Report: Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Outlook Integration Compared CRM Switch CRM Assessment & Selection Services www.crmswitch.com 800 799 4539 Page 1
Table of Contents Introduction Functional Areas of Integration Email Integration Salesforce Sending Email MS CRM Sending Email Synchronization Administration Salesforce Outlook Configuration MS CRM Email System Settings Outlook System Settings Outlook Filters Contact Synchronization Salesforce MS CRM Task Synchronization Salesforce Salesforce to Outlook Outlook to Salesforce MS CRM MS CRM to Outlook Outlook to MS CRM Appointment Synchronization Salesforce Salesforce to Outlook Outlook to Salesforce MS CRM MS CRM to Outlook Outlook to MS CRM Case Creation Salesforce MS CRM Opening CRM Records From Within Outlook MS CRM Salesforce Conclusion Legal Notices Page 2
Introduction This report is a comparison of the Outlook integration features of Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics CRM (MS CRM). Both companies provide Outlook COM (Component Object Model) add ins for integrating their respective CRM solution with Outlook. The Salesforce add in is called Salesforce for Outlook. The MS CRM add in is called Microsoft Dynamics CRM. While this report goes into considerable detail of how the respective vendors integrations function, it does not cover every minute aspect of integration functionality. Functional Areas of Integration CRM to Outlook integration can be divided into several functional areas: 1. Copying emails to records in CRM that have a matching email address for the sender (inbound email) or for the recipient(s) (outbound email) 2. Synchronization of CRM Contacts with an Outlook Address Book 3. Synchronization of CRM Activities with Outlook Tasks 4. Synchronization of CRM Calendar items with Outlook Appointments 5. The ability to access CRM record detail from within Outlook There is some additional integration functionality, such as the ability to create support Cases from Outlook emails, which will be covered in this report. Page 3
Email Integration Email integration is the most commonly enabled integration touch point between CRM systems and Outlook. It s important for many organizations to track some (but not all) sent and received email within a CRM system. Both MS CRM and Salesforce have the ability to link both outbound and inbound Outlook email to CRM records. Salesforce Below is a view of the two Salesforce buttons that can be added (based on defined, user options) to the Home ribbon in Outlook: From an Outlook email folder, such as the Inbox, a user can highlight one or more emails and then click on the Add Emails button. The email(s), along with any attachment(s), will be copied to the Salesforce record(s) that matches the sender s email address(es). Sending Email Below is a view of the Outlook Send dialog: Page 4
The user has two options for sending an email. 1. The user can click on the normal Outlook Send button. This will not link the email to a Salesforce record. The email will be sent through Outlook, and moved to the Outlook Sent folder. 2. The user can click on the Send and Add button on the ribbon. This will send the email through Outlook and move a copy of the email into the Outlook Sent folder. The email will also be added to a matching Salesforce record, along with any attachments. The email will be tagged in Outlook with Added to Salesforce. If the Send and Add button is clicked and a matching email address does not exist in a Salesforce record, the email will appear in the user s Task list as an Unresolved Email. Page 5
A Lead or Contact record can be added to Salesforce by the user and then the email can be linked to the new Lead or Contact record and marked as Completed. MS CRM Below is a view of the two MS CRM buttons, Track and Set Regarding, that are added to the Home ribbon in Outlook: Page 6
From the Outlook inbox, a user can highlight an email or emails and then click on the Track button. The email(s), along with any attachments, will be copied to the MS CRM record(s) that match the sender s email address(es). Sending Email Here is a view of the Outlook Send dialog. Note the Track and Set Regarding buttons on the Message ribbon: Page 7
When sending an email from within Outlook, a user has several options: 1. The user can click on the normal Outlook Send button. This will not link the email to a MS CRM record. The email will be sent through Outlook, and moved to the Outlook Sent folder. 2. The user can click on the Track button. The Track button will associate the email with the email sender (a user in MS CRM) and with the recipient(s) a Contact or Contacts in MS CRM. Once tracking is turned on, additional options are exposed, such as the Convert To option, which allows an email to be converted into an Opportunity, Case or Lead. 3. The user can click on the Set Regarding button. The Set Regarding button allows a user to manually associate the email with one or more records in MS CRM. These records can include Accounts, Opportunities, Cases or even records in custom entities. 4. The user can click on both the Track and the Set Regarding buttons. Below is a view of the Send email dialog after Tracking has been enabled. A pane is added to the bottom of the Send dialog that has a link to the Contact record in CRM. The Track button now reads Untrack. Page 8
