Problem Statement: The Fragile Spaghetti of Direct Integrations
As organisations scale, so do their systems—ERP, CRM, legacy apps, modern SaaS platforms, and mobile front ends. Initially, developers often build point-to-point integrations between Power Platform and external systems using:Power Automate flows with direct SQL/API callsScheduled synchronisationsCustom connectors per appResult?Tightly coupled systemsHigh latency in large data setsError-prone retry mechanismsLack of centralized monitoring, auditability, or retry orchestrationThis architecture fails to scale — especially in large enterprises with asynchronous workflows, variable payloads, and spike-driven workloads.
🎯 Solution Goals
✅ Build resilient, loosely coupled, and scalable integration between Power Platform and enterprise systems.
✅ Use Azure Service Bus to decouple producers (Power Platform apps) from consumers (external apps, APIs, legacy systems).
✅ Ensure real-time or near real-time processing with robust retry, dead-lettering, and auditing.
✅ Design for future extensibility — multiple consumers and parallel processing.
✅ Govern the solution using standard patterns, monitoring, and policy enforcement.
🧩 Solution Overview
We will use a Publisher–Subscriber pattern with Azure Service Bus Topics to implement scalable integration. Power Platform (via Power Automate or plugins) publishes messages to Service Bus, while external systems subscribe and process messages independently.
🏢 Real-World Use Case
Organization: A global e-commerce company
Scenario:
When a customer order is created in the Power App (Dataverse), downstream systems must:Trigger fulfillment in SAPSend SMS via TwilioNotify warehouse inventory system (custom API)Log data to Azure Data LakeThese systems are owned by different departments, updated asynchronously, and may fail intermittently.
🔧 Key Components
| Component |
| Dataverse |
| Power Automate (or Plugin) |
| Azure Service Bus (Topic + Subscriptions) |
| Subscriber Logic Apps / Azure Functions |
| Application Insights |
| Azure Key Vault |
| Power BI Dashboard |
| Description |
| Captures order data via Power App |
| Sends message to Azure Service Bus Topic |
| Acts as message broker and dispatcher |
| Consume messages and update external systems |
| Monitoring, logging, alerts |
| Securely store credentials for API connections |
| Monitor success/failure rates, latency, retry counts |
⚙️ Technical Architecture
📈 Result / Benefits
| Outcome | Benefit |
|---|---|
| ✅ Decoupled Systems | Each system can evolve independently |
| ✅ Scalable Design | Handles peak load with auto-scale Logic Apps |
| ✅ Retry Logic | Built-in in Service Bus / Logic Apps |
| ✅ Reusability | Additional consumers can subscribe easily |
| ✅ Secure | Follows identity separation and RBAC model |
| ✅ Observability | Track every message, success/failure in App Insights |
🧠 Technical Insight
Power Automate Premium connector supports Service Bus, or use Azure Function via HTTP to send.
Use correlation ID to track messages from source to destination.
All messages use structured JSON schema with metadata.json{ "orderId": "12345", "customerId": "789", "amount": 1500, "source": "Dataverse", "timestamp": "2025-06-14T10:00:00Z" }
Dead Letter Handling: Use a Logic App triggered by DLQ to alert teams.
Use message filters on Topic Subscriptions for routing.
🔐 Governance Insight
Establish naming conventions for topics, subscriptions, and message contracts.
Create a Message Contract Registry — a shared library of schemas and message formats.
Use role-based access (RBAC) for queue access and key vault credentials.
✅ Governance Tip
Always separate publisher and subscriber authentication.
Let Power Platform use a service principal A, and each subscriber use its own app registration (B, C, D…). This prevents unintended cross-app access and improves auditing.
🔚 Final Thought
Integration at scale isn’t just about connecting systems — it’s about architecting communication. Azure Service Bus empowers Power Platform to participate in enterprise-grade messaging patterns without being tightly bound to the underlying systems.Whether you’re integrating legacy ERP, third-party APIs, or cloud-native services, this scalable, secure pattern future-proofs your architecture — and gives your solution the agility it needs to thrive.
About the Author
Shrikant Sharma (PMP,CSM)
hrikant Sharma is a Principal Lead and Solution Architect with over 13 years of industry experience, specializing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM and the Power Platform. He has led complex digital transformation projects across diverse domains, focusing on scalable architecture, enterprise integrations, and cloud strategy. A passionate mentor and active community contributor, Shrikant shares insights through speaking engagements, technical blogs, and hands-on mentorship to empower the next generation of tech leaders.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrikant-sharma-pmp-csm-61778320/
Blog: https://crmtechscope.blogspot.com/
Reference:
Sharma, S (2025). Designing Scalable Integration Patterns Using Power Platform & Azure Service Bus. Available at: TechScope: 🔗 Designing Scalable Integration Patterns Using Power Platform & Azure Service Bus [Accessed: 3rd July 2025].
