Dual Write (DW) – Challenges & Recommendations 

Introduction –  

A few years ago, Dual Write (DW) was introduced with the objective of providing a reliable integration between Dynamics CRM and Dynamics Finance & SCM. The intent is in the right direction, but the execution of this vision has not been reliable.  

In this blog we have talked about some of the challenges we have faced and our recommendations for reliable integration.  

Let’s look at some of the challenges we have faced – 

Initial Sync Limitations – 

1. Dual Write only support 10 lookups for a table from Dataverse side during the initial sync of the Master data for bi-direction flow between Dynamics 365 CRM and FnO. 

2. If we need do initial sync for more than 10 lookup it throws error, we need to complete the sync in the batches by completing with first 10 lookups and then removing the ones that are already been synced and adding the new lookup of the same table and reinitiate the incremental push. 

Unavailability of solution in few regions – 

1. Installation of Dual Write core in and Dual-write application orchestration solution isn’t compatible with certain regions and has been in place to set up the solution in the first half of Jan 2022.  

Enabling Solution issue and missing File – 

1. When Dual Write is enabled between Project Operations & Finance and Operations (FnO), the sometimes-corresponding solutions are not available in the instance. 

2. To address this issue, I had to request the required cab files from the PG team and wait for them to deploy the solutions into my environment. 

3. The same was the scenario when it was not present for a particular region. 

Billing Rule Error – 

1. Despite creating a project contract, an error is encountered, indicating that the billing rule is either missing or has not been updated in the contract line. 

2. In accordance with the documentation, the synchronization process from Purchase Order (PO) to Finance and Operations (FnO) should seamlessly generate the contract and its lines, with billing rules automatically created. To address this issue, it is recommended to investigate and resolve any discrepancies in the synchronization process, ensuring that the billing rule is appropriately established for the contract line. 

Table Version mismatch – 

1. Dual Write integration in CRM encounters errors with version mismatches for tables like quotes and sales orders, disrupting bidirectional data flow. 

2. Addressed this issue to support by rectifying Out-of-the-Box table mappings, ensuring version alignment, and validating data values for smooth integration. 

3. Need to resolve discrepancies to extend seamless bidirectional operations beyond accounts to encompass entities like quotes and sales orders in CRM and Finance and Operations. 

Other Issues – 

1. While integrating Sales Quotation OOB – getting an extra Address in D365 F&O when we created a quotation in CRM and the system is picking a random address as a default address as well. As the table mapping references were OOB yet some issues were raised  

1. Scenario – (Unable to add item in the released product) Released Distinct Product. 

2. Workaround was provided to us stating to apply a filter on FnO side to filter out the records where (FieldServiceProductType == ‘NotAvailable’) 

3. When this update/filter was applied then another issue persisted and then after multiple try and error the OOB filter was removed and the above one which was recommended was kept making it work. After that, this solution was patched by Microsoft in their releases as this bug was faced by many customers. 

4. In the Production instance OOB table mapping the OOB behaviour itself gives an error without Customization due to which business goes down several times. 

5. Business impact: Disruption of services. Unable to generate bills. High Impact. 

Recommendations for reliable integrations – 

1. Azure Integration Services (AIS) – AIS offers a robust stack of capabilities like Azure Data Factory (ADF), Logic Apps, API Management, etc. to build out your own integration platform. It will take time as you build from scratch but give you more control and better error handling options.  

2. 3^rd party integration platforms – Platforms like TIBCO (previously SCRIBE), Kingswaysoft are examples of reliable integration platforms that have focused on the Dynamics 365 stack with reliable connectors and error handling. We have experience with these platforms, and they work well for our requirements. 

We hope you found this article useful and if you would like to discuss anything you can reach out to us at [email protected]