Transitioning from legacy systems to modern, cloud-based ERP solutions like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central introduces a lot of new terminology. To help teams get up to speed, we’ve compiled a glossary of common and Dynamics-specific terms used throughout the system and in Microsoft Learn’s business process guidance.

 

AppSource

Microsoft AppSource connects business users to software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps from Microsoft and its partners. Apps are built on top of Microsoft software, such as Microsoft Dynamics or Power Apps. They are designed to extend the functionality of the core software, such as Dynamics 365 Business Central. Typically, apps are designed to serve a specific purpose, for example, electronic document signing, or to help solve an industry-specific problem, like supply chain distribution.

Many apps offer a free trial period and are then available to purchase on a subscription basis. Some apps are available for free, such as those directly from Microsoft or PayPal. Think of AppSource like a smartphone app store, but for Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)

Azure Active Directory is Microsoft’s cloud-based identity and access management service. This service controls how users sign in and access various Microsoft cloud-based systems and apps like Dynamics 365 Business Central, Office 365, and Teams.

Azure AD allows businesses to manage all employees’ logins from a single, secure place. Its features include single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), and role-based access control (RBAC).

Azure AD makes user management much easier across the Microsoft ecosystem.

Canvas App

A canvas app is one of two app types available in Microsoft Power Apps. Canvas refers to the way the app is designed and built. A canvas app is designed by dragging and dropping elements onto a canvas. Formulas (like those used in Excel) specify how the app handles data. Code is not needed to create a canvas app. Canvas apps work with data from a variety of sources and can run on a mobile device or an internet browser.

Cloud Hosting

Hosting software in the cloud simply means that everything, including the software itself and the data within it, is stored online; you don’t physically own the software. The responsibility of managing security measures, issuing updates, and performing data backups is typically down to the host of the software.

If your Dynamics 365 system is hosted in the cloud, you access the system simply by logging in through a web browser or mobile application.

Dynamics 365 Business Central

Dynamics 365 Business Central is an all-in-one business management solution. It is a cloud ERP system for small and medium businesses that have outgrown entry-level accounting software or a legacy ERP system. It features a functionality for managing finances, operations, sales and customer service. 

Learn more about Dynamics 365 Business Central here.

Dynamics GP

Dynamics GP is an older Microsoft ERP solution still favoured by some SMBs. This ERP started as an administrative system, but later covered other core business areas like business intelligence, warehouse management, financial management, retail and e-commerce, human resources, manufacturing, and distribution. Unlike other Dynamics platforms, Dynamics GP didn’t have multi-language or multi-currency capabilities, which limited its scope for expansion.

Recently, Microsoft announced the end of product support and updates for Dynamics GP on December 31, 2029 (with security patches ending on April 30, 2031).

Like most other businesses, if you’re considering migrating from Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 Business Central, connect with us today.

Dynamics 365 Sales

Dynamics 365 Sales is a customer relationship management solution designed to enable sales teams to build strong relationships with customers, take actions based on insights, and close sales faster. It helps businesses with managing accounts and contacts, sales cycles, leads and opportunities, and workflows.

Brookland Solutions’ core speciality lies in Dynamics NAV and Business Central ERPs. However, we’re happy to recommend a support partner for Dynamics 365 Sales.

Dynamics NAV

Dynamics NAV is what Dynamics 365 Business Central was known as before it was rebranded in 2018. The software dates back to 1995 when the first version of Dynamics NAV was released. 

Did you know that Brookland Solutions also supports all previous versions of Dynamics NAV? Read more here and contact us to migrate from Dynamics NAV to Business Central.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Enterprise resource planning is used to manage and integrate the important parts of a business. Many businesses use ERP software to help them implement resource planning and integrate all the processes involved with a single system.

Dynamics 365 Business Central is Microsoft’s ERP software for small to medium-sized businesses.

Extensions

Extensions is a widely used term to describe applications that add more functionality to Business Central. Extensions in BC run alongside the system and are different from customisations, which modify the base system and make upgrades difficult. So businesses don’t run into roadblocks during new releases or updates.

These apps can either be developed in-house with your Microsoft Partner, such as Brookland Solutions, or downloaded from Microsoft’s AppSource marketplace. Extensions are what make Business Central a flexible, adaptable and future-ready ERP system.

From document management to analytics and reporting, Brookland Solutions supports a wide range of extensions for your business. Get in touch with our team if you need help with adding extensions to your Business Central ERP. 

Licensing (Business Central)

Business Central makes costs flexible and predictable for SMBs through a per-user, per-month licensing model. Essential and Premium are two key license types, with a third Teams license that needs either licensing plans to work.  

Essential supports core business functions, including finance, supply chain, sales, and project management, whereas Premium supports everything in Essential and includes additional functions for manufacturing and service management. The Teams Licence is designed for additional users requiring basic functionality and offers full read access, limited write access and limited features.

Business Central allows businesses to mix and match licenses depending on users and pay for only what they require. Your Business Central license includes access to updates and integration with Microsoft 365.

Call 01372 282640 if you need help in choosing the right BC license, or learn how you can balance cost with functionality during implementation.

