What is the Cost of Data Preparation and Extraction in Dynamics 365?

Are you trying to get the most out of the data coming into your organization from multiple sources? If yes, we would say you’re on the right path as you could draw some insightful information from this data pool and make powerful data-driven decisions.

This process of preparing and extracting data from diverse sources to gain valuable insights is called data extraction. But extracting data in Dynamics 365 is a complex process and requires you to work with entities controlled by Microsoft. Therefore, a data preparation and extraction tool, such as To-Increase’s Data Modeling Studio (DMS), comes in handy, making this entire process faster, superior, and easier.

An Allied Market Research report showed that the global data extraction market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.8% from $2.14 billion in 2019 to $4.90 billion by 2027. This rise in demand is due to more and more companies embracing big data and analytics and realizing the need for storing ever-increasing data in the organization on popular options like data warehouses and data lakes. And, if you too are looking at leveraging a data extraction tool to make data-driven decisions, you may want to know how much such a solution would cost you.

Different types of solutions have unique pricing models, and their price varies due to several factors. In this article, we will look at the factors that influence the cost of a data extraction solution and will take the example of To-Increase’s Data Modeling Studio to understand the pricing better.

What are the factors that impact the cost of a data extraction tool?

Let's look at some of the key criteria that could alter the pricing of a data extraction solution.

Cloud vs. On-premises 

The cost of data extraction software varies depending on whether you will use it on the cloud or on-premises. 

A cloud-based data extraction tool involves storing data and other resources on servers over the cloud, which is carried by your software vendor. In this model, you usually pay for only what you use, unlike with an on-premises software option that involves a one-time set-up cost. Therefore, the initial setup cost of a cloud-based solution is less than an on-premises version.

Services and support

Typically, a data extraction software could involve training to get it up for use and post-implementation support to help with any issues. Some vendors provide these services at an additional cost depending on your requirements while others cover it within the software cost. Moreover, this part of the software pricing also differs for cloud-based and on-premises software solutions.

When on the cloud, everything happens in real-time with minimum to no downtime during upgrades. With on-premises products, you have to anticipate maintenance windows and work around them. This means more support for the latter option.

Number of companies

The size of your business is an obvious factor that impacts the cost of a data extraction software. The software price increases with the number of companies in your system using the data extraction software.

Complexity of a process

The more time spent on implementing the data extraction solution in your company, the more it will cost you. For instance, the time it takes to translate business requirements from business users to IT and the development teams amounts to higher implementation time.

Likewise, an organization with complex processes would lead to more hours in software implementation. As a result, the software price may also go up.

Additional or indirect costs

Depending on your special business needs such as a change in ERP or other pre-requisites, you may be charged separately.

Based on the type of ERP you’re currently on, some solutions may need you to move to another one. Sometimes you may want to switch to another ERP to suit other business requirements. This is a good example of a situation where you may need to spend an extra amount on top of the software license costs.

Data extraction tool pricing example: Data Modeling Studio 

Let’s take the example of Data Modeling Studio to determine how a typical data modeling tool is priced and what costs you should expect.

What is To-Increase’s Data Modeling Studio?

To-Increase’s Data Modeling Studio (DMS) is a flexible and user-friendly tool that simplifies data preparation for analytics and data replication purposes. It helps model, clean, transform, and combine data to offer quick data-driven insights. Compatible and embedded within Dynamics 365, it offers zero-programming data export and monitoring experience to the users.

Here are the top seven features it offers:

• Data export

• In-built master data validation

• Zero-programming setup 

• Configurable data transformation options 

• Compatible with existing data entities and Dynamics 365 F&O 

• High-performance analytics 

• Extensive logging and monitoring insights 

Data Modeling Studio: Tiered pricing model

Understanding the pricing for Data Modeling Studio is super simple. It follows a tiered, license-based subscription pricing model. It means that you will pay per license, per company, and per month.

The greater the number of companies using DMS, the higher the discounts you get. The table below shows how the software cost decreases per company per month (and per annum) as the volume of companies using the software increases. So, when you buy more licenses, the price is discounted further.

*The cost estimation is only an approximate value, and the actual price may vary depending on specific business requirements.

Is there a minimum order volume for DMS? 

No, you may buy as many licenses as the number of companies you want to use the DMS software for. Therefore, only those companies that are actively using DMS will be considered when calculating the total price of the software.

What is the average implementation time for DMS? 

Typically, implementing the DMS solution in your Dynamics 365 ERP is a brief and standard process, while enabling the IT department may take up to 2 days.

Can a data extraction solution help my business?

Big data is like an incredible treasure of hidden value that companies could tap into for their business growth and success. If you want to unlock this value, you will need the right tools and solutions such as data extraction software that will help simplify this process and allow you to see faster results.

Typically, many companies fail to analyze their actual data preparation and extraction needs. Consequently, they end up either overspending or purchasing incomprehensively, thus facing the fallout. The top two data extraction solutions for Dynamics 365 ERP are Data Modeling Studio and Microsoft Data Management Framework. You may read the blog below to find out which one best fits your business needs.

So, we’re sharing a few pointers to help you figure out if your business needs data extraction software.

Consider a data extraction tool if you are struggling with any of the following challenges:

• Your data quality is bad, and you need data cleansing to understand its subtleties to use it for analytics

• You are required to understand and perform coding to extract data via data entities

• You are slogging through a lengthy, tedious process of extracting data out of Dynamics 365

• Your skilled resources spend their valuable time extracting data instead of focusing on other business-critical work

Want to learn how our data modeling tool can support your data preparation and extraction needs? Read this case study on how Data Modeling Studio helped Thermopatch International (that was moving from Microsoft Dynamics AX2012 to Finance & Operations) extract data from Dynamics 365 to their BI data warehouse, saving their time, effort, and cost.