Central Web Browsers
Web browsers are going to hand-in-hand with internet speed and Business Central has 4 recommended browsers that you can use, so there's something for everyone. The browsers recommended are:
New Microsoft Edge for Windows
Google Chrome for Windows version 77.0 or later.
Mozilla Firefox for Windows version 69.0 or later.
Safari for macOS version 12.0 or later.
Business Central Integrated with Microsoft 365
Finally, you're going to want Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365). This is going to allow you to take advantage of all those amazing integrations that Business Central offers. I know what you're thinking, "you don't really need Microsoft 365 to use Business Central online." You're correct but I'll answer you back with, "Why are you using Business Central?" If you don't take advantage of the Outlook of Teams integrations that allow you to open up Business Central within their app, and then edit and share information through an email or chat without having to switch to the Business Central app, then what's the point? Don't you want to be able to export and edit information to excel and then magically publish it back to Business Central, or how about printing reports to Excel and Word? Hopefully you kind of see what I'm getting at. One of the main driving factors to use Business Central online is to to take advantage of all the wonderful Microsoft Integrations so I'm happy to make the argument that it is a bare minimum requirement.
