Directions EMEA 2015 opened in Mannheim today. It is the annual event for all things Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Although there are now other “Directions” conferences around the globe, Directions EMEA always feels like home as it was the first and borne out of NAV’s birthplace!
Directions EMEA is an independent event. Microsoft is the Platinum Sponsor and sent over 100 of Microsoft’s Dynamics team to support the event.

The message, loud and clear from Paul White: Microsoft is absolutely committed to NAV.

NAV 2016 was the star of the event and the announcement at key note that it was officially available for general release today. This was no big surprise as we knew NAV 2016 was the focus of the event. What was surprising was how many enhancements had been built onto NAV 2015 in such a short space of time. NAV 2015 was (and is) amazing. NAV 2016 is a worthy usurper!

Back in July Microsoft had been promising “more, more mobile and more, more cloud” with this release; which certainly sounded like hype! The reality is user friendly software, embracing Satya Nadella’s mission, enabling everyone to achieve more.

The phrase InNAVation was all around! NAV with CRM, NAV with improved functionality in Finance, NAV more easily connected than ever. Best of all, and with perfect timing, NAV Universal App. The NAV Universal App means the software can run on any device with Windows 10. NAV 2016 was demonstrated on Windows Surface (disconnect the keyboard it dynamically shifts to tablet client; reconnect and hey presto, you have the web client!), iPhones and Window Phones (support for Android also available, of course!).
Document capture and sending, workflows (my favourite feature was user defined notification preferences; I am always impressed with the simple things that make a big difference), built in camera function (snap that expense receipt and load up for automatic approval via the workflow!) and effective enhancement of finance functionality, most notably a “Preview” feature.

This is truly the best NAV ever and we’re only on day one.

More updates tomorrow night and live during the day on our Twitter feeds (@nicki_nav, @TVisiontech). For the super keen, contact Steph to book a demo for next week; can’t wait to show off Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016.