A Customer-Focused Evolution in ERP Development
If you’re evaluating ERP systems for your business, Microsoft’s innovative approach to developing Business Central deserves your attention. With the 2024 Wave 2 release, Microsoft has fundamentally changed how their ERP solution evolves—and it directly benefits organizations like yours.
What Makes Business Central Different: The Power of Co-Development
Unlike traditional ERP platforms where improvements come solely from the vendor, Business Central now evolves through a unique co-development initiative that brings Microsoft engineers together with expert developers from the global Business Central community. This collaborative approach is transforming both the speed and quality of Business Central’s evolution.
The co-development initiative offers several compelling benefits for contributors:
- Code Quality: Having the product group and community members review your code leads to higher quality architecture and fewer bugs.
- Customer Confidence: Features become an inherent part of the Business Central platform, strengthening customer trust.
- Microsoft Support: The Business Central product group takes ownership of supporting contributed code.
- Competitive Edge: Contributing fundamental features helps make Business Central the obvious choice for potential customers.
- Seamless Integration: Adding appropriate anchor points into the platform allows for more integrated customer experiences.
- Expert Recognition: Contributors establish themselves as subject matter experts, becoming resources others seek for guidance.
As Jesper Schulz-Wedde, Principal Architect of Dynamics 365 BC puts it, “Co-development is truly a win-win, or as I usually formulate it: together we win.”
Why This Matters for Your ERP Decision
1. Faster Problem-Solving for Real Business Challenges
When hundreds of experts from diverse industries collaborate on a platform, problems get solved remarkably faster. The 2024 Wave 2 release alone included over 60 community-contributed features that address common pain points reported by actual users. This means the platform is continuously being refined based on real-world usage, not just internal development priorities.
2. Higher Quality and More Reliable Platform
Every contributed feature undergoes rigorous review by both Microsoft engineers and community experts, resulting in significantly higher quality architecture and fewer bugs. As a customer, this translates to a more stable, reliable system for your critical business operations.
3. Practical Improvements That Save You Time Daily
The co-development approach prioritizes practical enhancements that make a real difference in daily operations. For example:
- Duplicate Invoice Prevention: A new notification system alerts users when they attempt to enter an invoice with an external document number that has already been used—a simple feature that prevents costly duplicate entries.
- Streamlined Setup Pages: Previously cluttered setup pages have been redesigned with logical grouping, making system configuration significantly more intuitive.
- AI-Assisted Configuration: Copilot now generates all necessary number series for modules like Purchasing with a single click and automatically configures the setup pages, dramatically reducing implementation time.
4. Enterprise-Grade Support Without Enterprise Complexity
Unlike add-ons or customizations that might leave you wondering who will support them long-term, all co-developed features become an inherent part of the Business Central platform. This means they’re fully supported by Microsoft’s product team—giving you enterprise-grade reliability without the fragmented support experience common with heavily customized ERP systems.
5. A Platform That Evolves with Your Business
With the accelerated development pace enabled by community contributions, Business Central evolves faster than traditional ERP solutions. This means as your business grows and market conditions change, your ERP system is more likely to have the capabilities you need already built in—reducing the need for costly custom development.
The Bottom Line for Your ERP Decision
When evaluating ERP systems, consider not just what the platform offers today, but how it will evolve to meet your needs tomorrow. Business Central’s co-development approach creates a uniquely responsive platform that combines Microsoft’s enterprise-grade infrastructure with the agility and innovation of a global expert community.
This collaborative development model ultimately delivers what matters most for your business: a more reliable, feature-rich ERP system that continuously improves, backed by Microsoft’s world-class support infrastructure.
If you’re ready to explore how Business Central can support your business growth, contact our team for a demonstration of Dynamics 365 Business Central highlighting the latest innovations to help your business.
By CAL Business Solutions Inc., Connecticut Acumatica & Microsoft Dynamics GP / 365 BC Partner, www.calszone.com
