Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central in itself is already a powerful business management software that connects your organization’s core processes and centralizes your most critical business data. While it already has out-of-the-box reports to provide you with insights, integrating Business Central with a business intelligence solution can prove it even more valuable by having the flexibility to interrogate your data in-depth.
BI solutions deliver dynamic reporting, rich visualization, and multi-layered analytics. Integrating it into Business Central will enable your users to exploit the full potential of your data, allowing quicker and more effective decision-making to achieve operational efficiency and better business performance.
That is where Microsoft Power BI can help. Power BI is an interactive data visualization and analytics tool designed to work seamlessly with Dynamics 365 Business Central. Integrating these two systems together will help your business take advantage of these key benefits:
Make better decisions faster. You can extract and combine data across multiple other sources in your company so you can see the ‘bigger picture’ rather than just a part of it. The seamless integration of Business Central and Power BI transforms your data into actionable insights through interactive dashboards and rich visual reports. Because it gives you the flexibility to analyze data from various angles, you can make informed decisions faster.
Boost productivity. Power BI reports embedded within Business Central make it more convenient for your users to access reports quickly and easily without the need to switch from one system to another. It’s also accessible on any device, allowing your users to securely access or publish reports that matter to them wherever they are.
Improved ROI. Power BI integrates natively with all Microsoft products you are using, and that includes Dynamics 365 Business Central. Not only is it easy to integrate data and processes between these systems, but it is also easier to maintain from an IT administration perspective. Because it’s part of your existing Microsoft 365 subscription, trying out Power BI is virtually risk-free. You can let your select users explore Power BI and connect to your Business Central data to get started.
Case in point
Mini Bulk, a fast-growing bulk packaging manufacturer and supplier in its early days used Outlook, Excel spreadsheets, and Quickbooks to manually analyze its business performance. However, its rapid growth resulted in stacking double the transactions and amount of work while still using disconnected systems. Its General Manager, Jody Lockhart, realized that the kind of setup they had wouldn’t take their business far, so he looked at inefficiencies and where they need to improve on.
Systema Solutions migrated Mini Bulk’s financial management software to Business Central initially, followed by a Power BI implementation that resulted in:
Saved 30-40 hours per month. Mini Bulk’s team used to spend 30 to 40 hours per month just manually generating reports and cross-checking from various sources. With their Power BI workspace, they can filter the information that they need in a matter of minutes.
Better business performance tracking. In just one day, Mini Bulk was able to create weekly sales reports that their sales teams can check to learn how they’re tracking.
Improved customer relations. Power BI enabled Mini Bulk’s sales teams to quickly classify clients based on service levels required and identified which strategic accounts needed dedicated account managers.
How to integrate Power BI with Business Central?
First of all, you need to sign up and complete the process at https://powerbi.microsoft.com. You can then follow the steps as discussed in our previous blog.
If you need expert assistance, we can help you with the integration so you can turn your data into profitable insights. Speak to us or request a personalized demo here.