Exporting D365 F&O Data Directly to Azure Data Lake Gen2 Without Dataverse. Questions on Current Approach, Format & Folder Structure

Hello Hafiz Hassan Mahmood Raja

Thank you for the question!

I understand that you're looking to export data from Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (F&O) directly to Azure Data Lake Gen2, specifically bypassing Dataverse as an intermediary,

1.Direct Export Without Dataverse?

Unfortunately, you cannot export D365 F&O data directly to Azure Data Lake Gen2 anymore without going through Dataverse. Because Microsoft now requires D365 Finance and Operations data to flow through Dataverse when using Azure Synapse Link Microsoft LearnMicrosoft Learn.

However, this doesn't mean you need to actively manage or interact with Dataverse - it acts as an intermediary layer that Microsoft manages for you. You can choose finance and operations app tables directly in Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse Microsoft LearnMicrosoft Learn, even though technically the data flows through Dataverse first.

2.Data Formats (Parquet vs CSV)?

Based on the current documentation, the standard Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse typically exports data in Delta format (which is based on Parquet) rather than CSV. This is actually better than CSV for analytics workloads. Azure Synapse Link stores data in Delta Lake format by default so Delta format provides better performance, ACID transactions, and schema evolution Please be informed that You cannot typically choose different formats for specific tables within the same Synapse Link setup The old "Export to Data Lake" used CSV with model. Json, but the new methods use more efficient formats.

3. Folder Structure Customization?

The folder structure in Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse is largely predefined by Microsoft and follows industry-standard patterns for analytics workloads. The typical structure includes:

• Partitioning by date (Year/Month/Day)
• Table-specific folders
• Delta format files with transaction logs

However, you can Set up Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse with your existing Azure Data Lake Gen2 storage account Configure F&O table selection - even though it goes through Dataverse, you can directly select your F&O tables Accept the Delta format - it's superior to CSV for analytics Use Azure Synapse Analytics to create custom views if you need different folder structures or data transformations.

Let me know if you have any question or concerns.

@Nandamuri Pranay Teja Thank you for your reply

Based on your explanation, I understand that the latest approach to exporting F&O tables to Azure Data Lake involves using Azure Synapse Link through Power Platform, and that Dataverse is now a prerequisite in this architecture.

Could you please clarify the following points:

• Is there any official Microsoft documentation that explicitly states Dataverse is now a required intermediary when exporting F&O data using Azure Synapse Link?
• Does Microsoft mention whether this Dataverse configuration incurs any additional cost, or is it included as part of the F&O environment licensing when used solely for Synapse Link?
• I would also like to confirm whether there are separate costs for Dataverse and Azure Data Lake when syncing Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (F&O) tables, even if Dataverse is only used as an internal intermediary layer and not directly accessed or customized.