CRM metadata saved in SharePoint columns
The alternative & better CRM and SharePoint integration

In previous post we promoted the idea of “CRM is from Mars, SharePoint is from Venus”(Read More...), which concludes that OOB CRM integration with SharePoint creates too many folders and sub-folders, while best practice is using metadata from CRM records and save them in columns with the document. Metadata improves documents search, and required when implementing Metadata Navigation in SharePoint.

We have released Dynamics SharePoint Organizer (SPO) to implement these SharePoint best practices when integrating CRM with SharePoint.

The idea is very simple, and easily implemented. As CRM stores structured data, and documents are uploaded to SharePoint, why not upload content from the record’s fields and save them with the document, as metadata in SharePoint columns.

If we take as an example the Invoice entity, fields (attributes) like Customer Name, Department, Total Amount, Description, Status, and Email address of the related contact, can be configured in Dynamics SPO, so that every time an Invoice document is uploaded to SharePoint, the content of these fields is saved with the invoice in SharePoint. Any CRM entity can be configured to upload documents to CRM, with any field (attribute) of the entity, and its related entities. In other words, lots of metadata to select from.

Once an entity is configured with Dynamics SPO functionality, users can with one click, upload documents / files and related metadata, from attachments to the record Notes, attachments to Emails, and from hard disk.

As part of SPO configuration, documents stored in CRM can be deleted, after they are uploaded to SharePoint, which is on its own a CRM storage cost saving, a function that can save the organization similar amount of money equal or more than the cost of purchasing Dynamics SPO.

Click here to Download Dynamics SharePoint Organizer (SPO)