Levoplant, one of the largest Phalaenopsis growers in the Netherlands, recently transitioned from Agriware 365 on-premise to Agriware 365in the cloud. With this move, the company aims to enhance efficiency, scalability, and innovation. What were the key considerations, and what results have they seen so far? Frank van Holsteijn, IT Application Manager at Levoplant, explains the decision.

The Considerations: Why Migrate to the Cloud?

The decision to migrate to the cloud was well-considered, says Frank van Holsteijn. "We carefully weighed the pros and cons and reviewed everything thoroughly." One key factor was the increasing load on Levoplant's local servers, with Business Central being one of the largest users. "By migrating to the cloud, we avoided the need to invest in new hardware, which immediately saved costs."

While the monthly expenses for licenses and cloud management through Mprise were slightly higher, other savings offset this: "Costs for updates, server maintenance, and licenses for local servers are eliminated. In particular, the bi-annual updates that used to be time-consuming and costly can now be managed internally."

A significant consideration was the limited access to the SQL database in the cloud. Levoplant previously used Power Queries in Excel to directly extract data from their database. "We reworked those into Business Central queries that operate via web services. It required some effort, but ultimately it’s a workable solution."

The Deciding Factors: The Benefits of the Cloud

What ultimately tipped the scales for the migration?"In addition to cost savings, we saw many benefits the cloud offers,"Frank explains:

• Independence in updates: “We can apply Microsoft updates ourselves, manage third-party extensions, and install apps via the Microsoft app store. This gives us much more control.”
• Future-proofing: “Microsoft develops Business Central as cloud-first, with more and more features being cloud-exclusive, such as integrations with Outlook, Power BI, Power Automate, and Co-Pilot, Microsoft’s AI tool.”
• No more development licenses: “We create our own customizations. In the cloud, using extensions, we no longer need development licenses, as we did in the past.”
• Simple scalability: The cloud provides flexibility without concerns about full drives or log files. “There are still limits, but we’re nowhere near reaching them.”
• No server management: “For our administrator, it’s ideal. No server maintenance, no backups to manage, or complex scripts to run for updates. It just works.”

Additionally, most of the applications Levoplant uses integrate seamlessly with Business Central, such as Jet Reports, Dynamics Anywhere, and Blue10. “With the help of online guides, this is often set up quickly.”

The Results: Practical Advantages

Since the migration, Levoplant has experienced several immediate benefits. Updating Business Central is now much simpler. "We’re more independent and can perform updates at our own pace," says Frank. Single Sign-On (SSO) via Azure has also been a big plus: users log in with their existing accounts, enhancing ease of use.

The cloud environment also proved its value during unexpected situations. “Recently, part of our server park crashed. Since Business Central had been running in the cloud for a few weeks, we could continue working without interruption. Otherwise, we would likely have faced downtime.”

The daily performance of the system also meets expectations. "In terms of speed, we notice no difference compared to our old on-premise environment, and critical integrations—like with Outlook—worked seamlessly from the start."

The Migration Process

Levoplant handled much of the migration work internally. “This makes us somewhat of a unique case, because we managed and tested the data migration ourselves,” Frank explains. The biggest challenge was in the integrations with external systems. The logistics systems integration, in particular, required adjustments. “Our existing service broker was no longer adequate and had to be replaced with Mprise’s Connect App. That process took longer than expected, but it works well in the end.”

Advice for Other Growers

To other growers considering the move, Levoplant offers clear advice: “For companies with around 20 users or fewer, it’s a no-brainer. You’ll save money, deal with fewer update hassles, and always stay up-to-date and secure.”

Frank van Holsteijn emphasizes the importance of thorough testing. "Take a close look at which applications are integrated with Business Central and test them extensively. For us, this was the most work, but it prevents issues after the migration.”

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“For companies with around 20 users or fewer, it’s a no-brainer. You’ll save money, deal with fewer update hassles, and always stay up-to-date and secure.”

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Conclusion

For Levoplant, the migration to the cloud has paid off. The flexibility, simplicity, and future-proof nature of the cloud environment ensure the company is ready for its next phase of growth.

Are you considering moving to the cloud?
With a cloud environment, you save costs, work more flexibly, and benefit from Microsoft’s latest technologies. Want to know what the cloud can do for your organization? Contact Mprise Agriware for a free consultation. We’d be happy to help!

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