Preview: Integration between Finance and Operations and Common Data Service – Phase 1
In this digital world, business ecosystems use the Dynamics 365 suite as a whole, meaning that data from customers, operations, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices flows in to one source creating the opportunity for digital feedback loops. To achieve this experience, integration between Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations and Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement applications is essential. Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement applications are built on top of Common Data Service. Finance and Operations data integrates with Common Data Service to enable Customer Engagement applications to communicate with Finance and Operations coherently and fluently.
This integration between Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations and Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement applications is happening in phases. The goal is to provide coverage across 28 surface areas of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations and provide a “One Dynamics 365” user experience through seamless data flows that connect the business processes across applications using a dual-write mechanism.
We are excited to announce the preview of “Phase 1” of integration, which covers 3 surface areas, specifically Organization, Customers, and Vendors. We’d like to extend a huge thank you to customers and partners from our Insider program, without whom we wouldn’t have reached so far. It has been a great journey with lots of learning along the way.
Preview restrictions apply
- Preview features aren’t meant for production use and may have restricted functionality.
- Preview features are available before an official release so that customers can get early access and provide feedback.
- We expect changes to this feature, so you should use it only in test, demo, or development environments.
- Microsoft does not provide support for this preview feature. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Technical Support won’t be able to assist with issues or questions regarding preview features.
System requirements
Synchronous, bidirectional, near-real time data flows require the following versions.
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations version 10.0.4, Platform update 28 or higher
- Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, Platform version 9.1 (4.2) or higher
Setup instructions
Follow these steps to set up integration between Finance and Operations and Common Data Service:
- For dual-write system setup, see step-by-step documentation on Announcing Dual Write Preview.
- Download and install the solution from Fin Ops and CDS/CE Integration Yammer group. The package contains 5 solutions that supports 22 entities:
- Dynamics365Company
- CurrencyExchangeRates
- Dynamics365FinanceAndOperationsCommon
- Dynamics365FinanceCommon
- Dynamics365SupplyChainCommon
- For application setup instructions, please follow the playbook.
Note: Currently, dual-write is not compatible with the Prospect to Cash solution. If you have the Prospect to cash solution running, you need to un-install the solution as well as disable the customer and vendor dual-write templates that are part of Prospect to cash.
Customer value propositions
Organization hierarchy in Common Data Service
Finance and Operations, being a financial system, considers organization to be a core concept so the system setup starts with configuring an organization hierarchy. This allows business financials and operations to be tracked at the organization level, as well as any level within the organization hierarchy. Common Data Service does not contain the organization hierarchy concept but it has a few similar concepts, like total sales revenue. As part of the integration, the organization hierarchy data structure is added to Common Data Service and data flows from Finance and Operations to Common Data Service. For details, see Organization hierarchy in Common Data Service.
Company concept in Common Data Service
The Company concept in Finance and Operations is both a legal and a business construct. It is also a security and visibility boundary for data. Users are always working in the context of a single company. The vast majority of the data is striped by company. We don’t have an equivalent concept in the Common Data Service, but the closest one is Business unit and it is primarily a security and visibility boundary for user data. It does not have the same legal or business implications as the Company entity in Finance and Operations. We are introducing the Company concept in Common Data Service. For details, see Company concept in Common Data Service.
Integrated customer master
Customer is a well-defined concept in both Finance and Operations and the Common Data Service. Therefore, the integration of customer data involves harmonizing the customer concept between Finance and Operations and Common Data Service applications. Regardless of whether a customer record originated in Dynamics 365 for Sales or Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, it is automatically integrated behind the scenes beyond application boundaries and infrastructure differences. Integrated customer mastering helps to handle multi-mastering scenarios and provides a comprehensive view of the customer in the Dynamics 365 application suite. For more information, see Integrated customer master.
Integrated vendor master
Vendor refers to a supplier organization or a sole proprietor that is part of the supply chain process and supplies goods for the business. Vendor is an established concept in Finance and Operations, but in Customer Engagement, the vendor concept does not exist. Some businesses overload the Account entity to store both customer and vendor information. Others use a custom Vendor concept. Common Data Service integration supports both of these designs. You can choose to enable either of the designs based on your business scenario. Integrating the vendor data between Finance and Operations and Customer Engagement gives you the capability to multi-master vendor data. Regardless of where the vendor data originates, it is integrated behind the scenes across application boundaries and infrastructure differences. For details, see Integrated vendor master.
Feedback
We appreciate your time and thank you for previewing our new features. We would love to hear more from you to learn from your experiences and to help drive improvements based on your feedback. To provide feedback sign-up and become a member of Dynamics 365 Insiders:
- Select “Insider Program” via https://experience.dynamics.com.
- Join “Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations Insider Community”.
- Engage in the group “Fin Ops and CDS/CE Integration”.
Thank you!
