What was Project Madeira?

Project Madeira was the code name for what later became Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Microsoft’s cloud-based ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

Here’s a breakdown of what it was and why it mattered:

Overview

• Project Madeira was announced by Microsoft in 2016 as a cloud-first ERP system built on the foundation of Dynamics NAV (formerly Navision).
  
• It was designed to run entirely on the Microsoft Azure cloud and integrate seamlessly with Office 365 (now Microsoft 365).
  
• Its goal: to simplify business management for SMBs through automation, cloud accessibility, and Microsoft ecosystem integration.

Key Features (at launch as Project Madeira)

1. Financial Management – General ledger, accounts payable/receivable, cash flow, budgeting.
   
2. Sales and Purchasing – Quotes, orders, invoicing, vendor management.
   
3. Inventory Management – Items, stock levels, warehouse management.
   
4. CRM Capabilities – Contact management, opportunity tracking.
   
5. Office 365 Integration – You could create and send quotes or invoices directly from Outlook.
   
6. Power BI Integration – Built-in analytics and dashboards.
   
7. Cloud-first Design – Deployed and updated automatically through Microsoft’s SaaS model.

Evolution

• 2016: Released in preview as Project Madeira.
  
• 2017: Rebranded as Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Business Edition.
  
• 2018: Officially launched as Dynamics 365 Business Central, the product we know today.

In Summary