News on Dynamics NAV & 365 Business Central

Dynamics 365 Business Central 2020 release wave 2

Written by Beth Walters | Sep 3, 2020 8:00:00 AM

As October 2020 rapidly approaches, we look forward to the next wave of features Microsoft will be releasing for Business Central. This is the place to top up on the planned releases Microsoft will be delivering as of October - click through on any of the features to read more about what they'll do!

This blog lists features that are planned to release from October 2020 through March 2021. Because there are features listed that may not have been released yet, certain items may not be released as scheduled due to unforeseen circumstances on Microsoft's behalf.

In the 'General availability' column, the feature will be delivered within the month listed. The delivery date can be any day within that month. Released features show the full date, including the day of release.

Description of Enabled for column values:

  • End users, automatically: These features include changes to the user experience for end users and are enabled automatically.

  • Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically: These features are meant to be used by administrators, makers, or business analysts and are enabled automatically.

  • End users by admins, makers, or analysts: These features must be enabled or configured by the administrators, makers, or business analysts to be available for their end users.

Administration

The 2020 release wave 2 delivers a set of features that are designed to simplify and improve the way partners administer tenants, and the way administrators carry out administration tasks for licensing and permissions.

 
Feature Enabled for Public preview General availability
Deprecation of the legacy Dynamics NAV Help Server component End users, automatically - Oct 2020
Improved overview and management of the available database and file capacity Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically - Oct 2020
Service-to-service authentication for Automation APIs Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically - Oct 2020
Support for an unlimited number of production and sandbox environments Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically - Oct 2020
Manage irreversible features Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Jun 10, 2020 Oct 2020
Database access intent changed to read-only for frequently used reports End users, automatically Aug 3, 2020 Oct 2020
 
Application

With Business Central 2020 release wave 2, Microsoft deliver enhancements that were suggested through the Business Central ideas website.

 
Feature Enabled for Public preview General availability
Business Central Company Hub extension End users by admins, makers, or analysts - Oct 2020
VAT group reporting End users by admins, makers, or analysts - Oct 2020
Default unit cost for non-inventory items End users, automatically

May 1, 2020

Oct 2020
Track packages from more types of sales documents End users, automatically May 1, 2020 Oct 2020
Consolidation file format support for Dynamics 365 Finance End users, automatically Aug 1, 2020 Oct 2020
Auto-resolve Common Data Service conflicts End users, automatically Aug 3, 2020 Oct 2020
Check financial journals in background End users by admins, makers, or analysts Aug 3, 2020 Oct 2020
Enhanced email capabilities End users by admins, makers, or analysts Aug 3, 2020 Oct 2020
Improved control over how and when you post WIP entries for jobs to the general ledger End users, automatically Aug 3, 2020 Oct 2020
Notify users of high-risk changes in selected setup fields End users by admins, makers, or analysts Aug 3, 2020 Oct 2020
Write longer item references End users by admins, makers, or analysts Aug 3, 2020 Oct 2020
Use recurring journals to allocate balances by dimension values End users, automatically Aug 4, 2020 Oct 2020
Use the Copy Journal function on Posted General Journals and control date for reversing entries in Recurring General Journals End users, automatically Aug 4, 2020 Oct 2020
Use Word document layouts to customise outgoing customer documents End users, automatically Aug 4, 2020 Oct 2020
Easier to choose the right Role Centre End users, automatically Aug 5, 2020 Oct 2020
Use contact Mobile Phone Number and Email consistently across application End users, automatically Sep 2020 Oct 2020
Use conversion templates to convert contacts to vendors and employees End users by admins, makers, or analysts Sep 2020 Oct 2020
Bank reconciliation improvements End users, automatically Dec 2020 Feb 2021
 
Better with Microsoft 365

In 2020 release wave 2, Microsoft enable better cross-app productivity by using Teams as a way to interact in business processes.

 
Feature Enabled for Public preview General availability
Business Central in Microsoft Teams End users by admins, makers, or analysts Oct 2020 Dec 2020
 
Country and regional

Global availability of Dynamics 365 Business Central has been expanding regularly with every release wave. Here, Microsoft describe the plans for expansion going forward and new regulatory features and enhancements.

 
Feature Enabled for Public preview General availability
Expanded country and regional availability End users by admins, makers, or analysts - Oct 2020
 
Microsoft Power Platform

This area covers Microsoft's investments in the integration with Microsoft Power Platform. In this release Microsoft are investing in enabling virtual entities.