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Synchronization Administration This section provides an overview of the the synchronization setup and administrator defined options in both Salesforce and MS CRM. Salesforce Outlook Configuration In Salesforce, an administrator is the primary determinant of all users synchronization settings. One or more Outlook Configurations can be set up by a Salesforce administrator. Each configuration can be assigned an individual user or to a group of users (the latter is accomplished by assigning a Profile or Profiles to the configuration). Page 10
Within each Outlook Configuration, an administrator can specify, for each of the three objects (Contacts, Events and Tasks), the options that will be applied users who are assigned the configuration. The options are: Whether the user can synchronize the object Whether the synchronization is bidirectional or one way If the synchronization is one way, what the direction is Conflict behavior (whether Salesforce or Outlook wins in the case of a conflict) Which synchronization parameters a user can modify Within each Outlook configuration, under Data Sets, an administrator can create filters for each of the three objects. Under Contact Filters, an administrator can define filters based on a combination of record ownership and field values: Page 11
Under both Event Filters and Task Filters a later than time range can be specified: The default field mappings for both Events and Tasks can also be modified within an Outlook Configuration. These are the default Event Field Mappings: Depending on the user permissions that are set by an administrator in an Outlook Configuration, a user who is assigned the configuration will have the ability to modify some settings, but not others. In the example below, the user can modify the sync direction for Tasks and Events, but not for Contacts. Similarly, the user can change the field mappings for Tasks and Events but not for Contacts. Finally, the user can enable/disable sync for any of the three objects. Page 12
MS CRM In MS CRM, the user is the primary determinant of Outlook synchronization settings. Email System Settings MS CRM has a number of global, system level settings for Email. For example, an administrator can disable the use of and the display of a tracking token in the subject of emails that are tracked in Outlook: Page 13
Outlook System Settings MS CRM also has global, system settings for Outlook that are defined by an administrator: Page 14
Outlook Filters MS CRM has eight, default User Filters for Outlook synchronization. A user can launch the Filter dialog from within Outlook and can then edit the filter criteria for each of the eight, predefined filters. Additional filters can be created by the user. Page 15
Any synchronization filter can be edited by the user in MS CRM s standard Filter editor: An administrator has the ability to lock down the entire default set of User Filters for a user or group of users by changing a setting within Security Roles. This can be done by disabling Manage User Synchronization Filters within a Security Role. However, there can only be one default set of User Filters for the entire organization. Page 16
Contact Synchronization Salesforce In Salesforce, Contact synchronization with Outlook can be enabled or disabled by an administrator on a per user or on a per Profile basis. If Contact synchronization is enabled, it can be set to: Bi directional One way from Salesforce to Outlook One way from Outlook to Salesforce An administrator can optionally grant permissions on a per user or on a per Profile basis that determine whether a user can enable/disable Contact synchronization or whether a user can modify the synchronization direction if Contact synchronization is enabled. Contact synchronization filters can only be defined by an administrator. MS CRM In MS CRM, Contact synchronization with Outlook is bi directional only. Each user can define his or her own Contact synchronization filters. When a CRM Contact record is synchronized with Outlook, it is automatically tracked in Outlook. The bottom pane of the Outlook Contact record displays a link to the parent CRM Account. Clicking on this link will open an Internet Explorer window on top of Outlook. The user can edit the CRM record for the parent Account record. Page 17
Task Synchronization Salesforce In Salesforce, Task synchronization with Outlook can be enabled or disabled by an administrator on a per user or on a per Profile basis. If Task synchronization is enabled, it can be set to: Bi directional One way from Salesforce to Outlook One way from Outlook to Salesforce An administrator can optionally grant permissions on a per user or on a per Profile basis that determine whether a user can enable/disable Task synchronization or whether a user can modify the synchronization direction if Task synchronization is enabled. Salesforce to Outlook If Tasks are set to synchronize from Salesforce to Outlook for a user, any scheduled Tasks will appear in Outlook. Field values are determined by the defined, Task field mappings for that user. Outlook to Salesforce If Tasks are set to synchronize from Outlook to Salesforce for a user, when any of the mapped fields are changed in a Task that was originally synchronized down from Salesforce to Outlook, those field values will be updated back in Salesforce. If the Status is changed to Completed, the Task will move from the Open Activities related list to the Activity History related list back in the Salesforce Contact record. Page 18
