Enhancing your Dual Write integration with the Party and Global Address Book Add-On

In one of our previous Tech Talks, we explored the integration capabilities of Dual Write for syncing data between Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CE) and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (F&O). But what if the built-in tools don't fully address your data synchronization needs? Enter the Party and Global Address Book (GAB) solution—a Microsoft add-on designed to bridge gaps in data models between F&O and CE.

If you’re looking to enhance your Dual Write setup, read on to see how this add-on can help streamline your integration process.

What is the Party and Global Address Book solution?

The Party and Global Address Book solution is an add-on that works with Dual Write. It helps align how F&O and CE handle parties (people or organizations) and addresses. While F&O has a detailed model for parties and their roles, CE only manages accounts and contacts, which can lead to data mismatches. This add-on bridges that gap.

How to set it up?

You can find the Party and Global Address Book solution for free on Microsoft AppSource. Installation is straightforward with just a few clicks. After that, you’ll need to do some configuration in CE and on the Dual Write setup page. Microsoft’s documentation guides you through this.

If you're adding this to an existing setup, there are extra steps to transition to the new model, which we’ll discuss in more detail later.

Addressing data model misalignments

The Party Concept

• Without GAB: In F&O, a party is a detailed concept with roles and data stored at various levels. CE, however, only has accounts and contacts, making it hard to handle complex relationships.
  
  
• With GAB: The add-on introduces a Party table in CE. This table holds data consistent across roles, while role-specific details stay in account or contact records. This means you can now manage multiple roles for the same party without creating duplicates. The Contact for Party table also allows linking contacts to multiple organizations effectively.
  
  

The Global Address Book Concept

• Without GAB: F&O’s Global Address Book is a comprehensive directory for all addresses linked to parties. CE handles addresses on accounts or contacts, which limits the number of addresses and can cause syncing issues.
• With GAB: The add-on adds new tables, like the Postal Address table and the Electronic Address table, to CE. These tables align with F&O’s approach, linking addresses to parties and ensuring they sync correctly. This setup also includes logic to keep these new tables in sync with existing address fields on accounts and contacts.

Integration and synchronization

The main goal of the Party and Global Address Book solution is to ensure smooth data integration between CE and F&O. It introduces new Dual Write maps, which are easy to configure and set up. Once enabled, these maps handle the core data synchronization effectively.

Pros of the Party and Global Address Book Solution

• Enhances Dual Write: Since it builds on Dual Write, it retains all its benefits—easy configuration, out-of-the-box functionality, and no extra cost.
• Unifies Data Models: Microsoft’s effort to align data models between CE and F&O is impressive, making the system more intuitive for users.
• Simplifies Integration: Despite the complexity, the integration setup is straightforward and efficient.
• Broad Integration: It works well with many CE scenarios, such as Prospect to Cash, ensuring that new features are integrated effectively.

Downsides to consider

• Performance Impact: The added logic for syncing data can slow down processes. We’ve noticed response times of up to 15 seconds in some cases.
• Limited Customization: Internal syncing doesn’t accommodate custom fields, requiring additional development work.
• Address Management Confusion: There can be confusion between the new Postal Address table and existing address fields, especially when creating or modifying addresses.
• UI/UX Issues: The new forms and views can be a bit cluttered and unintuitive, requiring extra effort to make them user-friendly.
• Integration Gaps: While it works well with many modules, some areas, like the Customer Service module, are not fully integrated.

Transitioning to the new model

Switching to the Global Address Book solution isn’t as simple as installing an add-on. It requires careful planning, data upgrades, and potentially custom development, especially if you have customizations. Microsoft offers some tools, but you might need additional adjustments.

Our verdict on GAB

The Party and Global Address Book solution is a valuable tool for aligning data models between Dynamics 365 CE and F&O. For new implementations, we recommend integrating this add-on early on. For existing setups, a thorough review is essential before proceeding.

Want to know more about the possibilities for your organization? 
Contact our specialists, who will be happy to advise you.