Dynamics 365 White Paper Dynamics 365 - A Radical Change...

Dynamics 365 White Paper

Dynamics 365 - A Radical Change for AX:Critical Information for Companies Upgrading Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 for Operations

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Dynamics 365 - A Radical Change for AX:Critical Information for Companies Upgrading Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365 for Operations

Dynamics 365 for Operations is a radical transformation of the

Dynamics AX platform that has both excited the user community

and also created uncertainty at the same time.

This white paper is intended for companies that are re-evaluating

their integration strategy with Dynamics 365 for Operations

Platform (formerly known as Dynamics AX 7).

Microsoft Dynamics 365

With Dynamics 365, Microsoft has entered the Cloud ERP marketplace with an exclamation point. It successfully delivers the most feature rich pure cloud ERP platform from Day 1of its release. Performance and functionality are excellent, plus it leverages the other Microsoft productivity tools such as Dynamics 365 CRM and Office 365.

One of the more subtle transformations centers on the integration framework that made its debut with Dynamics 365.

This extends to one of the most fundamental integrations that many Dynamics users depend upon – Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). This framework adopts many of the best technologies that are employed by top web companies such as Google and Facebook. These technologies include OData, RESTful Web Services and JSON.

This white paper discusses the integration technologies that have been added to the Dynamics 365 platform as well as those that have been deprecated. If your company is upgrading to Dynamics 365 from Dynamics AX and has external business integrations, this information could be critical to your planning and success.

Funny thing about first

impressions; they tend to

stick with us. ERP access from

anywhere via the cloud is a

good example.

From the very beginning of cloud

computing users and companies

have been pushing their

workloads and applications to the

cloud for the benefits of mobile

anywhere access on a managed

services platform (Azure).

Accessibility

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WHITE PAPER: CRITICAL INFORMATION FOR COMPANIES UPGRADING AX TO DYNAMICS 365 FOR OPERATIONS

Dynamics 365 for Operations

Dynamics 365 eliminated the two primary integration options that have been available in AX since Version 4.0, while adding a new framework and expanding a third framework.

The upside to these changes in Dynamics 365 is that it delivers strong performance, universal access to data, and more reliable Web Service support using industry standard protocols.

Integration Frameworks Removed• The Application Integration Framework (AIF), which has been the primary

integration point for many users and developers for more than ten years, has been removed.

• The .NET Business Connector, which has been around since the initial release of the Axapta platform, has also been removed.

Integration Framework Added• A new Data Entity Based Integration Framework that enables external

integration via OData Endpoints using RESTful Web Services via the JSON data format has been added. Compared to the limited support for transacation integration and master data previously found in the AIF, the Data Entity Framework already supports 1600 different OData Endpoints with full CRUD (create, read, update, delete) operations.

Integration Framework Enhanced• The DIXF (Data Import Export Framework) is expanded and supports

the new Data Entity framework. The DIXF is primarily designed for data file conversions and repetitive data imports. If you are upgrading your Dynamics AX data to Dynamics 365 you will be using this framework.

There are now four primary data Entity types used in Dynamics 365 Data EntitiesData Entities are the building blocks for all other Entity types. An Entity is simply an abstraction of the data seen as a view against a Single or Several Related Tables in Dynamics 365. Operations against the data include full CRUD Operations. Entities support integration via OpenData Web Services (OData) and DIXF. Specifically, the protocol used for Entity integration is OData using a RESTful web service.

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Extended EntitiesExtended Entities are used when there are customizations in the Dynamics 365 database including added fields and tables. Per Microsoft, best practice is to create an Extended Entity rather than modify the standard base entity that comes with Dynamics 365. Extended Entities support OData and DIXF for integration.

Composite EntitiesComposite Entities are two or more single Data Entities combined into a more complex entity. Composite Entities do not support web service-based integration using OData. Asynchronous Multiple Related Entities use DIXF only, meaning you have to import from a file. DIXF, which is designed for file conversions, is not well suited for transactional scenarios where data or business rule exceptions are likely. Troubleshooting and ‘re-queuing’ failed transactions through the DIXF is cumbersome.

Aggregate EntitiesThese are Read-Only Data Entities for use with external Business Intelligence (BI) Platforms such as Power BI and are only OData accessible.

What do these changes mean to users? Focusing specifically on integration services in comparison to those provided by Dynamics AX 2012, these changes provide significant improvements to organizations such as Data Masons in their efforts to integrate with the new Dynamics 365 platform.

Representational State Transfer (RESTful) Web Services - Superior to Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) The SOAP-based web service integrations implemented in the AIF in Dynamics AX 2012 were fairly brittle and, according to Microsoft, would not scale in the architecture. If you made changes to the database scheme through the AOT, the web service would break until the calling web service was also updated.

OAuth, the Security Protocol for OData Endpoints is SecureOAuth is a very secure, two-level authentication method protecting access to the web service (and your Dynamics 365 data).




JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is More Efficient & Compact than eXtended Markup Language (XML)XML, the data format used in AX 2012, is relatively verbose which doesn’t scale well in an integration process over the internet. JSON is much more efficient, and much more commonly used in cloud transactions to integrate data.

Accessing Dynamics 365 Business Objects is EasierThe new framework has also made it much easier to access the growing Microsoft library of business objects, which currently number approximately 1,800. This is a tremendous improvement in the number of access endpoints over the limited library of “out-of-the-box” objects available in AX 2012. OData Provides Timely Feedback and FlexibilityThe OData framework provides excellent feedback. The way in which it has been implemented provides far more understandable messages. This significantly facilitates troubleshooting.

