Unlocking the Power of Business Central Telemetry After Deployment
Business Central telemetry is very important for improving your business after it is set up. By using telemetry data, you can see real-time information. This helps you make quick and smart choices. Watching things closely helps you find problems early. This way, you can manage them before they get worse. Here are some main benefits of using Business Central telemetry:
Telemetry dashboards give useful information for making decisions.
You can see how users interact during important times to find out what causes problems.
Information from telemetry can show new ways to make things work better and improve system performance.
By using these insights well, you can use resources better and cut down on extra costs. This leads to better efficiency and helps with long-term planning.
Key Takeaways
Business Central telemetry gives you real-time data. This helps you make smart choices and find problems early.
Setting up telemetry needs careful steps. You must configure Azure Application Insights to collect important data well.
Automating telemetry setup can save time. It also reduces mistakes, making it easier to check system performance.
Using Azure Data Explorer lets you quickly analyze telemetry data. This helps you find insights that lead to better business choices.
Managing telemetry costs is very important. Focus on collecting only necessary data. Also, think about low-cost storage options to save money.
Configuring Business Central Telemetry
Initial Setup Steps
To set up business central telemetry, you need to follow some important steps. These steps help your telemetry system work well. They give you useful information about how your business runs. Here’s a simple list of the first setup steps:
By doing these steps, you can create a strong telemetry system that collects important data about your dynamics 365 business central environment.
Tip: Make sure to think about data privacy during the setup. Rules like GDPR and CCPA require you to handle sensitive information carefully.
Automation Techniques
Automating the setup of business central telemetry can save time and lower mistakes. Here are some good automation techniques to make the process easier:
Choose an Azure subscription.
Make a Resource Group.
Create a Log Analytics workspace.
Set up an Azure Application Insights instance in that workspace.
Get the Application Insights connection string.
Set the data retention on the Application Insights instance.
Set the daily limit on the Application Insights instance.
Connect to Dynamics 365 Business Central using Admin Center APIs.
Set the connection string to the Dynamics 365 Business Central environment.
By using these automation techniques, you can make it easier to set up telemetry in your business central tenant. This method not only improves efficiency but also helps you keep track of and analyze your system's performance.
Connecting your telemetry to azure application insights greatly improves how you collect and analyze data. This connection brings together application, infrastructure, and platform logs in one place. It also allows for common Azure role-based access control across resources, making it simpler for you to manage access and permissions.
Note: Be aware of common problems during the initial setup. Issues like data volume, delays, and data quality can affect how well your telemetry works. Tackle these problems early to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Using Azure Data Explorer for Insights
Azure Data Explorer (ADX) is a strong tool for looking at business central telemetry data. It helps you check large amounts of data quickly and easily. By using ADX, you can find important insights that help you make better decisions.
KQL Basics
Kusto Query Language (KQL) is the main part of Azure Data Explorer. It helps you ask questions about structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data well. Here are some key ideas about KQL that you should know:
KQL is easy to read and write, making it simple to create queries.
It allows advanced data analysis with functions for grouping, sorting, and the JOIN operator.
You can use grouping functions to summarize data, sort data for trends, and use the JOIN operator to combine different data streams.
KQL is great at working with large datasets, letting you do fast, interactive analysis. This is especially helpful when you want to find performance problems in your dynamics 365 business central telemetry data. For example, you can turn on extra logging to check SQL queries, focusing on long-running queries to find issues.
Real-Time Dashboards
Making real-time dashboards in Azure Data Explorer improves your monitoring and analyzing skills. These dashboards help you see telemetry data from Business Central clearly. Here are some features that help you create useful dashboards:
With these features, you can see customer signals and watch their activity in real time. This ability helps you track performance and respond quickly to any problems or trends that come up.
Managing Costs of Telemetry
Managing costs well is very important when using business central telemetry. You want to get the most value from your telemetry tools while keeping expenses low. Here are some budgeting tips to think about:
Standardize telemetry ingestion: Make a clear way to collect telemetry data. This helps make things easier and cuts costs.
Build a telemetry pipeline: Create a system that processes and sends telemetry data efficiently. This can help you control data flow and lower costs.
