IT ALL COMES DOWN TO DATA.
Successful corporate digital transformation strategies are built on data. Which is why Lobster developed its flagship software Lobster_data, namely to ensure the underlying data integration runs as easily, securely and reliably as possible. One particular strength of the solution is its ability to bring together all formats, all systems and all applications. For, as a platform solution, Lobster_data links internal EAI, external systems (EDI), cloud systems (APIs/hybrid integrations), things (IoT), big data source and target systems (ETL) and even machines (Industry 4.0). The powerful middleware solution does away with a multitude of error-prone solution combos, replacing them with one single tool for all required connections.
And now, the Lobster Group has gone one step further. By introducing the Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Dataverse Connector to its range of add-ons, it has brought to market a tool that further enhances the connectivity and versatility of Lobster_data. The solution allows users to benefit from the data lake within Microsoft Dynamics 365, whilst also remaining independent of Microsoft products and being able to integrate data from or send information to e-commerce or logistics applications, for example.
ENJOYING THE BENEFITS OF MICROSOFT DATAVERSE.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is used to store data within Microsoft Dataverse. The basic premise is to bring conventional ERP and CRM systems together under the umbrella of one data management platform. Generally speaking, Microsoft Dataverse allows users to safely store and manage data from different business applications. Data within Microsoft Dataverse is stored within a set of tables. Each column is designed for a certain type of data and users can also create relationships between tables.
One of the benefits of Microsoft Dataverse is how quickly it adds value as a scalable data platform. It also improves productivity as users create reusable components, workflows and data schemas with ease. These efficiency gains, in turn, reduce costs and make business processes scalable. What’s more, it gives users the ability to intelligently and efficiently exploit the power of their data based on unique insights. And all this on a secure platform, where data is well-protected thanks to a robust security management infrastructure. Microsoft Dataverse now serves as the basis for many Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions for areas such as customer service, sales and marketing.
ANOTHER STRING TO LOBSTER_DATA’S BOW.
Given that Microsoft Dynamics 365 doesn’t offer any integrated EDI tools, users of Microsoft Dynamics 365 can now rely on Lobster_data to automate their data interchange processes and enjoy the advantages of enhanced connectivity and data integration. The Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Dataverse Connector uses simple SQL statements to access tables in Microsoft Dataverse, showing them as a database within Lobster_data via a JDBC driver. This makes it easier for users to connect quickly with business partners, automate data exchange processes and efficiently scale data collection processes within Microsoft Dataverse to prime their data infrastructure for business analyses.
The Lobster_data connector will be of particular interest to customers working with Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service. Microsoft Dataverse is used to centrally manage and store (meta) data used by business applications in the cloud (in Microsoft Azure).
A SECURE CONNECTION.
The interface is created via a Web app registration in Microsoft Azure Active Directory. For this to happen, an authentication needs to first be determined via OAuth 2.0 and individual API authorisations need to be allocated. To access the data, the registered Web app again needs to be authorised in Microsoft Dynamics 365. Finally, Lobster_data can be configured using the resulting connection data, registered for OAuth 2.0 and logged into Microsoft Dynamics 365. The data interchange itself is encrypted and runs via TLS and OData, the protocol for interacting with data via REST interfaces at application level.
The Microsoft Dataverse Connector add-on is available for Lobster_data and can be bought outright or made available on a subscription basis.
