Web services allow companies like yours to programmatically facilitate application-to-application (A2A) communication and interaction. This means if you have an ERP or CRM system, such as the ones included in the Microsoft Dynamics suite, you can push and pull data between these applications that are so important to your business. This type of service is extremely valuable for companies that need data to be bi-directionally integrated between two, or even several different applications including their website, marketplace, custom Distributor portal or ecommerce store. The Application integration Framework (AIF) The Microsoft Application integration Framework, otherwise known as AIF, is your support for bringing in web services that are exposed to trading partners. This allows for inbound web services, which are synchronous (meaning they won't depend on a queue and processing service to move data or are real-time communications). On the other hand, outbound web services are asynchronous and do rely on a queue (such as Clarity Connect) where they wait on a batch processing service. Benefits of Using Web services Using web services in the context of a Microsoft Dynamics GP integration can be very powerful for your business's application framework. Some of the main benefits of this include: Strong Industry Standards Around ASP.NET - For seamless integrations into other applications, the GP web services is based on the powerful ASP.NET framework. Development Agnostic - Although the GP web service is built on ASP.NET, any development tool or programming language can be used to connect to your ERP system via the web service. Independent from Future Changes - Because of how the web service is built, the database or applications around the service can change without ever having to touch or change the web service again, as well as provide access to custom entity data or data that is not exposed via the traditionally used eConnect product. Security - The web service provides an additional layer of security in order to protect confidential information from users that aren't supposed to see it. Work With World Class Developers & Support, Get Started Today! Most, if not all of Clarity's success can be attributed to the level of talent that we bring on year in and year out. When you work with Clarity to improve your company's web systems, you can feel rest assured that you are in the hands of industry experts and some of the most capable individuals in the industry. Of the hundreds of applications that we've integrated, Dynamics suite of products is so common, that it's the one platform that we went and got certified on. So whether you're a GP, CRM, AX, or other shop, Clarity has extensive experience customizing and integrating your platform. For more information, visit the Dynamics GP ecommerce integration Resource Center.