Business Central maintenance: ongoing care for stability and performance
Transferring your NAV or older BC on-premises systems to the cloud is not a panacea.
However, Business Central Cloud migration is surely a starting point for embracing new cloud possibilities, such as process automation with Power Platform, app integrations, enhanced security with Azure, and more. But to help businesses benefit from these possibilities, cloud ERP systems must be secure, stable, and ready to grow.
That’s where Business Central cloud maintenance makes a difference with timely updates, smooth extension management, quality testing, and proactive support.
Available as the final step of our Stairway to Cloud migration suite, or as a standalone service, our Business Cloud support and maintenance ensures your Business Central ecosystem, along with extensions and custom features, runs as it should – stable, up-to-date, and reliable. This way, you can run the business using the full potential of the cloud confidently and with peace of mind.
Why Business Central cloud maintenance matters
Proper Business Central maintenance is the key to keeping your cloud ERP stable, your business processes smooth, and your costs predictable.
Here’s why it matters – and what you gain when the following operational challenges in the Business Central cloud are managed effectively.
Mandatory Microsoft updates
RISK
Business Central update management implies monthly updates and two major releases yearly. Without preparation and proper testing, these updates can lead to downtime if extensions fail, processes break, and customizations run into issues if anything in the update conflicts with them. While customers can postpone updates for some fixed time, they cannot ignore them completely.
MAINTENANCE BENEFIT
Continuity and confidence: managing Microsoft’s updates professionally minimizes downtime risks and keeps operations running smoothly.
Extension compatibility
RISK
ISV or custom extensions may break - lose compatibility - after MS rolls out updates, unless they are properly managed and tested.
MAINTENANCE BENEFIT
Risk reduction: proactive Business Central cloud maintenance is key to extensions continuing to work, reducing disruptions, and avoiding emergency, last-minute fixes.
Ongoing responsibility in the cloud
RISK
Microsoft does take care of the cloud infrastructure, but proper Business Central maintenance after cloud migration implies that businesses still monitor business processes, extensions, and integrations.
MAINTENANCE BENEFIT
Confidence and stability: you can keep a sharper focus on the business, knowing that all integrations and processes remain reliable under professional supervision.
System performance and productivity
RISK
Neglected systems slow down operations and disrupt workflows.
MAINTENANCE BENEFIT
Improved efficiency. A well-organized, proper Business Central maintenance keeps the ERP productivity high and workflows stable and continuous.
Business continuity and trust
RISK
Unplanned downtime or broken functionality undercuts both business efficiency and customer trust.
MAINTENANCE BENEFIT
Reliable operations: operations’ stability builds up both internal efficiency and external credibility.
Cost control
RISK
Ignoring Business Central cloud maintenance increases the risk of costly emergency fixes.
MAINTENANCE BENEFIT
Better cost control. Proactive maintenance lowers the risk of unexpected breakdowns and costly unplanned fixes, keeping your expenses predictable.
How we manage Business Central maintenance and support
Business Central cloud maintenance is a continuous process aimed at keeping your ERP reliable and current. Our approach to Business Central maintenance is designed to keep your cloud environment reliable not only today, but also tomorrow – as Microsoft moves it forward.
We maintain Business Central cloud solutions through two parallel ongoing maintenance flows (development and optimization, and system health monitoring) that go beyond on-demand support, and a structured, timely management of Microsoft’s update cycle as an additional, vertical flow.
Each element of these flows works together to ensure your system runs smoothly, your extensions remain compatible, and your business processes stay uninterrupted.
Ongoing development, new features support, and optimization
We ensure that your Business Central solution continues to evolve in line with your business needs. As part of the development, new feature support, and optimization activities, we run iterative maintenance cycles to meet customers’ needs in full.
Maintenance cycles cover:
◽ Analysis of issues/bugs or new customer requests for development.
◽ Functionality development and adjustments.
◽ Testing and creation of repeatable, cost-effective Test Codeunits for automated testing (including regression testing after MS updates).
◽ Documenting test results.
◽ Leveraging AL-Go for a swift deployment of the newly developed functionality.
◽ Improvement and optimization as an ongoing process (after bug fixes, new feature development, and updates).
System monitoring: Tenant health checks (BC environments, administration levels, Azure Apps)
A continuous process in parallel to development and new features support. We keep your cloud environment stable and compliant by:
◽ Running regular tenant health checks.
