Key takeaways from Directions for Partners EMEA

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Directions for Partners is one of, if not the biggest conferences for the Microsoft Community and boasts a wealth of knowledge and industry news, and Directions EMEA Vienna did not disappoint.

With record breaking crowds, an abundance of specialist talks and presentations, as well as a host of networking opportunities for both Microsoft Partners and ISV’s, this year’s event was one not to be missed. There was no surprise when the most heavily talked about subject was Artificial Intelligence (AI), but there was also much discussion around security, sustainability, and so much more.

As we continue to enjoy the excitement of our latest trip to Vienna, we’re sharing a few key takeaways from this year’s conference…

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Leveraging AI in Business Central (BC) presents a unique growth opportunity, making Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) adoption more appealing by adding automation and intelligence.

Co-Pilot Studio from Microsoft provides extensive customisation to scale AI for growing business demands, supporting increased API calls, job queues, and interactions. It’s important to note that, although AI offers efficiency and enhanced capabilities, it’s important to not get carried away by the hype of AI and ensure you have a clear use case for AI adoption to truly reap the benefits.

AI – coming soon

Exciting news, new features to streamline common tasks in BC will be making an appearance in the not to distant future. Think suggesting sales lines, matching e-documents, automating number series, and recommending item substitutions, and may other possibilities. Coming in January 2025 (English-only) Co-Piot will also bring chat capabilities, allowing users to query local functions, release plans, and troubleshooting steps.

Co-Pilot Studio

Co-Pilot Studio allows BC users to build custom AI agents tailored to specific business needs, whether that’s simple retrieval agents, task-oriented agents, or fully autonomous agents. The Studio combines a visual canvas with code (YAML) to allow intuitive, conversationally built workflows, and customisations. Users can build logic and actions for agents that integrate with Business Central and deploy them across desired platforms, such as Microsoft Teams, for a seamless AI-enhanced workflow experience.

Sustainability in Business Central

With sustainability being a key topic of interest in the previous years, Microsoft have introduced a dedicated Sustainability module. As sustainability reporting becomes a more regulatory requirement, BC continues to introduce tools to make compliance manageable, helping users to meet their legal obligations whilst aligning with broader, long-term sustainability goals.

The new Sustainability Role Centre, which enables companies to actively track, report, and reduce their environmental impact directly within Business Central shows how Microsoft is making Sustainability a core focus. Designed to support EU sustainability regulations and help businesses prepare for the legal mandate of ESG reporting, this Role Centre contains carbon footprint tracking, emission ledger entries, and ESG reporting.

With GL templates and easy setup, BC ensures that your business can stay compliant and support sustainable practices, aligning with regulatory timelines, expected in the next 6-12 months.

Security Initiatives

Business Central users will be pleased to hear of the new ‘Secure Future’ initiative from Microsoft, that prioritizes tenant security and identity protection within BC. Including enforcing multifactor authentication, using conditional access through Entra apps, and implementing sensitive field monitoring, all to provide a fortified ERP environment for businesses.

Tenant and Environment Isolation
Sensitive Data Monitoring
Network Protection with Azure Service Tags
Auditing and Compliance with Purview Integration
AI-Go for GitHub with Secure DevOps

Find out more.

We could probably talk all day about all the other latest enhancements and topics discussed at Directions EMEA, but for now, we will leave it there. All we can say is… roll on Directions EMEA 2025, we’ll see you in Poznan!

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