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Sunday, May 25, 2025

How to integrate with Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations Part -4

11) Data Events

Data events in Dynamics 365 F&O function similarly to business events, as they are triggered by CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations performed on data entities. These events can be activated and managed directly from the Business Event Catalog form.


However, unlike traditional business events, data events are tightly integrated with the Power Platform. This means that Power Platform linking must be enabled in your environment to use them. Once configured, triggered data events can be published to defined endpoints in the Business Event Catalog or consumed directly through Power Automate triggers for the associated virtual entity.


⚠️ Note: Dynamics 365 F&O imposes limits on the number of data events that can be triggered per hour. Because of this throttling, data events are not ideal for high-volume entities (such as products) that undergo frequent bulk updates.

✅ Advantages

  • Provides real-time updates for CRUD operations on activated data entities.

  • Enables seamless integration with Power Automate and other Power Platform services.

❌ Disadvantages

  • Requires an active Power Platform link between F&O and Power Platform.

  • Event limits and throttling may impact performance in high-transaction scenarios.

🔍 Learn more:
Read the official documentation — Data events overview | Microsoft Learn

12) Virtual entities

Virtual entities enable real-time integration between Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations (F&O) and the Power Platform by exposing F&O data directly in Dataverse. These virtual links allow Power Apps, Power Automate, and other Power Platform components to access and interact with F&O data as if it were stored natively in Dataverse.

When you link your F&O environment with the Power Platform, the configuration for virtual entities is handled automatically. After setup, you can simply select the entities you want to enable as virtual entities in Dataverse and start using them instantly in your low-code solutions.

 


⚙️ How Virtual Entities Work

Virtual entities act as a real-time bridge — a placeholder that connects Dataverse to the actual data stored in F&O. All CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) are supported, and any change made in Dataverse is executed directly on the F&O data, without duplication.

However, creating or updating F&O data via virtual entities can be challenging. That’s because validations, lookups, and extended data types from F&O aren’t fully replicated in Dataverse. Complex relationships and data types appear as simplified flat text fields, meaning data is validated only after it’s written back to F&O.

As a result, virtual entities are best suited for read-only scenarios, data exploration, and visualizations, rather than heavy data manipulation.

⚠️ Limitations

Not all F&O entity field types are supported — for example, calculated fields aren’t available. In addition, virtual entities have limitations compared to native Dataverse entities:

  • You can’t join them with other Dataverse entities.

  • Offline caching isn’t supported.

✅ Advantages

  • Real-time access to Dynamics 365 F&O data in the Power Platform.

  • Free Microsoft-provided integration tool.

  • Supports CRUD operations directly on F&O data.

❌ Disadvantages

  • Not ideal for direct data updates in F&O.

  • Complex data types and relationships are simplified in Dataverse.

  • Calculated fields aren’t supported.

  • Lacks some Dataverse native entity features.


13)Azure Data Factory Connector for Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations

Starting in 2025, Microsoft recommends using the Link to Fabric and Fabric Data Factory instead of the traditional Azure Data Factory (ADF) connector for Finance & Operations.

Azure Data Factory is a powerful, cloud-based integration service in Azure that allows you to perform bulk data transformations and integrations using low-code, serverless ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) pipelines. It can connect to multiple data sources through native connectors — including one for Dynamics 365 F&O, still called the Dynamics AX connector (a legacy name).

Under the hood, this connector uses OData for data extraction, and the copying happens in bulk via ADF background services. However, it’s important to note that the sink option — which defines the target storage for your data — is not supported for the Dynamics AX connector, making this a one-way integration from F&O outward.


ADF vs Logic Apps

Dynamics 365 F&O also provides a Logic Apps connector that can handle data integration and transformation tasks.

So, what’s the difference?

  • Logic Apps process data record by record, offering fine control for smaller transactions.

  • Azure Data Factory, on the other hand, is optimized for high-volume, bulk data transformations, making it more efficient for large-scale ETL operations.

However, ADF’s performance advantage comes with higher operational costs compared to Logic App–based integrations.




✅ Advantages

  • ⚡ High-performance bulk data transformations

  • 🧩 Serverless, low-code pipeline design

  • 🔗 Native data ingestion from Dynamics 365 F&O

  • 🔄 Ability to use a wide range of out-of-the-box data connectors and processing tools

❌ Disadvantages

  • 💰 Higher operation costs compared to Logic Apps

  • 🐢 Uses OData, which can be slower for large datasets

  • 🚫 Sink option unavailable for F&O — supports one-way data integration only

🔍 Learn more:
Azure Data Factory Dynamics AX connector — Microsoft Learn

🔍 Stay tuned for more D365FO technical posts

📌 Bookmark: https://d365fohunt.blogspot.com


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