What integration patterns are available with Dynamics 365 F&O?
The main patterns are: synchronous REST via OData (good for real-time lookups and simple creates); asynchronous batch via the Data Management Framework (good for high-volume nightly feeds); event-driven via Business Events and Azure Service Bus (good for decoupled, near-real-time flows); and Dataverse dual-write for tight Microsoft ecosystem integration. There is no single right answer — the pattern depends on volume, latency requirements and how much complexity you want to own in middleware.
Should we use dual-write or virtual entities to connect D365 F&O with the Power Platform?
Dual-write gives you bi-directional, near-real-time synchronisation between F&O and Dataverse — it is powerful but has a significant setup and maintenance cost, and table mappings can be brittle. Virtual entities expose F&O data in Dataverse without replication, which is simpler but read-heavy and latency-dependent. For most organisations that need Power Apps or Dynamics 365 Sales connected to F&O, virtual entities are the safer starting point. Dual-write makes sense when you genuinely need bi-directional writes at low latency.
When should we use middleware versus direct integration?
Use middleware (Azure Integration Services, Logic Apps, MuleSoft, Boomi) when you have multiple systems integrating with F&O, when you need transformation logic that belongs in neither system, or when you need retry logic, dead-letter queues and monitoring in one place. Direct point-to-point integration is faster to build but creates a maintenance burden that compounds with every additional system. Programmes that skip middleware for five or more integrations almost always rebuild them later — at greater cost.
How do we handle integration errors and monitoring?
Every production integration needs an alerting and retry strategy from day one, not as an afterthought. Log every message with a correlation ID, capture failures to a dead-letter queue, alert on error thresholds, and build a reprocess mechanism that operations can use without developer involvement. D365 F&O Business Events include built-in retry for Azure Service Bus. Whatever your middleware choice, define your SLA for each integration and design the error handling to meet it.