 
Feature Enabled for Public preview General availability
Integrate Business Central and Common Data Service with fewer synchronisation conflicts End users, automatically Aug 3, 2020 Oct 2020
Support for latest Microsoft Dynamics 365 SDK End users, automatically Aug 3, 2020 Oct 2020
Common Data Service virtual entities End users by admins, makers, or analysts Oct 2020 Dec 2020
 
Migrations to Business Central online

Features for migration from Dynamics on-premises products to Business Central online.

 
Feature Enabled for Public preview General availability
Continued enhancements for migrating from Dynamics GP to Business Central End users by admins, makers, or analysts Oct 2020 Oct 2020
Historical data migration from Dynamics GP to Azure Data Lake End users by admins, makers, or analysts Oct 2020 Oct 2020
Migrate from Business Central 14.x on-premises to Business Central 16.x online End users by admins, makers, or analysts Oct 2020 Oct 2020
Migrate from Business Central 15.x on-premises to Business Central 16.x online End users by admins, makers, or analysts Oct 2020 Oct 2020
 
Modern clients

In 2020 release wave 2, Microsoft shift their focus toward maturing the reliability and usability of current productivity features, including more user options for printing, and ensuring clients are accessible to a diverse set of users.

 
Feature Enabled for Public preview General availability
Updates to page styling End users, automatically Jul 28, 2020 Oct 2020
Changes to the action bar in dialog boxes End users by admins, makers, or analysts Jul 31, 2020 Oct 2020
Improved accessibility for low-vision users End users, automatically Jul 31, 2020 Oct 2020
Page Inspector supports temporary tables End users, automatically Jul 31, 2020 Oct 2020
Pages with FactBoxes are more responsive End users, automatically Jul 31, 2020 Oct 2020
Report request page can open multiple previews End users, automatically Aug 4, 2020 Oct 2020
Update the navigation experience terminology to improve usability End users, automatically Aug 4, 2020 Oct 2020
Role Centres open faster End users, automatically Aug 2020 Oct 2020
Basic auth settings deprecated for Contact Sync and Outlook Add-in Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Aug 2020 Oct 2020
Access multiple production or sandbox environments from the mobile apps Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Oct 2020 Nov 2020
 
Modern development tools

As Microsoft have made the move entirely to Visual Studio Code, they continue to invest in areas that enhance productivity for developers.

 
Feature Enabled for Public preview General availability
Code documentation comments Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Aug 1, 2020 Oct 2020
Code region compiler directive Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Aug 1, 2020 Oct 2020
Delete extension data Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Aug 1, 2020 Oct 2020
Suppress AL warnings Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Aug 1, 2020 Oct 2020
Performance Regression and Application Benchmark tools Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Aug 3, 2020 Oct 2020
 
Seamless service

No matter the industry type of a small or medium-sized business (SMB), business users expect a dependable service and platform on which to run their business.

 
Feature Enabled for Public preview General availability
Ability for developers and end users to override the system setting for maximum time a report can run Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically - Oct 2020
Data audit system fields are added to every table Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically - Oct 2020
Log of admin operations in the Business Central admin center Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically - Oct 2020
On-demand joining of companion tables Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically - Oct 2020
Attach to user session when debugging in sandbox Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Sep 2020 Oct 2020
Debug extension installation and upgrade code Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Sep 2020 Oct 2020
Developers can emit telemetry to Application Insights from AL code Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Oct 2020 Oct 2020
Extension publishers can get telemetry in Azure Application Insights Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Oct 2020 Oct 2020
Signal about long-running AL execution added to Application Insights telemetry for partners End users by admins, makers, or analysts Oct 2020 Oct 2020
Signal from outgoing web service requests added to Application Insights telemetry for partners End users by admins, makers, or analysts Oct 2020 Oct 2020
Signal from web service key authentication added to Application Insights telemetry for partners End users by admins, makers, or analysts Oct 2020 Oct 2020
Renaming environments in the Business Central admin centre Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Oct 2020 Dec 2020
Restoring environments to a point in time in the past Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically Oct 2020 Dec 2020

For future release plans and Business Central information, make sure to watch this space and feel free to contact us here with any questions you may have.

 

Interested in learning more about the journey of Dynamics 365 Business Central, including what came before it and the latest updates? Get caught up by reading our Timeline.