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft Copilot is a powerful AI functionality in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. However, Copilot is more than just an AI companion in Business Central; it helps users speed up everyday tasks, write emails, generate reports, and much more. It works rather differently from other AI software because it uses LLM (Large Language Model) to train on massive amounts of data to generate more human-like responses rather than predetermined answers.

Microsoft Dataverse 

Previously known as Common Data Service (CDS), Microsoft Dataverse is a secure data storage service that stores business data in the form of tables, known as entities. The entities connect to Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform and provide a centralised data storage location. Think of it like a data storage and retrieval system.

Model-Driven App

A model-driven app is one of two app types available in Microsoft Power Apps. ‘Model-driven’ refers to the way the app is built. A model-driven app is designed and built by adding components to the app. The components added to the app determine the layout and design of the overall app.

A model-driven app can be generated automatically if your data is stored in the Common Data Service and you don’t require a customised app design. This design of the app would be generic; however, your business data and processes would be there.

On-Premise

On-premise is software and technology that is installed on an organisation’s own server or a physical data centre, or a cloud-hosted data centre. You’re in complete control of the management and maintenance of the physical hardware and software, as well as the data you hold.

Power Platform

The Microsoft Power Platform is a low-code platform comprising three applications: Power BI, Power Apps, and Power Automate. Analyse and understand data better, improve workflow and automate business processes with Microsoft Power Platform. These three applications come together to form an integrated platform.

Power Apps

Power Apps provides an environment for app development without the need for code-writing skills. With Power Apps, you can quickly build applications that are designed for internal business use only. Apps built using Power Apps are capable of running on a mobile device or browser. 

Learn more about Power Apps here.

Power Automate

Power Automate is a powerful workflow tool designed to automate manual and time-consuming business processes. It enables users to create automated workflows without the need for coding knowledge. This is because the application runs on a simple point-and-click, no-code flow designer. Hundreds of templates are also available out of the box. Workflows can be created to deliver notifications, sync or organise data, automate approvals and so on.

Power BI

Power BI is a business intelligence and analytics tool that transforms your business data into real-time, actionable insights. It connects to a wide range of data sources, from Excel spreadsheets to Dynamics 365 databases. This enables users to turn masses of data into visual, interactive and digestible knowledge. To provide easy access to insights, Power BI charts can be embedded in Dynamics 365. 

Power Virtual Agents

Power Virtual Agents is a chatbot-building tool, created by Microsoft as a part of the Power Platform, and integrates directly with Dynamics 365 Business Central. Using this tool, businesses can create AI-powered bots without writing any code. These bots can be directed to handle customer service queries, guide employees through HR processes, or answer FAQs round-the-clock.

These bots can also surface live data (example: checking order status or invoices). Power Virtual Agents is incredibly useful for SMEs looking for a way to improve customer support, reduce call volumes, and increase employee productivity on a budget.

RapidStart Services

RapidStart Services is a built-in tool for setup and configuration in Business Central. This set of tools helps businesses set up faster by allowing consultants and IT teams to upload data from templates and apply standard settings.

This tool reduces manual effort and speeds up implementation significantly during onboarding.

It benefits SMBs in particular because it helps them switch easily from legacy systems like spreadsheets and ensures data is structured and consistent.

It’s among the most underrated tools in BC, saving weeks during ERP deployment.

Sandbox Environment

Sandbox is Business Central’s testing environment. It’s essentially a copy of your live system where changes can be trialled without any risk to day-to-day operations. Businesses use sandboxes to test new features, extensions, workflows, or training scenarios before rolling them into production. Microsoft allows you to refresh a sandbox environment from your live data, giving an up-to-date “playground” for experiments. For SMEs, this reduces risk, speeds up the implementation of new tools, and ensures that users are confident before changes go live

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Software as a Service or SaaS, as it’s commonly referred to, is a type of cloud model. With SaaS, businesses can get a monthly subscription to use applications instead of hosting them on their own servers.

Microsoft 365 Business Central supports the SaaS model, allowing businesses to stay up-to-the-minute and access the ERP from anywhere. Emerging SMBs prefer this model because it eliminates upfront hardware costs, reduces IT maintenance, is scalable on demand, and ensures automatic updates twice a year.

A SaaS like Business Central is ideal for SMBs who want predictable costs, flexibility, and the peace of mind that comes with Microsoft products.

Telemetry

This term refers to the system information collected by Microsoft of the activities in the Business Central environment. This collected data contains information about system performance, user logins, or error messages.

App developers can access telemetry data within the Business Central Admin Centre. Understanding and analysing this data allows BC partners to spot recurring issues and update the product to improve performance or eliminate issues or errors.

Wave Updates

Wave updates are the two major updates Microsoft releases for Business Central each year: Release Wave 1 (April) and Release Wave 2 (October). BC updates usually include enhancements, bug fixes, new features, and new improvements.

With Business Central being a SaaS product, updates are rolled out automatically and allow customers to test features in a sandbox environment and take advantage of new features quickly. Small and medium businesses using BC can greatly benefit from access to the latest innovations without expensive upgrades. 

Contact Brookland Solutions

Understand the various terms better with continued support from Brookland Solutions. Our team can help you get the most out of your Microsoft Dynamics solutions. As a Microsoft Silver partner, we’re ready to customise an ERP solution that adapts perfectly to your business. Book a session with us today!