Microsoft Fabric + Dynamics 365 Business Central

Why they belong together and how you can help your customers get more value

Every business chasing digital maturity is looking for two things: better data insight and smarter operational systems. Microsoft has invested heavily to meet both needs. Dynamics 365 Business Central handles core business processes, while Microsoft Fabric turns raw data into insights that drive smarter decisions.

What Is Business Central?

Dynamics 365 Business Central is Microsoft’s all-in-one business management solution built for small and mid-sized organisations. It’s an ERP that covers:

• Financials & accounting
• Sales & customer management
• Purchasing & supply chain
• Inventory and warehouse
• Projects and resource planning

It centralises business processes on a single platform with deep integration to Microsoft 365, Outlook, and Power Platform (Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate).

But as powerful as Business Central is operationally, turning its data into strategic insight at scale — especially across multiple sources — can be a challenge.

This is where Microsoft Fabric enters the picture.

What Is Microsoft Fabric?

Microsoft Fabric is a unified analytics platform designed to help organisations build data pipelines, store data at scale, analyse it with familiar tools like Power BI, and embed AI insights where needed.

Think of Fabric as the modern evolution of Microsoft’s data stack. It brings together:

• Data ingestion tools
• Data engineering and transformation
• Big data storage (Data Lake)
• Analytics & reporting with Power BI
• AI and machine learning capabilities, all under one roof

Fabric’s goal is to let organisations go from raw data to trusted business insights faster, with less architectural complexity.

How Fabric Complements Business Central

Business Central runs the core business processes. Fabric makes the data from those processes strategic, actionable, and intelligent.

Here’s how they complement each other:

1. Better Data Consolidation

Business Central holds transactional records — orders, invoices, inventory levels, ledger entries. But organisations often need to analyse this alongside data from other systems, such as:

• CRM data (Dynamics 365 Sales or other CRMs)
• HR/Payroll systems
• Web analytics or eCommerce platforms
• External finance or budgeting tools

Fabric is built for data consolidation at scale. It ingests data from multiple sources, harmonises it, and stores it in a central repository where analytics can be run more efficiently.

2. Scalable Analytics

Fabric’s analytics engine is designed to handle large data volumes with performance that Business Central’s built-in reporting tools can’t match on their own.

This enables:

• Historic trend analysis
• Longitudinal comparisons
• High-volume operational reporting

3. Power BI Embedded + AI

While Power BI works well standalone, within Fabric it gains access to:

• Semantic models and shared datasets
• AI-generated insights
• Real-time analytics at scale

Business Central data becomes far more valuable when surfaced through interactive dashboards that incorporate predictive insights.

4. Automated Data Pipelines

Business Central changes constantly — new orders, new inventory, new customers. Fabric can automate the flow of this data into analytics pipelines so dashboards stay up to date without manual intervention.

How to Connect Business Central to Microsoft Fabric

Connecting the two isn’t complex, but it does require planning around data flows and governance.

Here’s the general approach:

Step 1: Export Data from Business Central

The first task is getting raw data out of Business Central into a data platform Fabric can read.

There are a few commonly used approaches:

1. Standard Business Central Connectors

Use native connectors (OData, APIs) that allow Fabric pipelines or Azure Data Factory to pull:

• General Ledger
• Sales Orders
• Customers
• Vendors
• Inventory records

These connectors extract data into a staging area where it can be cleansed and transformed.

2. Change Data Capture

For real-time or near real-time integrations, use change data capture (CDC) patterns so only new or updated records move into Fabric.

This keeps analytics current without unnecessary processing.

Step 2: Ingest Into Fabric

Once Business Central data is accessible, ingestion into Fabric is done through:

• Dataflows — low/no code data ingestion and transformation
• Pipelines — more advanced ETL/ELT orchestration
• Connectors — built-in connectors to Business Central, SQL, REST APIs, flat files, and more

The goal here is to land the data into a Fabric Lakehouse or Data Warehouse where it can be modelled.

Step 3: Transform and Model

Raw data needs structure before it becomes useful.

