20 October 2016

4 Easy Steps to Achieve Risk-Free Data Migration to Dynamics 365 F&SCM

Ensure Risk-Free Data Migration to Dynamics 365 F&SCM

According to this research by Gartner, data migrations can be complex, risky, expensive, and prone to unexpected disruptions. But what if we told you that it was possible to execute data migration to Dynamics 365 with just one click?

As an established Microsoft ISV specializing in the Dynamics space in the US and EMEA regions, we at To-Increase have helped many customers across industries perform data migrations from legacy systems (such as Dynamics AX) to more advanced ERP systems (such as Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management). Over the course of 18 years, we have not only perfected the guidelines and data migration best practices you need to follow to achieve a successful data migration but also enhanced our data migration and application integration software, Connectivity Studio.

To-Increase's Connectivity Studio is a fully configurable and flexible solution embedded in Dynamics 365 F&SCM that can help you handle large data imports and exports easily. With this intelligent, enterprise-ready solution, you can configure migrations from any legacy system (such as Dynamics AX) to Dynamics 365 F&SCM, without technical support.

To add the cherry on the cake, Connectivity Studio can help you ensure that your data migration to D365 can be executed with just one click!

Read on to learn how you can achieve seamless and risk-free data migration in 4 easy steps!

4 Key Steps to Achieve One-Click Data Migration to Dynamics 365 F&SCM

Step 1: Create easy connections

It is possible that, like many of our customers, your team may not be entirely comfortable working with services or using more technical ways to access data. Therefore, we recommend establishing on-premise connections by using the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) method or files.

In the case of ODBC, we've developed a simple and effective way to bridge the gap between on-premise databases and the cloud. This approach allows you to effortlessly extract data from Microsoft Dynamics AX versions 4.0, 2009, 2012, or any other application, and seamlessly integrate it with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management. A small agent can be installed in your on-premise environment to connect with Dynamics 365 Enterprise using the Azure Service Bus. Embracing ODBC not only minimizes risk but also simplifies project execution, making it a widely recognized best practice among businesses and their technology partners.

Alternatively, you can opt for file-based connections, which have been simplified, thanks to Azure File storage. The Azure File storage system supports the SMB 3.0 protocol, offering several advantages. It helps you easily create a connection as a Windows share, and use it like that with Windows Explorer. If you wish, you can assign a drive letter to it, and then simply copy, paste, and organize files, just as you would in Windows Explorer. Additionally, existing interfaces from legacy systems can connect from their on-premise locations to the cloud.

Step 2: Map your way

Connectivity Studio offers highly flexible mapping for data migrations and integrations. You can not only use the existing data entities in Dynamics but also utilize any table and any field in Dynamics 365 F&SCM. This will help address the common concern of having to always develop data entities for new or existing tables. Moreover, in Connectivity Studio, all business logic is supported out-of-the-box. When it comes to complex data structures, the solution allows you to export and import data. For example, you can effortlessly handle sales orders from customers in various formats, such as XML, fixed text, EDIFACT, JSON, and CSV.

Step 3: Set up the flow

With Connectivity Studio, you can also establish data dependencies. This means that you can specify the sequence using dependencies and easily group messages with similar dependencies. For example, you could specify the base data first. Next, you could import customers and vendors, and then at the end, import transactions. Connectivity Studio keeps the performance at a high level by processing all the data that can be handled this way in parallel. Parallel processing can increase the speed of your data migration by ten times or more.

Step 4: Start the flow

Once all the configurations are in place and everything is set up, you can look forward to executing your data migration to Dynamics 365 F&SCM with just one click. Pressing a single button in Connectivity Studio allows the solution to perform and finish its tasks. It's as easy as that! Now all you need to do is wait until the data migration is completed.

Keep in mind that Connectivity Studio executes your data migration based on the defined dependencies, and imports all the data with full validation. In the end, however, you have the option to review any errors in the data migration history and, if necessary, re-run specific data migration steps from that point only.

We also recommend testing your migration first by running it multiple times. This will give you the confidence that the solution performs to your expectations, does not present any risk, and will not offer any challenges at go-live.

Ready to get started with data migration?

If you’re ready to jump into the data migration bandwagon, a proven, effective data migration software like Connectivity Studio will help you speed up your project and provide you with much-needed agility while the transition is in progress. With proper planning and technology, you can also ensure that disruptions in your data migration project are kept to a minimum.

Connectivity Studio does not just help with data exports and imports to Dynamics 365 but is also a highly intelligent software that can help create, maintain, and monitor your integrations in F&SCM using configuration instead of coding. Read our full and unbiased review of the solution here.

To understand the benefits and features of Connectivity Studio in-depth, download our factsheet linked below.

Learn how you can achieve successful data migrations and manage complex ERP integrations seamlessly and securely!

Connectivity Studio for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management
Pieter de Jong
Pieter de Jong,
Pieter de Jong,
Technical Solution Architect

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