AX 2012 R2 & Data Migration Framework Updates

Well I hope that this post finds everyone well rested from last weeks event, knee deep into the AX 2012 R2 Technical conference, and working on Dynamics AX projects! There is a lot to talk about this week, so I thought I would do a kick off post around Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 as well as the newly updated Data Migration Framework.



First up lets focus on the latter and move into the great new improvements coming as part of AX 2012 R2. There is a great write up from Microsoft on the newly released DMF, which can be found here.: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Data Migration Framework Beta 2.0 is now available on Information source

From the post.:
"Besides the already rich feature set, some of the key new features which have been added in this release are below -

• ODBC as Source – with this it is possible to import data using ODBC.
• AX as Source – It supports export/import , copy company for Data migration Framework entities.
• New entity types – Direct Table and Composite Entity.
• Parallel execution support from Staging to Target.
• Service Interface – DMF can be executed by external applications.
• Error handling enhancements – skipping error rows, and detailed logs.
• Number sequence support.
• Removed requirement to install SSIS on AOS.

"

We can see with the above that the DMF has really increased in it's level of usability. Microsoft is obviously listening to the feedback from those that have tried their respective hands and dove into the current release, building up to what we now see out on InformationSource.

I will cover as more updates are released, including walking through the new version soon myself. Moving right along lets focus now on the on-going Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 Tech Conference happening all this week.

I'm actually not able to attend, but have been looking and working with AX 2012 R2 for the past few months now. The following is a list of architecture, technical and BI related updates that I would like to give highlights of.:
Data Partitioning in AX 2012 R2 - This is a very interesting move, and one that will further add for support of options when thinking in terms of scale for larger organizations. In short this new concept works as another container option, or segregation option for legal entities. You can now have a spectrum of single instance, to single instance with partitioning, to multiple instance options. Each bringing their own pro's & con's to the table. A great write up already exist about this concept which can be found here.: To share or not to share… Data Partitioning in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2



LINQ Provider for AX 2012 R2 - Here we see Microsoft enabling deeper native access to AX, and the Entity Data Model concept with giving us a managed code LINQ provider for AX 2012 R2. This will further enable and allow the consumption of AX 2012 Business Logic and Entity's (think abstraction of tables here) for greater use from the outside world. A great write up on this topic can be found here.: Code Example: LINQ to AX from C# [AX 2012]



Business Intelligence Improvements for AX 2012 R2 - Microsoft has further made improvements around it's stack offering, the BI elements out-of-the-box with AX 2012 R2. As I pointed out, AX 2012 means you have a BI solution. This is further enabled through the usage of native web parts for PowerView elements, to be placed and used on Role Center pages with the release of AX 2012 R2. Further improvements around BI is more built in KPI's, as well as three new cubes. One of those being that of a new Inventory Cube.

All-in-all there is a lot to cover, dive into and talk about with this new update. What I list above is just the tip of the iceberg. There is deep functional net gains across the board, more localization's like China, as well as very deep functional offerings for Human Capital Management (HCM) for everyone!

That's all I have for this post, check back soon as we dive deeper into these new offerings, and cover the details coming out of the on-going tech conference. Till Next Time!


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