Microsoft CRM Integration with Microsoft Office do

Microsoft CRM Integration with Microsoft Office documents – overview for system integrator

by: Andrew Karasev

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. Let’s 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 bulletproof 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 doesn’t 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: 16309615918 or 18665280577, [email protected]

About The Author

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: [email protected]

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 25

by Andrew Karasev

Microsoft CRM Modification – overview for IT speci

Microsoft CRM Modification – overview for IT specialist

by: Andrew Karasev

Microsoft CRM is now on the scene and it is increasing its market share, due to the Microsoft Business Solutions muscles and marketing strategy. It is tightly integrated with other Microsoft Business Solutions products such as Microsoft Great Plains, Solomon, Navision.
If you are programmer or database administrator who is asked: how do we modify Microsoft CRM – read this article and you will have the clues for further research.
1. Microsoft CRM SDK – this is software development kit with C# and partly VB.net code samples – it is supported by Microsoft Business Solutions technical support. It is based on web service calls, if you are C# .NET developer – you are excellently positioned to do this type of customizations. This is the preferred modification scenario and this should be easily upgradeable customization. VB.Net examples will be available soon.
2. Legacy SQL Data integration. This is also easy and safe. If you have SQL database, sitting on the same or linked SQL Server – you can create ASPX .Net application and simply integrate it into CRM. You can place it on the navigation bar or menu in isv.config – please refer to MS CRM SDK
3. Legacy ASP integration – this is somewhat more sophisticated. You have to deploy HTTP handler to be a middle party between CRM which is .Net based and ASP which is legacy IIS. The trick is – you have to have INI file with security settings to penetrate into MS CRM with proper credentials, calling web service.
4. Microsoft Exchange Programming. Microsoft CRM has Exchange connector – which moves CRM incoming email to MS if it has GUID in its subject. You can alter this logic (for instance move email to CRM if it doesn’t have GUID but it is from the sender who is contact or account in MS CRM). Refer to MS Exchange SDK onsyncsave event handling. Then simply apply some MS CRM SDK programming you need some COM+ objects creation and VB programming experience.
5. Direct SQL touch – in #4 above I described you the scenario with MS Exchange handlers – this would be ideal world if MS CRM SDK does the job. But – in real world this is not always true – you have to do direct flags correction in CRM database (like making Activity closed, moving email attachments/octet streams, etc). This is not supported by MBS technical support – but you can rescue to this technique if you have to get job done.
6. MS CRM Customization tool – this is rather enduser tool and we don’t describe it here – read the manual. We’ve described above the options to use when this tool doesn’t do the job
7. Crystal Reports feel free to create Crystal report tables and views structure is self explanatory. Try to avoid the temptation to create your own SQL view or stored procedure in MS CRM database, instead create custom database and place your view and stored proc in it.
Happy modifying! If you want us to do the job give us a call 18665280577! [email protected]

About The Author

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Microsoft CRM, Microsoft Great Plains customization company, based in Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, and Miami and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, VB/C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 28, 2004

by Andrew Karasev