MSDW Podcast: Erik Hougaard on the evolution of development in Dynamics NAV and D365 Business Central

Erik Hougaard returns to the podcast to chat about his latest perspective on Dynamics 365 Business Central development and customization. Over the last few months, Erik has been creating a rich new library of developer skills videos on his YouTube channel, covering everything from OAuth and Javascript controls to web services and String operations.

He recently created a Blast from the Past video in which he spun up an old NAV 3.56 system and explored its features, customization language (which was also called AL at the time), and interface. Looking at a 30 year old predecessor to today's Business Central was more than just a trip down memory lane, he tells us. It can also give today's customers and professionals a better understanding of why the latest version of Business Central looks and acts the way it does. With that perspective in mind, Erik also shares his views on the latest customization trends, ISV solution adoption, SaaS support, and how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted the ecosystem.

Show Notes:

• 1:45 - Why look at NAV 3.56 now?
• 4:00 - Why now is a good time to create more educational content, and how Erik develops ideas.
• 7:45 - Contextualizing the on-prem to cloud transition of Business Central
• 10:00 - How Erik circulated an easter egg through older NAV systems
• 11:30 - Is it good that so many features of BC today are so similar to NAV years ago?
• 14:00 - Features or techniques that have potential for a big impact
• 16:30 - As an MVP reaching the community, comparing video versus traditional blog posts
• 20:00 - How many companies still need customization with BC?
• 23:30 - Customer and partner responsibilities around managing DevOps for BC
• 25:15 - A current challenge around country versions with extensions management, both in development and in releasing apps to AppSource
• 29:00 - How are BC users doing in the context of coronavirus?
• 32:00 - Why is development such a big part of NAV and BC?
• 34:30 - Tips around developing your YouTube channel