PI Suite Data Provider: Data export even more convenient thanks to new features

PI Suite Data Provider

The PI Suite Data Provider by prisma informatik allows data to be transferred quickly and easily from the ERP system to the desired analysis software. The module was recently equipped with new functionalities.

Correctly evaluated and used, company data has enormous potential for example to gain valuable insights, make well-founded strategic decisions and thus secure important competitive advantages. Ideally, the information should be analyzed with a powerful evaluation tool such as Qlik Sense or Power BI to ensure that it provides the greatest possible benefit.

But before the data can be analyzed, it must be transferred from the ERP software Dynamics 365 Business Central to the respective analysis software. The PI Suite Data Provide provided by prisma informatik offers a convenient export function for fast data provision from Business Central. This was recently enhanced with new helpful features.

Efficient data transfer for accurate analyses

In older versions of Dynamics NAV and Business Central, it was common to access the SQL database directly to extract data. This practice is no longer common. Instead, direct access to the database is no longer possible, especially in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) operation. As database structures are constantly changing and stable loading processes cannot always be guaranteed, this is also not recommended in the on-prem version.

The PI Suite Data Provider is a solution that is equipped to meet the challenges of fast and efficient data export. It makes it easy to retrieve data from the ERP system and offers high performance for all connected third-party systems. The module is particularly useful when classic web services are not sufficient for data transfer.

How the PI Suite Data Provider works

The PI Suite Data Provider can be used to export the required information from the ERP system in tabular form on a time-controlled basis and at regular intervals (via a task queue). Data export is not only possible on a scheduled basis (e.g. hourly or daily), but with the latest version of the PI Suite Data Provider also on defined categories (e.g. specific topics such as “financial evaluations”). The task queues react to the defined category and export the corresponding tables based on this. This allows the loading processes to be controlled individually.

The PI Suite Data Provider uses Microsoft Azure Blob Storage for the intermediate storage of data. This in turn enables efficient management of large volumes of data and offers additional security functions. Sensitive information can be stored in different storage accounts and specific security guidelines can be defined. Data exchange with Azure Blob Storage is standard for common analysis platforms such as Qlik Sense and Power BI.

Processing different data types and error notifications

A common challenge when exchanging data between different business applications is the different formatting of data types. Amount fields, date fields and option fields are particularly problematic here. These are often interpreted differently, which can lead to errors.

To counteract this, the PI Suite Data Provider now offers the option of defining exact basic formatting for different data types to ensure correct transmission. In this way, the field values are exported directly in the appropriate format and consequently interpreted correctly by Qlik without the need for conversions.

The PI Suite Data Provider also makes it possible to transfer table and field names to third-party systems in the preferred language. This is particularly advantageous for business intelligence applications that work with the same names as in the ERP system. Regular updates from Microsoft can lead to changes in the captions. The PI Suite Data Provider helps to organize these potential inconsistencies and keep the ETL process stable.

The latest version of the PI Suite Data Provider also offers error notification in the event of any queue failures (too much data, etc.). Via alerts, those responsible are immediately informed of any conflicts by email so that they can act as quickly as possible.