High data quality is the backbone of any successful ERP system. When you’re using a Dynamics 365 ERP, maintaining clean, consistent, and reliable data isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential.
Without high-quality data, even the most powerful ERP features can fall flat. Poor data can lead to inaccurate reports, integration failures, faulty analytics, and a general lack of trust in your system’s outputs. That’s why it’s so important to treat data quality and governance as ongoing priorities, especially when integrating multiple systems.
In this article, we’ll walk through how you can establish and maintain strong data quality and governance practices through your Dynamics 365 ERP integrations.
What Is Data Governance (and Why It Matters)
Let’s start with the basics. Data governance refers to the rules, policies, and procedures that help you manage your data properly. It ensures that your data is accurate, secure, accessible, and used in a consistent way across the organization. Without a solid governance plan, data can become messy, inconsistent, and unreliable.
For Dynamics 365 users, building a data governance framework includes:
- Defining ownership of data. Assign individuals or roles to “own” key data domains like customers, products, vendors, or financial data. This makes someone accountable for data quality.
- Establishing a governance committee. A small group of stakeholders can oversee data decisions, enforce policies, and provide a central point of coordination.
- Creating clear policies. Everyone should know what’s expected when entering, changing, or integrating data, including naming conventions, required fields, and version control.
Microsoft’s best practices stress the importance of governing the full data lifecycle—from creation to archiving—while ensuring availability, usability, integrity, and security at every step.
Speak the Same Language Across Systems
Many organizations use more than one system to run their business. You might have a CRM for sales, an e-commerce platform for online orders, and your ERP for finance and operations. When these systems integrate, they must “speak the same language.”
This is where consistent data definitions and Master Data Management (MDM) come in. MDM helps ensure that each type of core data—like customers, products, or orders—has one clear, trusted source of truth.
Let’s look at a few examples:
- If Dynamics 365 ERP is the master for product data, then every connected system should align its product details with the ERP’s definitions. That includes item numbers, descriptions, units of measure, and pricing.
- If your CRM is the master for customer data, then the ERP should receive updates from that source, keeping customer names, addresses, and contact details in sync.
When systems define the same things differently, you risk confusion and conflicting reports. A “customer” in the CRM might mean something different than a “customer” in the ERP. Clear governance ensures everyone uses the same definitions, eliminating silos and improving collaboration.
Put Controls in Place to Keep Data Clean in Dynamics 365
Even with good policies in place, dirty data can sneak into your systems. That’s why validation and quality checks are so important—both inside Dynamics 365 and throughout the integration process.
Here’s how to help prevent bad data from entering your system:
- Leverage business rules in Dynamics 365. These rules can make certain fields required, limit allowable values, or trigger alerts if something looks off. For example, you could prevent a record from being saved if the email format is invalid.
- Use validation in your integration tools. Whether you’re using KingswaySoft’s SSIS Integration Toolkit, Azure Data Factory, or the Data Management Framework, you can configure checks to stop dirty data before it gets imported.
- Track and report on data errors. Set up your integration process to log rejected records and flag common issues. Use that data to identify root causes and prevent future problems.
Microsoft recommends making data quality measurement part of your regular routine. Keep track of how often data is rejected, why it was rejected, and how those issues are resolved. Over time, this helps your team continuously improve.
Monitor Data Quality Over Time
Data quality isn’t something you can set once and forget. Like any critical asset, it needs ongoing care and attention. That’s why it’s essential to build regular monitoring into your operations.
Here are some ways to stay on top of data quality:
- Schedule monthly audits. These reviews can help you identify duplicate records, missing data, or inconsistencies across systems.
- Assign dedicated data stewards. These individuals are responsible for reviewing data quality reports, resolving issues, and enforcing data policies across departments.
- Use Dynamics 365’s duplicate detection jobs. These tools can flag and merge duplicate entries automatically or send alerts to data stewards.
- Promote a culture of data ownership. Leadership support is key. When data quality is viewed as a shared responsibility, everyone becomes more careful and consistent in how they handle data.
You might also consider using third-party data cleansing tools or services to standardize addresses, validate contact information, or deduplicate large datasets. High-quality data pays off in better reports, smoother operations, and more confident decision-making.
Final Thoughts: Better Data Means Better Business
Microsoft’s “Success by Design” framework emphasizes that strong data governance and quality controls are essential to the success of any Dynamics 365 ERP project. This is especially true during integrations, where data flows between multiple systems.
When data is clean, consistent, and trustworthy, your entire organization can rely on it. Finance gets accurate reports. Sales and marketing get better insights. Operations run more smoothly. Most importantly, your team saves time, avoids rework, and delivers better results.
The key takeaway? Don’t treat data quality as an afterthought. Build it into your processes from day one. Assign roles, define rules, validate inputs, and monitor results. With a little structure and ongoing attention, your ERP data can become one of your organization’s most valuable assets.
At KingswaySoft, our tools—such as the SSIS Integration Toolkit for Microsoft Dynamics 365—are purpose-built to support the kind of data quality and governance practices outlined in this article. With robust ETL capabilities, advanced validation controls, and flexible error-handling features, we make it easier to implement your data policies and maintain a clean, reliable ERP environment.
If you’re starting a new integration—or just trying to clean things up—start with your data. Are you ready to take the next step?
Contact us at KingswaySoft.We’re here to help you get the most out of your Dynamics 365 CRM and ERP investment.
By KingswaySoft | www.kingswaysoft.com
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