If a new Task is scheduled in Outlook, the Task will appear under My Tasks in Salesforce without a related Name (Lead, Contact) or a Related To (Account, Opportunity, Case, etc.) The Task record needs to be edited in Salesforce in order to link the Task to a Contact or Lead and/or to an Account, Opportunity, Case or other object. MS CRM In MS CRM, Task synchronization with Outlook is bi directional only. Each user can define his or her own Task synchronization filters. MS CRM to Outlook When a Task is created for a Contact in MS CRM, and the Task is synchronized to Outlook, the Task will display a link to the MS CRM Contact record in the bottom pane: Page 19
Outlook to MS CRM In Outlook, when a Task is created, a user can link the Task to a CRM record by clicking on the Set Regarding button. Page 20
In this example, the Task will now display as a scheduled Activity for the associated Contact record in MS CRM: Appointment Synchronization Salesforce In Salesforce, Event synchronization with Outlook can be enabled or disabled by an administrator on a per user or on a per Profile basis. If Event synchronization is enabled, it can be set to: Bi directional One way from Salesforce to Outlook Page 21
One way from Outlook to Salesforce An administrator can optionally grant permissions on a per user or on a per Profile basis that determine whether a user can enable/disable Event synchronization or whether a user can modify the synchronization direction if Event synchronization is enabled. Salesforce to Outlook If an Event is scheduled in Salesforce and Salesforce to Outlook Event synchronization is enabled for the user, an Outlook Appointment will be created. The default field mappings include Subject, Location, Start time, End time and Body: Outlook to Salesforce If an Appointment is created in Outlook, and Outlook to Salesforce Event synchronization is enabled for the user, a Salesforce Event will be created. The synchronization process can pop up a prompt for the user with a link that will go directly to the My Unresolved Items page and to the Events tab: The user can link the Event to a Contact and/or an Account. Alternatively, the user can choose Page 22
to not assign the event to any records. MS CRM In MS CRM, Appointment synchronization with Outlook is bi directional only. Each user can define his or her own Appointment synchronization filters. MS CRM to Outlook When an Appointment is scheduled for a Contact in MS CRM and is synchronized to Outlook, the bottom pane of the Outlook Appointment will show links to the Contact and to the MS CRM user. Outlook to MS CRM When an Appointment is scheduled in Outlook, the user has the option to link the Appointment to a record in MS CRM by either clicking the Track or Set Regarding button. Once the Contact is linked, a link to the Contact record will appear to the right of Regarding:, in the bottom pane. Page 23
In MS CRM, the Appointment will be linked to the Contact record and will display in the Contact s activities: Case Creation Salesforce In Salesforce, if a user has been assigned an Outlook Configuration that has Create Case enabled, the user will see a Create Cases button on their Outlook Home ribbon. When the user wants to create a Case from an email, the user simply needs to highlight the email, click the Create Cases button and then select the appropriate Routing assignment for the Case. One or more Routings can be defined in Salesforce. Page 24
A new Case will be created in Salesforce. If the email address of the sender matches an existing Contact email address in Salesforce, the Case will be automatically linked both to the Contact record and to the Contact s Account record. MS CRM In MS CRM, the steps to create a Case from an email are as follows: Page 25
1. Highlight an email 2. Click the Set Regarding button 3. Select Case from the Look for: drop down list 4. Click the New button at the bottom of the dialog 5. Enter a value in the Title field of the new Case 6. Link the Case to a Customer 7. Click Save & Close 8. Click OK Page 26
The original email will display a link to the new Case in the bottom pane. Opening CRM Records From Within Outlook This functionality allows users to view CRM records within Outlook and to open an MS CRM edit screen from within Outlook. MS CRM Below is a view of a list of MS CRM records within Outlook. Users can select records in different entities by first clicking on an entity in the folder panel and then searching for or highlighting a record. There is a read only view of the selected record s fields in the bottom pane. Page 27
When a Contact record is double clicked in Outlook, an Internet Explorer window opens on top of Outlook. The user can then edit the Contact record within MS CRM and save any changes: Page 28
Salesforce Salesforce.com introduced the Outlook Side Panel in its Winter 13 release. In the side panel, users can view basic contact information and see a list of open activities. A user can link an email to a Lead, Account, Contact and/or Opportunity. A user also has one click access to the Contact record in Salesforce. Page 29
Conclusion MS CRM and Salesforce both offer integration add ins for Outlook. There are several important differences between the two vendors in terms of the specific integration functionality that each vendor provides. This report has covered some of the key differences. Legal Notices Microsoft Dynamics, Windows, Outlook, Excel, Word and SharePoint are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation and/or its affiliated entities. Salesforce, Force.com, Chatter, Apex, Visualforce and salesforce.com are registered trademarks of salesforce.com, inc. Updated April, 2013 Page 30