Directions EMEA 2025: What the Future of Business Central Means for You

Earlier this month, the annual Directions EMEA conference brought together the global Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central community in Poznań, Poland. The message was loud and clear: the Business Central ecosystem is accelerating into an AI-first era – one focused on automation, agility and delivering faster, smarter outcomes for organisations of every size.

Here are the biggest developments that matter.

AI Takes Centre Stage (With Practical Impact)

The standout theme this year was the arrival of intelligent agents inside Business Central. These new capabilities go far beyond simple automation. They’re designed to take on end-to-end processes, for example, reviewing invoices, classifying costs correctly, and preparing them for posting with minimal human input.

Microsoft’s message was straightforward: AI won’t replace people, but it will remove repetitive work and free teams to focus on higher-value tasks. Success depends heavily on the quality of your data, so businesses with clean, well-structured information will see the biggest benefits first.

A Rapidly Maturing Global Platform

Business Central has now surpassed 50,000 organisations worldwide, a milestone that reflects its evolution into a robust, enterprise-grade platform. Microsoft announced continued investment in global rollouts, compliance features, and smoother upgrades, making it easier for businesses operating across multiple countries to stay aligned and agile.

For our customers, this means more stability, fewer upgrade hurdles, and improved localisation for regions across EMEA and beyond.

Faster Implementations, More Value

A big focus this year was speed. Businesses no longer want long, complex ERP projects, they want results quickly. Microsoft showcased new tools and automation that enables us to create an even more streamlined delivery experience to our customers.

Clear Expectations: Customers Want Outcomes, Not Over-Engineering

Across the conference, one trend was impossible to ignore: organisations expect modern ERP systems to be easy to adopt, cost-effective to run and continuously improve. Custom code is becoming the exception rather than the rule, and customers increasingly measure success in outcomes such as:

• quicker order-to-cash cycles
• faster invoice processing
• fewer errors and manual touchpoints
• better real-time insight for decision-makers

Business Central’s new AI and automation features are designed exactly for this shift, and we are excited to be at the forefront of delivering this to you.

Data as a Strategic Foundation

AI is only as good as the data it works with. Many businesses want to take advantage of AI but aren’t sure where to start, and that’s normal. The most successful organisations will be the ones that focus on high-quality data, strong governance and clear priorities.

Expect to see us show you more tools in the coming months that make it easier to manage, analyse and act on your data inside Business Central.

New Capabilities That Will Help Businesses Move Faster

Several upcoming improvements will directly benefit customers:

Sustainability Tracking

New capabilities will help organisations measure emissions and ESG-related data directly inside Business Central,  without adding extra admin for teams.

E-Invoicing

Built-in electronic invoicing will support compliance requirements across multiple regions while reducing processing time and errors.

Manufacturing & Quality Enhancements

Upcoming features aim to cut waste, strengthen traceability and support higher product quality across manufacturing processes.

What This Means for Businesses Like Yours

Directions EMEA 2025 made one thing absolutely clear: the future of Business Central is automated, intelligent and tailored for rapid growth. For our customers, this shift brings real advantages:

• Reduced manual workloads through AI and agents
• Lower cost of ownership and easier upgrades
• Faster implementation times
• Better insight from cleaner, structured data
• A platform that grows with your business (locally and globally)

The next chapter of Business Central is shaped around speed, simplicity and meaningful outcomes, giving organisations the tools they need to thrive in an increasingly fast-moving, AI-powered market.

If you’d like help understanding how these developments apply to your organisation, or how AI and automation could improve your day-to-day operations, we’re ready to guide you.