Data extraction and processing can be a little challenging in the Microsoft Dynamics 365 ecosystem, as it uses data entities and requires developer support. But this is made easier with new-age data extraction tools, such as our in-house data extraction tool, Data Modeling Studio.
With over 17 years of industry experience and knowledge, our experts understand the market and its needs well enough to design solutions that simplify complex processes, besides saving cost and time. Most of our products are built on Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management (F&SCM), so they leverage the Microsoft infrastructure and stack functionality.
This blog discusses how Data Modeling Studio simplifies the data extraction/export in Dynamics 365 F&SCM so you can accelerate your speed toward achieving analytics or exporting large amounts of data instantly.
How does Data Modeling Studio extract data from Dynamics 365 F&SCM?
Embedded inside Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&SCM, the solution primarily helps with data exports and extractions without needing developers or technical expertise.
Compared to the standard functionality of Microsoft, which uses a third-party database, Data Modeling Studio is faster, easier to use, and shortens the entire data extraction, exporting, and processing with just a few clicks. No matter the size of the data, our solution enables quick data exports. For instance, we have customers with 100 million records in one table, which have been exported in no time.
Data exporting with Data Modeling Studio is a simple task, users can pick data they need to export from F&SCM to the third-party database (BYOD – Bring Your Own Database) through an interface setup, which is easy, and the configuration is quite fast. The BYOD can then be used in different architectures or play a role in helping organizations realize analytics.
The solution lets you select which specific tables and fields you want to export and not copy the entire database and push it out. Additionally, it also enables you to perform transformations on the data to derive a form that is more useful for them.
Step-by-step process of data export in Dynamics 365 F&SCM
Let’s go through how Data Modeling Studio simplifies the entire data export process in Dynamics 365 F&SCM.
Creating Data Sets
When looking to export data, the first thing to do is identify the data you want to export, that is, the tables from the existing AX tables in the Dynamics 365 F&SCM such as SalesTable, VendTable, etc. For this purpose, you need to define a data set where one data set equals one AX table. From these tables, Data Modeling Studio allows you to pick the fields you need to create a data set.
Data Modeling
Once the data sets have been defined, you need to create a data model, which is extremely easy. The users need to fill in the fields displayed on the screen. Apart from that, users are expected to define a connection string, which is typically the target BYOD to which they want the data to be exported. After this, you can pick the specific data sets or STD entities you want to export, and once you have added that as an entity, it is deployed and exported.
Data deployment
So, before you actually export the data, you need to create objects, tables, and fields, like, SalesTable, under the deploy functionality. It is the operation that takes place right before the export, where the table structure is created in the BYOD, with the tables and fields you have selected and the data within them.
Data export
After the data has been deployed and table structures have been created, the export function exports the data to the target BYOD. All you need to do is click on the export functionality, and you will find it appear in the database that you have selected. This is done with simple point-and-click, which makes it easy for functional users as well.
In more complex scenarios, you can use the Data Modeling Studio to carry out more operations on the data in the BYOD, where the users can join the tables, apply the necessary filters, and create objects to transform and make it analytics-ready or for other reasons. Users can also process the data further with the help of templates, which can either be created within the tool or use pre-built ones. At To-Increase, we offer pre-built templates, which come as a part of our industry and department-focused content packages. For instance, we have Analytics for ECM (Engineering Change Management), Analytics for Projects, and Analytics for Rental, among several others, that fall under our more comprehensive Business Analytics Suite.
What’s the road ahead for Data Modeling Studio?
Apart from releasing regular upgrades and fixing bugs, we aim to maintain our products on a consistent basis, so new features and updates are released regularly to help users stay ahead of the curve.
Furthermore, we are also continuously working toward introducing new features/functionalities and focusing more on the stabilization of the product to make it more user-friendly, as user experience is our primary goal when developing products.
As an added advantage, users can ensure that their data is validated and cleaned before it is used for any exports or processing by incorporating and integrating our Data Modeling Studio with Data Quality Studio for Dynamics 365.
The next steps
As a comprehensive data preparation and extraction tool for Dynamics 365 F&SCM, Data Modeling empowers users and businesses to fast-track their data exporting/extraction process for various purposes and also accelerate their speed to realizing analytics.
If you are keen to explore the solution further, you can schedule a call with our expert or download our factsheet for deeper insights into the solution. The factsheet covers the following:
- Challenges Data Modeling Studio can solve for you
- Benefits you can gain by implementing the solution
- Unique features that make it stand out
Ankit Bhadana
