Microsoft CRM Integration With Microsoft Office Documents ? Overview For System Integrator

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 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 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: 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is consultant and CTO in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( help@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: help@albaspectrum.com

cleaning help near Mundelein ..
In The News:

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.
AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.
A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.
New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.
Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.
Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.
Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.
Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.
Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.
Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.
iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.
Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.
FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.
Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.
Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.
Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.
Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.
Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.
New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.
FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.
New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

Great Plains Customization ? Programming Auto-apply in Accounts Receivable

Microsoft Great Plains is one of three Microsoft Business Solutions... Read More

You Can Write Microsoft Office Program in About 60 Minutes

Microsoft Office program is a programming tool called Visual Basic... Read More

COSMIC: A Small Improvement on the Symons Method

The COSMIC FP (function point) software quality metric, is no... Read More

How to Make Own CMS

Every day millions of new web documents emerge on the... Read More

Cross-Platform Custom Software Development & Integration ? IT Strategy for Large Corporation

Microsoft Business Solutions products: Great Plains, MS CRM, Navision, Axapta,... Read More

Unwanted Files

A LOT OF UNWANTED FILES.When you uninstall an item of... Read More

Ukraine IT Myths Dispersed

While Ukraine is becoming a new popular IT outsourcing destination,... Read More

Corporate ERP: Standard vs. Rich functionality ? Microsoft Great Plains

Traditionally we were considering functionally rich systems, such as SAP,... Read More

7 Things to Consider Before Buying Small Business Accounting Software

The world of small business accounting software can be a... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Distribution, Barcoding, Consignment ? overview for consultant

Microsoft Great Plains ? ERM from Microsoft Business Solutions and... Read More

Five Steps to Rapid Development with TierDeveloper 4.0

Follow the steps below to quickly design, generate, and deploy... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Beverage Production & Distribution ? Implementation & Customization Highlight

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has many years of successful... Read More

Assertion in Java

Assertion facility is added in J2SE 1.4. In order to... Read More

Begun, The Browser Wars Have

As Mozilla Firefox nears 10% market share, with well over... Read More

Think Of This

Think of this, first we had the HAM Radio, then... Read More

Need of Document Management System (DMS)

Document Management or Enterprise Information Management is perhaps one of... Read More

Microsoft Business Solutions VAR/Partner Selection ? Overview for IT Director/Manager/Controller

Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft CRM become more and more... Read More

Adware and Spyware

What is 'adware'?Adware is basically software or scripts that are... Read More

Reloading Windows XP

If you have been running Windows XP for a couple... Read More

The Truth: Netzero 3G

We've all seen the ads on TV for Netzero 3G.... Read More

Microsoft RMS ? Great Plains Integration ? Overview For IT Specialist

Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft Retail Management System (Microsoft RMS)... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains international implementation ? USA / Mexico ? overview for consultant

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains was purchased from Great Plains... Read More

IBM Lotus Domino or Microsoft Exchange?

IBM Lotus Domino or Microsoft Exchange?The severe competition continues for... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: Offshore Customization & Development ? Overview for Consultant

When you visit department stores and see that majority of... Read More

Beware of Spyware

One day, you suddenly realize that your computer started to... Read More

reliable maid service Wilmette ..