Learn more about data replication between multiple MS Dynamics NAV databases

1. Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV
Data Replication for multiple and distributed MS Dynamics NAV Databases

2. Introduction
This ebook is for you who wants to learn more about RapidiOnline and our Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV solution
- enabling you to replicate your data between multiple MS Dynamics NAV databases.
The RapidiOnline Difference
4
In the first section you will learn about who we are and why we do what we do.
Customers Love Us 11
The next section is about our customers. Listen to their stories on being a RapidiOnline customer.
Visibility = Knowledge & Decision Making 15
This chapter takes you through what it will mean to you and your business to have your data available at the right time.
Scenarios
17
In the Scenarios section we will describe different use cases of the Replicator - how it is used and what the benefits are.
The Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV
24
This is the part around the Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV solution itself. Learn about its key features and benefits.
How Do We Connect
31
Last but not least, for the more technical person we will give you some technical insights on possibilities and best practices
on how to connect to your MS Dynamics NAV.

4. The RapidiOnline Difference
HAPPY CUSTOMERS
We do it for our customers. Ok, doesn’t everyone want happy and satisfied customers?
So, why do we want you to be a happy customer?
RapidiOnline’s Mission is to help people achieve a better and more effective working
day. We want you to be happy and get the most out of your data and make it available
where it is needed.
Apart from that we work towards that you want to stay with us and renew your service,
what really drives us is when we are on a call with one of our customers and they say “I’m
really happy now” - this is what makes us get up in the morning!
We don’t stop until you are happy with what we deliver.
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5. PASSION
EXPERTISE
COMMITMENT

6. The RapidiOnline Difference
PASSION, COMMITMENT EXPERTISE
What drives us are our happy customers, the passion for innovation and the constant
thrive for improving the system to offer you the best-in-class data integration and data
replication platform.
RapidiOnline provides services and solutions for data integration and replication and
migration - delivered both as on-demand or on-premise solutions. We have our roots
back in the early MS Dynamics NAV (Navision) and MS Dynamics AX (Axapta) days.
The technology can be used to integrate almost any system or database but as we have
developed in-dept expertise and knowledge around the Microsoft Dynamics product
suite, this is were our focus is.
With more than 20 years of experience and unique in-dept knowlegde in data integration
and data replication we help companies worldwide of any scale to improve their business
processes to make their working life easier and be more effective.
We have offices in Denmark, France Malaysia.
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8. The RapidiOnline Difference
DELIVERING A COMPLETE BUSINESS SOLUTION
RapidiOnline is more than just a tool. We provide you with a complete data integration
solution customized to your specific needs. We created a platform that makes your data
available where you need it and our Promise to you is to deliver a complete integrated
business solution that suits exactly your needs and requirements.
Working with RapidiOnline you are not left to your own devices. No, RapidiOnline wants
you to be happy customer that uses RapidiOnline because it solves your specific needs.
Therefore our consultancy to you on how to link your systems together in the best way is
very important to us.
Our aim is for you to get the best and most out of your systems and become more productive. With our expertise and customer commitment we will go the extra mile to make
you a happy customer.
In order to do so we designed RapidiOnline the way we did incorporating our unique
knowledge about data integration and replication - always keeping in mind the simplicity
and ease of use of the product enabling you to implement and work more efficient.
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9. RAPID DEPLOYMENT
INSTANT
PRODUCTIVITY

