The Power Pair: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Power Platform

As the pressure for manufacturers to be more competitive increases steadily, so does the need for more tools to drive efficiency. The race is on – and Microsoft is cheering you to the finish line with its “power pair,” Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.

The dynamic duo is making waves with its integration capabilities, fueling efficiencies, customer satisfaction, and profitability in organizations of all sizes.

What is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?

In short, it's a cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution that simplifies the management of finances, operations, sales, and customer service. It works effortlessly with other Microsoft products like Office 365, Dynamics 365, Azure, and third-party applications to expand functionality, streamline efficiency, and manage numerous business operations.

What is the Microsoft Power Platform, and how do its essential components function together?

Microsoft's Power Platform is intuitive and collaborative. It provides several low-code tools for swiftly automating processes, building apps, and developing valuable solutions for various uses. By merging inclusive and easily accessible technology for everyday business use, it enables its users to create new end-to-end business solutions that add value to stakeholders and accelerate business success.

Microsoft Power Platform: Streamlining Operations

So, how do you connect Microsoft Power Platform with Business Central?

Power Platform consists of four components that can be used separately or combined to create applications, workflows, dashboards, and chatbots:

1. Power Apps
2. Power Automate
3. Power BI
4. Power Virtual Agents

The combination of Microsoft Power Platform with Business Central, whether in a Software as a Service (SaaS) or on-premises environment, provides many options for optimizing business operations and gaining significant data insights. Integrating Power Platform and Business Central can transform your business operations. The possibilities are endless, and you can personalize the integration according to your requirements and goals.

Connecting the Dots: A Step-by-Step Guide for Integrating Power Platform with Business Central

Step 1: Enable the integration in Business Central (via Dataverse)

Before connecting to Business Central using the Power Platform, you must allow integration in Business Central. To accomplish this, take these steps:

• Log into your Business Central account as an administrator.
• Navigate to the Setup & Extensions page and select Assisted Setup.
• In the list of aided setup guidelines, locate and pick Set up a connection to Dataverse.

To enable integration, enter your Power Platform environment information and pick the entities you want to sync between Business Central and Dataverse.

After you allow the integration, a confirmation message will appear with a link to the Data Integration page, where you can check the synchronization status.

Step 2: Connect to Business Central using the Power Platform

After you've enabled the integration in Business Central, use the Dynamics 365 Business Central connector to connect to it from the Power Platform. This connector gives you access to your Business Central data and activities using Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power Virtual Agents. To utilize this connector, take the following steps:

• Log in to your Power Platform account and choose which component to utilize (Power Apps, Power Automate, or Power Virtual Agents).
• In the component's interface, check for the option to add a new connection or data source.
• Select Dynamics 365 Business Central from the list of available connectors.

In the connection settings, enter your Business Central account information and credentials. After connecting, you will see your Business Central data and activities in the component's UI.

Step 3: Create and consume solutions on the Power Platform

You’re all set!

Now that you've linked to Business Central via Power Platform, you may utilize Power Platform to design and deploy solutions based on your Business Central data and activities.

So, What Can You Achieve After Integration?

Power Apps allows you to create custom apps that connect to your Business Central data and perform actions like tracking locations, sending 'Work from Home' notifications, placing warehouse items, capturing proof of delivery, creating sales orders, updating inventory, sending invoices, and more.

You can utilize the Dynamics 365 Business Central connector as a data source in your app, and its actions will allow you to interact with your Business Central data.

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