I get a lot of questions about Business Central conferences, and in this video, I try to answer all of them. Check it out:
In this video, Erik shares his perspective on the Business Central conference landscape — a question he gets asked frequently. He walks through the major conferences, when they happen, who they’re for, and what you can expect from each one. Importantly, he starts with a reassuring message: you don’t need to go to a conference to have an excellent career in Business Central.
You Don’t Need to Go to a Conference
Erik opens with an important point: if money is tight, if family planning or travel restrictions make it difficult, don’t worry. You can have an excellent life with Business Central — whether you’re a customer, consultant, developer, or content provider — without ever attending a conference. Conferences are like sprinkles on a cake. Don’t mortgage yourself to attend one; it’s not worth the financial stress.
That said, Erik genuinely loves attending conferences. He enjoys meeting people from the community, giving sessions, getting stumped by weird questions, and helping people figure things out.
The Conference Landscape: Two Seasons
Erik views the Business Central conference calendar as having two major seasons:
- Spring — aligned with Wave 1
- Fall — aligned with Wave 2
Plus there are some events that float between the two or don’t neatly fit into either bucket.
Business Central Launch Events (April & October)
One of the least thought-about but most significant “conferences” are the Business Central Launch Events. There’s one for Wave 1 in April and one for Wave 2 in October.
The reason Erik counts these is that this is where Microsoft produces its core content. In reality, Microsoft creates two batches of content per year — one for Wave 1 and one for Wave 2 — and it all gets presented at the launch events first. That content then gets reused and expanded upon at the in-person conferences. So, for example, the “What’s New in Development” session at the launch event will cover the same foundational material as the equivalent session at a conference.
Best of all, the launch events are online and free, with great on-demand content available on YouTube. Going back to his opening point: you don’t have to go to a conference to get this information.
Spring Conferences
Directions North America
If you’re in the industry working for a partner — developer, consultant, etc. — the big spring event is Directions North America. One common point of confusion: Directions North America and Directions EMEA are not the same organization. They share the same name and they’re good friends who cooperate, but they are two completely different organizations with different logos and different teams putting them on.
Directions North America is smaller than its European counterpart — there are simply more people working in the Business Central industry in Europe. The conference is always a great time (they were in Vegas most recently, with Orlando coming next). If you want to meet people from the Microsoft product team in person in North America, this is your best chance. This is where the highest concentration of product team members shows up.
Key detail: Directions is for partners, not end users. The occasional end user does show up, but it’s fundamentally a partner conference. The tagline is “by partners, for partners.”
Directions Asia
Also in the spring, there’s Directions Asia, which is organized by the same group behind the European Directions (not the North American organization). Erik has never attended but has heard great things about it. For someone based in western Canada, getting to Vietnam is quite the journey — a “planes, trains, and automobiles” kind of trip.
Dynamics Con
Dynamics Con is a fairly new conference that started during COVID as a virtual event, then held a small in-person conference in Anaheim, California. It has grown significantly, reaching around 2,000 attendees at the last event.
Dynamics Con is end-user oriented and covers all Dynamics products and Power Platform — not just Business Central. There aren’t many people from the Microsoft product team present (Erik recalls about two). The expo also features vendors from across the Dynamics ecosystem. The conference has a fun ComicCon-inspired superhero theme, and it appears to be on a great trajectory for continued growth.
Dynamics Minds
Dynamics Minds takes place in Slovenia and uses a magic theme. Like Dynamics Con, it covers not only Business Central but other Dynamics products as well. Erik has never attended — it’s another long journey from western Canada. But the key takeaway is: if your choice is between something in Vegas and something in Slovenia, go to whichever is closest to you. You’ll get a lot of great content either way.
Fall Conferences
Directions EMEA
The undisputed biggest Business Central conference in the world is Directions EMEA. It had over 3,000 attendees last year and will likely set new records again. The upcoming edition is in Poznań, Poland.
This is where you’ll find the largest contingent of Microsoft product team members. As Erik puts it, while Directions EMEA is ongoing, Copenhagen (where the BC team is based) is essentially emptied out. Moving people from Copenhagen to Poland is much easier than moving them to Vegas or Orlando, so if your goal is to meet as many product team members as possible, this is the event.
Like its North American sibling, Directions EMEA is a partner-focused conference.
Community Summit
Community Summit is the major fall conference in North America and is focused on end users. It’s built on Dynamics Communities and includes meetups, online activities, and year-round engagement beyond the annual event. This year it’s in Orlando.
While there is a technical track, this is not a developer conference. The more technical sessions tend to be geared toward people doing report customizations or similar tasks at customer sites. Typically, only a handful of Microsoft people attend.
Erik has a special fondness for Community Summit because it’s the conference that invented the Medic Booth, dating back to around 2016-2017. The concept: speakers and experts dress up in white robes and sit at a booth where attendees bring their problems. What makes it special is that many end-user attendees come prepared with lists of questions from their colleagues back at the office — someone is covering their shift so they can get answers. Sorting through those real-world problems is something Erik finds incredibly rewarding, and it’s a huge source of inspiration for his videos. The Medic Booth concept has since been adopted at other conferences, but Summit did it first.
Floating and Regional Events
BC TechDays (formerly NAVTechDays)
BC TechDays is the most technical conference in the Business Central world. It’s where Microsoft sometimes shows things they don’t present at the launch events. The conference is aimed at developers — whether they’re at partners, end-user organizations, or ISVs. Erik hasn’t been able to attend yet due to scheduling and travel challenges, but it’s on his list.
Community Summit Road Show
The Community Summit Road Show takes content from the main Community Summit event and packages it into one-day conferences that travel to various cities. They’ve visited Vancouver and many other locations. Erik believes these are free to attend, which makes them an excellent option if one happens to show up in your area — especially if budget is a concern.
Days of Knowledge
Days of Knowledge events are put on by the same organization behind Directions EMEA (Directions for Partners). These are more local, deep-learning-focused events designed to be easier and cheaper to attend — something you can drive to rather than fly to. They’ve held editions in Denmark, the UK, Germany, and Atlanta, among other locations. The idea is to bring quality content to areas where there’s a concentration of Business Central users and developers.
So Which Conference Should You Choose?
Erik’s practical advice:
- If you can only go to one — pick any of them. You’ll get a great conference with a lot of content regardless of which one you choose.
- If you go to all of them — expect a lot of repeated content. Microsoft reuses their core material across events, and speakers like Erik often present the same sessions at multiple conferences. That’s just the nature of the community.
- Proximity matters — if two conferences offer similar content but one is a short trip and the other requires crossing oceans, choose the closer one.
- Know your audience fit — Directions events are for partners; Community Summit and Dynamics Con are more end-user oriented; BC TechDays is for deep technical content.
- Don’t forget the free options — Launch events are online and free, and Community Summit Road Shows may come to your area at no cost.
Summary
The Business Central conference landscape is rich and varied, with options for every role and budget. From the massive Directions EMEA (3,000+ attendees) to free online launch events and local road shows, there’s something for everyone. The key takeaway: spend your money wisely, attend what makes sense for your situation and geography, and remember that a thriving Business Central career doesn’t require conference attendance — though if you can make it work, the community connections and learning opportunities are well worth it.
