CRM 3.0 Synchronization with Exchange / Outlook Contacts

[Daniel]

We have a database of over 9,000 customer contacts and one of the key
reasons that we decided to work with MS CRM 3.0 instead of another product
was based on the assumption that we'd be able to leverage the significant
investment we have in our Exchange database - we thought that the Exchange
router would do the trick of synchronizing the contacts between Exchange pub
folders and the CRM database, but it suprisingly doesn't.

This seems like a very basic concept that the product would support and I'm
hoping that I'm simply overlooking something in the documentation. However,
the only documentation that I can find indicates that we have to export all
the Exchange contacts to a CSV/TXT and then import them. Isn't there any
way to synchronize the contacts between Exchange and CRM so that our users
can send email/faxes from either Exchange or CRM?

Ideally, we'd like to import the contacts into CRM once, and then have the
program synch up any changes/additions that are made in either the CRM
contacts, or the Exchange pub folder contacts on an ongoing basis going
forward.

Does anyone know of any documentation that exists that covers data synch
between Exchange and CRM in more detail? Documentation for this product is
pretty bad from what I have seen so far. The Implementation Guide that
comes with CRM just mentions concepts without any detail about how to
actually implement most of them, and is sorely lacking any detailed content.
There isn't much in the way of thourough documentation on this (shipping)
product that is availalable. We really expected that this Microsoft product
would be tightly integrated with Microsoft's own email server and I'm hoping
that someone out there can help fill in the gaps.

Thank you so much!

[Matt Parks]

Daniel,

Unfortunately, there realy isn't any "true" synchronization directly between
MSCRM & Exchange. There is, however, a synch between MSCRM & Outlook for
some items (Contacts, Appts & Tasks) via the CRM for Outlook client. This
process will keep changes made on side in sych with the other, but only when
a user is logged into the CRM for Outlook client.

Through that client you can also promote existing Contacts into MSCRM, but
it can be a slow process.
--
Matt Parks
MVP - Microsoft CRM


"Daniel" <***@no.com> wrote in message news:***@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
We have a database of over 9,000 customer contacts and one of the key
reasons that we decided to work with MS CRM 3.0 instead of another product
was based on the assumption that we'd be able to leverage the significant
investment we have in our Exchange database - we thought that the Exchange
router would do the trick of synchronizing the contacts between Exchange pub
folders and the CRM database, but it suprisingly doesn't.

This seems like a very basic concept that the product would support and I'm
hoping that I'm simply overlooking something in the documentation. However,
the only documentation that I can find indicates that we have to export all
the Exchange contacts to a CSV/TXT and then import them. Isn't there any
way to synchronize the contacts between Exchange and CRM so that our users
can send email/faxes from either Exchange or CRM?

Ideally, we'd like to import the contacts into CRM once, and then have the
program synch up any changes/additions that are made in either the CRM
contacts, or the Exchange pub folder contacts on an ongoing basis going
forward.

Does anyone know of any documentation that exists that covers data synch
between Exchange and CRM in more detail? Documentation for this product is
pretty bad from what I have seen so far. The Implementation Guide that
comes with CRM just mentions concepts without any detail about how to
actually implement most of them, and is sorely lacking any detailed content.
There isn't much in the way of thourough documentation on this (shipping)
product that is availalable. We really expected that this Microsoft product
would be tightly integrated with Microsoft's own email server and I'm hoping
that someone out there can help fill in the gaps.

Thank you so much!

[Daniel]

Thank you Matt.

So you're saying that with the Outlook client connected, you can synchronize
(local) contacts with CRM, but you still cannot synch Exchange-based pub
folder contacts, even with the Outlook client connected?

If that's the case, is there a recommended way to deal with this, or is
there any consensus in the MS-CRM user community as to what to do with
Exchange-based pub folder contacts once an organization deploys CRM?

Should we just import all those contacts into CRM, and then abandon using
the Exchange pub folders for good? I can't see any other option if we're
using CRM - otherwise, you'd have never-ending data synch problems between
the two duplicate sets of contacts right?

