When thousands of Microsoft Partners arrive in Poznań, Poland this November for Directions EMEA 2025, they’ll find a new focus on the people shaping the future of Business Central: developers.
Freddy Kristiansen, one of Microsoft’s veteran engineers and long-time community voice, will host this year’s Developer Zone, one of four new community areas debuting at the conference. Each zone is designed to connect attendees by role: developers, consultants, business leaders and marketers. Organizers say they hope the initiative will foster collaboration in an event that has grown far beyond its early roots.
“We have four zones this year,” Kristiansen told PartnerTalks. “Every person, when they attend, registers which role they’re in. I’ll be hosting the Developer Zone, a place for developers to go when they don’t have a session or during breaks, where they can meet other people like them.”
From technical sessions to connection points
As Directions EMEA expanded, so did the need for developers to have dedicated spaces for learning and networking, Kristiansen said. His zone will offer quick talks and informal meetups for the Directions EMEA developer community.
“The first day is all about AI, the second day about open source, and the third day about performance and quality,” he said. “We’ll invite community leaders in each area, maybe have five- or ten-minute talks, and then people can stay, chat and network.”
According to the 2025 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, peer-based and role-specific learning are now the top drivers of skill retention and engagement in tech organizations. In-person, role-focused formats increase information recall by nearly 25 per cent compared with traditional lectures.
The business case for the Directions EMEA developer community
While many see Directions EMEA as a Partner sales and strategy event, Kristiansen sees it differently. Developers, he said, are central to every successful implementation.
“Every person today is looking at this AI thing thinking, ‘What can it do for me or against me?’” he said. “The best thing you can do for yourself is to go to Directions EMEA and talk to others who are in the same boat. Maybe they’ve found a way to use it. The worst thing is to ignore it.”
That focus reflects a broader shift across Europe’s technology sector.
A Forrester State of Partner Ecosystems 2025 report found that 72 per cent of EMEA technology leaders expect their developer teams to become direct revenue drivers through custom app development, automation, and AI integration.
A new kind of hackathon
Kristiansen and his team are also introducing a Directions Hackathon, a new, hands-on competition that blends the spirit of the Directions EMEA developer community with business relevance.
“We’ll find technical people, put them together two and two, and have them build a small project based on what they learned at Directions,” he said. “Sit together for one or two hours, come up with an idea you’ll work on over the next month, submit it, and the winners get a free ticket for Directions next year.”
This initiative aligns with trends seen in GitHub’s Octoverse 2024, which noted that the number of European developers contributing to open-source business projects grew by 37 per cent year over year. That’s the fastest increase worldwide.
The power of physical presence
After several years of hybrid and virtual formats, live events are regaining momentum. A Skift Meetings Megatrends 2025 report found that 62 per cent of business leaders believe in-person events deliver higher ROI than digital ones, particularly for Partner-driven ecosystems where relationships underpin revenue.
“I’ve been to every Directions in Europe except one,” Kristiansen said. “Every time I look forward to meeting old friends and new ones. You learn from each other. That’s how our community keeps growing.”
AI, open source and quality: the Directions EMEA developer community agenda
Kristiansen’s three-day Developer Zone will cover the technologies defining the next chapter of Microsoft’s business applications:
AI: How Copilots and autonomous agents change solution design.
Open source: Why community-built extensions accelerate innovation.
Performance and quality: The practical lessons that keep business systems reliable at scale.
“It’s a place where developers can show each other what they’re working on,” he said. “You’ll find out that a challenge you’ve been facing has already been solved by someone across the room.”
Looking ahead to Poznań
As Europe’s Partner ecosystem evolves toward AI and IP-based business models, Kristiansen sees Directions EMEA 2025 as a proving ground for collaboration.
“Community, education and networking. Those are the pillars,” he said. “And if you’re a Business Central Partner, there’s no better place to get all three.”
Event Snapshot
When: November 4–6, 2025
Where: Poznań Congress Center, Poland
Focus: AI, open source, performance and Partner development
Hosted by: Directions for Partners
Developer Zone Lead: Freddy Kristiansen
