This week everyone got a fresh install of the Shopify Connector, whether they wanted it or not? In this video, I discuss (with myself) if Business Central is getting bloated around the waistline, and what to do about it, check it out:
In this video, Erik takes a critical look at the growing number of pre-installed apps and extensions that ship with Business Central — and asks the question: is Business Central turning into bloatware? Sparked by the Shopify Connector suddenly appearing in customer environments after the 20.1 update, Erik examines the full list of installed extensions and evaluates which ones are truly necessary.
The Shopify Connector Surprise
When version 20.1 started rolling out to customers, Erik began receiving calls. Customers were asking: “Why is the Shopify thing in all our menus?” These were businesses using WooCommerce, Sana, or other e-commerce platforms — they had no need for a Shopify connector, yet suddenly it was installed everywhere.
Until that point, the expectation was that the Shopify Connector — built by Microsoft in cooperation with Shopify — would be available as an app in AppSource. If you needed it, you’d go get it. Instead, it was pushed to all environments, including existing ones during the upgrade from 20.0 to 20.1.
Erik draws a pointed comparison: this is starting to feel like Candy Crush on Windows 10. You buy an operating system and get games pre-installed that you never asked for. Maybe there’s a way to remove them, maybe there isn’t — but it’s not what you signed up for.
The Performance Cost of Unused Extensions
This isn’t just a cosmetic issue. Even if you never open the Shopify Connector, it has a real impact on your system. The app includes several table extensions — extending Sales Header and other core tables. This means there is a passive performance cost simply from having the app installed, even if you’re not using Shopify at all.
If you’re using a different e-commerce platform, you’re getting zero value from this app while still paying a performance penalty.
Uninstalling Unwanted Extensions
The good news is that you can uninstall these apps. Navigate to Extension Management, find the Shopify Connector (or any other unwanted extension), and click Uninstall. If you don’t check “Delete extension data,” any demo data or configuration data will remain dormant — so if you ever need the extension again, you can reinstall it from AppSource and pick up where you left off.
Erik has been doing exactly this at several customer sites: removing the Shopify Connector because the customers simply don’t need it.
Auditing the Full Extension List
Taking the exercise further, Erik created a spreadsheet to evaluate every pre-installed extension and categorize them as must-have or nice-to-have. Here’s a summary of his analysis, done on a Canadian environment (your list may vary by country):
Likely Necessary (Must-Have)
- Application — Required for the system to run
- Base Application — Core functionality
- System Application — Core system functions
- Data Archive — Supports data compression features (arguably part of the base offering, but shipped as a separate app)
- Send Remittance Advice by Email — Very basic functionality that has been separated into its own app
Potentially Unnecessary (Depends on Your Scenario)
- AMC Banking — Only if you use AMC Banking
- Cloud Migration — Only if upgrading from an older on-prem version of NAV or Business Central
- Ceridian Payroll — Available from AppSource if needed
- Company Hub — Only useful if managing multiple companies
- Contoso Coffee Demo Data Set — Demo data for supply chain demos; useful for partners, not for production customers
- Email Connectors — Multiple connectors are installed; you likely only use one
- Envestnet Yodlee Bank Feeds — Only if you use Yodlee
- Essential Business Headlines — What you see on the Role Center
- Image Analyzer — AI module; only if you’re using it
- Intelligent Cloud Base — Only if connecting an on-prem instance to the cloud
- Late Payment Prediction — AI module using machine learning
- Sales and Inventory Forecast — AI module, same category
- Payment Links to PayPal — Only if you embed PayPal links on invoices
- QuickBooks Payroll File Import — Only if migrating from QuickBooks
- QuickBooks Migration — Same scenario
- GP Migration — Only if upgrading from Dynamics GP
- Mexican localization extensions — Not needed in Canada (or most other countries)
- Recommended Apps — The in-product app recommendation feature
- Send to Email Printer — Only if using this printing method
- Shopify Connector — The catalyst for this entire discussion
- Simplified Bank Statement Import — Another example of base functionality extracted into a separate app
- Troubleshoot Fixed Asset Ledger Entries — Only needed if you have rounding issues with fixed assets
- Universal Print Integration — Only if you use Universal Print
When Erik laid out the full list, the potentially unnecessary items (marked in red) outnumbered the essential ones (marked in black). As he put it: “That’s the definition of bloatware.”
A Broader Concern: The “Bad Actor” Problem
The concern about unwanted extensions goes beyond just Microsoft’s first-party apps. Consider what an extension can do when installed in your environment. Here’s an example of a simple but illustrative AL extension:
// app.json
{
"id": "b742993f-ac74-46aa-8bab-a4e133d9cd25",
"name": "BadActor",
"publisher": "Partner from Hell",
"version": "1.0.0.0",
"brief": "",
"description": "",
"privacyStatement": "",
"EULA": "",
"help": "",
"url": "",
"logo": "",
"dependencies": [],
"screenshots": [],
"platform": "1.0.0.0",
"application": "22.0.0.0",
"idRanges": [
{
"from": 50100,
"to": 50149
}
],
"resourceExposurePolicy": {
"allowDebugging": false,
"allowDownloadingSource": false,
"includeSourceInSymbolFile": false
},
"runtime": "11.0",
"features": [
"NoImplicitWith"
]
}pageextension 50129 CustomerListExt extends "Customer List"
{
trigger OnOpenPage();
begin
// SUPER SECRET CODE!!!
Message('App published: Hello world');
end;
}This extension, humorously named “BadActor” from “Partner from Hell,” demonstrates how any installed extension — even a seemingly innocuous one — can inject code into core pages like the Customer List. Notice the resourceExposurePolicy settings: debugging, source download, and source in symbol files are all set to false, meaning you can’t easily inspect what the extension is actually doing. This is a reminder of why it’s important to be vigilant about what’s installed in your environment — whether it comes from Microsoft, a partner, or AppSource.
What Should Microsoft Do?
Erik sees Microsoft at a fork in the road. They need to decide:
- What ships by default — What truly belongs in every Business Central environment?
- What should be available through AppSource — Extensions that users can opt into when they need them.
- Using their own tools — Microsoft could leverage the Recommended Apps feature to suggest first-party extensions like the Shopify Connector, rather than force-installing them. The message could be: “Here’s a first-party integration from Microsoft. If you need Shopify, install it. If you don’t, carry on.”
There’s likely a business agreement between Microsoft and Shopify driving the decision to push the connector to all environments. But Erik’s position is clear: an ERP system should stand above tactics like this.
What You Should Do
As a practical next step, Erik recommends:
- Audit your installed extensions — Go to Extension Management and review what’s installed.
- Test in Sandbox first — If you’re unsure whether you need an extension, remove it in your Sandbox environment and verify that everything still works as expected.
- Uninstall what you don’t need — Once validated, remove unnecessary extensions from Production to reduce clutter and improve performance.
- Keep the data if unsure — When uninstalling, leave the “Delete extension data” checkbox unchecked so you can reinstall later without data loss.
Conclusion
The trend of pre-installing more and more extensions into Business Central environments — especially ones pushed during minor updates like 20.1 — raises legitimate concerns about bloatware. Each unnecessary extension adds menu items that confuse users, table extensions that impact performance, and complexity that serves no purpose for that particular customer. While the individual impact of any one extension may be small, the cumulative effect is significant. Microsoft needs to carefully consider what belongs in the base installation versus what should be an opt-in experience through AppSource. In the meantime, Business Central administrators and partners should take a proactive approach to auditing and trimming their extension lists.
