Sage 300 version upgrade and Azure cloud migration for a BC industrial manufacturer.
A BC-based industrial manufacturer was running Sage 300 2016 on on-premise servers that were approaching end of life. SFS Technologies upgraded the ERP platform to Sage 300 2024, migrated the environment to Azure Virtual Desktop, and configured a site-to-site VPN tunnel so staff could continue printing to local office printers from the cloud environment.
The challenge
Eight-year-old ERP on failing hardware with no upgrade path
The manufacturer had been running Sage 300 2016 since its original deployment, on a physical server in the office. By 2024, that hardware was beyond its supported lifecycle. The server had experienced disk issues and the business was operating with increasing risk of an unplanned outage that could halt production reporting, inventory management, and financial operations.
The version of Sage 300 in use was no longer receiving feature updates or vendor support. New modules were not available for the 2016 version, which limited the business from expanding its ERP use. Connecting remote staff to the on-premise system required a legacy VPN solution that was difficult to maintain.
The business needed to move to a supported version of Sage 300 on infrastructure that could scale and be managed without relying on a single physical server in the office. The operations team also needed to retain access to the office printer fleet, which handled production documents and purchase order printouts.
The solution
Sage 300 2024 on Azure, with VPN tunnel for local printers
SFS Technologies performed a full version upgrade from Sage 300 2016 to Sage 300 2024. The upgrade process included reviewing all active modules, migrating data to the new version format, testing existing Crystal Reports for compatibility, and updating configurations to the current Sage 300 standard.
The upgraded environment was deployed on Azure Virtual Desktop. Staff access Sage 300 through a secure, cloud-hosted Windows session accessible from any device. The dependency on the physical office server was eliminated entirely.
To preserve access to the existing printer fleet, SFS Technologies configured a site-to-site VPN tunnel between the Azure Virtual Desktop environment and the office network. Printers connected to the local network are visible to the Sage 300 cloud environment. Staff can print production documents, purchase orders, and reports directly to office printers without any changes to the printers themselves or individual workstations.
The full upgrade and migration was completed with a structured cutover. Data from the 2016 environment was migrated and validated before the team moved to the new platform. Training covered the changes between the 2016 and 2024 versions of Sage 300.
Sage 300 2016
Version upgraded from
Sage 300 2024
Version upgraded to
Azure Cloud + AVD
Infrastructure
What the project covered
Common questions about Sage 300 upgrades and cloud migration.
Common questions about this service answered directly.
What are the risks of running Sage 300 on aging on-premise hardware?
Running Sage 300 on hardware that is beyond its supported life introduces several risks. Hardware failure can result in unplanned downtime with no clean path to recovery if backups are not current. Older operating systems may no longer receive security patches, which creates an attack surface for ransomware and data breaches. Performance degradation over time also affects user productivity. Version upgrades become more complex when the underlying infrastructure is not stable.
Can Sage 300 2024 be accessed remotely without a VPN to the office?
Yes. When Sage 300 is hosted on Azure Virtual Desktop, users access the application through a secure cloud-hosted Windows session. There is no requirement for a VPN connection back to a physical office. Staff can work from any location on any device. This is a significant operational improvement for businesses with remote or hybrid workforces.
How does the site-to-site VPN tunnel work for local printers?
A site-to-site VPN tunnel connects the Azure Virtual Desktop environment to the physical office network. This allows Sage 300 running in Azure to see printers connected to the local network as if they were on the same network segment. Users in the cloud environment can print to office printers without any additional software on each workstation. The tunnel is maintained at the network level and is transparent to end users.
How long does a Sage 300 version upgrade take?
A version upgrade from Sage 300 2016 to Sage 300 2024, combined with a cloud migration, typically takes 8 to 12 weeks depending on the number of modules in use, customisations, and the complexity of the existing data. The timeline includes pre-upgrade testing, data migration, parallel running, and user acceptance testing before the team cuts over to the new environment.
What happened to the customisations and reports from the old Sage 300 environment?
Existing Crystal Reports and custom configurations were reviewed during the upgrade. Reports compatible with Sage 300 2024 were migrated to the new environment. Where reports referenced deprecated features or fields that changed between versions, they were updated or rebuilt. Custom configurations for modules were carried forward and tested against the new version before go-live.
Running an older version of Sage 300?
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