This could be, for example, when data needs to be sent to:
- Microsoft Azure Data Lake
- Microsoft Power Automate, formerly Microsoft Flow
- An external partner solution
- A 3PL or logistics partner
- A reporting or BI platform
- A data warehouse
- An industry-specific cloud solution
Traditionally, this type of integration has required AL development, technical specialists and ongoing maintenance. Every time the data basis changed, or a partner had new requirements for the format, the integration often had to be adjusted in code.
With Integration Accelerator, it becomes possible to configure integrations directly in Business Central - without writing code.
The solution makes it possible to set up integrations where Business Central either:
- Makes data available via API, so other systems can retrieve it
- Sends data to external API endpoints, for example Microsoft Power Automate, Azure Data Lake or a partner solution.
This makes Integration Accelerator relevant for companies that want a more flexible and maintainable way to exchange data with external systems.
When Business Central needs to send data outside the organization
A typical integration need arises when data in Business Central needs to be passed on to an external solution.
This could be, for example:
- Customer data to a CRM or partner platform
- Item data to a webshop or PIM solution
- Sales orders to a logistics partner
- Invoice data for reporting
- General ledger entries to a data warehouse
- Inventory movements for analysis or forecasting
- Master data and transaction data to Azure Data Lake
In many cases, the company does not only want to expose data so that other systems can retrieve it themselves. The need is often for Business Central to actively send data onward - either according to a fixed schedule, upon changes or as part of an integration process.
This is precisely where a no-code approach can provide significant value.
Receive data in Business Central from external systems
Integrations are not only about sending data out of Business Central. In many companies, there is also a need for Business Central to receive data from external systems - for example webshops, customer portals, CRM platforms or partner solutions.
A typical scenario is that a customer creates themselves via a webshop or self-service portal. Once the customer has entered their information, the data can be passed on to Business Central, where the customer is created or updated as a customer. In the same way, external systems can send orders, contact information, delivery addresses or other relevant data into Business Central.
With Integration Accelerator, Business Central can be part of integration flows where external systems either send data into Business Central via API, or where data is exchanged as part of an overall integration process. This makes it easier to gather central business data in Business Central without necessarily having to develop custom code for each individual integration need.
From custom development to configurable integrations
Classic integrations with Business Central are often built as custom development. This may be the right solution in complex scenarios, but it also creates some typical challenges:
- There is dependency on developer resources
- Changes take time to implement
- Small adjustments may require new development and testing
- Integrations can become expensive to maintain
- The business gets less flexibility
With Integration Accelerator, many integration needs can instead be configured directly in Business Central.
This means that you can define:
- Which data should be sent
- Which fields should be included
- How the data should be structured
- Which external endpoint should receive the data
- Whether a full dataset or only changes should be sent
- How the integration should be executed
The result is a more flexible integration model, where IT and the business can adapt data exchange more quickly to new needs.
Full load and subsequent delta files
In many integrations, it makes most sense to first send a complete dataset as a full load and then only send new or changed data as delta files.
This is particularly relevant when Business Central data is to be used in data platforms, reporting solutions or external systems, where a complete extract is needed first, followed by ongoing updates.
This approach is often more efficient than sending the entire dataset every time. At the same time, it provides a practical way to keep external systems updated without unnecessary load.
Example: Send Business Central data to Azure Data Lake
Many companies want to collect data from Business Central in a data platform such as Azure Data Lake. Here, data can be used for reporting, analysis, machine learning, consolidation or further processing in Microsoft Fabric and other analytics tools.
With Integration Accelerator, Business Central data can be selected and structured so that it can be sent on to an external recipient.
An example could be:
- First, a full load of general ledger entries, customers, items or sales data is sent
- Then delta files with new or changed records are sent
- Data lands in a data platform where it can be processed further
- BI and reporting tools can then work with updated data
Depending on the specific architecture, data can be sent directly to a relevant endpoint or via an integration layer such as Power Automate, Azure Functions or other middleware.
This gives the company the opportunity to use Business Central as a data source in a modern analytics architecture — without all extracts and integrations having to be custom-developed from scratch.
Example: Send data to Microsoft Power Automate
Microsoft Power Automate is often used to automate processes across Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and external systems.
With Integration Accelerator, Business Central can send data to a Power Automate flow, which can then process the data further.
It can, for example, be used to:
- Send data to an approval process
- Create tasks in other systems
- Forward data to an external API
- Store data in Azure, SharePoint or Dataverse
- Start an automated business process
A typical scenario could be that Business Central sends a new or changed sales order to a Power Automate flow. The flow can then validate data, send a notification, update another system or deliver data onward to a partner.
In this way, Integration Accelerator and Power Automate can be used together to create flexible integration flows without traditional custom development.
Example: Send data to an external partner API
Many companies have partners that require data to be delivered via an API. This may include logistics partners, suppliers,
industry platforms, service partners or customers with specific integration requirements.
With Integration Accelerator, Business Central can be configured to send relevant data to the partner’s API endpoint.
This could be, for example:
- Sales orders to a 3PL partner
- Delivery information to a freight solution
- Item data to an external trading platform
- Invoice information to a customer’s system
- Inventory status to a partner portal
Instead of building a separate AL integration for each partner, the integration can be configured and adapted in Business Central. This makes it easier to handle changes in fields, data content and structure as the partner’s requirements evolve.
Business Central as both a data source and an integration hub
Integration Accelerator supports several integration patterns.
This means that Business Central can be used both as:
Data source via API
External systems can retrieve data from Business Central via API. This can be relevant when a partner, webshop, BI solution or integration platform needs to retrieve updated data themselves.
Sender to external endpoints
Business Central can also send data out to an external API endpoint. This is relevant when data needs to be pushed to a recipient such as Azure Data Lake, Power Automate or a partner API.
This flexibility is important because integration needs are rarely the same. Some systems want to retrieve data. Others expect to receive data. With Integration Accelerator, both types of scenarios can be supported without starting with custom development.
Benefits of no-code integration from Business Central
By using Integration Accelerator for API integrations, the company can achieve several benefits:
- Faster setup of integrations
- Less dependency on AL development
- Easier adaptation when data requirements change
- Support for both full load and delta extracts
- Better support for data platforms and analytics needs
- More flexible integration with partners and external systems
- Lower complexity in maintenance
No-code does not mean that integration work becomes free of technical considerations. Decisions still need to be made about data models, security, endpoint requirements, formats, performance and error handling.
But it does mean that many integration tasks can be solved in a more configurable way and with a shorter path from need to solution.
When does Integration Accelerator make particuarly good sense?
Integration Accelerator is particularly relevant when the company needs to:
- Send Business Central data to external systems
- Export data to Azure Data Lake or a data platform
- Send data to Power Automate for further process automation
- Deliver data to partners’ API endpoints
- Work with full load and subsequent delta files
- Reduce the need for custom-developed AL integrations
- Make integrations easier to change and maintain
If the integration requires very complex business logic, heavy transformations or advanced orchestration across many systems, there may still be a need for an integration layer or custom development. But for many data-driven integration scenarios, a configurable approach can be a strong alternative.