Friday, June 10, 2016

What do you use to integrate Dynamics GP and Dynamics CRM?

By Steve Endow

Today I was asked what tool I recommended to integrate Dynamics GP and Dynamics CRM.

Unfortunately, I've never done a GP to CRM integration, so I didn't have a recommendation.

I've never searched extensively for GP to CRM integration solutions, so I've only heard of 3 options.

1. Microsoft's Connector for Microsoft Dynamics
2. Scribe and Scribe Online
3. SmartConnect

I'm vaguely familiar with the Microsoft connector, as I recall a version was created many years ago and then discontinued.  And I see that the current version is also apparently being discontinued, and will only work with CRM up to version 2016.

https://mbs.microsoft.com/customersource/northamerica/GP/downloads/service-packs/mdgp_dynamicsconnector

The appeal of the Microsoft Connector is that it is free.  Naturally that would be great for customers, if it works well and does what they need.  But if it won't support CRM releases after version 2016, that is probably not a good option going forward.

So that leaves Scribe / Scribe Online and SmartConnect that I've heard of for GP to CRM integrations.

I just saw one post about Jitterbit being an option, but I don't think I've personally come across a Dynamics GP customer that has used Jitterbit.

Are there other tools are out there for integrating Dynamics GP and Dynamics CRM that you would recommend?

Steve Endow is a Microsoft MVP for Dynamics GP and a Dynamics GP Certified IT Professional in Los Angeles.  He is the owner of Precipio Services, which provides Dynamics GP integrations, customizations, and automation solutions.

You can also find him on Google+ and Twitter







1 comment:

Unknown said...

Steve, I think you hit the big three.

In my experience, the Connector is the most limited. You get what you get and last timer I looked, there were limited options for customization.

SmartConnect uses eConnect for the back end. If you are working exclusively with Dynamics applications, it's a great option because it's the most tightly integrated solution. It's easy to add scripting and tasks at specific integration points and eOne even has a GUI Node Builder to create new eConnect nodes. It can also utilize Extender data very easily.

Scribe is probably the most versatile solution but it's not as tightly integrated to Dynamics. It's a good option if you have Oracle or other system data types that require a middleware interface to translate between systems.