Braintree https://braintree-site-wp.azurewebsites.net Tailored Microsoft solutions for your business Tue, 04 Aug 2026 08:54:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.3 /wp-content/uploads/braintree-favicon-768x768.png Braintree https://braintree-site-wp.azurewebsites.net 32 32 Who Controls a Payment After It Leaves Business Central? https://braintree-site-wp.azurewebsites.net/who-controls-a-payment-after-it-leaves-business-central/ Tue, 04 Aug 2026 08:51:48 +0000 https://www.braintree.co.za/?p=142065

Executive Perspective


A supplier payment passes through several stages between approval in Business Central and its appearance on the bank statement. The records retained along that route provide the organisation’s account of what occurred.

Reading time: 4 minutes


Executive overview

  • Payment submission: establish whether the bank instruction remains aligned with the approved journal.
  • Traceability: confirm that the complete transaction history is available for audit.
  • Operational ownership: identify reliance on employees who understand bank-specific procedures.
  • South African connectivity: assess where direct integration reduces handling across supported banks.


Once finance approves a payment journal in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, the instruction must reach the bank in the format required for processing. The route depends on the connection already in place. Where file handling forms part of the procedure, an employee generates the batch and submits it through the banking platform. A rejected entry returns to finance for investigation before the payment proceeds.


Years of repetition make the work familiar and place substantial reliance on the people who know each bank’s requirements. They also understand how to correct an exception, expertise that sits behind the completed transaction reported to executives.


What happens after approval

Business Central applies the organisation’s approval limits and permissions before recording the authorised journal. The payment then enters a banking procedure shaped by the relevant format. Its submission method reflects the access granted to finance employees and the organisation’s established practice.


The resulting instruction should correspond with the approved journal. Establishing that correspondence requires a record of the submission, including any correction made after a bank rejection. Without that history in one place, finance has to reconstruct the transaction when a supplier raises a query or audit requests proof of what occurred.


King V places the governance implications in clear terms. Accountability includes answering for the execution of responsibilities “even when these were delegated”. The assigned task sits with finance employees under the accountability of those responsible for oversight.


The evidence a completed payment leaves behind

The quality of the record depends on how the handover has been designed. Business Central holds the authorised transaction and the banking platform holds the instruction presented for processing. Local files and portal histories supply much of the intervening detail, with retained correspondence adding context. Weak record-keeping turns a straightforward audit request into a reconstruction exercise.


Bank formats and rejection codes also create a practical concentration of knowledge. An employee who understands the routine keeps payments moving. An absence or an unfamiliar problem then exposes the organisation’s reliance on that expertise. Documentation supports continuity within a procedure that relies on manual judgement.


SABRIC recorded 97,975 digital banking fraud incidents in 2024, an increase of 86% from the previous year, with gross losses reaching R1.888 billion. The report linked the incidents to social engineering that exploited human error. Its figures cover a broader field of digital banking activity; for corporate finance, they reinforce the need to govern every employee interaction with a banking platform.


Bank connectivity in the South African environment

South Africa’s payment infrastructure has developed around interoperability and richer payment information. The South African Reserve Bank’s 2025 consultation paper links ISO 20022 with transparency and payment-data automation. South African settlement infrastructure and participating banks adopted the standard in 2022, followed by SADC-RTGS in 2024.


Many Business Central environments were implemented under earlier project scopes, when payment submission remained an accepted finance procedure. A later review gives management an opportunity to assess the routine against current transaction volumes. Banking relationships and the evidence required by audit also belong in that review.


Braintree’s RSA Bank Integrations extension provides a direct connection for supported processes. According to its Microsoft Marketplace listing, the FNB API handles direct payments and debit-order instructions, and also imports statements. CSV payments and statements are available for FNB, ABSA and Standard Bank. Direct-payment APIs for ABSA and Standard Bank appear on the product roadmap.


Customer banking data passes directly to the bank, with Braintree outside the transaction path as a third-party intermediary. Removing file preparation and portal transfer reduces the employee activity that falls outside the Business Central record. It also reduces reliance on knowledge of bank-specific formats.


