#063 DIRECTIONS EMEA 2024

 

Below are some key insights and highlights from our participation, in the different perspectives.

 

Functional Sessions

The central theme of Directions EMEA 2024 was AI: deeper BC integration with Copilot and Agents have been introduced. The first Agent released is the Sales Agent that allows to recognize emails, propose responses to emails and automatically create documents in D365 BC (such as sales quotes, sales orders, etc.).

In addition to AI, new features were presented, as:

1. Subscription Billing – this solution was created by a partner and acquired by Microsoft to manage billing and in the service sector. The key points of this solution are managing contracts, managing recurring billing and managing revenue recognition.

 

2. Excel Report – allow to export information directly to Excel, several worksheets will be created, one with data to be printed and others with details.

 

3. PowerBI report – Finance app, allows you to use embedded PowerBI reports in D365 BC, without needing to switch to another application. Several new templates were released, such as Financial Overview, Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and more.

 

4. Warehouse in Projects – items were added to Project Module, it is now possible to have items and to carry out warehouse processes from projects.

 

5. Possibility of a project being invoiced with more than one customer – now it is possible to define different customers to invoice within the same project.

 

6. Job queue priority – created a new feature that allows to set priority in the job queue, this means that when multiple job queues are scheduled to the same time, the high priority starts first.

 

Technical Sessions

Some of the standout technical sessions included:

1. What’s new in AL – in this session Microsoft, shared the latest features including:

• OptimizeForTextSearch option for tables
• New ConfigurationDialog page type and PageStyle enum
• Query enhancements like Tooltips and JSON export for data exchange
• Extended Interfaces and new properties for Date and Time types
• This keyword for referencing the current object
• Scheduled performance profilers for recording process snapshots

 

2. Best Practices for Writing Performant Code in Business Central – Microsoft emphasized focusing on performance in code. Key tips included:

• Replace nested loops with queries
• Use SetLoadFields to load only necessary data
• Simplify pages and minimize code
• Use PageBackground tasks for heavy calculations
• For troubleshooting, they recommended Database Missing Indexes, Application Insights, BCPT, and AL Profiling with the new Scheduled Profiler

 

3. The Job Queue, from mystery to mastery! – in this session, presented by A.J. Kauffmann, he unraveled the Job Queue settings, focusing on recurring jobs. We also learned how to set up error notifications to be sent directly to our inboxes when a job fails, using Power Automate notification (new in v25).

 

4. How we handle large Business Central customers in SaaS – Stefano Demiliani and Duilio Tacconi discussed strategies for managing high transaction volumes, concurrency, and database growth. Key solutions included:

• Implementing telemetry and optimized number sequences
• Using read-only replicas for GET requests and batching POST operations
• Minimizing database locks, using background tasks, and optimizing APIs

 

7. Establishing data retention plans and offloading large media to Azure Blob Storage for better database management.

 

Our Sales effort at Directions 2024

This year at Directions, Arquiconsult made a significant impact with our booth, reflecting our ongoing commitment to the event. Our presence was marked by the return of our popular Port wine bottles, which have become a cherished tradition among attendees. Additionally, our innovative Yo-yos, symbolizing our readiness to assist partners with their projects, were a hit, drawing attention and sparking conversations.

 

Our efforts yielded promising results, with several leads generated. We also conducted several productive meetings, expanding discussions beyond Dynamics BC to include Power Platform. These interactions underscore the value of our nearshore services and our expertise across multiple Microsoft technologies.

 

Directions continues to be a valuable platform for Arquiconsult, enabling us to connect with partners, showcase our solutions, and explore new business opportunities. We look forward to building on the success of this year’s event and strengthening our partnerships in the year ahead.

Arquiconsult Sharing Knowledge

A At this year’s Directions, Arquiconsult’s presence was not only felt on the exhibition floor but also in the conference rooms. We are proud to share that our session, led by Patricia Maia and Paulo Marques, was selected from over 800 submissions for one of the 300 available slots.

 

The session, titled “Growing Together: Let’s Talk About P2P”, focused on partnerships engagement, offering valuable insights into the dos and don’ts of partnerships, and guidance on selecting ISVs and localizations.

The session was met with great interest and the feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5. This response is a testament to the expertise of our speakers and the relevance of the content shared.

 

We are delighted with the outcome and the opportunity to contribute to the Directions community. It’s clear that our insights into partnership strategies are resonating, and we look forward to continuing these important conversations and collaborations in the future.

Other interesting links:

• https://directions4partners.com/events/directions-emea/
• https://directions4partners.com/events/directions-emea/sessions/