Background:

The current Power Automate integration in Business Central has significant drawbacks compared to Dynamics CRM. Specifically, the behavior when creating and editing records leads to numerous unnecessary and inefficient events, complicating integration and automation.

Issues:

1. Trigger Mechanism:

• In Dynamics CRM, data is fully captured first, all required fields are filled, and then saved, triggering the Power Automate flow for "Created".
• In Business Central, pulling the number series triggers an insert and a "Created" event, even though the record is incomplete. This leads to many "Modified"/"Changed" events without clarity on when the master data is truly complete.

2. Understandability and Manageability:

• This behavior is hard to understand and communicate for developers and consultants familiar with Dataverse.

3. Systematic Solution:

•  A system-wide concept to correctly and efficiently use "Created" and "Changed" events is missing. Custom programming and business events do not solve the systematic issue.

Improvement Suggestions:

1. Overhaul of the Saving Logic:

• Introduce logic that ensures a record is only marked as "Created" when all required fields are filled and the record is completely saved. This could involve adopting the saving logic from Dynamics CRM.
• Implement a mechanism that delays the insert when pulling the number series until the record is fully saved.

2. Reduction of Events:

• System-wide reduction of "Created" and "Changed" events by intelligently recognizing the complete save operation.
• Implement signals to indicate when a record is fully created or changed, e.g., by leaving the record, session timeouts, or closing the browser tab.

3. Platform-based Management:

• Introduce a platform-wide concept for managing events since current page events are insufficient. This management should ensure events are triggered correctly and only when truly necessary changes occur.

Implementation:

• Microsoft should analyze the current event-trigger mechanisms in Business Central and develop a new concept inspired by the proven methods of Dynamics CRM.
• The implementation could combine backend logic and frontend signals (e.g., session timeouts, browser tab closures) to ensure the completeness of records.

With these improvements, the integration of Power Automate in Business Central could become significantly more efficient and user-friendly.