What management should examine

Integration changes the route taken by payment information and leaves governance over approval and banking access with the organisation. Beneficiary changes remain subject to the controls set by management. Each exception needs a named owner.


The clearest assessment begins with one completed supplier payment. Finance should demonstrate its movement from the approved journal through to reconciliation, supported by the records produced during submission. The walkthrough will reveal where employee judgement enters the procedure and whether the evidence retained supports the responsibility carried by the organisation.


That account gives executives a practical basis for assessing the current arrangement and the case for direct bank connectivity.


Sources

  • South African Banking Risk Information Centre: Annual Crime Statistics 2024
  • Institute of Directors in South Africa: King V Code on Corporate Governance for South Africa
  • South African Reserve Bank: Draft Consultation Paper on Interoperability in the National Payment System
  • Microsoft Marketplace: Braintree Bank Integrations

]]> Copilot can already write your SQL. Here is what to govern first https://braintree-site-wp.azurewebsites.net/azure-sql-copilot-database-governance/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:11:09 +0000 https://www.braintree.co.za/?p=141432

Your database administrator has not been the only one who can talk to your database for over a year now. Whether that is good news or a governance gap depends on what you do next.


Microsoft Copilot in Azure SQL Database went generally available back in April 2025, and Copilot in SQL Server Management Studio brings the same natural-language help to administrators working locally. Both let someone describe what they want in plain English and get working T-SQL back, or ask an existing query to explain itself. If your business has never reviewed what either can actually see or do, this is worth revisiting now.

What Copilot actually does in your database

  • Chat pane queries. Ask a question about your data in plain language and Copilot generates the T-SQL, grounded in your actual schema, documentation and query history rather than a generic guess.
  • Query explanations. Existing queries get explained back to you in plain-English comments, useful for anyone inheriting old code with no documentation.
  • Database Instructions. You can store your business rules and naming conventions as extended properties, and Copilot applies them consistently every time it answers instead of guessing at your conventions from scratch.
  • SSMS Copilot. The same assistance, built into SQL Server Management Studio, for administrators who work locally rather than in the Azure portal.


Copilot skills in Azure SQL Database are offered at no additional cost, which is exactly why adoption tends to move faster than governance.

The part worth pausing on

Microsoft’s own July 2026 Azure Database security guidance is direct about this: AI agents are changing how applications reach your data, and that changes what identity, access and monitoring need to look for. A chat interface that can read your schema and write queries against it is,


It’s functionally, a new way into your data. It deserves the same scrutiny you would give a new employee requesting a database login, not a free pass because it is a Microsoft feature.


Do this first: confirm Copilot’s database access follows least privilege before anyone points it at a production environment. Review which roles can invoke it, what data those roles can already see, and whether your existing monitoring would actually flag unusual query activity generated through Copilot rather than a person.

Where to start

  1. Audit who has Copilot access today. It may already be switched on for more people than you realise.
  2. Set Database Instructions before you scale usage. Consistent, correct answers start with the business context you give it, not the model itself.
  3. Fold Copilot activity into your existing data-access monitoring. If your logging cannot currently distinguish a Copilot-generated query from a human one, that is the gap to close.


If you want a hand setting this up properly, from access controls to Database Instructions, our team works with Azure SQL environments every week. Talk to us about your data estate.


Specialists in Business Applications, Modern Workplace and Azure. Let’s grow.

Sources: Microsoft Learn, “Microsoft Copilot in Azure with Azure SQL Database” and Azure Database Security Newsletter (July 2026). Feature availability accurate as of July 2026 and may change as the rollout continues.

]]> Patch now: the Windows Defender RoguePlanet flaw explained https://braintree-site-wp.azurewebsites.net/windows-defender-rogueplanet-vulnerability-patch/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:09:54 +0000 https://www.braintree.co.za/?p=141431

A Windows Defender flaw sat exploitable in the wild for 29 days before Microsoft shipped a fix. That gap is the story, not just the patch.

Microsoft has patched CVE-2026-50656, nicknamed RoguePlanet, a privilege-escalation flaw in Windows Defender. 


