The PI Suite Data Provider from prisma informatik is a powerful solution for transferring structured data from Dynamics 365 Business Central to analytics platforms such as Qlik Sense or Power BI. The module has now been enhanced with several new features.
With these latest enhancements, the solution once again offers greater flexibility, improved control options and optimized performance during data transfer.
Why a modern data export is necessary
In the past, it was common to extract data directly from ERP systems such as Dynamics NAV or Business Central via SQL queries. But this method is no longer practical today – especially in SaaS environments. Direct database access is often unavailable and constantly changing data structures make stable loading processes difficult.
This is where the PI Suite Data Provider comes in: It provides a reliable, future-proof interface to make ERP data available for analysis efficiently and without direct database access. It is thus a central component for companies that want to efficiently utilize their data from Business Central for analysis. Through automated processes, new categorization features and the integration of modern cloud technologies, the solution supports reliable and high-performance data provision – ideal for data-driven decisions in the cloud era.
Features and Benefits in Detail
The Data Provider thus enables the automated and structured export of ERP data in tabular form. Companies benefit from several key features:
• Scheduled data export: Data can be exported regularly via task queues (e.g., hourly or daily).
• Category-based export: Data can be grouped and exported specifically by topic or use case (e.g., financial data).
• Flexible control: Loading processes can be individually configured and adapted to specific requirements.
• High performance: Even large volumes of data are processed efficiently – ideal for data-intensive BI scenarios.
• Alternative to web services: Particularly suitable when traditional web services are insufficient for data transfer.
Technological foundation: Cloud storage and security
The PI Suite Data Provider uses Microsoft Azure Blob Storage for temporary storage. This cloud technology offers key advantages such as scalability, security features, and standardized integration.
Update Brings New Features to the Data Provider
The PI Suite Data Provider is constantly being developed. As part of this effort, several new features have recently been added:
• General improvements: Improved file formats, a new CSV format with flexible field naming and escaping for special characters, as well as the ability to select custom delimiters.
• Client display and transparency: There is now an option to display both the client name and the display name, which improves mapping and transparency during exports.
• Export of large tables: Large tables are now automatically exported in chunks (1 GB per file), including a metadata file for mapping. Additionally, subfolders can be created in Azure Blob Storage to improve organization.
• Delta/Incremental Export: A new feature is the delta export, which exports only new or modified records. Timestamps ensure traceability. Additionally, there is a function to reset the delta timestamp.
