Integration architecture
The integration architecture for finance and operations apps differs from Dynamics AX 2012. You need to be aware of several new concepts, starting with a review of the integration components.
Data integration
Integrations support many types of document formats, source mapping, and filters. This support allows you to use secure representational state transfer (REST) APIs, and other authorization mechanisms, to send and receive data with integration systems and then build on data entities and the Data Management Framework (DMF).
Data entities give you the ability to use the DMF. A data entity is an abstraction from the physical implementation of database tables. It encapsulates a business concept into a format that helps make development and integration easier. The abstracted nature of a data entity can simplify application development and customization.
Data entities provide several capabilities that help you address pain points that your organization might encounter today:
- Provides a single stack to capture business logic and enable scenarios such as synchronous integrations (OData) and asynchronous Import-Export/integrations
- Provides a primary mechanism to extract/insert data packages for application lifecycle management
- Replaces diverging and fragmented concepts of AXD and DIXF (Data import/export framework) entities
The following image shows the data entity architecture.
Data integrations can be synchronous or asynchronous:
- Synchronous integration pattern - Uses Open Data Protocol (OData) with a continuous flow of data; they are blocking requests and response patterns. This pattern occurs when the caller is blocked until the caller has finished running data and gives a response.
- Asynchronous integration pattern - Uses batch data API and runs through a batch service; it is a non-blocking pattern. This pattern occurs when the caller submits the request and then continues without waiting for the response.
All REST and SOAP integration APIs that finance and operations apps provide can be invoked asynchronously and synchronously.
For more information, see Data entities overview.
Authentication in the cloud
OData services, JSON-based custom services, and the REST metadata service will support standard OAuth 2.0 authentication. Authorization Code Grant flow and Service to service calls using client credentials (shared secret or certificate) are also supported (see Microsoft identity platform and the OAuth 2.0 client credentials flow). Two types of applications are supported in Microsoft Entra ID:
- Native client application – This flow uses a username and password for authentication and authorization.
- Web application (confidential client) – A confidential client is an application that can keep a client password confidential to the world. The authorization server assigned this client password to the client application.
For more information, see:
Event-driven architecture
Business events provide a mechanism that lets external systems receive notifications from finance and operations apps. In this way, the systems can perform business actions in response to the business events.
Business events occur when a business process is run. During a business process, users who participate in it will perform business actions to complete the tasks that make up the business process.
A business action that a user performs can be a workflow action or a non-workflow action. Approval of a purchase requisition is an example of a workflow action, whereas confirmation of a purchase order is an example of a non-workflow action. Both types of actions can generate business events that external systems can use in integration and notification scenarios.