Integration strategy checklist
Define business goals
| Done? | Task |
|---|---|
| ✓ | Write down the goals and benefits of the integration in a way that the business can understand. |
| ✓ | Make sure the integration supports the organization's short-term and long-term goals. |
| ✓ | Explain the integration architecture, systems, and integration points clearly and simply. |
| ✓ | Make sure that everyone involved knows the purpose and scope of the integration. |
Choose a platform
| Done? | Task |
|---|---|
| ✓ | Help the organization understand the difference between cloud and on-premises platforms and where they connect. |
| ✓ | Decide whether to use an integration middleware or a messaging service. |
| ✓ | Make sure that the integration platform or middleware can monitor, audit, notify, and alert as needed. |
| ✓ | Make sure that the integration platform or middleware has the expected level of security, availability, and disaster recovery. |
| ✓ | Make sure that all parts of the integration platform or middleware can use application lifecycle management (ALM) and version control tools. |
Choose a design
| Done? | Task |
|---|---|
| ✓ | Make sure that each integration design fits with the overall integration architecture. |
| ✓ | Avoid sending or storing data that isn't needed in the solution. |
| ✓ | Compare and contrast the options and benefits for each of these aspects: User interface look and feel, data, process integration, and Dataverse. |
Choose a pattern
| Done? | Task |
|---|---|
| ✓ | Design integrations that use reliable, asynchronous messages to exchange data. |
| ✓ | Choose a pattern that matches the expected amount, frequency, and service protection limitations of data exchange. |
| ✓ | Determine realistic estimates of how much it will cost to run the services, platforms, and storage involved and how it will change over time. |
Project governance
| Done? | Task |
|---|---|
| ✓ | Plan to test each integration for user experience and performance under realistic conditions, including before, during, and after the data exchange. |
| ✓ | Plan to test the end-to-end process for each integration pattern according to the recommendations for data volume, frequency, and service protection limitations. |
| ✓ | Manage any changes that are related to integrations in a way that supports the business goals. |
| ✓ | Analyze how integrations affect other processes upstream and downstream. |
Next steps
- Start your integration project by defining your business goals and aligning them with your cross-system requirements
- Learn how to choose a platform that can handle the storage and transfer of large amounts of data across different systems
- Explore the different types of integration scenarios and how to choose a design that suits your needs
- Discover the integration patterns available with Dynamics 365 apps and what factors to consider when choosing a pattern
- Find out what challenges you might face when integrating systems and how to overcome them with best practices
- Learn about the aspects that are specific to each Dynamics 365 app and how to integrate them with other solutions
- Read how a public sector infrastructure organization learned how to choose the right solution for their integration project