Microsoft wants frontier Partners.
Throughout a packed conference season, Microsoft suggested Partners work on the frontier of technology, leading customers by using AI and Copilot in real business operations, not just talking about them or selling licences.
“The Dynamics ecosystem in Q4 was really busy,” said Bob McAdam, who heads strategic partnerships at Tasklet. “And we’ve heard the talk from Microsoft over and over again. AI, Copilot. Copilot, AI.”
Customer growth in Dynamics 365 Business Central, renewed strength in Partner-led events and sustained focus on AI and Copilot shaped the year and set high expectations for 2026.
Business Central’s growth defines the year
Much of that confidence centred on Business Central’s growth.
“To me, the 50,000 customer count announcement was really a critical piece,” McAdam said.
Microsoft disclosed the milestone publicly during Directions EMEA 2025 in Poznań, Poland, and through its official product documentation on the Dynamics 365 Business Central overview page on Microsoft Learn.
“Maybe 18 months ago or so, they hit 40,000 (customers), then it was 45,000. Now it’s 50,000,” said McAdam, adding that Business Central has “caught up to NetSuite, leapfrogged them and now Business Central is pulling away from NetSuite,” in his assessment.
That momentum, said McAdam, stood out as “the big news in Q4.”
NetSuite reports that around 43,000 customers use its product.
Events display renewed Partner confidence
Community-led conferences provided much of the ecosystem’s momentum in the second half of the year.
“I thought Community Summit in Orlando was really exceptional,” McAdam said, calling it “a nice wrap-up for the major events in 2025.”
Community Summit North America returned to Orlando in October, with organizers reporting strong attendance and expanded content across Business Central, Power Platform and AI, according to official Community Summit North America coverage.
Directions EMEA followed in November in Poznań, drawing thousands of Partners and reinforcing Business Central’s central role within the Directions community, as outlined on the Directions EMEA 2025 event site.
“Great turnout. Lots of community and lots of energy around the Business Central world,” said McAdam.
Convergence returns, with Microsoft in force
December marked the return of Convergence in Miami after more than a decade.
“I heard some pretty good things. Quite a few Partners there. A lot of Microsoft representation,” McAdam said.
Organizers positioned Convergence’s return as a response to renewed demand for a cross-disciplinary Microsoft forum, framing the December 2025 Miami event as an AI-plus-ERP conference that brings together ERP, CRM, analytics and Copilot under a single program, according to the official Convergence conference site. Third-party coverage and event materials show the revival reflects how AI and Copilot now cut across Microsoft’s business applications stack, creating a need for a unified venue that did not exist during the earlier cloud transition, as outlined in industry analysis of the event’s return.
Organizers have since indicated plans to hold Convergence again in December 2026, though dates and venue details were not finalized at the time of the interview.
AI and Copilot are being put to work
Throughout 2025, Microsoft maintained consistent messaging around AI, Copilot and agents across Ignite, regional conferences and Partner briefings.
By late 2025, Microsoft had begun rolling out Copilot features and agent-based capabilities across Business Central and other Dynamics workloads, including extensible agents for finance and operations scenarios, as outlined in the Business Central AI overview on Microsoft Learn.
“Now the ISVs have had time and the Partners have had time to figure some of this out and start moving forward with it and deploying it for customers,” said McAdam.
2026 opens with new Partner forums
The 2026 event calendar shows a more execution-focused ecosystem.
PartnerIn’s inaugural Vibe conference is scheduled for late January in South Padre Island, Texas, with agenda tracks covering Business Central, finance and operations, Copilot and Partner strategy, according to information published on the PartnerIn Vibe event website.
The event, designed to emphasize 300-400-level sessions, will focus on giving Partners the tools they need to lead the frontier, its organizers said.
“They’re really going to focus a lot on Microsoft’s ‘frontier’ messaging,” McAdam said.
In March, the AI Agent and Copilot Summit returns to San Diego, with organizers confirming expanded programming compared with its 2025 debut on the AI Agent and Copilot Summit site.
Directions events in North America and Asia are also scheduled for the second quarter, with details maintained on the Directions for Partners global events page.
Looking ahead
Partners say Business Central’s growth has given them confidence in Microsoft’s ERP trajectory while AI and Copilot have shifted from concept to deployment. Partner events increasingly emphasize advanced execution rather than introductory messaging.
For Microsoft Partners, 2026 now looks less like a continuation of 2025 and more like a test of how far they are willing, and able, to go toward the frontier.