My concern here is that as I've been reading through this group, I've seen a
lot of people mention problems with the CRM client handling email strangely
(ie: case sensitivity issues, space issues in email addresses, etc) and so
we'd like to continue to be able to use Outlook to natively reach contacts.
But with 9,000 customer contacts, we don't want to synchronize all of them
to each Exchange/Outlook users's personal contacts. That'd also be a
security risk since they'd each have a full copy of our customer database.
That is part of the reason that we're looking at CRM. Today, an employee can
copy the entire customer database to their PST and walk out the door with
it - plus, even if they did export just the contacts, they would not be able
to export all of the additional schema data that we've built into the
database that is layered on top of the contact info. My hope is that with
CRM, it's all SQL-based, and it's not as easily transported out the front
door.

I'd be curious about your thoughts on this.

Thank you - Daniel

Post by Matt Parks
Daniel,
Unfortunately, there realy isn't any "true" synchronization directly between
MSCRM & Exchange. There is, however, a synch between MSCRM & Outlook for
some items (Contacts, Appts & Tasks) via the CRM for Outlook client. This
process will keep changes made on side in sych with the other, but only when
a user is logged into the CRM for Outlook client.
Through that client you can also promote existing Contacts into MSCRM, but
it can be a slow process.
--
Matt Parks
MVP - Microsoft CRM
We have a database of over 9,000 customer contacts and one of the key
reasons that we decided to work with MS CRM 3.0 instead of another product
was based on the assumption that we'd be able to leverage the significant
investment we have in our Exchange database - we thought that the Exchange
router would do the trick of synchronizing the contacts between Exchange pub
folders and the CRM database, but it suprisingly doesn't.
This seems like a very basic concept that the product would support and I'm
hoping that I'm simply overlooking something in the documentation.
However,
the only documentation that I can find indicates that we have to export all
the Exchange contacts to a CSV/TXT and then import them. Isn't there any
way to synchronize the contacts between Exchange and CRM so that our users
can send email/faxes from either Exchange or CRM?
Ideally, we'd like to import the contacts into CRM once, and then have the
program synch up any changes/additions that are made in either the CRM
contacts, or the Exchange pub folder contacts on an ongoing basis going
forward.
Does anyone know of any documentation that exists that covers data synch
between Exchange and CRM in more detail? Documentation for this product is
pretty bad from what I have seen so far. The Implementation Guide that
comes with CRM just mentions concepts without any detail about how to
actually implement most of them, and is sorely lacking any detailed content.
There isn't much in the way of thourough documentation on this (shipping)
product that is availalable. We really expected that this Microsoft product
would be tightly integrated with Microsoft's own email server and I'm hoping
that someone out there can help fill in the gaps.
Thank you so much!

[Crystal Smithwick (MSFT)]

Hi Daniel,

There is an article in the Microsoft Dynamics communities site that explains
how to import your Outlook contacts into Microsoft CRM.

Import your Outlook contacts into Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0
http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/crm/using/configure/outlookimport.mspx

Crystal Smithwick
Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Technical Writer

Learn more about using Microsoft CRM 3.0
http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/crm/using/default.mspx
--
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Post by Daniel
Thank you Matt.
So you're saying that with the Outlook client connected, you can synchronize
(local) contacts with CRM, but you still cannot synch Exchange-based pub
folder contacts, even with the Outlook client connected?
If that's the case, is there a recommended way to deal with this, or is
there any consensus in the MS-CRM user community as to what to do with
Exchange-based pub folder contacts once an organization deploys CRM?
Should we just import all those contacts into CRM, and then abandon using
the Exchange pub folders for good? I can't see any other option if we're
using CRM - otherwise, you'd have never-ending data synch problems between
the two duplicate sets of contacts right?
My concern here is that as I've been reading through this group, I've seen a
lot of people mention problems with the CRM client handling email strangely
(ie: case sensitivity issues, space issues in email addresses, etc) and so
we'd like to continue to be able to use Outlook to natively reach contacts.
But with 9,000 customer contacts, we don't want to synchronize all of them
to each Exchange/Outlook users's personal contacts. That'd also be a
security risk since they'd each have a full copy of our customer database.
That is part of the reason that we're looking at CRM. Today, an employee can
copy the entire customer database to their PST and walk out the door with
it - plus, even if they did export just the contacts, they would not be able
to export all of the additional schema data that we've built into the
database that is layered on top of the contact info. My hope is that with
CRM, it's all SQL-based, and it's not as easily transported out the front
door.
I'd be curious about your thoughts on this.
Thank you - Daniel