The flaw let an attacker who already had a foothold on a machine escalate to SYSTEM-level access, the highest level of control Windows has.

What RoguePlanet actually does

A security researcher published working exploit code for the flaw before Microsoft had a fix ready. From that point, any attacker with basic access to a vulnerable machine had a public recipe for taking it over completely. 


Microsoft closed the gap with an update to the Microsoft Malware Protection Engine, the component underneath Windows Defender, but the fix landed 29 days after the exploit went public. For a flaw this severe, that is a long window to have been exposed.

What you need to check today

The good news is that this update installs automatically. There is no setting to switch on and no patch to schedule manually, Windows Defender pulls Malware Protection Engine updates on its own.


The action item is verification, not installation. Confirm that every managed endpoint in your business is actually running engine version 1.1.26060.3008 or higher. Automatic does not mean guaranteed. Devices that have been offline, poorly connected, or excluded from update policies can silently fall behind.


Do this today: pull the Microsoft Malware Protection Engine version across every managed device and flag anything below 1.1.26060.3008 for immediate attention. No customer action is required to receive the update itself, but somebody needs to confirm it actually landed everywhere.

Patch Tuesday is close behind

July’s Patch Tuesday follows shortly after this fix, arriving one month after a record-breaking June release of around 200 vulnerabilities. Security teams should expect an estimated 100 to 140 vulnerabilities this round, a level still above pre-2026 historical averages. Treat RoguePlanet as a warning shot for the cadence of the rest of the year: verification of what has actually been applied matters as much as the patching itself.


If you want a hand confirming your environment is actually current, not just theoretically covered, our team can run that check across your business. Talk to us about security hardening.


Specialists in Business Applications, Modern Workplace and Azure. Let’s grow.

Sources: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint documentation, Microsoft Learn; industry Patch Tuesday coverage (July 2026). Version numbers and vulnerability estimates accurate as of publication and subject to Microsoft’s ongoing updates.

]]> Business Standard and Premium with Copilot are now permanent SKUs https://braintree-site-wp.azurewebsites.net/microsoft-365-business-copilot-becomes-permanent/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:09:13 +0000 https://www.braintree.co.za/?p=141430

From 1 July 2026, Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot and Business Premium with Copilot stopped being limited-time offers. They are now permanent SKUs.


If you have been watching Copilot pricing move around and wondering whether to wait for it to settle, this is Microsoft’s answer. It has settled.

What changed on 1 July

Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot and Business Premium with Copilot are now standing, always-on SKUs in the Microsoft 365 catalogue, the same way Business Standard and Business Premium have always been. 


Previously, Copilot access for small and medium businesses came bundled into promotional windows with defined start and end dates. That structure is gone. You can now buy Copilot alongside your core Microsoft 365 licence at any time, on the same predictable cycle as the rest of your subscription.

Why this matters for South African SMBs

Two practical problems disappear with this change.


  • No more watching the clock. Businesses that held off on Copilot because a promotional window felt like the wrong moment to commit no longer need to time a purchase around an expiry date.
  • Budgeting gets simpler. A permanent SKU behaves like every other line item in your Microsoft 365 spend. It can go into next year’s budget with the same confidence as your core licensing, rather than as a discretionary add-on that might disappear or reprice without warning.

Worth knowing: a permanent SKU is not the same as a fixed price. Microsoft can still adjust pricing on its usual cycle. What has changed is availability, not the price itself.

What to do next

  1. Revisit any Copilot decision you shelved. If “let’s wait and see” was the answer earlier this year, the thing you were waiting for has arrived.
  2. Model the cost against your current headcount. A permanent SKU is easier to plan around than a promotional one. Get the real number for your business before your next renewal conversation.
  3. Decide who actually needs it. Copilot licensing is most cost-effective when it goes to the roles that will use it daily, not the whole business by default.


If you want help working out what Copilot should cost your business and who should be licensed, our team can model it against your current Microsoft 365 environment. Talk to our licensing team.


Specialists in Business Applications, Modern Workplace and Azure. Let’s grow.

