Setup Guide
This guide shows how to connect your Business Central to an Azure SQL Database.
The setup enables finance teams to access your data for reporting and decision-making, while IT maintains confidence in security, performance, and governance.
All data is extracted without disrupting daily operations and follows standard Azure best practices.
In just three easy steps, this guide gives you the opportunity to choose which data you want to work with in your Azure SQL database.
All you need is a Business Central environment and an Azure subscription in a tenant where you have administrative privileges.
Extract and Query Business Central Data in Azure SQL Database
Setup and use
Start by running the Data Warehouse Connector – Assisted Setup guide.
Step 1: Setup App Registration
Begin by creating an App Registration in your Azure subscription.
This is required to securely authenticate Business Central with Azure SQL.
You only need to configure:
- A recognizable name
- A Client Secret
No additional permissions or settings are required at this stage.
Step 2: Set up Azure SQL Database
Create a new Azure SQL Server and database, or use an existing one.
Performance & stability considerations
For optimal performance, choose the same Azure region as your Business Central environment.
Select a Production workload environment if you plan to process more than test volumes. Development workload tiers are not designed for sustained or high-volume data load. As a rule of thumb, Development tiers should not be used for more than a few hundred thousand records per day.
Network access
Choose a Public endpoint and enable: “Allow Azure services and resources to access this server” If you prefer not to allow all Azure services, you must explicitly whitelist the IP addresses used by the Data Warehouse Connector. This currently requires adding approximately 20 IP addresses.
To obtain the latest list of IP addresses, contact:
Authentication
Set up an SQL Server authentication login and password that will be used by the connector.
Once the server and database deployment is complete:
- Go to the SQL Server’s Identity tab
- Enable System-assigned managed identity
This allows secure, identity-based access within Azure.
Step 3: Set up Storage Account and Container
The storage account is used as a secure and scalable staging area for data extracted from Business Central before it is made available in Azure SQL.
Location and performance
When creating the storage account, choose the same Azure region as your Business Central environment and Azure SQL Database to ensure optimal performance and minimize latency.
Storage configuration
You can use a Standard tier (LRS) storage account with the following settings:
- Enable Hierarchical namespace
- Set Access tier to Hot
- Disable Soft delete and other optional features under Data protection
These settings provide a good balance between performance, cost efficiency, and operational stability.
Access control
After the storage account has been created, configure access permissions:
- Go to the storage account’s Access Control tab
- Add a role assignment with Storage Blob Data Contributor to the Service Principal of the App Registration created in Step 1.
- Add a role assignment with Storage Blob Data Contributor to the System-assigned Managed Identity of the Azure SQL Server created in Step 2.
This ensures that both the connector and the SQL environment have necessary, but limited, access to storage resources.
Finish setup
When completing the setup, the app will validate all configured connections.
To allow the solution to operate correctly, you must permit the app to make requests to external services.
When prompted, select “Allow always.”
This enables continuous and automated data synchronization without manual intervention.
Supported versions
The BI Databridge – Data Warehouse Connector App supports both the Essential and Premium editions of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
Supported countries
The app is available in all countries.
Supported languages
English.