Folio3 Dynamics AX Magento Connector

Magento Dynamics

AX Connector

(F3MAX)September 29, 2014

© Folio3 Software Inc. dynamics.folio3.com Company Confidential

ContentsIntroduction

Dynamics AX 2012 R3Magento

Folio3 Magento-Dynamics AX Integration SolutionSystem Architecture

Middleware ServerSolution Architecture

Magento LayerMiddleware ComponentMicrosoft Dynamics AX 2012

F3MAX HighlightsEasy Setup & ConfigurationSuper-Fast PerformanceEnhanced ScalabilityImproved SecurityHigh Availability



Introduction

This technical white paper covers the technical details of the powerful, highly scalable and secure solution by Folio3 Dynamics Services for integrating the most popular Ecommerce platform Magento with the ERP of choice for large to mid-scale organization operating worldwide, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3.

Folio3 Magento-Dynamics AX Integration Solution (F3MAX) seamlessly integrates any edition of Magento (Community or Enterprise) with Dynamics AX 2012 using a highly secure and scalable Middleware. It enables organizations to,

● Avoid manual data entry, ● Introduce efficient processes, ● Achieve productivity gains,● Control and insight to multiple systems

Dynamics AX 2012 R3

Microsoft Dynamics AX (formerly known as Microsoft Business Solutions - Axapta) is a cutting edge, multi-language, multi-currency Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution. Dynamics AX flexibly supports multi-site operations spanning different countries and regions, providing powerful intercompany processing automation as well as region specific statutory regulatory reporting to comply with local regulations and tax requirements. Microsoft Dynamics AX is the ideal business solution for midsize to enterprise scale organizations.


Magento

One of the most recognized names in the crowded shopping cart scene, Magento allows you to launch and manage an eCommerce business. The company offers two main products: Magento’s Community Edition (CE) is a hosted, open source version of the cart that is free to download, and Magento’s Enterprise Edition is a solution for large-scale retailers. This review will focus on Magento CE, but if you’re sure that the Enterprise version is a better fit for your company, Magento offers a lot of hands-on help to get you started.

Magento has been used by more than 150,000 merchants since its inception more than five years ago, including household names like Toms Shoes and Oneida. Dubbed “an open global ecosystem,” Magento CE has earned a reputation for offering a ton of features and being totally customizable. But you should know upfront that although the software is free, it is intended for the highly tech-literate or the mid to large-scale eCommerce merchant who is able to hire a professional to develop an online store. In fact, if you’re a small retailer and have limited coding knowledge and no allotted budget to bring on a developer, Magento endorses Bigcommerce as an alternative.


Folio3 Magento-Dynamics AX Integration Solution

System Architecture

Middleware Server

F3MAX maintains a cluster of Middleware Servers which serve as a connectivity hub between the Magento and Dynamics AX instances. Following are the key benefits of using Middleware Server,

● Maintains separation of Magento and Dynamics AX layers. The organization has the power to change connectivity information using a Customer Portal

● Customer portal also gives access to renew license, view logs and usage reports● Contains a powerful Job Scheduler responsible for EDI operations across

Microsoft Dynamics AX and Magento systems.


Solution Architecture

Magento Layer

This layer is basically a Magento Extension, which provides a seamless way to configure settings related to restrictions on data sync. Magento Commerce is the front end for any customer and handles all the,

● New Customer Registrations● Order Placement● Customer Profile Updates etc.

The ongoing Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) operation can be brought to a halt anytime from the settings interface.

Middleware Component

Middleware hosts the Customer Portal for license renewals, transaction logs and usage reports.

The Job Scheduler manages a pool of concurrent jobs which periodically pull and push data from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and Magento commerce. It maintains its own queues to store incoming data requests and submit them asynchronously using Web Service clients.

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

This layer is based on customizations to Dynamics AX 2012 for creating services, X++ classes required for EDI. It utilizes AIF (Application Integration Framework) for EDI to


utilize AOS Services for data persistence to Data & Model Store. Any Product and Inventory updates are fetched and pushed to Magento.

F3MAX Highlights

Easy Setup & Configuration

F3MAX is extremely quick to setup and configure. It comes with,1. Magento Extension2. Dynamics AX Customization

To configure and start using in minutes, you just need to,1. Enable Magento services for internet access.2. Enable Dynamics AX AIF services for internet access.3. Configure your Organization Account through the Customer Portal.

And you’re good to go.

Super-Fast PerformanceOur Middleware is hosted on high-end server instance on the cloud. This boosts performance of the overall system, though it still largely depends on the Magento and Dynamics AX system performance.

Enhanced ScalabilityThe Middleware is capable of scaling out as the load increases. Thus enabling multiple systems to connect to each other and open parallel channels for communication.

Improved SecurityData saved on the Middleware is highly secure with encryption. We recommend using SSL to secure data communication between Magento and Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

High AvailabilityWe guarantee 99% uptime for Middleware which increases the availability of the overall system. All the usage reports can also be viewed through the customer portal.