Sources: Microsoft 365 Blog, Microsoft Learn (updated July 2026). Pricing and SKU availability accurate as of July 2026 for the South African market and subject to change.

]]> Microsoft 365 Copilot: every update that matters from July 2026 https://braintree-site-wp.azurewebsites.net/microsoft-365-copilot-july-2026-updates/ Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:07:29 +0000 https://www.braintree.co.za/?p=141429

Forty updates landed in Microsoft 365 Copilot this month. Two of them will change how your team actually works.

Microsoft’s July release is the biggest single Copilot update since Agent Mode went generally available in June. Most of the 40-plus changes are small refinements. 


A handful are not, and those are the ones worth your attention.

Claude joins Copilot Chat

Anthropic’s Claude is now a selectable model inside Copilot Chat, alongside Microsoft’s own models. Users can choose Claude for complex analysis, document understanding and structured content generation, then switch back for everyday tasks.


This is a genuine choice, not a marketing label. Different models suit different jobs, and giving people the option to pick the right tool for a specific task is a meaningful shift from the single-model Copilot most businesses have used until now.

Copilot Cowork is now generally available

Copilot Cowork is Microsoft’s agentic AI teammate, built to carry out real, multi-step tasks rather than just answer questions. It moved from preview to general availability this month, which is Microsoft’s clearest signal yet that it sees Copilot’s future as a colleague, not a search box.


Cowork is not a fit for every team on day one. It works best where a task is repetitive, well documented, and has a clear owner to check the output before it goes anywhere. Pick the first two or three tasks worth handing over, and let the rollout prove value before it scales.

The smaller changes worth knowing

  • A redesigned interface. Menus have been reorganised and there is a new Tasks tab, so you can monitor what Copilot is doing on your behalf across every interaction.
  • Mind maps in Copilot Notebooks. Interactive visual maps of your source material, with summaries per node and follow-up chat on any topic in the map.
  • AI content watermarking. Microsoft 365 can now add a visual or audio watermark to AI-generated video and audio content, controlled by an organisation-wide policy setting.

Fix this first: model choice means your data-handling policy needs an update too. Confirm which models, including Claude, your organisation permits before your team starts picking one from a dropdown.

What to do this month

  1. Decide your model policy. Agree which models are approved for which types of data before Claude shows up as an option in someone’s Copilot Chat.
  2. Pick one Cowork pilot. Choose a single, well-documented, repetitive task with a clear owner. Prove it works before handing over anything bigger.
  3. Brief your team on the Tasks tab. It is a small interface change, but it changes how people should check Copilot’s work.


If you want a hand deciding what to switch on first, our team does this every week. Talk to a Braintree consultant about your Copilot rollout.

Specialists in Business Applications, Modern Workplace and Azure. Let’s grow.

Sources: Microsoft 365 Copilot release notes, Microsoft Learn (updated July 2026). Feature availability is accurate as of July 2026 and may change as the rollout continues.

]]> From System of Record to the System That Runs Finance https://braintree-site-wp.azurewebsites.net/from-system-of-record-to-system-that-runs-finance/ Wed, 15 Jul 2026 08:47:19 +0000 https://www.braintree.co.za/?p=141455

Why enterprise finance should now be evaluated by the operating model it enables.

Finance leaders still evaluate enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions against assumptions that no longer reflect their role in financial operations.

 

In the past, ERP systems recorded fiscal activity. Investigating exceptions, exercising judgement, and decision-making were human responsibilities.

 

Recent developments in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance illustrate the progression of enterprise software. Finance solutions now participate in financial operations by identifying exceptions, initiating approved actions, applying established controls, and supporting decisions within a defined governance framework.

Finance modernisation has traditionally focused on functionality, implementation, infrastructure, integration, and total cost of ownership. These considerations remain essential, but artificial intelligence modifies the criteria by which modern finance platforms are evaluated. Executive teams must understand how technology contributes to financial operations and the efficiency with which it processes transactions.

