Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has one of the largest installed user bases of any enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, serving over 150,000 companies and 2.5 million plus individual users, at the time of writing. The community of supporting organizations, consultants, implementers, and developers continues to grow and prosper. The capabilities of the off-the-shelf product increase with every release. The selection of add-on products and services expands both in variety and depth.
The release of Microsoft Dynamics Business Central continues its 20-plus year history of continuous product improvement. It provides more user options for access and output formatting. For new installations, Business Central includes tools for rapid implementation. For all installations, it provides enhanced business functionality and more support for ERP computing in the cloud, including integration with Microsoft Office 365.
Our goal in this chapter is to gain a big-picture understanding of Business Central. You will be able to envision how Business Central can be used by managers (or owners) of an organization to help manage activities and the resources, whether the organization is for-profit or not-for-profit. You will also be introduced to the technical side of Business Central from a developer's point of view.
In this chapter, we will take a look at Business Central, including the following topics:
- A general overview of Business Central
- A technical overview of Business Central
- A hands-on introduction to Visual Studio Code development in Business Central