10. The RapidiOnline Difference
EASY TO USE MAINTAIN
Our slogan ‘Data Integration made easy’ says it short and crispy; we believe in delivering a
powerful technology to simplify a complex task.
Our mission is to revolutionize on how the world engages and deals with their data and systems
- transforming data integration and data replication from a complex to simple task. We take the
pain out of data integration and replication and work on making the implementation as short
and smooth as possible, because we want you to be able to concentrate on your core business.
Through our passion and customer commitment we are here to help you make your working life
easier.
RapidiOnline is the best-in-class cloud-based data integration and replication platform. We
make it easy for you to configure your data replication project - quick and easy - using powerful
technology and a platform which functionalities are built around our philosophy that it has to be
easy to use and maintain with a minimum of specifications.
With RapidiOnline we empower you to rapidly implement a stable and scalable solution that is
easily maintained. We have created this powerful platform based upon our ability to abstract
and transfer the common integration and replication needs into functionality that is simple to use
and enables you to work more efficiently.
It again comes down to make you happy by making your working life easier and more efficient.
No more lenghty data replication projects. Just jump in and start replicating your business data.
What if you could start replicating your data tomorrow?
What would that mean for your business?
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12. Rema1000 [Re=Retail MA=Mat (food in norwegian)]
is a european based retail chain in growth. They have now
270 retail stores alone in Denmark and have been growing
with 30-40 stores per year. They use the Replicator to
replicate all their data between their stores and their central
headquarter. They have over a million transactions per day.
The Replicator is the perfect solution for us as
it provides data exchange between 270 stores
and the head quarter in an easy, efficient
and secure way.”
Lars Ruben Hasen, IT Exective at Rema1000
“
“
The Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV made it
possible to take advantage of the integration
possibilities in our retail solution.

13. Zulekha Haywood, Revenue Forecast Manager at IMAN Cosmetics
“
“
RapidiOnline fully supports our vision of a fully integrated business.

14. IMAN Cosmetics is an unique
US-based company founded by the
Top Model IMAN that produces
cosmetic products to women with
dark skin colour.
They use RapidiOnline to replicate
their data between their warehouse
and their inhouse MS Dynamics NAV.
We chose RapidiOnline because of their large experience with data
integration and MS Dynamics NAV.
The way Michael transferred the data quickly and simply provided
strong support and professionalism, made it a pleasure working
with RapidiOnline.
Kimberly Johnson, Finance Manager at IMAN Cosmetics
“
“
With RapidiOnline, we now have full control over our data and we
have the flexibility we need.

15. Visibility = Knowledge Decision Making

16. Empower Business Decision Making With The Right Data
At The Right Time
In today’s fast-paced business climate, your company needs to respond to events as they happen. You need not only agility but also
visibility - into all kinds of activities to ensure that business processes are optimized for peak performance. Basing decisions on data
that is even just a few hours old can cost your company revenue and customers. Your company needs the freshest, most current
operational data to capitalize on emerging opportunities and build a sustainable competitive advantage.
However, current information architectures contain heterogeneous systems and lack standardized integration and replication tools.
Integrating data across a diverse IT landscape, using disparate tools, adds an unnecessary layer of complexity. This complexity delays
the timeliness of data, which results in decisions based on outdated information. Business risks increase when enterprises struggle to
get access to the right data at the right time to make the right decision.
IT departments are hard pressed to deliver current operational data that’s needed to support business intelligence, real-time analytics,
operational synchronization, and continuous availability/uptime initiatives - all of which are necessary to keep up with today’s pace of
business. To stay competitive in this highly volatile climate, access to current and up-to-date data is critical.
Distributed information within the organisation makes it almost impossible to get an overview of the total business. Having replicated
data gives you a central overview of the data and enables you to make better and informed business decisions. RapidiOnline data
integration and replication provides this access to always up-to-date data, dramatically improving the availability of data across your
organization.
RapidiOnline Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV Data Replication Solution is heterogeneous, near real-time transaction replication
that is highly scalable, reliable, and easy to configure - without disrupting the performance of operational systems. It enables
organizations to supply the business with access to the most current data irrespective of the complexity and diversity of the IT landscape.
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17. SCENARIOS

18. New York
RapidiConnector
MS Dynamics NAV
Company
HeadQuarter
RapidiConnector
MS Dynamics NAV Server
Paris
RapidiConnector
MS Dynamics NAV
Shanghai
RapidiConnector
MS Dynamics NAV