 

Across Microsoft Build, Microsoft Ignite, and successive Dynamics 365 Finance release waves, the direction has remained consistent. AI is evolving beyond user assistance, towards governed participation in routine finance processes.

 

Evidence of a changing operating model

Much of the discussion surrounding enterprise AI has centred on new capabilities. Business leaders compare copilots, evaluate automation, and monitor product announcements. Those discussions are still relevant, but they risk overlooking the more significant development.

 

Dynamics 365 Finance provides a practical example. The distinction between a copilot and an AI agent illustrates how enterprise finance platforms are extending their role within financial operations. A copilot supports the user by retrieving information, answering questions, summarising data, and assisting with individual tasks. An AI agent operates within defined governance boundaries to monitor business processes, identify exceptions, initiate approved actions, and automatically record those activities. Human oversight remains essential, but routine participation no longer depends on continuous user prompts.

Microsoft’s Finance Agent extends finance processes beyond the ERP interface into Microsoft 365 applications, including Outlook, Excel, Teams, and Copilot Chat. Users can retrieve financial information, investigate transactions, and initiate supported workflows without moving between applications.

 

Routine activities, including reconciliations, journal processing, three-way matching, variance analysis, and cash allocation, are now candidates for intelligent execution. Governance, process maturity, and data quality determine where that approach is appropriate.

 

Microsoft describes this progression as the “movement from systems of record to systems of action”. The underlying principle applies across enterprise finance.

Microsoft’s wider AI strategy reinforces this direction.

 

Build 2026 introduced Agent 365, which provides oversight for AI agents operating across Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Azure. It incorporates identity, policy enforcement, auditability, and security within the architecture.

 

The value of a modern finance solution must be determined by its ability to strengthen governance, support informed decision-making, reduce procedural effort, and contribute to the wider finance function.

Rethinking the finance investment case

Substantial shifts in enterprise technology have reshaped the way organisations appraise investment.

 

For many years, finance solutions were assessed against familiar criteria: functional capability, implementation cost, infrastructure, integration and licensing. Those measures remain important, but they were primarily developed for systems designed to process transactions.

Thanks to AI, the role of finance solutions has evolved.

 

Executive teams are assessing organisational outcomes alongside software capability:

  • How much finance capacity remains committed to routine work?
  • How much time is spent investigating exceptions that could be identified automatically?
  • Which responsibilities require professional judgement and expertise?

 

These questions are integral to the future structure of the finance function.

 

Technology is a single element in a greater investment decision.

 

According to Forrester’s Total Economic Impact™ study of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, measurable financial benefits are associated with cloud adoption, including operational efficiencies and productivity improvements.

 

Their findings support the fact that modernisation is an investment in organisational capability.

Governance moves to the centre of the conversation

Financial systems are assuming greater operational responsibility, and executive leadership must determine how to govern them.

 

Identity, access, auditability, policy enforcement, and regulatory compliance create the conditions that enable intelligent participation.

 

Agent 365 provides governance services for AI agents operating across Microsoft business applications, allowing organisations to manage those capabilities within a single control model.

 

As AI adoption expands across multiple business functions, disjointed governance makes policy harder to manage and security more difficult to enforce.

 

Governance maturity will influence the pace of adoption.

Technology does not determine readiness

Organisational readiness determines the success of enterprise transformation. Artificial intelligence exposes weaknesses that implementation cannot resolve on its own.

 

The current operating environment determines an organisation’s capacity to adopt intelligent finance.

 

The integrity of financial information is crucial for finance leaders. Duplicate customer records, incomplete supplier information, inconsistent charts of accounts, unresolved historical transactions, and weak governance affect the quality of outcomes. Modernisation reveals these weaknesses with greater precision.

Technology leaders face a different challenge. Identity, security, governance, integration, and compliance determine how confidently new capabilities can move into production.

 

A readiness assessment examines process maturity, governance, data quality, and the operational factors that will shape implementation.

Interpreting the direction of travel

Technology roadmaps show where products are heading. Practical experience provides the context needed to interpret those developments.

 

Regulatory, operational, and governance aspects differ across organisations. A capability that creates significant value in one finance function may deliver far less in another.

