Business Connectivity Data Services in O365
Hello I was asked about the possibility of adding an Azure SQL table to a SharePoint Online site; I see tutorials saying its possible but I'm currently stuck on trying to trying the create in SharePoint Designer 2013 with the error message below. I have access to the admin and can get to the BCS service pages. I also added myself to the services permissions but no change. Is BCS and External Content types still available in SharePoint Online or have they been deprecated in some of the Content Type changes made recently? I saw this post with someone with the same error but they don't really mention if its gone or not https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/sharepoint-developer/the-business-data-connectivity-metadata-store-is-currently/m-p/780648Connection SharePoint List/DocLib to (Azure) SQL data
I'm not a SharePoint dev, but have some experience with SharePoint lists and also SQL. However not in combination. While researching this, I notice "Business Connectivity Services" seems to be the answer. However it seems BCS isn't really actively worked on? Is using this future proof? Lets take this simple example: In a Azure SQL database we have a list of clients. In a SharePoint list I want a choicefield with a dropdownlist populated with the names of these clients.Setting up an external list column that fetches from an ERP
I've been searching for clear documentation on how to do this but apparently am not looking in the right pace or phrasing it incorrectly. What I want to do is avoid having to maintain multiple Choice columns that all derive their content from the ERP system, which ought to be the master for things like product codes, open orders, etc. So instead of risking the chance of some lists in SPO not being a match for what the ERP says, I want to set up an External Content Type that fetches the data straight out of the ERP. Our ERP isn't Dynamics or SAP, but it does support REST API, and does send data in JSON, and I have extracted data using Power Automate. What I don't see is a way in SPO to do this in a straightforward way. I have found vague references to setting up something in BCS, or using SharePoint Designer 2013, but nothing that I found very clear. The ERP company had a webpart for SP 2010 that is useless to me. Can someone point me in the right direction? Has anyone actually done this?
