ADF suitable as interface replacement?

[PPDynMGR]

Hi, I'd really like to get some opinions here.

ADF is mainly mentioned for data movement for analytical purposes.

Would ADF be suitable as replacement for a classical interface (via API custom development/KingswaySoft/other interface technology) when it comes to integrating operational data between an ERP and two Dataverses?
ERP<=>Dataverse1

ERP<=>Dataverse2

Dataverse1<=>Dataverse2

If we would go with Dataflows, what would be the downsides?
Synchronicity? Azure costs? Flexibility?

How many of you have done something like this and (how) have you been able to handle the synchronicity / data consistency?
Or would generally not recommend it for this purpose?

[v-sdhruv · Accepted solution]

Hi @PPDynMGR ,

Azure Data Factory is good for data pipelines, especially for batch ETL processes. However, when it comes to operational, near-real-time, bidirectional syncs that APIs :

• ADF supports limited event-driven or low-latency integration unless paired with services like Azure Functions.

• It’s primarily batch-oriented—great for overnight or periodic loads, but less ideal for real-time sync requirements between your ERP and Dataverse environments.

Comparing it to data flows-
Power Platform Dataflows are even more suited to analytical or read-only data ingestion:

• They don’t natively support incremental or real-time updates as robustly as ADF or a proper integration framework.

•  Costs can escalate if you scale out with multiple refreshes, complex transformations, or premium connectors.

•  Limited transformation and orchestration options compared to ADF or custom-built API integrations.

For more details about licenses you can visit -

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-query/dataflows/what-licenses-do-you-need-in-order-to-use-da...

Hope this helps!

[miguel · Accepted solution]

Given that we're in the Fabric Data Factory forum, we would highly encourage you to try it over Azure Data Factory.

For questions specific to Azure Data Factory, we encourage you to create that topic / question in the community forum for Azure Data Factory:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/category/azuredatabases/discussions/azuredatafactory

[v-sdhruv · Accepted solution]

Hi @PPDynMGR ,

Azure Data Factory is good for data pipelines, especially for batch ETL processes. However, when it comes to operational, near-real-time, bidirectional syncs that APIs :

• ADF supports limited event-driven or low-latency integration unless paired with services like Azure Functions.

• It’s primarily batch-oriented—great for overnight or periodic loads, but less ideal for real-time sync requirements between your ERP and Dataverse environments.

Comparing it to data flows-
Power Platform Dataflows are even more suited to analytical or read-only data ingestion:

• They don’t natively support incremental or real-time updates as robustly as ADF or a proper integration framework.

•  Costs can escalate if you scale out with multiple refreshes, complex transformations, or premium connectors.

•  Limited transformation and orchestration options compared to ADF or custom-built API integrations.

For more details about licenses you can visit -

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-query/dataflows/what-licenses-do-you-need-in-order-to-use-da...

Hope this helps!