Customize-away! AXIO by Velosio now Fully Microsoft Extension-based

AXIO Enterprise Solutions, global ERP business solutions powered by Dynamics 365, are now fully extension-based. Learn more today!

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    Have you ever been afraid to customize your software solution because you thought it would make upgrades so costly? Well, worry no more! Velosio has made AXIO Enterprise Solutions, – powerful end-to-end global ERP business solutions powered by Microsoft Dynamics 365 – fully extension-based, which means customizations upgrade automatically.

    Too technical? Let’s break it down.

    In the past, when Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition was customized by partners, value-added resellers (VARs), or even some customers, it was performed through overlayering of the application code, which is an intrusive and costly customization model when upgrading. The move to the cloud with more agile servicing and frequent updates requires a less intrusive customization model, making updates less likely to impact custom solutions. This new model is called extensibility and is now required by Microsoft for partners, or any apps on Microsoft AppSource moving forward.

    Reducing implementation and upgrade effort is a major initiative for the Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Operations development team. The benefits of this initiative are to enable you to quickly take advantage of new innovations from Microsoft and Velosio, reduce the total cost of ownership, and improve quality. A major part of this initiative is to change the customization approach for the product. For example, in Dynamics AX 2012, several extension capabilities were added to the product. For example, the ability to perform event-based customization using method pre-and post-events was introduced.

    Extension capabilities have continued to grow in the evolution to Dynamics 365 for Finances and Operations, Enterprise edition. Extension-based customizations have several advantages over the legacy approach of overlayering-based customizations, especially when it comes to reducing implementation and upgrade effort.

    Overlayering-based customizations require code upgrade, recompile time, and extensive testing. This limits the ability to seamlessly apply hotfixes. These costs can be an inhibitor for customers to upgrade to newer versions containing innovations from Microsoft and partners.

    Extension-based customizations also improve the development experience. Models containing overlayered customizations must be in the same package as the base objects. This results in longer compile cycles and larger package distributions. Extensions are also much easier to unit test in isolation from the base object.
    Reducing upgrade costs through extension-based customizations reduces the support matrix for partners as fewer release combinations will need to be supported.

    Working with Microsoft’s Advisory Council

    Velosio worked closely with Microsoft to develop AXIO for extensions and is now an expert on extension development for when you need to upgrade your Microsoft Dynamics 365 solution. Progressus, for mid-sized professional services firms, is now fully extension-based as well. AXIO and Progressus are two products on AppSource that are ahead of the game when it comes to extensibility. Need more information? Check out this post from Microsoft which explains overlayering vs. extensibility in detail.

     

    Best regards,

    Robbie Morrison
    Chief Solution Strategist, Velosio

     


    About Robbie
    Robbie Morrison has spent nearly 20 years helping customers build and deploy elegant technology and business solutions. From start-ups to enterprise-class organizations worldwide, his knowledge of the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem and Robbie-2017products helps Velosio customers maximize ROI on technology investments.

    Today, Robbie serves Velosio customers in his role as Chief Solution Strategist where he provides thought leadership and manages the development of B2B solutions. Robbie received his MBA from the University of Georgia, Terry College of Business.
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbiemorrison