ConnectIT 365

Design your own import and export interfaces - without coding - directly in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Get ConnectIT 365 on AppSource

ConnectIT 365  

Importing sales or purchase orders, exporting inventory and price lists, creating data feeds, and connecting online shops are just a few things you can do with ConnectIT 365.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has a few import and export features such as rapid start, but in many cases, these simply aren’t sufficient. You want more control over your interfaces, how data gets validated and processed, and how data is structured and formatted. You might also want to schedule your imports, automatically export to an FTP server, or call a web service when a specific record or a single field is changed.

That’s why we created ConnectIT 365, an advanced integration suite for Dynamics 365 Business Central that can be used by novices and hardcore developers alike. 

Check the ConnectIT 365 explainer series!

In this series, our ConnectIT 365 expert shows you how to use ConnectIT 365. In video 1 automated scheduling is explained, video 2 focuses on XML exports, videos 3 and 4 explain how to set up a JSON export manually and by using the wizard.

Connectivity means productivity 

As well as the examples we mentioned earlier, there are many more things you can do with ConnectIT 365:

  • Import suppliers' catalogues
  • Export product, price, inventory data for your retailers and other business partners.
  • Real-time matching of customer and contact data between your favourite CRM and your Business Central system.
  • Synchronize data between Business Central and systems such as your warehouse or transport system.
  • Periodically import information from your HR and payroll systems.
  • Integrate e-commerce solutions.
  • Create detailed data feeds to link with online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay.
  • Inter-company: Synchronize sales data between Business Central companies or tenants.
  • Master data management: Update subsidiaries who also run Business Central.
  • Transport data from standard Business Central to an add-on solution or any third-party application.
  • Get information from and to your mobile services.

    To accomplish tasks like the above you need to be able to fully customise your interfaces, and that’s exactly what you can do with ConnectIT 365. Whether you need a simple CSV export that can be created with a few clicks or a set of API calls with custom coding attached, ConnectIT 365 is the toolkit that gets you the right results. 

    Creating interfaces made easier

    Building an interface is often time-consuming and technically complex, but ConnectIT 365 makes it a lot simpler. Even if you don’t have advanced technical knowledge, this solution saves you time and money by guiding you through the process. Once your new interface is up and running, maintenance and monitoring are just as easy. Everything you need is available in this flexible and user-friendly toolbox.

    ConnectIT 365 is completely embedded in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, so it can help with even the most specific tasks. All you have to do is create the interfaces you need. 

    No coding required - Advanced coding possibilities

    Anyone can open up ConnectIT 365 and create interfaces by clicking buttons, selecting fields, and adding settings on how the interface should behave. But a highly sophisticated integration studio needs to be able to go further. 

    If you’re a developer and want to use AL code to add more logic, you can write all the custom codeunits and functions you want. There’s a huge list of events to which you can subscribe to validate, manipulate, and parse data any way you like. You can also set up Azure functions or custom REST services, which you can use within your import and export projects. This means there are almost no limits to what you can do with ConnectIT 365. 

    ConnectIT 365 - Another smart Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central extension

    ConnectIT 365 can be installed with just a few clicks and has a very low impact on your Business Central system. You can import a set of example interfaces during the installation. These are a great jump-start for everyone new to ConnectIT 365 who wants to start importing or exporting right away. 

    For more information about ConnectIT, please contact us or one of our partners. 

    Here is what ConnectIT 365 does for you

    Export management features:

    • Export files in many formats like XML, CSV, JSON
    • Export to SOAP, FTP services, REST services, Azure Storage, Azure Service Bus, Azure Event Grid or Dropbox
    • Synchronise data between different companies or between Business Central tenants
    • Synchronise data between Business Central and any other system 
    • Detailed formatting of data
    • Add custom logic or both header and line level
    • Schedule your exports
    • Export based on record/field monitoring
    • Backup/Copy/Share export definitions

    Import management features:

    • Import files in many formats like XML, CSV, JSON
    • Import from SOAP, FTP/SFTP services, REST services, Azure Storage, Azure Service Bus, Azure Event Grid or Dropbox
    • Generate import definition based on sample data
    • Automatic field mapping
    • Add custom logic or both header and line level
    • Validate data before importing
    • Schedule your exports
    • Import data based on record/field monitoring
    • Backup/Copy/Share import definitions

    Connector features: 

    • Connect to virtually any type or REST service
    • Supports Basic Authentication, Bearer tokens, OAuth 2.0, and the use of API keys
    • Supports both Azure Service Bus and Event Grid for integration. 
    • Store files on Azure Storage.

