With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central came a whole new world of Apps that you can purchase and deploy to add functionality to your application. You can shop for Apps in Microsoft’s App marketplace, AppSource.
In October my colleague Alex announced that our Fenwick Gold Apps are hitting AppSource. So once you are set up with your Business Central instance, and have logged in, you can go and find the right App for your business needs.
Firstly, there are two terms that need explanation:
App
An App provides additional or new functionality which has been accepted by Microsoft and published in the application marketplace known as AppSource.
Extension
An Extension provides additional or new functionality which has not been published to the AppSource. These could be add-ons that are sold through the Microsoft Partner network.
Extensions can become Apps and be made available in AppSource once they have passed through a Microsoft validation and ratification process.
Installing Apps & Extensions
To look for an App, first navigate to “Extension Management” and then choose “Marketplace”. You can then choose an App, trial it for 30 days, then start your subscription.
If you want to access an Extension from a Microsoft Partner, choose “Upload” then follow the prompts to install the extension provided.
Apps, just like enhancements made in Dynamics NAV Database, alter the functionality of Dynamics 365 Business Central. One benefit of Apps is they all come with an off switch and version control. Versions can be deployed immediately, or when Dynamics 365 Business Central is next updated by Microsoft.
Being able to simply access Apps opens up a whole new world of opportunity for you to add functionality to your system without the need to commission individual, often costly, enhancements.