19. Salesman or NGO Solution
An example of our salesman/NGO Solution could be to have a central server with
MS Dynamics NAV running and three salesmen with laptops with each a local NAV
installed with its own database
You would need this solution, when
• your salesmen or your NGO worker need to work off-line with a local copy of
the MS Dynamics NAV databases on their laptops
• your sales people out in the field need to have access to their own local MS
Dynamics NAV database on their laptops
Benefits
• They can work off-line and data can be
replicated to/from the central database at
regular intervals such as once a day.
Headquarter
- MS Dynamics NAV Client
with local database
MS Dynamics NAV Server
- RapidiConnector
- MS Dynamics NAV main database
- MS Dynamics NAV Client
with local database
- RapidiConnector service running on Application Server
- RapidiConnector
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20. Server Replication Solution
An example of a scenario could be to have a central server at your headquarter
and three separate sites with each their own local MS Dynamics NAV server.
You would need the server replication solution, when you have
• local MS Dynamics NAV servers in each department/country
• departments/companies abroad from where you can not (due to low bandwidth) or will not (security matters) let the employees work directly on the
headquarter’s system
• inter-company trade based on several Accounts/MS Dynamics NAV-databases
Benefits
• you will have better performance and up-time
in each department or country
• you can have different country versions of MS
Dynnamics NAV in each country
L
SS
CENTRAL LAN
SSL
• you will reduce the need for high bandwidth
compared to a Citrix solution
DEPARTMENT LAN
MS Dynamics NAV Server
MS Dynamics NAV Server
RapidiConnector
RapidiConnector
MS Dynamics NAV Client
MS Dynamics NAV Client
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21. Retail Solution
Retail solution with one or more stores with each their MS Dynamics NAV-based or MS SQL-based POS system, where
you need to exchange data with a central MS Dynamics NAV.
• in retail solutions where each store has its own MS Dynamics NAV database and you need to exchange data with a
central MS Dynamics NAV
• each store has its own MS Dynamics NAV database
• in each store you have optimal performance and can continue to sell also if the internet is down
• data can be managed centrally and statistics is collected centrally also
• you can also replicate directly with databases on each POS system (if you don’t have a store-central-database)
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22. Fleet and Shipping Solution
An example of a scenario could be to have a central server running on MS Dynamics NAV at your headquarter and various
ships or fleets at different locations. The Fleet and Shipping solution replicates data between the headquarter and the fleets/
ships with each their own local MS Dynamics NAV server.
Benefits
• you will have better performance and up-time on each fleet or ship
• you will reduce the need for high bandwidth compared to a Citrix solution
• you can have different country versions of MS Dynnamics NAV on each fleet or ship
• RapidiOnline’s RapidiConnector automatically packs and compresses data with our own proprietary
technology to achive the lowest bandwidth needed
for transmission of data. This is essential for satelite
based replication.
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23. for

24. The Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV
REPLICATE INFORMATION BETWEEN MULTIPLE MICROSOFT DYNAMICS NAV DATABASES
The Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV replicates information between two and more MS Dynamics NAV databases or systems.
Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV data replication solution provides:
• Faster, simpler data replication that maintains transactional integrity and consistency for enterprise data
• Centralized, user-friendly configuration interface that helps simplify deployment and data replication processes.
• Solutions for complex replication scenarios through the RapidiOnline Platform setting up special transfers making
any complex replication scenario possible.
• Transaction Consistency Integrity and ensures the best possible security in your replication.
Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV Data Replication solution is designed to address issues like replication in areas or location with
poor internet connection through a highly flexible, robust, secure and intensively compressed data information replication across
heterogeneous MS Dynamics NAV systems. It leverages data replication to support high availability, flexibility, speed, transactional
integrity and data consistency.
It also delivers outstanding capabilities for loading near real-time information into a data warehouse or operational data store,
which can help organizations enhance business agility and visibility into key processes.
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25. TRANSACTION
CONSISTENCY
INTEGRITY

