Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition supports the modern HTTP-based RESTful model of integration, along with recurring integration for high volume, asynchronous integration models. New integration framework is based on the OData 4.0 protocol and supports the JSON format for data exchange. JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write. It is easy for machines to parse and generate.

Integration in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations is based on data management platform and built on earlier version's Data Import/Export framework (DIXF), which serves multiple purposes, such as integration, data migration, configuration management, and analytics. Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations also supports the custom services concept which was also available in the earlier version, Dynamics AX 2012. A custom service is basically X++ business logic that can be declared as a service and consumed by external applications.

The following diagram shows the conceptual architecture of integration architecture in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition:

Dynamics 365 Data Integration is another integration framework primarily used to integrate a Dynamics 365 family of products, such as sales, project service automation, field services, and finance and operations. This framework is based on the common data services platform and is flexible for customization to support third-party integration on the cloud.

Integration for business applications is a big topic and cannot be covered in a couple of paragraphs. We will learn more integration architecture, concepts, and best practices in Chapter 8, Integration Planning and Design.