    Data monitoring features:

    • Automatically import/export on any change (records and fields)
    • Automatically import/export when data is added 
    • Automatically import/export when data is deleted
    • Automatically import/export when a record is renamed

    Job queue support:

    • Schedule your imports and exports through standard job queue mechanism

    Pre- and post-processing

    • Define integration projects
    • Add tasks, import and export definitions and data transports

    Advanced development features:

    • Add logic to imports and exports by storing data in variables
    • Call AL code via custom functions
    • Call external functionality via REST functions or Azure functions

    Logging and Monitoring

    • Detailed logging capabilities provide very precise insights into what happened
    • Set multiple alerts for each import and export definition
    • Full integration of Azure Application Insights Monitoring makes that you can use ConnectIT for all business-critical integrations
    • Use text messages (SMS & Whatsapp) for alert notifications

     

    Frequently asked questions

    How can I obtain a (trial) license key?

    If you install ConnectIT 365 via AppSource, you will automatically receive a license key via email. At first this key will function as a trial key. After purchasing a license this key will be converted to a normal license key.If you are installing ConnectIT 365 in an on-premises environment, please contact sales@idyn.nl to obtain a new key. Please do not use the same key in multiple installations. The interface count is connected to the license key.

    ConnectIT 365 shows 'License key status: Invalid'. What can I do?

    Please double check whether you are using the right key. Rule out any copy/paste mistakes. Sometimes copying a key from your email client adds a space to the end of the key. 
    If the license key status still shows invalid, then please contact sales@idyn.nl.

    How is ConnectIT 365 licensed?

    There no server counts or user counts involved. ConnectIT 365 is only licensed per interface. Interfaces are purchased in bundles of 3. Bundles are available up to 12 interfaces. Above 12 one can purchase an unlimited license. 

    How does the interface count work?

    Each data stream, inbound or outbound, requires one ConnectIT 365 interface definition. So, if your sales order exchange with a customer consists of one data stream that is requesting new orders, and one which is sending an acknowledgement back to that source system. That integration is made up out of 2 interfaces in total.

    The total count of all active definitions, minus one, is what is used to validate your license. Why minus one? That is because every customer gets one interface definition for free.

    Are there any new permissions required?

    All users that need to work with ConnectIT 365 need to be assigned the ConnectIT 365 permission set.

    If you want to use table monitoring (I.E. export every item or sales order directly after it was created), then all users working with these tables should be assigned this permission set. Or as an administrator you could choose to manually assign access to the specific ConnectIT 365 objects. 

    Error message: Access is denied to company X. How can I solve this?

    This could occur in a multi-company setup. When using ConnectIT 365, the user that executes a definition needs to have permission on the following 3 tables, in all companies.

    11148589 IDYC Setup
    11148590 IDYC Export Definition Header
    11148599IDYC Import Definition Header

    Are there any templates which I can use?

    Yes. If you haven’t installed them when using the initial setup wizard, then you can re-run the wizard from the ConnectIT Manager home screen. Or search for "ConnectIT Setup Wizard". On step 3, choose the type of examples you want to install. Example interfaces are by default marked as inactive and therefore do not count as definitions during license checks.
    The examples contain definitions for importing and exporting items, customers, vendors, sales price and G/L entries.  

    Performance is slow. What can I do?

    Start by checking your logging levels. ConnectIT 365 has the ability to log on a very detailed level. This is useful for debugging and testing purposes, but in a production environment it is not advisable to continuously log on debug level. 

    • Events

      You will find idyn at Directions NA, Directions EMEA, NAVUG, NAVTechDays. 

    • Contact

      If you need more information on ConnectIT or want to discuss your Dynamics 365 integration challenges, please contact us.

    • Support

      If you need help with this or any of our other products, call us at
      +31 85 111 00 27, go to our support portal at https://idyn.freshdesk.com
      or email us via support@idyn.nl. Without an SLA, our response time is two business days. If you need a different type of support or SLA, please contact your idyn account manager.