26. The Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV
REPLICATE INFORMATION BETWEEN MULTIPLE MICROSOFT DYNAMICS NAV DATABASES
The Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV is based on a proven powerful technology which we have continuously developed and
improved on since the early 90s. Our global customer base and partners worldwide rely on our solution enabling data replication
between a central MS Dynamics NAV and other distributed MS Dynamics NAV databases.
Highlights
• Provides data availability in locations with poor internet connection or in retail stores where data availability and current
accurate data is a must
• Integrates real-time inventory and sales information with business applications
• Enables integration of product and customer data across multiple branches, outlets and offices
• Enables high up-time and performance of local distributed MS Dynamics NAV installations (as opposed to a central online
approach as e.g. Citrix)
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28. Key Benefits
REPLICATE INFORMATION BETWEEN MULTIPLE MICROSOFT DYNAMICS NAV DATABASES
Cloud-based solution
Web-based setup and configuration interface
Less Administration
We run and monitor your replications for you
Ability to use C/AL code (using Navision Application Server or NAV Webservices)
Extensive Formula system
Inside the configuration interface you will have access to an extensive formula system to manipulate data on the fly
Fast Installation Simple setup
There is no need for fixed IP addresses and no need to open firewall
Secure System
SSL encrypted data transmission
Fast Replication
Data is transferred in binary format, packed and compressed
Scheduler
Replicator includes a built-in scheduler where you can set up automatic transfers.
The Scheduler is run and monitored centrally on our servers.
RapidiConnector
The RapidiConnector is installed locally close to each MS Dynamics NAV database. It facilitates the connection to the local database
and reduces the total transfer time significantly by packing and compressing all data sent over the internet. The RapidiConnector is
installed and configured in less than 10 minutes and then runs in the background as a local Windows Service.
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29. BOOST IT
PRODUCTIVITY

30. Flexibility
Object Replication: With Replicator you can also transfer MS Dynamics NAV
objects (codeunits, tables, forms etc.) between MS Dynamics NAV databases.
Transactions Security: To ensure the best possible security in your
replications the C/Front is used to access the databases and transaction logic
(Commit/Rollback) is used to ensure that either all data is replicated or none
at all. Replication can be extended to include other databases or systems. For
example to integrate with a MS SQL based webshop system or replicating data
from several countries or department to a central BI System.
Advanced Formulas: For example DBLookup formula to look up values in
other tables or databases.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV Webservices: The Replicator supports MS
Dynamics NAV 2009 and NAV 2013 Webservices.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Support: The Replicator supports MS
Dynamics NAV 2013 through an enhanced MS-SQL connector that knows
about the NAV way of storing data in SQL.
Field List: Replicate only specific fields.
Filters: Replicate only specific data. Replicate between tables that have different primary keys.
Sub Transfers: Transferring e.g. sales header and corresponding sales lines
in one transaction.
Star Replication: Have Replicator distribute changes made in one database
to all other databases. For example, changes made by department París is
forwarded to department London via the headquarter.
Tags (variables): You can share same transfer for many different destinations
(departments, salesmen) by using tags (parameters) in the transfer. The tags
are substituted at run time by the Scheduler.
Mirror Technology: Ability to create a local copy of the source data so
that we can detect and transfer only the changes. The mirror is automatically
compressed to use minimal space. This is perfect for native MS Dynamics NAV
databases
Changes only (SQL): When MS Dynamics NAV is running based on a SQL
database the Replicator can detect and transfer only the changed or new
records based on the timestamp in the SQL tables.
NAS Connector: Ability to use C/AL code to automatically validate data
entered into MS Dynamics NAV. This feature is supported on NAV systems
from Version 3.70 or later (used in systems where NAV Webservices are not
available.
Event triggered transfers: Ability to trigger a transfer from an event inside
MS Dynamics NAV.
Systems Supported
MS Dynamics NAV 2013
MS Dynamics NAV 2009,
MS Dynamics NAV 5.0 5.0.1,
MS Dynamics NAV 4.01, 4.02, 4.03,
MBS-Navision 3.70 4.0
Earlier Versions are also supported - please ask.
Both MS SQL Server and the Native database options are supported.
System Requirements
C/Front Module in License of MS Dynamics NAV (when using MS Dynamics
NAV2009 or earlier)
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31. How Do We Connect

