Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC) is a robust enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, helping businesses streamline operations, financials, and supply chains. However, a challenge many organizations face is extracting data from Business Central for reporting, analytics, or integrating with external systems. The need to extract data efficiently becomes crucial, especially when dealing with large datasets and complex reporting requirements.
In this post, we’ll explore three common approaches to getting data out of Business Central:
- Using Standard APIs.
- Developing Custom APIs.
- Leveraging the BC2ADLS (Business Central to Azure Data Lake Storage) extension.
Each method has its strengths and limitations, and we’ll break down when each one is most appropriate.
1. Using Standard APIs
Overview:
Dynamics 365 Business Central offers a set of standard APIs that provide easy access to core data entities. These APIs are pre-configured by Microsoft and allow users to pull data from the ERP system to external applications such as Power BI, Excel, or other third-party systems.
How It Works:
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- Business Central’s standard APIs follow RESTful principles and can be accessed over HTTP/HTTPS.
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- Each API endpoint corresponds to a specific data entity, such as Customers, Vendors, Sales Orders, and so on.
Advantages:
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- Quick and Easy Setup: No development work is required to set up the standard APIs. They are pre-built and ready for use.
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- Compatible with Multiple Systems: The standard API is compatible with most modern BI tools and integration platforms.
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- Ideal for Smaller Data: If you only need small to moderate amounts of data, the standard APIs will work without any major issues.
Limitations:
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- Limited Data Access: The biggest drawback is the limited set of data available through standard APIs. If you need access to non-standard fields or tables, this method may not suffice.
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- Not Suitable for Large Tables: Standard APIs are not designed to handle large datasets efficiently. When extracting data from large tables, performance degrades significantly.
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- Rate Limitations: There are throttling and rate limits that restrict the amount of data you can pull at any given time.
When to Use:
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- Small to medium-sized datasets.
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- Quick data pulls for dashboards and reports.
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- Situations where you don’t need access to custom fields or tables.
Business Central Jumpstart package
2. Developing Custom APIs
Overview:
For companies that require more tailored data access, custom APIs can be developed by extending Business Central. This option gives developers the flexibility to create APIs that meet specific business needs, providing access to custom fields, tables, or logic not covered by the standard APIs.
How It Works:
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- A developer writes custom API pages and endpoints within Business Central, using AL language.
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- These custom APIs are exposed as RESTful services, similar to standard APIs, but tailored to your data and performance needs.
Advantages:
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- Tailored Data Access: Custom APIs allow you to access any data in Business Central, including custom fields and tables.
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- More Control: You can implement logic and filters directly in the API, reducing the need for additional processing outside of Business Central.
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- Integration Flexibility: Custom APIs can be tailored to integrate with specific third-party systems.
Limitations:
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- Developer Expertise Required: Creating custom APIs requires developer resources and expertise with Business Central’s AL development environment.
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- Performance Constraints for Large Datasets: While custom APIs provide more flexibility, they still struggle with large datasets. Extracting data from large tables can impact performance, and pulling the data in chunks may be necessary.
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- Maintenance Overhead: Custom APIs need to be maintained and updated as your Business Central system evolves.
When to Use:
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- When you need access to custom fields, tables, or complex data structures.
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- Situations where the standard APIs do not meet your specific requirements.
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- For controlled and filtered data access in integrations with other systems.
Need help to extract data?
3. Using the BC2ADLS Extension
Overview:
The BC2ADLS (Business Central to Azure Data Lake Storage) extension is the most robust and flexible solution for extracting data from Business Central, particularly when working with large datasets. This extension integrates Business Central with Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS), allowing you to export data in bulk and in near real-time.
How It Works:
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- BC2ADLS enables a direct connection between Business Central and an Azure Data Lake.
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- The extension exports data from Business Central into Azure Data Lake Storage in the form of raw files that can then be processed or consumed by analytics tools like Power BI, Azure Synapse Analytics, or Azure Machine Learning.
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- You can automate the data export and control which tables and fields are exported to ADLS.
Advantages:
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- Handles Large Datasets: Unlike APIs, the BC2ADLS extension can efficiently handle large datasets, making it ideal for companies that need to extract large amounts of data from Business Central.
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- Flexibility in Data Modeling: Since the data is stored in ADLS, you can build complex data models, transformations, and visualizations using Azure’s powerful analytics tools.
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- Real-Time Data Access: BC2ADLS provides near real-time data access, ensuring that your external systems always have the latest data.
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- Ideal for Data Warehousing: This method allows businesses to extract their data into a centralized data lake, from which they can build a full-fledged data warehouse.
Limitations:
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- Cost: Setting up and maintaining Azure Data Lake Storage, along with the BC2ADLS extension, incurs additional costs. Depending on the size of the data and the Azure services used, the costs can add up.
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- Configuration Complexity: While powerful, the BC2ADLS extension requires proper setup and configuration, which may require specialized expertise in Azure and Business Central.
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- Initial Learning Curve: Since it involves Azure services, there’s a learning curve for teams unfamiliar with cloud data storage and processing tools.
When to Use:
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- When dealing with large datasets that cannot be efficiently handled by APIs.
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- Companies needing real-time or near real-time data exports to an Azure environment.
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- Businesses planning to integrate their Business Central data with a broader data warehouse or machine learning solution in Azure.
How to install BC2ADLS
Conclusion
Extracting data from Dynamics 365 Business Central requires careful consideration of your data needs, resources, and infrastructure. While standard APIs provide a quick and easy solution for small datasets, they fall short for larger, more complex reporting requirements. Custom APIs offer greater flexibility but require developer expertise and still struggle with large datasets. For those seeking the most scalable and flexible solution, BC2ADLS is a powerful option, though it comes with higher costs and setup complexity.
Ultimately, the right choice depends on the size of your data, your reporting requirements, and your willingness to invest in infrastructure. At Polaris Insights, we specialize in integrating Business Central with robust BI tools like Power BI and Microsoft Fabric, ensuring that you get the most out of your data extraction process, regardless of the method you choose.