Leverage centralized management: Use one main platform to handle your telemetry data. This can make operations simpler and save money.
Filter and reduce telemetry data: Only collect the most important data. This can greatly lower storage needs and costs.
Reroute to low-cost storage: Think about sending less important data to cheaper storage options. This can help you save money while keeping key information.
By using these tips, you can manage your telemetry budget well and make sure you get the best from your dynamics 365 business central setup.
Long-Term Storage Options
For long-term storage of telemetry data, there are many cost-effective choices. Here are some options to think about:
Utilize telemetry pipelines: These pipelines let you filter or sample data before sending it to expensive storage. This can help lower overall costs.
Affordable storage options: Look into using services like AWS S3 for complete datasets. You can access this data later for compliance or investigations.
Azure Synapse Link: This tool connects directly to Azure Data Lake. It allows near real-time data copying without complex ETL processes, making it a smart choice.
OneLake: This option gives a unified data lake experience. It lets you store and analyze data from different sources without duplication, improving efficiency.
Optimize data with telemetry pipelines: These pipelines can reduce, filter, sample, change, and combine data. This can cut data volume by up to 70%.
Choosing the right storage solution affects how easily you can access and secure your telemetry data over time. Traditional SIEM solutions often have problems like vendor lock-in and high costs. On the other hand, data lakes offer a more flexible and affordable way. They improve access and integration with other business data. Separating data collection from storage and analysis is key for better security and efficiency.
By carefully managing your telemetry costs and picking the right storage options, you can keep your business central telemetry effective and efficient over time.
Best Practices for Data Analysis
Interpreting Telemetry Data
To get the best from your telemetry data, you should check it often. Make a plan to look at system performance and user activities. This helps you know about any problems that might come up. Create custom dashboards to show important numbers and trends. These dashboards help you see patterns and unusual things in your data quickly.
Set up alerts and automation to act fast on big issues. For example, you can set alerts in Azure Application Insights. Here’s how:
Go to your Application Insights resource in the Azure portal.
Click on Alerts in the left menu.
Add a condition query for alerts using Kusto Query Language (KQL) for custom log searches.
By doing these steps, you can stay ahead of possible problems.
Leveraging Insights for Growth
Using telemetry insights well can help your business grow a lot. Start by tracking key metrics with Power BI. This tool helps you see all your data in one place, making teamwork better. You can also use strategies to manage and lower telemetry costs.
Think about filtering out data from sources that have too much information. Focus on cutting down data from web service calls and background sessions. This helps you pay attention to important insights, which leads to better choices. Also, change metrics in Power BI to match your business goals. This helps everyone in your organization stay accountable and aware.
Adding telemetry data into Per Tenant Extensions (PTEs) can improve your custom business solutions. You can make custom telemetry events to track specific features and user actions. Use the Session.LogMessage method to send telemetry data with different details. Write down your custom telemetry definitions to prevent issues. Analyzing this data with tools like Azure Data Explorer can give you deeper insights into how you operate.
By following these best practices, you can unlock the full power of your Business Central telemetry data, leading to better performance and growth.
In conclusion, you should keep checking telemetry to improve your business. By looking at data from Business Central, you can change your plans as needed. Think about these strategies:
By using these insights, you can help your dynamics environment grow and work better.
FAQ
What is application insights telemetry?
Application insights telemetry helps you watch how well your application works. It gathers data about how users interact and how the system is doing. This information helps you make smart choices and improve your application.
How can I automate the deployment of telemetry configuration?
You can automate the deployment by using Azure DevOps or PowerShell scripts. These tools make the setup process easier, ensuring that your telemetry configuration deployment is quick and consistent.
What is the recommended data retention period for telemetry data?
The recommended data retention period for telemetry data depends on what you need. Usually, keeping data for 30 to 90 days is common. This time lets you look at trends without spending too much on storage.
How does Azure Application Insights enhance telemetry monitoring?
Azure Application Insights improves telemetry monitoring by giving real-time analytics and dashboards. It combines data from different sources, making it easier for you to track how your application performs and how users behave.
Why is telemetry configuration deployment important?
Telemetry configuration deployment is important because it makes sure your application collects the right data. Good configuration helps you get useful insights, leading to better decisions and improved efficiency.