 

The challenge lies in determining which capabilities will create meaningful value, when to introduce them, and how to regulate them.

Conclusion

Every generation of enterprise software improves capability. Only a few redefine the way organisations operate. Enterprise finance has reached one of those moments.

 

Finance platforms now participate in operational work under defined governance. Organisations that understand the implications will be better placed to shape the future role of the finance function.

 

The strongest modernisation strategies reflect the organisations they are designed to serve.

 

The Braintree team begins each engagement by assessing the organisation’s financial environment. The team examines processes, governance, operational priorities, data, and strategic objectives before making technology recommendations.

 

Understanding your current architecture provides the foundation for every subsequent decision.

 

Speak to a Braintree consultant about an ERP assessment today.

 

Specialists in Business Applications, Modern Workplace and Azure. Let’s grow.

]]> This month in Dynamics 365: July 2026 https://braintree-site-wp.azurewebsites.net/dynamics-365-roundup-july-2026/ Mon, 06 Jul 2026 14:30:54 +0000 https://www.braintree.co.za/?p=140834

Braintree · Dynamics 365 monthly

This month in Dynamics 365: July 2026

Three Dynamics 365 agents that were in preview through May and June moved into general availability this month, an Azure infrastructure deadline quietly passed for anyone connecting to Azure over a site-to-site VPN, and Adele Esterhuizen makes the case for why the GP migration window is open now, not in 2029.


Here is everything in this month’s read, in one place. Each story links to the full article.


Chat to a D365 consultant

The articles

Eight reads for July

Sales

The Sales Close Agent is generally available

A chat-based view of deal risk and what changed since your last review, now generally available after a May preview.

Read the full story →


Customer Service

Service Agent reaches general availability in Microsoft 365 Copilot

Case summarisation, grounded knowledge search and service actions, all from inside the Copilot conversation a rep already has open.

Read the full story →


Supply Chain

The Procurement Agent now shows you the ripple effect before you commit

Supply Chain Management 10.0.48 reached general availability in June, headlined by an agent that shows the downstream impact of a PO change before you commit it.

Read the full story →


Business Central

Where Business Central’s developer investment is actually going

Not every Wave 1 investment is a feature you click. This one shows up as shorter turnaround on what Braintree builds for you.

Read the full story →


Azure

Azure VPN Gateway’s old SKUs are retired. Check yours.

The legacy Standard and High Performance VPN Gateway SKUs were deprecated on 30 June. Anyone on a site-to-site VPN into Azure should check theirs.

Read the full story →


Copilot

Copilot Agent Mode: what it does, and how to roll it out right

Agentic capabilities in Word, Excel and PowerPoint are generally available since 22 April. Run a permission review before switching it on across a team.

Read the full story →


Case Study of the Month

Twelve countries. Over 100 regulated entities. One platform.

Old Mutual Africa’s finance transformation, built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations.

Read the full story →


GP to BC

The GP migration window is open. Until 2029 is not a plan.

Adele Esterhuizen on why the GP support deadline is the last possible moment to move, not the right one, and what a rushed migration costs you.

Read the full story →

Microsoft Learn

Three picks for July

AB-100: Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect. One of four new AI-focused credentials Microsoft has opened this year, aimed at architects designing agent-based solutions across the Dynamics 365 and Power Platform estate. View on Microsoft Learn →


AB-250: Dynamics 365 Contact Center AI Engineer Associate. Beta and training opened in June, with the credential going live in August. Worth watching if voice and chat agents are on your roadmap. View on Microsoft Learn →


Legacy fundamentals stay retired. The old Dynamics 365 Fundamentals CRM (MB-910) and Fundamentals ERP (MB-920) exams retired at the end of 2025 and are not coming back. If your team’s certification plan still references either, it needs updating. View Dynamics 365 credentials on Microsoft Learn →

Got a question about Dynamics 365?

Whether you are checking a renewal date, planning a migration, or wondering where this Wave fits, our D365 team is one click away.

Chat to a D365 consultant


Specialists in Business Applications, Modern Workplace and Azure. Let’s grow.

