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Current as of 5 October 2026: Microsoft dates and licensing change, so check the Microsoft references below before you act.
The short answer: Microsoft will permanently stop Export to Data Lake on 30 November 2026, and it will not grant extensions. After that date, it no longer exports new and changed D365 data. If you already run Microsoft Fabric, Link to Microsoft Fabric is the sensible default. If you need your D365 data in your own storage or feeding non-Microsoft tools, choose Azure Synapse Link. Whichever link you pick, it lands raw data, not reconciled numbers.
Microsoft retired Export to Data Lake for Finance and Operations on 1 November 2024. Its transition FAQ, updated on 31 August 2026, now sets the hard stop: the service stops permanently on 30 November 2026, and Microsoft won't grant extensions after that. From then on, no new or changed data comes through it. If your reporting still reads from that lake, it stops updating. Microsoft's successor guidance points to Synapse Link for Dataverse, which now includes F&O data, and, for Fabric customers, to Link to Microsoft Fabric. BYOD for F&O carries on for now, with no announced retirement date, but Microsoft recommends moving to Synapse Link or Fabric Link.
So the question is no longer whether to move, or when. It is which of the two supported paths fits how your organisation actually works, chosen early enough to run old and new side by side and confirm the numbers match. We cover the wider transition in the end of Export to Data Lake and the practical steps in migrating off Export to Data Lake. Microsoft's own transition FAQ is worth reading alongside this.
Link to Microsoft Fabric is a no-copy, no-ETL link. It surfaces your Dataverse tables, and F&O tables when linked, into OneLake as Delta Parquet through shortcuts. The data stays managed in Dataverse; nothing is exported to storage you own. It needs Power BI Premium or Fabric capacity in the same region, and that capacity is not included with Dataverse. It also consumes additional Dataverse storage. See the Microsoft documentation.
Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse continuously exports your data, including F&O data, to your own ADLS Gen2 storage or Synapse. You own the storage, the compute and the pipelines. It sends incremental change data, works with non-Microsoft tools, and is current and supported.
| Link to Microsoft Fabric | Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | No-copy, no-ETL link surfacing data into OneLake as Delta Parquet via shortcuts | Continuous export of incremental change data to storage you own |
| Data scope | All non-system Dataverse tables, plus F&O tables when linked. Business Central does not flow this way. | Dataverse data, with the F&O data option generally available |
| Latency | Low-latency sync reached general availability (announced 9 June 2026, rolled out over July 2026), writing direct to Delta Parquet at 1M+ records per hour per table for F&O | Incremental change-data (CDC) export; both paths work on delta data, not repeated full dumps |
| Cost and licensing | Requires Power BI Premium or Fabric capacity in the same region, not included with Dataverse. Also consumes additional Dataverse storage. Low-latency sync switches on automatically with no separate opt-in, but existing Fabric Link profiles must be unlinked and relinked to use it, which triggers a full resync. | You pay for your own Azure storage and compute, including Spark for Delta conversion |
| Storage | Data stays managed in Dataverse; no export to your own storage | Your own ADLS Gen2 and/or Synapse; you own it |
| Maturity | Generally available and actively invested in | Current and supported, not deprecated |
| Best fit | You already run Fabric and want the lowest operational overhead | You need data in your own storage or feeding non-Microsoft tools |
One known limit worth flagging on Fabric Link: environments with more than 2,000 tables with change tracking enabled can't enable Fabric Link. Check this before you assume it will simply switch on. See Microsoft's Fabric Link troubleshooting guide.
Three questions settle it for most finance and IT teams:
When you set either one up, the screen in Power Apps formerly called Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse is now called Link data. Fabric Link shows there as the recommended path, and Synapse Link sits under Other Links, still fully supported.
A note for Business Central teams: BC data does not flow through the Dataverse Fabric Link. BC2Fab, a partner workload from Navida using Fabric Open Mirroring, is generally available. Microsoft has also announced its own Business Central mirroring to Fabric, expected with 2026 release wave 2. For the wider comparison, see Data Lake vs Synapse Link.
Here is the point most vendor pages skip. Both links land raw, transformed tables. They are a landing zone, not a finance-grade model. That distinction is the difference between data that arrives and numbers your CFO will sign off.
Microsoft documents exactly how Synapse Link reshapes F&O data. SQL reserved words are renamed, so Level becomes Level_ and Resource becomes Resource_. F&O ID fields become FnO_Id. Deleted rows are retained and flagged with isDelete rather than removed. Long text in nVarChar(max) fields is truncated at 2,000 characters. Fabric Link likewise lands raw, transformed tables without business logic. None of this is a fault in either link; it is simply what a landing zone looks like. What you do not get is guaranteed business logic, reconciliation, or a model finance can trust without further work.
That is why a downstream warehouse still earns its place. It is where the numbers get modelled, reconciled and validated, turning arriving data into figures the business can defend in a board meeting. You can build that from scratch, or you can shorten the last mile. Reveal, our pre-built self-reconciling data foundation, takes either link and turns it into trusted, report-ready data without a bespoke build from the ground up. The link handles delivery. Reveal handles trust.
No. Microsoft retired Export to Data Lake on 1 November 2024 and will permanently stop it on 30 November 2026. After that date it no longer exports new and changed data, and Microsoft won't grant extensions. Move to Link to Microsoft Fabric or Azure Synapse Link before then. BYOD has no announced retirement date, but Microsoft recommends the same move.
It needs Power BI Premium or Fabric capacity in the same region, and that capacity is not included with Dataverse. Fabric Link also consumes additional Dataverse storage. Low-latency sync switches on automatically with no separate opt-in, but existing Fabric Link profiles must be unlinked and relinked to use it, which triggers a full resync.
No. Synapse Link is current and supported. In the Power Apps Link data screen it now sits under Other Links, with Fabric Link shown as the recommended path for Fabric customers, but it remains Microsoft's recommended path when you need data in your own storage or feeding non-Microsoft tools. Neither link is in maintenance or deprecated.
Low-latency sync reached general availability, announced on 9 June 2026 and rolled out over July 2026, writing direct to Delta Parquet at 1M+ records per hour per table for F&O. It switches on automatically with no separate opt-in. Existing Fabric Link profiles must be unlinked and relinked to use it, which triggers a full resync, so plan that window.
No. Synapse Link with F&O data lands raw, transformed tables with renamed fields, truncated long text and isDelete flags. Fabric Link likewise lands raw tables without business logic. That is a landing zone. Reconciled, finance-grade numbers come from a downstream warehouse or a pre-built foundation such as Reveal.
If you are weighing up Fabric Link and Synapse Link, or you have already picked one and now need the numbers finance will actually trust, we can help you get from a working link to reported, reconciled data. See how Reveal shortens the last mile, or talk to our team about your D365 environment.