We need to import data in Dynamics CRM 2011.We don't want to import it manually through import option present in CRM.Instead we need to automate it and the data should be imported every week as per scheduled timely manner.
Let us know what all options are available in Dynamics CRM 2011 for automatic upload data option.Please provide some good URL's if available so that it can help us to understand better.
Thanks, SR
This is a pretty broad question regarding architecting a data ingestion/consumption process. I have done this in a number of ways in the past:
1) SSIS jobs that consume files, extract out the relevant data, then use script components to insert records/update records in CRM. As I understand it, SSIS now has a connector that will do the inserts/updates without having to write custom code to do it.
2) Scribe is a very common 3rd party tool used to do data migrations in Microsoft Dynamics. You can use it to set up schedules, monitor import/sync jobs as well as a variety of other nice features.
Without having more details on what your data import looks like, I can't really say the best method, these are some that I have used successfully in the past.
If you do not wish to use third party tools I would propose doing it by extending Dynamics CRM or by developing a windows app or service which will interact with it.
Extending CRM: Depending on the file types you have (from your question i would assume xml, csv or text as you do direct CRM data import) you can create a custom made workflow and/or a plugin registered on a custom entity, which would periodically (eg. once a week) read all files from a local or a network shared folder, process them and create/update data as per desired logic. You coul
Using external app: You could also accomplish this with a windows service, or a scheduled windows task executing a console app which will do the import logic. This would be good if you need to import different types of files than above mentioned in point 1, like Excel files.