◽ Tracking telemetry data to detect issues early.
◽ Monitoring performance, security, and compliance.
◽ Simplifying monitoring, managing users, and keeping a clear overview of system health with the Tenant Admin Tool.
Managing Microsoft updates (vertical flow)
Microsoft releases two major updates per year. As part of BC cloud maintenance, we handle these systematically:
◽ Analyzing the preview version of the upcoming release.
◽ Checking compatibility with your current setup and extensions.
◽ Running manual and automated regression testing to confirm your business processes keep working as expected.
◽ Updating and executing test cases and Test Codeunits.
◽ Conducting UI test automation with Playwright to reveal potential UI-level issues that end-users may face.
◽ Scheduling and deploying updates at the set time to minimize disruption.
◽ Enhancing the update management for multiple tenants and environments with the Tenant Admin Tool.
QA as a crucial part of Business Central maintenance
Business Central maintenance relies on Quality Assurance as a backbone of efficient and stable business processes.
Quality testing, applied at any phase of the maintenance and support activities, ensures that your BC solution remains intact after introducing a new feature, fixing issues, or addressing customer requests.
We pay special attention to Dynamics 365 BC regression testing before Microsoft releases major updates to reduce the risk of disruption and keep your Business Central Cloud aligned with your business needs.
With that in mind, we ensure that:
◾ Core workflows keep working
We make sure that critical business flows (including customizations) operate as expected.
◾ Extensions and integrations work smoothly
We test standard and custom extensions, as well as any third-party integrations or APIs, to prevent data gaps, broken integrations, or unexpected behavior after updates.
◾ End-user tasks remain uninterrupted
Updates should not break approval flows, reports, and automation routines. We run test cases and Test Codeunits to make sure that daily processes and activities still work.
◾ High-risk modules are covered
We keep extra focus on finance, sales and purchasing, inventory and warehousing, and any heavily customized functionality, as these areas are prone to risk when Microsoft changes or removes standard components.
◾ Deprecations and removals are tracked
Microsoft sometimes removes or changes standard tables or APIs. We monitor these upcoming changes to plan ahead in case they can impact any of your custom parts.
◾ Testing is both manual and automated
Where possible, we use automated test suites (including Test Codeunits) so that regression testing is efficient and repeatable. Using Playwright, we ensure the interface works smoothly for end-users. But manual testing is still important for workflows that involve complex integrations or human oversight.
Case studies on Quality Assurance
Enabling seamless communication between a third-party app and Business Central cloud: development and testing
Quality Assurance as an integral part of BC Add-on development process for CPQ solution
Improving Business Central maintenance with the Tenant Admin Tool
To facilitate and optimize BC maintenance and MS update management, we use the Tenant Admin Tool. This is our in-house app, and a true game-changing tool for BC tenant administration that helps
◾ automate tenant monitoring and update management (minor and major updates from Microsoft) for multiple tenants;
◾ reduce manual maintenance work for BC consultants;
◾ apply Microsoft and add-on updates at the same time;
◾ provide transparency for both management and tech teams with a refined overview of available updates, along with their status and errors.
Using the Tenant Admin Tool ensures updates are predictable and reliable, with better control over the update process and lower costs at the same time.
Why choose us for Business Central maintenance?
Choosing a partner for your Business Central maintenance is more than just contracting tech-savvy professionals.
It's about finding a team that offers smarter tools, automation, and best practices to make your cloud ERP more reliable and easier to manage. Here is what you get with Global Mediator as your Business Central maintenance partner:
Smart automation and quality to rely on.
With Tenant Admin Tool, AL-Go, Test Codeunits, and Playwright testing, we handle monitoring, updates, and deployments, keeping your cloud environment stable and easy to manage.
Reduced risk and predictable costs.
Automation and structured processes reduce the risks of unexpected issues or emergency fixes, giving you confidence in system stability and better control of your budget.
Proactive update readiness.
We test your solution against Microsoft’s preview releases, spot potential issues early, and stabilize before deployment, ensuring that updates land smoothly without disrupting your business.
Helpful services
You are very welcome to get in touch.
Please fill in the form to request details about the package / product / service you are interested in.
We will reach out to gather the necessary details and solve your request.
Nicolai Krarup
COO at Global Mediator