32. The RapidiConnector
COMMUNICATION - FAST SECURE - The RapidiConnector
How does RapidiOnline establish the connection to the different MS Dynamics NAV systems to make data transfer possible?
The RapidiOnline Services run with a unique
technology called the RapidiConnector
that ensures compressed and secure data
transfer between RapidiOnline and the
different MS Dynamics NAV databases. It
is quick and easy to setup which allow you
to save implementation time and costs.
For best efficiency and security the data is
compressed and encrypted. You can use
dynamic IP addreses.
RapidiConnector
MS Dynamics NAV
Benefits:
RapidiConnector
MS Dynamics NAV
No need to open up firewall!
• easy installation
• no fixed IP addresses needed
• no inbound connection and no need to open firewall inbound
• automatic packing, compression and SSL encryption of data
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34. Benefits of the RapidiConnector
STRAIGHT-FORWARD DEPLOYMENT
The RapidiConnector resides in your on-premise network connecting outbound to the central
RapidiOnline Service and enables two-way communication between RapidiOnline and your
legacy systems. This has the advantage that you don’t have to change anything in your
network or firewalls in order to deploy RapidiOnline integration. The connections from the
RapidiConnector are all outbound to RapidiOnline. No inbound connections are made and
no inbound ports have to be opened in your firewall. Your internal systems stay secured and
protected. This makes it very easy to get started.
OPTIMIZED MOST EFFICIENT DATA TRANSFER
The communication between RapidiOnline and the RapidiConnector is using a proprietary
protocol which is highly efficient in terms of maximum reduction of the total amount of data
and the number of packages sent and received. The protocol first joins e.g. 200 records in 1
package thereby stripping off all meta information to only sent the relevant data. Furthermore
the package is compressed before sending. This results in the most efficient data transfer. This
method can reduce the amount of data needed to be sent by a factor up to 50. This means
e.g. instead of sending 1000 bytes for each customer record the RapidiConnector only needs
to send 20 bytes. This dramatically reduces both the transfer time and needed bandwidth.
VERY SECURE ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION
Because of the proprietary protocol and the compression it is practically impossible to
decipher the data transmitted. This increases the security. After the packing and compression
the data packages are encryted with industry standard.

