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Azure

Alex Gazzard
  • Updated

Introduction

The following article will take you through the newly developed Xledger-Azure integration package, a solution that enables our customers to host their Xledger data in an Azure Data Warehouse. Please see the below for more.

Why Integrate Xledger with Azure?

There are many reason wanting to integrate Xledger and Azure, this will be dependent on what you want from the integration, some of the typical use cases are listed below:

  • Business Intelligence: Connecting your Azure Data Warehouse to a business intelligence tool, such as Power BI or Tableau.
  • SQL Capabilities: Enables our customers to have the potential of SQL reporting with their Xledger data.
  • Integrations: Provides our customers with the first steps in building a data integration. For example, you can connect your Azure Data Warehouse to Azure Logic Apps, where you can then start to build custom integrations.

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What is the Xledger-Azure Package?

The Xledger-Azure package has been developed to enable our customers to have a data warehouse containing their Xledger data. The package has been created to save our customers valuable time, as all of the development work has been completed by our integration consultants, meaning that at the end of the project you will have a full fledged Azure data warehouse.

Streamlined Setup

The solution has been developed in such a way that the installation and configuration has been streamlined, utilising some of the features which Azure provides, such as ARM templates and Custom Deployments. 

ARM Template Installation

Our solution uses Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates for quick and easy set-up. These templates are responsible for installing all the essential resources required for the integration. These resources include:

  • Azure SQL Server: The core component for your data storage and management needs.

  • SQL Database: A secure repository dedicated to storing your Xledger data.

  • Storage Account with Container: An organized storage solution for your data files.

  • Data Factory: The powerhouse behind data movement and transformation.

Manual Table Import

Following the installation of these resources, the next step involves creating your SQL database in your newly created SQL server. This is done by using the import database function within the SQL server and using a bacpac file which we have created, that contains all the database tables we have designed.

Effortless Data Import

Once the tables are in place, the Xledger-Azure package takes over. It automates importing data via the Data Factory, efficiently transferring your Xledger data into the SQL database.

Handover for Management

Once the data import is completed, the integration process is finalised, and you'll have complete control and management of your data warehouse.

Who is the package suitable for?

By now you should understand why you would want to integrate Xledger with Azure and what this package offers for you, the next part is to determine whether this package would be suitable for your business. Please see the below which highlights some key points to determine whether this is for your business or not:

  • You would like to start building Business intelligence reports with your Xledger data and other data sources your business uses.
  • Maintaining historical data for long-term insights, data warehouses enable businesses to store massive amounts of data over long periods of time.
  • You have an internal IT team or IT resources on hand, who can setup Azure and manage the environment once completed. Would also be beneficial if these IT resources had prior experience of using Azure and understand it's architecture.
  • You would like to start building a custom integration for your business using Azure resources, such as Azure Data Factory and Logic Apps.
  • You have large amounts of data that you wish to do extensive reporting on.

If you are not sure about the suitability based on the above points, we recommend contacting your customer success representative to discuss in more detail

The Components of Our Solution:

GraphQL API:

  • Our GraphQL API acts as a bridge between Xledger and Azure, allowing you to retrieve, manipulate, and transfer data with ease.
  • GraphQL's flexibility ensures you only request the specific data you need, optimizing data transfer efficiency.

Azure SQL Server and SQL Database:

  • Azure SQL Server: Serves as the backbone of your database management. It provides the infrastructure and resources needed to host your SQL database.
  • Azure SQL Database: This is where your Xledger data resides in a structured and accessible format. It ensures data integrity, high availability, and scalability.

Azure Data Factory Pipelines:

  • Azure Data Factory is Microsoft's cloud-based data integration service, designed to create, schedule, and orchestrate data pipelines.
  • We've developed multiple Azure Data Factory pipelines to move data from Xledger to your Azure SQL database effortlessly.
  • These pipelines are configured to run on a schedule ensuring your data is always up-to-date.

Standard Datasets Included in the Package:

When you choose our Xledger to Azure integration package, you get access to a comprehensive set of standard pipelines, designed to streamline specific data transfer processes. These datasets include:

  • Suppliers
  • Customers
  • Contacts
  • Addresses
  • Financial Periods
  • Accounts
  • Companies
  • Entities
  • Projects
  • Accounts Payable Transactions
  • Accounts Receivable Transactions
  • Recent Transactions
  • Transactions
  • Budget balances

Each dataset in our package comes with three distinct pipelines:

  1. Manual Record Pipeline: This processes the initial record from Xledger and populates the SQL database table. This pipeline can also be manually run to move data from Xledger to Azure.

  2. Historical Data Pipeline: It efficiently handles all historical data from Xledger, automatically stopping once all records have been processed.

  3. Scheduled Pipeline: This pipeline can be scheduled to run as frequently as you like, ensuring you always have access to the latest data from Xledger.

How It Works:

  1. Data Extraction: Our GraphQL API connects to your Xledger instance and extracts the data.

  2. Data Transformation: The extracted data is then transformed into a format compatible with Azure SQL Database.

  3. Data Loading: Azure Data Factory pipelines take over, efficiently loading the transformed data into your Azure SQL database.

  4. Automation: Set up automated schedules or triggers to ensure data updates happen at the frequency you need.

Benefits of Our Solution:

  • Real-time Data Updates: Keep your Azure SQL database synchronized with Xledger, ensuring that your reports and analytics are always based on the latest information.

  • Data Security: Benefit from Azure's robust security features to keep your financial data safe and compliant.

  • Cost-Effective: Our solution optimizes data transfer and processing, helping you save on both time and resources.

  • Effortless Integration: You don't need to worry about complex setups or configurations – it's all taken care of.

Please contact a member of our team for further information. 

 

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