Connectivity studio
Connectivity studio for Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations is one of the most advanced systems integration solutions available for D365 FO. Connectivity studio offers a manageable and business-focused way to simplify the setup and management of integrations between D365 FO and other business systems.
Connectivity studio enables integrations with a wide variety of systems, including other ERP systems, financial planning systems, PLM systems, and enterprise application integration (EAI) systems, such as Microsoft BizTalk Server. The solution’s advanced mapping capabilities let you configure integrations without dealing with the complexities of the data model in D365 FO. Connectivity studio improves systems integration management by reducing the busywork and by increasing the reliability, consistency, and reusability of system integration projects and data synchronization.
Important systems integration scenarios for Connectivity studio include integration with mobile field-service solutions, syncing of data across eCommerce and multi-channel retail, integration with PLM systems for better collaboration between sales and engineering, and managing the interactions and updates between the back office and retail locations.
Analysis
In Connectivity studio, use projects to manage integrations. Most connectivity elements are linked to a project, for example, documents, connectors, and tasks.
Because these elements are related to a project, you can also use a project to compare and share connectivity setup and do version management.
Design
To define an integration with Connectivity studio, these components are required:
- Two connectors
A connector defines the type of connection and how to connect to the relevant data source.
- Two documents
A document defines the data to be exchanged and its format and structure.
- One message
A message is the carrier that transports data from a source to a target, based on the mapping as defined on the message. On the message you define:
- The source information: the connector and document that is used for the data source.
- The target information: the connector and document that is used for the data target.
- The record mapping and field mapping that define which data goes where.
Example
Import customers from a webshop to D365 FO. In this case, the webshop is the source and D365 FO the target.
For both the source (webshop) and the target (D365 FO) a connector and a document are required. Also, a message is required to map the source and target data.
With this concept, all integrations are set up in the same structured way. You can also reuse components. For example, if you want to export customers from D365 FO to the webshop, only a new message is required, and you can reuse the connectors and documents.
Operation
When an integration is designed in Connectivity studio, you can run it in several ways. You can monitor the history of the integration when it has run.
Deployment
You can export an integration configuration from the D365 FO environment where you designed it and import it to an D365 FO environment.
When the design is finished, you can clean up an integration configuration. You can, for example, delete unused messages or clean up history.
General
In this part, general Connectivity studio topics are explained.