When one ERP has run your business for 38 years, replacing it feels daunting. ControlGear Instramac did it over a single weekend, and was trading on the new system by Monday.
At a glance: a 33-person South African engineering firm moved off Microsoft Dynamics GP after 38 years. Project start May 2024, live on Business Central on 1 November 2024, with a weekend cut-over and no trading disruption.
The challenge
ControlGear Instramac delivers turnkey electrical, control and instrumentation projects. For 38 years the business ran on Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains). It worked, but GP is now end of life: no new functionality, a fixed support clock, and a widening gap to modern capability. Every quarter on GP added risk and held the business back from the cloud reporting, integrations and AI that only land on Business Central.
The move to Business Central
Braintree migrated ControlGear from Great Plains to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. The project began in May 2024 and went live on 1 November 2024 over a single weekend, so the team was trading on Business Central from the Monday. The new platform gave the business what GP could not:
- A modern, supported cloud ERP that receives Microsoft's new capability as it ships.
- An online store connected to the same system that runs the back office.
- Real-time customer visibility across the business.
- API integrations to the other tools the business runs.
"The Braintree team knew their stuff. The implementation was phenomenal."Deon Nieuwoudt, Operations Director, ControlGear Instramac
The results
ControlGear moved off a platform on a countdown and onto one built for what comes next, without disrupting trading. The online store and API integrations connected parts of the business that Great Plains kept separate, and real-time visibility replaced the lag of an end-of-life system.
The pattern holds beyond one customer: a Microsoft-commissioned Forrester study in 2026 modelled a 209% return on Business Central with payback in under six months.
Still on Great Plains?
If your business is still on Microsoft Dynamics GP, the question is no longer whether to migrate, but when and how cleanly. Braintree has done the harder version of this migration with the data and the day-to-day protected through the move. Chat to a Braintree consultant about your migration path.
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