]]> Azure VPN Gateway’s old SKUs are retired. Check yours. https://braintree-site-wp.azurewebsites.net/azure-vpn-gateway-standard-high-performance-sku-retirement-2026/ Mon, 06 Jul 2026 14:30:52 +0000 https://www.braintree.co.za/?p=140833

On 30 June, Microsoft formally deprecated the Standard and High Performance Azure VPN Gateway SKUs: the older gateway types still sitting behind a lot of hybrid and on-premises setups that route traffic into Azure for backup, disaster recovery, or an on-premises Business Central deployment connected over a site-to-site VPN.

If your business connects to Azure this way and nobody has touched the gateway SKU in a few years, this is worth checking today rather than waiting for something to break.

What actually changes

No new gateway can be created on the Standard or High Performance SKU from now on. For gateways already running on them, Microsoft will attempt an automatic migration after June 2026, upgrading Standard to VpnGw1AZ and High Performance to VpnGw2AZ, and performance actually improves once that happens.

The automatic path is not guaranteed. If the virtual network’s subnet is too small for the new SKU, the migration fails and needs manual intervention, at which point you are working against a deadline that has already passed rather than a comfortable runway.

The safer route

Migrate the gateway’s Basic public IP address to a Standard IP address through the Azure portal now. The SKU upgrade rides along with that migration automatically, without the same subnet-size risk.

The IP address itself does not change, but expect a short window of connectivity downtime while the gateway is recreated, so plan the change outside business hours rather than in the middle of a trading day.

Why this is in a Dynamics 365 newsletter

This is not a Dynamics 365 feature update, but it directly affects anyone running Business Central, or any other on-premises system, behind a site-to-site VPN into Azure. If Braintree manages your Azure networking, check with your account manager whether this has already been actioned for you. If you manage it yourself, this is the week to check your gateway SKU, not next quarter.

Talk to our team about what this means for your Dynamics 365 environment. Chat to a Braintree consultant or email us directly at enquiries@braintree.co.za.

Specialists in Business Applications, Modern Workplace and Azure. Let’s grow.

Sources: Microsoft Learn, “VPN Gateway Legacy SKUs” and “What’s new in Azure VPN Gateway”, both confirming the Standard and High Performance SKU deprecation date of 30 June 2026.

]]> Where Business Central’s developer investment is actually going this Wave https://braintree-site-wp.azurewebsites.net/business-central-copilot-extensibility-developer-investment-2026/ Mon, 06 Jul 2026 14:30:51 +0000 https://www.braintree.co.za/?p=140832

Not every Wave 1 investment shows up as a button your team clicks.

A meaningful part of this release wave is going into the tools partners like Braintree use to build and adapt Business Central for you, and that is worth explaining, because it changes what you can reasonably ask for and how quickly we can deliver it.

Where the effort is going

Microsoft is investing specifically in AL testing and debugging, in Copilot extensibility, and in maturing the Agent Designer that lets a consultant, not just a developer, define a custom agent in plain language and test it in a sandbox before it touches production.

  • Better testing tools mean changes we make to your environment get validated faster and with fewer regressions.
  • Better debugging means a fault gets found and fixed in hours, not days.
  • A more capable Agent Designer means a custom automation that used to require a developer project can, for some use cases, be prototyped by a consultant directly.

What this means for you

None of this is a feature you will see in a release notes screenshot. It shows up instead as shorter turnaround on the customisations and extensions Braintree builds for your Business Central environment, and as more of your team being able to safely test an idea before committing budget to build it properly.

If you have an automation idea that felt like too big a project to raise before, this Wave is a reasonable moment to raise it again.

Talk to our team about what this means for your Dynamics 365 environment. Chat to a Braintree consultant or email us directly at enquiries@braintree.co.za.

Specialists in Business Applications, Modern Workplace and Azure. Let’s grow.

Sources: Microsoft Learn, “Overview of Dynamics 365 Business Central 2026 release wave 1” and “New and planned features for Dynamics 365 Business Central, 2026 release wave 1”.

]]>