35. 4 Ways to Connect to MS Dynamics NAV
RapidiOnline supports many different NAV versions - all the way back from Navision 3.70 (and even older versions too)
and up to the latest MS Dynamics NAV 2013 - so there is not one single method that is best for all these versions. Therefore
RapidiOnline supports a total of 4 different ways of accessing NAV and so we can use the best way or ways in any given
situation.
Accessing MS Dynamics NAV through C/Front
The first way of accessing MS Dynamics NAV is through an interface called C/Front. C/Front is a database level interface
to MS Dynamics NAV. It is supported both by the native NAV database server and for MS-SQL based installations. Its the
same interface as the Classic NAV Client is using to access NAV data, so its rock solid and very fast. It is the Microsoft
recommended way of accessing data in the NAV database and all Calculated fields and filters (Flow Fields/Filters) are
supported in C/Front (Microsoft does not recommend that you use a direct access to the MS-SQL database). The C/Front
interface is supported in all NAV versions up to and including MS Dynamics NAV 2009R2 (MS Dynamics NAV 2013 is not
supported). We recommend always to use the C/Front interface to read data from MS Dynamics NAV as this is by far the
fastest way to read data, so huge amounts of records can be read in a short time. We also have buildin support for reading
only what was changed since last run by using timestamp and this makes an integration very stable and fast running. We
also recommend C/Front when it comes to writing or updating many records to NAV and where there is no or very little
business logic attached to the tables to be written in NAV.
Accessing MS Dynamics NAV through SQL Server (NAV 2013)
As Microsoft has removed the support for C/Front in NAV 2013 and not really replaced it with another good way of reading
larger amounts of data from NAV (there are only some WebService based access that is not suited for larger amounts of
data), we have developed a SQL based access to NAV. This SQL based access is based on our generic SQL Server support,
but with some extra features, mainly so that the normal naming of tables and fields in NAV can still be used in RapidiOnline.
In the SQL database for NAV, the table names include the Company name and field names have some characters
replaced by underscore. Being able to use the normal names from NAV, makes the upgrade process much easier - transfer
specifications can be reused almost unchanged. This interface to NAV also directly supports using the built in timestamp
in NAV to read only the data that have been changed since the last successful run (like for the C/Front interface). We
recommend to use this interface with Dynamics NAV 2013 for reading data from NAV and for updating simple fields in
specific tables.
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36. Accessing MS Dynamics NAV through the Navision Application Server (NAS)
The third method we have to access MS Dynamics NAV is through the Navision Application Server (or NAS for short). The
NAS Server is like a classic NAV Client but just without a user interface, so all the business logic in NAV also runs in NAS
(actually you can code any functionality in NAS). This is a big advantage as you can leverage all the code that is already in
NAV (including all your customizations) and so you can be sure that data are checked and validated as if a user was entering
the same data. Our NAS Support work from version 3.70 (which was the first release where NAS was relatively stable) and
comes with code units that integrate with the Customer, Item and Sales Order objects. These code units can be copied to
make support for other objects in NAV. On the technical side, our NAS support is done with a Microsoft Automation Server
plugin to NAS that handles all the communication with our central server and converts the data directly to/from our internal
binary format and to fields in NAV tables - this means that a programmer working with the C/AL code that runs in NAS, does
not have to worry about data conversion or XML documents etc. (as they would have to when using for example BizTalk) - this
is much easier. The data transfers are controlled by the scheduler that is build-in to RapidiOnline centrally, so all that logic
related to when what is run, is taken care of by the central RapidiOnline setup. We recommend to use the NAS connector
when you are on NAV 2009R1 or earlier and you need to write complex objects to NAV that have a lot of business logic
attached to them. For example for creating Sales Orders in NAV. You also need to have an IT organization that can support
keeping the NAS server running as it is not so stable and typically needs restarting once a week or so.
Accessing MS Dynamics NAV through Web Services
The forth and last method for accessing MS Dynamics NAV is through Web Services. Web Services is available in NAV from
MS Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 and is a very good and stable successor for the NAS Server. Microsoft have made it possible to
expose (or publish) any Page object that you have in MS Dynamics NAV as a WebService with some standard functionality.
This means that in general you just have to do a few clicks to expose a page as a Web Service and we can then read,
update, create or delete data in the corresponding object (which is very good). It also means that the WebService mimics
the functionality of the Page which means that sometimes you have to insert an empty record first and then send an
update request to add information (this is the case with the SalesOrder page for example) and this can be quite annoying.
Anyway its a big progress from the NAS based approach but hopefully it will be improved in later versions (it is still the same
in NAV2013). We recommend to use the WebServices to create data in NAV where its important that the business logic
is running to generate numbers or copy data from other tables/objects - like creating new Customers or Sales Orders. To
some extend we would also recommend it to update data in NAV (again only when its important that the business logic is
run). For reading data from NAV, we still recommend to use the C/Front based interface above or the SQL based interface
for NAV2013. There are of cause other ways to integrate with MS Dynamics NAV. You can for example import/export data
from files (ASCII or XML files) or use BizTalk and comm automation with XML data. We dont do this - we prefer to provide
a good and stable solution to our customers.
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38. Share This Ebook!
Want to learn see more?
Contact Information
We would love to show you RapidiOnline Live and get into a discussion on your specific needs and requirements.
Request a live demo or contact us for more information.
Sales Administration
Demo, Technical Support
Business Relations
Helle Johansen
hj@rapidionline.com
+45 7384 8550
Thomas Borring
tb@rapidionline.com
+45 7384 8554
Michael Bock
mb@rapidionline.com
+45 7384 8556
Design Marketing
Sales Partners
Beate Thomsen
bt@rapidionline.com
+45 7384 8559
Keith Marikh
km@rapidionline.com
+45 7384 8555
RapidiOnline - Data Integration made easy
Rapidi ApS - Sdr. Tingvej 10 - 6630 Rødding - Denmark - Tel: +45 7384 8550 - info@rapidionline.com - www.rapidionline.com