Performance is StrongContrary to the anticipation whenever core frameworks change, early experience with Dynamics 365 has delivered excellent performance.

What options are now available for integrated EDI?

There are several ways to accomplish EDI in conjunction with Dynamics 365:

• Some organizations turn to external services such as Value Added Networks (VAN) to intake, convert, and output their transactional data. This often incurs high ongoing expense, and moves control of the transactions out of house. Additionally, this still requires some sort of integration layer to be built which is often the harder work to accomplish.

• Some users who have extensive in-house development resources may have them develop software to provide the data interchange between their system and each of their trading partners’ systems. Given that each trading partner’s system will be different from the others, it is likely this will require re-coding and re-development for each new trading partner.

Trying to link your legacy EDI

system and/or provider to

Dynamics 365.

Customizing Dynamics 365 to

achieve EDI process integration.

EDI related modifications are

expensive, introduce risk and

never end.

Heavy ERP modifications

also require configurations

for new trading partners, but

can put consumers in a tight

spot when Microsoft upgrades

the ERP, including unforseen

changes as is the case with

Dynamics 365.

EDI Options Worth Avoiding

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• Some use their own resources, or outsourced specialists, to perform modifications to the core Dynamics software. Again, this must be configured for each new trading partner, but there’s an even deeper cost that occurs every time Microsoft introduces a new version of Dynamics 365 for Operations - delayed and expensive upgrades and migrations.

• An application and platform that does not modify the ERP, interacting proactively with the data and doing all the ‘heavy lifting’ required to integrate, retrieve, prepare, transmit, and receive EDI information with trading partners. Such a platform, combined with an extensive library of existing integrations and trading partner connections that can be implemented immediately, delivered by a team of D365 EDI experts, is the ideal option. At Data Masons, we call this option - EDI Made Simple®!

EDI Made Simple®

Over 1,500 Dynamics customers have chosen to use Vantage Point EDI software from Data Masons. The platform has been refined to be an excellent fit for companies using Dynamics AX or Dynamics 365 that acquire and distribute goods. Because Data Masons has been constantly improving its platform for nearly two decades, implementation is a configuration and setup - not a painful development project.

Additional Value Propositions of the Data Mason’s Approach to EDI Integration with Dynamics 365 for Operations Further focusing in on how the substantial changes in Dynamics 365 fits with Data Masons’ ability to integrate EDI into the platform:

No Core Customizations (Entities only)It has always been Data Masons’ policy to never make customizations to the core Dynamics code-base to enable EDI integration. Instead of building the business logic for EDI into the ERP, our software sits on the outside.




“Heavy Lifting” Done Outside of Dynamics 365With the new framework, where data entities either don’t exist or require changing, our software will make those changes without having to make any modification to Microsoft’s software. Our software does all of the “heavy-lifting” in data preparation and validation and hands off the data on what we refer to as a “silver platter” to Dynamics 365, so it can do what it is designed to do.

Full Automation Including Error AlertsBusiness users are automatically notified when human action needs to be taken on transactions that require intervention before they can be integrated into Dynamics 365 or delivered to trading partners. Comprehensive Document SupportOur tremendous library of document formats continues to grow. It is critical to the success of our Vantage Point EDI product that we provide the largest selection of “out-of-the-box” templates and other standard documents to fully support EDI transactions.

Managed Compliance/Managed Services – End to EndData Masons offers a comprehensive managed services suite, including managed compliance. Our customers can outsource all EDI functions to Data Masons if they so desire.

Flexible Deployment OptionsPerhaps most important to Dynamics 365 users who are expanding their use of cloud- based services is that the Vantage Point platform is available both as an on-premise installed software product and also as a fully cloud-based service, offering the same level of choice as Microsoft in providing both on-premise and cloud options. Dynamics and Industry ExpertiseOur team of Dynamics ERP experts understand the platform thoroughly, bringing an all-important combination of expertise and experience to our customers. Alternately, customers can choose to handle any and all EDI functions themselves with full support from the product and the Data Masons support organization.




Providing Support for a Deep & Broad Array of EDI Users The use of EDI has continually expanded to include literally every participant in trading transactions, including:• Customers• Banks & Factors• Government• Customs Agencies• Carriers• Suppliers• Third-party logistics providers (3PL)• Brokers & Trading Networks

Conclusion

There is no doubt Dynamics 365 for Operations is a game changer. While it may take some getting used to for partners upgrading their Dynamics AX customers to Dynamics 365, the excellent perfomance and increased functionality will make the growing pains well worth the effort. We are optimistic about the future of Dynamics 365 and the increased integration potential delivered by Microsoft.

About Data Masons

Since 1996, Data Masons has demonstrated its commitment to a comprehensive understanding of customers’ environments to inform the customizations and other modifications made to optimize their EDI solutions. The expertise of our team, coupled with the extensive library of trading partner specifications we have developed over twenty years of experience, plus our industry-leading Vantage Point EDI solution which is Certified for Microsoft Dynamics AX, GP and NAV makes Data Masons your ideal choice for EDI support partner.

By putting the customer first, and delivering quality solutions and unparalleled customer service, Data Masons has become the leading EDI provider and would like to assist you with your EDI integration project. Contact us for a private product demonstration and consultation.

Watch the Recorded Webinar, “EDI for Dynamics 365 for Operations: A Radical Change for Dynamics AX” for the full presentation of this content.

Read the Data Masons Executive Brief, “EDI Made Simple - A New Approach” for more information on EDI integration without customization.
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