Microsoft® Dynamics CRM 2011 Administration Bible

Chapter 15. Realizing the Benefits of Office and SharePoint Integration

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Exporting and importing data with Microsoft Excel

• Mail merging with Microsoft Word

• Storing documents in SharePoint

Microsoft has steadily improved the integration between Dynamics CRM and Office with each release. The integration is so strong at this point that talking about Dynamics CRM without also talking about Word, Excel, and Outlook is sometimes difficult.

With the release of Dynamics CRM 2011 Microsoft has also included direct integration with SharePoint. SharePoint is a framework used for collaborative employee and customer Web sites, business intelligence reporting, document management, and a variety of other functions. Using Dynamics CRM along with SharePoint results in a significant boost to an organization's ability to streamline processes, collaborate with colleagues, and make data visible across the organization.

Organizations that use Dynamics CRM without fully understanding the integration with Office and SharePoint are not realizing the full value of the product.

Exporting and Importing Data with Microsoft Excel

The most popular program in the world for managing data is Microsoft Excel. Excel provides an easy way to rapidly update data, analyze trends, and share information with others. Dynamics CRM includes tools to quickly export data to Excel, update existing records from changes you make in Excel, and insert new records by importing data from Excel.

Note

Microsoft Excel can also be ...