With the upcoming Business Central 2023 release wave 1, Microsoft introduces a new feature to set up and synchronize master data across companies.
This new built-in functionality can replicate data between companies like Multi Entity Management has done for many years.
So, is Multi Entity Management still relevant after this Business Central release?
The short answer is YES!
Business Central Master Data Management is intended for scenarios where you want to move the setup from one company to another in the same environment. It’s also built as a data synchronization engine that lets you keep data in the companies synchronized after the initial move.
Multi Entity Management, however, is a multi-environment replication and consolidation tool that brings replication across the environment and consolidates reporting companies.
Let us take a closer look at how the two solutions perform compared to each other.
Functionality comparison
Overall, we can conclude that the Business Central built-in functionality and the Multi Entity Management solution can replicate data across companies in a single environment. Click here for a detailed functionality overview.
The Multi Entity Management solution supports the more advanced features of replicating Master Data between companies in different environments, including environments in other versions or localization.
Multi Entity Management also supports consolidating transactional entries from multiple companies to a reporting company, which can be the data source for Power BI reporting.
The two solutions utilize different technologies to perform the data replication. The built-in replication uses job queue technology to replicate data, and Multi Entity Management uses event triggers to initiate the data replication.
Download comparison sheet here
XtensionIT_Product Comparison_MEM vs. BC
This comparison was made 20th of March 2023 with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central preview version 22.0.53722.0. It compares Multi Entity Management to Business Central’s built-in Master Data Management functionality.