Azure Data Lake for efficient financial data processing

Manage your financial data from multiple sources — all under one roof. This time, we’re focusing on the unique cloud service Azure Data Lake, which helps you analyze vast amounts of data, offering scalability, strong security, and seamless integration with other Azure services. If you’re looking to efficiently manage corporate data within your Dynamics 365 Finance ERP system, you’re in the right place.

A few words to start… or why having your own data lake matters

Let’s start with the term “data lake.” This relatively new concept should be distinguished from data warehouses. While data warehouses store already processed data, data lakes have no strict requirements for data structure — they can store raw, unprocessed data. They’re therefore a more flexible data repository than warehouses. That said, data warehouses remain essential for historical analyses, while data lakes excel in advanced real-time analytics and machine learning.

In modern business, new data sources emerge every day. When working with data warehouses, you’ll often encounter valuable data that doesn’t fit well within warehouse structures. If you want to store and analyze data from diverse sources, a data lake is the way to go.

Azure Data Lake + Dynamics 365 Finance = a perfect pair for financial reporting

Azure’s own data lake — Azure Data Lake — integrates seamlessly with Dynamics 365 Finance to enable centralized financial data management, scalability, advanced analytics, predictive modeling, and integration into the broader Azure ecosystem — all with strong security and governance. This combination delivers higher efficiency and accuracy in financial operations and empowers organizations to make informed decisions.

Top business benefits of Azure Data Lake

• Data centralization: Azure Data Lake allows you to centralize financial data from Dynamics 365 Finance in one storage location, simplifying data processing and analysis.
• Scalability and performance: With Azure Data Lake, you can run large-scale financial analyses outside your ERP system in near real time — all within a scalable solution.
• Advanced analytics and reporting: Azure Data Lake provides tools for sophisticated reporting and the creation of detailed financial dashboards.
• Predictive modeling: Using advanced analytical techniques, you can build predictive models based on financial data to forecast future trends.
• Integrated services: With Azure Data Lake, organizations gain access to a wide range of advanced analytical, AI, and data services across the Azure ecosystem.
• Data security and governance: Azure Data Lake ensures robust data protection and access management capabilities.

Long story short…

The solution architecture combines Dynamics 365 Finance and Azure Data Lake through several key Azure technologies. Azure Data Factory orchestrates data flows between systems, while Azure Data Lake Storage acts as the central repository for financial data. Azure Databricks and Azure Synapse Analytics provide advanced data processing and analytics, and Power BI delivers data visualization. Everything works together like a well-tuned watch mechanism.

Azure Data Lake, when combined with Dynamics 365 Finance, is ideal for organizations that need to efficiently process, analyze, and store large volumes of financial data. If that sounds like you, contact our specialists to learn how this innovative solution could transform your financial reporting.