Post by Matt Parks
Daniel,
Unfortunately, there realy isn't any "true" synchronization directly between
MSCRM & Exchange. There is, however, a synch between MSCRM & Outlook for
some items (Contacts, Appts & Tasks) via the CRM for Outlook client. This
process will keep changes made on side in sych with the other, but only when
a user is logged into the CRM for Outlook client.
Through that client you can also promote existing Contacts into MSCRM, but
it can be a slow process.
--
Matt Parks
MVP - Microsoft CRM
We have a database of over 9,000 customer contacts and one of the key
reasons that we decided to work with MS CRM 3.0 instead of another product
was based on the assumption that we'd be able to leverage the significant
investment we have in our Exchange database - we thought that the Exchange
router would do the trick of synchronizing the contacts between Exchange pub
folders and the CRM database, but it suprisingly doesn't.
This seems like a very basic concept that the product would support and I'm
hoping that I'm simply overlooking something in the documentation.
However,
the only documentation that I can find indicates that we have to export all
the Exchange contacts to a CSV/TXT and then import them. Isn't there any
way to synchronize the contacts between Exchange and CRM so that our users
can send email/faxes from either Exchange or CRM?
Ideally, we'd like to import the contacts into CRM once, and then have the
program synch up any changes/additions that are made in either the CRM
contacts, or the Exchange pub folder contacts on an ongoing basis going
forward.
Does anyone know of any documentation that exists that covers data synch
between Exchange and CRM in more detail? Documentation for this product is
pretty bad from what I have seen so far. The Implementation Guide that
comes with CRM just mentions concepts without any detail about how to
actually implement most of them, and is sorely lacking any detailed content.
There isn't much in the way of thourough documentation on this (shipping)
product that is availalable. We really expected that this Microsoft product
would be tightly integrated with Microsoft's own email server and I'm hoping
that someone out there can help fill in the gaps.
Thank you so much!

[d***@grinmark.com]

This answer is a bit delayed, but may still be useful.

I recommend you to consider the Agile Dynamics CRM to Exchange Synchronizer (DXSync). It provides server-side integration between Dynamics CRM and Exchange. Integration includes synchronization of Contacts, Meetings, Calls, Tasks; Archiving emails; special scenarios to replicate and create items like Opportunities and Cases from your email client. This solution works without any client-side plugins. No need for additional configuration of standard mobile or desktop email clients (Outlook, Entourage, Mac Mail, iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, etc.).

Free trial version is available for download so you can try DXSync before making a decision.

If what you need is one-time synchronization, then trial mode may be enough to get required results.

Best regards,
Denis Markovtsev
GrinMark CRM Integration Team
***@grinmark.com

[Denis Markovtsev]

Give the Agile Dynamics CRM to Exchange Synchronizer (DXSync) a try. DXSync provides two-way synchronization of Contacts, Accounts, Leads, Meetings, Calls, Tasks; Archiving emails; special scenarios to replicate and create items like Opportunities and Cases from your email client.

You can now choose between On-Premise and On-Demand (cloud) server-side synchronization of Dynamics CRM and Exchange.
http://www.grinmark.com/products/dxsync/on-premise-vs-on-demand.html

Free trial version is available so you can try DXSync before making a decision.
http://www.grinmark.com/requesttrialform.html
http://www.grinmark.com/products/dxsync/

Best regards,
Denis Markovtsev
GrinMark CRM Integration Team
http://www.grinmark.com
***@grinmark.com