Microsoft CRM Integration with Microsoft Office documents overview for system
integrator
by Andrew Karasev
Alba Spectrum Technologies
USA
1-866-528-0577,
1-630-961-5918
Microsoft CRM is CRM
application, maintained and supported by Microsoft Business Solutions.
Microsoft CRM utilizes majority of the Microsoft technologies: Windows Active
Directory, SQL Server, MS Exchange, BizTalk (integration with MS Great Plains,
and soon with Navision), Message Queuing, .Net web services to name a few.
There is market demand on the efficient integration of MS Office documents into
Microsoft CRM. Lets take a look at the options:
- Attachment to MS
CRM Notes. You may attach
Office docs as file attachment to MS CRM Note. It is bullet-proof method,
however you should be aware that it is not that simple for the user to attach
files, especially web interface, which may work slow. The second drawback
you are actually copying document into MS SQL Server database and you may
quickly increase its size and degrade efficiency.
- Lotus Notes/Domino
remarks. Also we need to give
mind set change advise to Lotus Notes/Domino switchers to MS CRM. Lotus is
designed to incorporate files and documents (such as MS Word, Excel, Power
Point, etc.) into its database why it is efficient in Lotus answer is
simple Lotus is not a relational database. At the same time MS SQL Server
MS CRM DB platform is perfectly relational. So go ahead and make
attachments, but do not try to make your CRM database be the repository of
your documents. It is also possible to use Lotus as your documents repository
and programmatically realize the links from MS CRM objects to documents,
stored in Lotus Notes/Domino. Also it is possible to have Lotus/Domino
playing the role of email server (instead of MS Exchange) but this is
outside of the scope.
- MS SharePoint.
This is probably the best MS Office documents repository which could be
seamlessly integrated with MS CRM, in this case MS CRM links to the
repository, not imports the whole documents into MS SQL database. Sharepoint
integration is subject for dedicated article and might be realized with
elements of MS CRM programming (MS CRM SDK)
- Windows Files
Links. This solutions doesnt
require SharePoint license but it will require some MS CRM programming
- Microsoft Office
Information Bridge Framework for
Microsoft CRM this tool is sometimes misunderstood. It is the other way
integration from MS Office documents you can link to MS CRM objects
(including proposals). This solution however works in the realm of MS CRM
security model and requires the user, who opens MS Office document have MS CRM
user id (and so the user license)
You can always have us
help you, give us a call: 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577,
help@albaspectrum.com
Andrew Karasev is consultant and CTO in
Alba Spectrum Technologies (
http://www.albaspectrum.com ) Microsoft Business Solutions partner,
serving clients in Illinois, New York, California, Florida, Georgia, Texas,
Arizona, Virginia, Minnesota, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, Asia, Russia. He
is Microsoft Great Plains certified master, Great Plains Dexterity, Microsoft
CRM SDK C#.Net, Crystal Repots developer. You can reach Andrew:
akarasev@albaspectrum.com