Has your business ever needed to connect your Dynamics 365 data to an AWS server? AWS is one of the most popular cloud server systems in the world and even if your business is using a Dynamics 365 solution for your CRM or ERP needs, there’s a good chance you are also utilizing AWS servers for some of your hosting or data storage needs. In an ideal world, all of our customers would utilize the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Data-verse for all their business intelligence and storage needs, but we also know that business are operating in an interconnected word — as processes and platforms continue to move to cloud-based data structures, dealing with multiple cloud server platforms is becoming more and more common.
Unfortunately, there is currently no out-of-the-box data connection between the Dynamics 365 Azure servers and AWS cloud servers. That’s why our expert team of Dynamics 365 consultants have built our own Dynamics 365 to AWS connector integration.
Why did we develop this connector?
We recently had an Amazon service providing client come to us with a challenge. Amazon wanted to automatically track all the work orders and invoices that were created for them by our client within their own system. This required all invoices and work orders to be provided through the AWS platform. Because our client was creating and tracking their work orders and invoices through the Dynamics 365 Sales platform, this requirement from Amazon posed a real issue. Rather than manually recreating each work order and invoice in the AWS system, we worked with them to engineer an automated solution that could connect the two platforms.
How does the connector work?
By leveraging the AWS Rest API, along with Dynamics CRM plugins and Power Automate, our team was able to build an automation that pulls any necessary data out of the Dynamics CRM platform, converts that data into a readable CSV format, and then pushes that data into Amazon’s S3 buckets. Once pushed into those buckets, the data can be fully utilized within the AWS servers. With this new custom-built integration, our client was able to continue creating and tracking work orders and invoices within their Dynamics CRM platform without adding any new processes into their sales team’s daily workflows, while still providing Amazon’s servers with the required documents. Every time a work order or invoice is created in Dynamics 365, that sales data is also pushed into the AWS system.
How can this connector help my business?
While this Dynamics 365 to AWS connector was built with a specific client problem in mind, the integration is quite flexible. Not only can it push Dynamics 365 data into AWS servers, but it can also pull data from those servers and push it into the Dynamics 365 platform to create new records or update existing data. For a business that is working with any combination of AWS and Dynamics 365, this automated custom integration can share any necessary data between the two platforms and allow for more thorough and accurate reporting while potentially removing the need for manual data processing. It could also be used to migrate existing customer data stored on AWS servers for customers that are setting up a new Dynamics 365 solution.
An eCommerce business that is, for example, using Amazon as a sales platform and tracking transactions through AWS servers could use this connector to bring that data into the Dynamics 365 Sales platform to leverage more robust reporting capabilities and gain a better understanding of their customer journeys. The potential use cases for this data sharing integration between these two powerful cloud server platforms are endless.
Having easy access to a centralized source of business data is hugely important for businesses to be able to accurately track their performance and make the right decisions in real time. In a world where platforms and processes that are integral to business’ performance are spread across multiple cloud servers, innovative data connections like this one are more important than ever.
If your business is hosting data or services on AWS servers while using a Dynamics 365 CRM or ERP solution, our team is here to help. Get in touch to today to find out how our custom AWS to Dynamics 365 connector integration can help you bring your data into one place, make reporting easier, and potentially cut down on manual data clean up and migration tasks.
