Integration Tools Analysis (Part 1)

We have lots of integration tools available within Microsoft itself and other providers. Sometimes we may encounter a client already using mulesoft as middleware for other CRM applications and integration.

In this scenario, we have to provide all the available integration tools and capabilities and a fit-gap analysis specific to the requirement. We are going to review some tools’ capabilities and the cost evaluation. We will be looking tool’s capabilities in terms of Dynamics 365.

Part 1 of 2

SSIS + KWS (OnPrem)

  • Pros
    • Plenty of connectors for different enterprise applications
    • Available to connect on-prem and Cloud
    • Supports Entity changes (means easy to get accurate changes between the intervals)
    • Aware of Dynamics 365 API & Knowledge
    • Aware of data model (Activities, Activity Party, Status, Owner, Audit Logs) Knowledge
      • Option set Mapping
      • Memory-based Lookups (Cache)
    • Supports Throttling, Multi-Threading, and Batching
    • Supports more actions (Merge, Execute workflow Action, Bulk Delete, Calculate Rollup fields)
    • Disable relevant Plugins, Workflows, and auditing while integration and migration
    • Cost-effective tool
    • Know the cost upfront
    • Great support team
    • Supports Document integration (SharePoint, Blob, Data Lake, Amazon S3, Box, Google Storage, OneDrive, and Dropbox)
  • Cons
    • Require citizen developers for development and support
    • Can’t run multiple packages on the development machine (Visual studio limitation)
    • Require access to the server/Dev environment to view execution logs
  • Cost Evaluation
    • SQL Server (Infrastructure + License)
    • KingswaySoft (KWS) (Perpetual license and per-year renewal)

Mule Soft

 

 

 

    • Pros
      • Supports high-volume data
      • It has prebuilt connectors that include Dynamics 365
      • Highly customized policies
      • Collaboration with prebuilt private and public assets (Reusable)
      • Highly scalable, reliable, and high availability
      • It supports B2B integration by extending API-led connectivity
      • Supports batch and real-time processing
      • Offers template-driven development

 

    • Cons
      • The initial Setup is very complex
      • Not aware of Dynamics 365 data model
      • Not aware of table changes in D365 
      • It does not fetch metadata (No Intelligence) from the database
      • Platform maintenance require experienced resources

 

    • Cost Evaluation
      • A subscription-based model which is renewed every year
      • Licensing based  on Plan (Gold, Platinum, and Titanium)
        • Gold – Base
        • Platinum – Enterprise Scale (High Availability, Cloud & Hybrid deployment, MQ, Security)
        • Titanium – Mission Critical (End to end transaction tracing, Advanced data analysis, Customizable log retention)
      • VCore (Transaction per second, Response Time, Payload Size, and High Availability)
      • All subscription comes with four non-production and two production VCores

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