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Azure integration services and what each one does
Logic Apps
Visual workflows that call Dynamics 365, Business Central, SFTP servers, databases and web APIs. The Standard plan runs in a single-tenant host and can reach systems inside your own network.
Service Bus
Queues and topics that sit between systems. Say Business Central is mid-update or an ecommerce platform is slow. Then messages wait in the queue, and none go missing.
API Management
A controlled front door for partners who need your data. It adds keys, rate limits, logging and versions, without exposing your ERP to the internet.
Event Grid
Pushes events, such as a posted invoice or a new file in storage, to the services that care. So nothing has to poll every few minutes.
Azure Functions
Small pieces of code for awkward transformations. For example, parsing a fixed-width bank file or an EDI document.
Monitor and Application Insights
Alerts when a run fails, dashboards of throughput and a searchable history of every message. Business Central can also send its own telemetry to Application Insights.
Key Vault
Keeps connection secrets, certificates and API keys out of workflow definitions, with each integration granted access through a managed identity.
Blob Storage with SFTP
A landing zone for bank statements, EDI batches and exports. Its SFTP endpoint serves partners who still send files rather than API calls.
How each Dynamics 365 product exposes data to Azure
Business Central offers standard and custom API pages over OData v4, with OAuth sign-in through Microsoft Entra ID. It also has webhooks that notify a subscriber when records change. Microsoft throttles API calls per environment. So Azure Integration Services for Dynamics 365 must batch and pace bulk loads rather than fire them all at once.
Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management expose data entities through OData. For large file imports and exports, they use the Data Management Framework. Business events can go to Service Bus, Event Grid, Event Hubs or an HTTPS endpoint. That suits event-driven designs well.
Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service and Field Service sit on Dataverse. It has a Web API, plug-ins and a built-in way to post messages to Azure Service Bus. That makes Service Bus a natural hub when CRM and ERP both need to hear about the same customer or order.
Designing Azure integration for Dynamics 365 that finance can trust
- 1
Inventory every Dynamics 365 integration
We list each existing and planned feed with its direction, volume, timing and owner. We also note what happens today when it fails. This list alone often reveals feeds nobody remembers building.
- 2
Choose the lightest Azure service per integration
A nightly price file may need only a Logic App. However, a high-volume order stream needs a queue, idempotent processing and a dead-letter process. Not every feed deserves the full stack.
- 3
Define the contract
We write down field mappings, identifiers, error codes and retry rules, and both system owners sign off. So disagreements surface on paper rather than in production.
- 4
Build with failure in mind
Every message carries a correlation ID, and the design catches duplicates. Failed messages land where a person can see, fix and resubmit them.
- 5
Reconcile, then monitor
We compare counts and totals between systems after test runs and after go-live. Alerts go to a named team, not a shared mailbox nobody reads.
Signs you need Azure integration services
- ✓Orders or invoices sometimes go missing and turn up only at month-end
- ✓An integration runs on a server under someone's desk or as a scheduled script on one PC
- ✓Nobody can say how many messages failed last week or why
- ✓Each new sales channel or trading partner means another custom connection into the ERP
- ✓Partners ask for API access and the only option is sharing an ERP account
- ✓Passwords for each connection sit in scripts or config files that only one person knows how to change
Azure integration services questions from IT and finance
Why not do everything in Power Automate?
Power Automate is excellent for team-level automation and approvals. For high-volume or critical feeds, though, Logic Apps Standard adds private networking and pipeline deployment. It also gives more control over hosting and scale. Both share the same connector model. So a flow can move to Logic Apps when it outgrows its first home.
Do we need our own Azure subscription?
Yes. Your own subscription is the right home for Azure Integration Services for Dynamics 365. That way you keep control of the data, the access and the bill. We work inside it with access you grant and can remove. Also, templates in your repository describe everything we deploy.
What does Azure cost to run for this?
Azure bills by consumption and plan, and Microsoft publishes a pricing calculator for every service. The design document lists the services and tiers each integration uses so your team can price it with that calculator. We do not quote Azure costs ourselves because they depend on your volumes and agreements.
Can you support EDI with large retailers?
Yes. Usually an EDI provider or AppSource EDI add-on handles the trading-partner side. Then Azure or Business Central handles mapping and posting. Retailer compliance rules vary widely, so we confirm the partner list and document types in the scoping call.
Who watches the integrations after go-live?
Your team, us, or both. Either way, we set up alerts and dashboards, with a written runbook for resubmitting failed messages. Ongoing monitoring can be part of a support arrangement if you prefer not to staff it.
Talk to us about your project.
Tell us what you run today and what has to change. A senior consultant replies with a written next step.