Microsoft SharePoint and Dynamics CRM -- Better Together: Part 2

This blog is an excerpt from an InfoStrat white paper.

SharePoint and Dynamics CRM are based on different paradigms, and some but not all of their concepts map to one another.

Element	Dynamics CRM	SharePoint
Data	Entities (relational data)	Content types (pages, lists, etc.)
Fields	Attribute	Column / field
User Interface	Not applicable	Web parts
Data entry	Forms	Web pages
Knowledge Base	Knowledge Base	Wiki
Workflow	Workflows	Workflows
Views	Reports, views	Views, content query web part
Web sites	Not applicable	Sites and sub-sites
Web site templates	Not applicable	Site templates
Web page templates	Not applicable	Page templates
Dashboards	Dashboards, web components, charts	Web part pages, Business Data Catalog
Forms	Multipage form (tabs, one-to-many)	Single page form
Personalization	My Work	My Site
Notifications	Workflow	Alert
Tasks	Tasks	Tasks
Duplicate checking	Duplicate checking	Document names
Reports	Report designer	Report Center; Excel Services
Advanced Reports	Report Builder (SQL Reporting)	Report Builder (SQL Reporting)
Offline	Offline (requires Outlook)	Offline (requires Groove)

Table 1. SharePoint and Dynamics CRM Key Elements

Both SharePoint and Dynamics CRM are integrated into Microsoft Office in several ways. For instance, SharePoint allows saving documents from Office into SharePoint document libraries, as well as linking to Outlook Calendars. Outlook meeting requests can link to SharePoint workspaces. Office programs include SharePoint functions in the ribbon interface.

Dynamics CRM (with the Outlook add-in) allows Outlook contacts, email messages, and appointments to be quickly added to Dynamics CRM. Dynamics CRM records can even be taken offline in Outlook or viewed in mobile apps, a great feature for field workers.

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