In this step:

• Cleanse and normalise data
• Establish relationships between tables (e.g., linking sales orders to customer master data)
• Create a semantic model that BI tools can use

This modelling can be distributed across:

• Fabric Dataflows
• Notebook scripts
• Pipeline transformations

Step 4: Build Dashboards and Deploy Insights

With structured data in Fabric, teams can build:

• Power BI dashboards
• Reports embedded in Microsoft Teams
• Operational reports shared with executives

Visualisations can reflect:

• Financial KPIs
• Inventory trends
• Sales performance
• Forecasts based on machine learning

How They Operate Together

Once connected, Business Central and Fabric form a continuous cycle:

1. Business Central processes transactions
   • Sales, procurement, inventory, projects, etc.
2. Fabric ingests Business Central data
   • Either scheduled or near real-time
3. Fabric transforms and models
   • Cleans data, enriches it with other sources
4. Insights are surfaced
   • Power BI dashboards, alerts, embedded analytics
5. Decision makers act on insights
   • Leading to new transactions in Business Central

This loop makes it easier for organisations to make data-driven decisions because the insights directly reflect operational reality.

Practical Use Cases Resellers Can Sell

Below are common scenarios where combining Business Central + Fabric delivers measurable value:

Use Case 1: End-to-End Financial Analytics

Problem: CFOs struggle to consolidate financial performance across cost centres and departments.

Solution:
Fabric aggregates ledgers, budgets, actuals, and external forecasting data to provide a single source of financial truth.

Outcome:
Finance teams can forecast cash flow, analyse operational efficiency, and detect anomalies months ahead of time.

Use Case 2: Inventory & Supply Chain Visibility

Problem: Too much capital tied up in excess inventory and slow-moving stock.

Solution:
Combine Business Central inventory data with sales trends and supplier delivery performance inside Fabric.

Outcome:
Dashboards can highlight overstock risks, understock alerts, seasonal trends, and optimise reorder points across warehouses.

Use Case 3: Sales & Customer Behaviour Analytics

Problem: Sales teams rely on static reports and gut instinct to plan activities.

Solution:
Bring CRM (if separate), web analytics, and Business Central order history into Fabric. Use AI-driven clustering to identify high-value segments.

Outcome:
Sales leaders discover buying patterns, seasonal peaks, and customer segments that respond best to promotions.

Use Case 4: Automated Compliance Reporting

Problem: Regulatory reporting is slow and error-prone when done manually.

Solution:
Fabric automates extraction, organisation, and formulaic transformations to generate compliance reports from Business Central finance and HR data.

Outcome:
Regulators get accurate reports faster. Auditors spend less time in meetings and more time analysing control quality.

Use Case 5: Executive Scorecards Across Units

Problem: Group executives lack one version of truth across departments, geographies or business units.

Solution:
Fabric consolidates multi-company Business Central data into enterprise scorecards showing:

• Profitability by region
• Sales per channel
• Customer retention rates

Outcome:
Executives can make balanced investment decisions while maintaining governance and control.

Value Messaging for Resellers

When positioning Business Central + Microsoft Fabric together, here’s how to frame the value:

1. Business Central is about running the business; Fabric is about optimising it.
BC handles transactions; Fabric turns transactions into insight.

2. Customers finally get a single source of truth for analytics.
No more spreadsheets stitched together manually.

3. It strengthens the entire Microsoft ecosystem.
Teams, Power BI, Azure Data Services, Copilot enterprise features — all work together.

4. Fast time to insight.
Pre-built connectors and semantic models reduce implementation time.

5. Helps organisations scale.
From SMB to enterprise, customers can grow without outgrowing their analytics.

 

Business Central is an operational cornerstone for SMBs. But without a modern analytics layer, businesses are limited to siloed reporting. Microsoft Fabric removes that barrier, offering a scalable analytics platform that transforms how data is consumed.

For CSP resellers, this combination is more than technology — it’s a value proposition that solves real business challenges. It’s a chance to help customers unlock deeper insight, improve decision making, and drive measurable business outcomes.

Reach out to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. today to discuss how Fabric can help drive your customers’ business forward.