Summit EMEA 2018 Preview: Why Microsoft Dynamics AX/365 overlaying is the new smoking

From April 24-26, Microsoft Dynamics 365, AX, and CRM users and partners will assemble in Dublin for Summit EMEA 2018, the Dynamics user groups' annual conference in the region.

One of the MVPs who will be presenting a number of sessions around Dynamics AX and Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, five to be exact, is André Arnaud de Calavon, a solutions architect at Kaya Consulting in the Netherlands.

Arnaud de Calavon, whose expertise ranges from business process to technical architecture, received his first MVP award in 2013.

In his session, "Overlaying is the New Smoking," Arnaud de Calavon will teach attendees the differences between overlaying and extending Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise Edition (D365FO). In particular, he will discuss the advantages and disadvantages - and his experiences - of overlaying and extensions. He will try to convince people not to use overlays, but rather try to focus more on extension-based development because it will support future upgrades.

"It's comparing overlaying with smoking; I don't like smoking and I don't like overlaying - it's not healthy to do either," he says.

Microsoft seems to agree, as demonstrated by their architectural decisions for D365FO.

"As of the next version we cannot do any overlaying any more so we have to use extensions," he adds. But it is still possible to overlay ISV partners' customizations, a ...