3 ways to import data

Every organization has data stored online about customers, products, leads, contacts, contracts, sales literature, competitors, and more. Perhaps you want to transfer this data to Microsoft Dynamics CRM as part of your initial implementation, or have purchased data after everyone was already using Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Wherever the data comes from, you can automate the process of importing it into Microsoft Dynamics CRM so that no one has to manually enter the data.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes three tools for importing data, each of which is useful in different circumstances:

• Import Data Wizard: Used by any user for importing one type of record at a time.
• Data Migration Manager: Used by the system administrator to migrate data from another customer relationship system.

  Note

  Data Migration Manager is not used in the following scenarios:

  • Upgrading from Microsoft Dynamics CRM version 3.0 to version 4.0. This task is done by running Microsoft Dynamics CRM version 4.0 Setup.
  • Moving deployments from one Microsoft Dynamics CRM server to another computer. This task is done by using the Import Organization Wizard, part of Deployment Manager. Deployment Manager is a tool that is installed on the server as part of installing Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Software Development Kit: Used by a programmer to develop a custom import solution.

Comparison: Import Data Wizard and Data Migration Manager

The following table summarizes which tool to use for each task:

Task	Import Data Wizard	Data Migration Manager
Bring data into more than 50 Microsoft Dynamics CRM record types	Yes (All users with appropriate permissions can import data.)	Yes (Only the system administrator can migrate data.)
Bring data into custom record types and attributes	Yes	Yes
Use multiple source files that contain related data	No (You can import only one file at a time.)	Yes
Assign records to multiple users	No (The wizard assigns all records to one user.)	Yes
Detect duplicates	Yes	No (You can run duplicate detection after migrating the records.)
Delete all records associated with one job	No	Yes
Automatically map data based on column headings in source file	Yes	No
Map drop-down list values	Yes	No (To map list values, you must manually edit a data map.)
Set value of Created attribute from source data	No	Yes
Customize Microsoft Dynamics CRM to match data	No (Customization must be performed prior to import.)	Yes (Data Migration Manager can create custom record types and attributes.)
Transform data	No (You must use a one-to-one mapping of attributes.)	Yes (Complex data transformations Types of mappings used to modify data before migrating it.Transformations include concatenation, split, replace, substring, assignment, and date modifications. are possible.)
Send e-mail message to user when task is done	Yes	No

On This Page Import data using the Import Data Wizard Migrate data from another customer relationship management system Build your own custom migration tools

Import data using the Import Data Wizard

The Import Data Wizard is built in to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and can be used by anyone who needs to import data.

Common reasons for using this tool include:

• Import leads that you have collected at a trade show or have purchased
• Update your price lists or product lists from a spreadsheet
• Import the following types of records:

  Click to see record types you can import data to

  Custom record types Account Address Appointment Article Article Template Business Unit Campaign Campaign Activity Campaign Response Case Case Resolution Competitor Contact

  Contract Contract Line Contract Template Currency Customer Relationship Discount Discount List Document E-mail Facility/Equipment Fax Invoice Invoice Product

  Lead Letter Marketing List Note Opportunity Opportunity Close Opportunity Product Opportunity Relationship Order Order Close Order Product Product Quote

  Quote Close Quote Product Role Sales Literature Service Service Activity Site Subject Task Team Territory Unit Unit Group

When you import data, you must specify where each column in your source data belongs in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM record. The Import Data Wizard makes it easy to do this mapping. If you need to do frequent imports from a specific type of file, such as a spreadsheet generated by a business-card reader, you can create and reuse your data map each time you need to import new data.

System administrators and managers can control the permissions for those who can import which types of data. For example, people with sales-related or marketing-related security roles might be allowed to import leads, but not products or price lists.

Top

Migrate data from another customer relationship management system

The Data Migration Manager is a separate tool that is typically used when you first implement Microsoft Dynamics CRM to bring data from your legacy databases and systems into Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It can only be used by someone with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM System Administrator security role.

Common reasons for using Data Migration Manager include:

• Records need to be assigned to different Microsoft Dynamics CRM users.
• The data includes many related records. This is typically the case if you are using an existing system, such as a contact-management system that tracks accounts, contacts, and history of interactions. Another example is a service-scheduling program that tracks service resources and appointments, and you need to import existing service resources and appointments.
• The data is in multiple files.
• You want to transform the data as it is migrated. For example, if you need to split one field into two, combine several fields into one, or modify a date field as it is migrated.
• You want to set the Created-On date to a date in the past as part of importing the data.

The Data Migration Manager includes data maps for commonly used customer-relationship management (CRM) systems, and additional data maps may be available for download.

Top

Build your own custom migration tools

If you want to automate the migration process, you can use the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Software Development Kit tools to create a custom program to migrate your data.

Top

Related Links

Importing data overview

Data migration overview

Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK