Microsoft Dynamics CRM Data Migration and Importing

The data migration and import features let you upload data from various customer relationship management systems and data sources into Microsoft Dynamics CRM. You can import data into standard and customized attributes of most entity types, including custom entities. During migration, you can upload related data of different types, such as notes and attachments. Data import lets you import new data or update existing data in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM includes the following tools for importing and migrating data:

·         Import Data Wizard, which is a Web application that is used for importing data records from multiple comma-separated values (CSV) files or from multiple XML Spreadsheet files.

·         Data Migration Manager, which is a stand-alone tool that used for migrating data from multiple comma-separated values (CSV) files.

Data Migration and Import Implementation Steps

Typically, to implement data migration and import you have to follow these steps:

·         Create a comma-separated values (CSV) formatted or XML Spreadsheet 2003 source files that contain the source data.

·         Create the data maps, or use the existing data maps. This step is not required if you use auto-mapping.

·         Create the import files and read the content of the CSV source files into the associated import files.

·         Parse the import files.

·         Transform the parsed data.

·         Upload transformed data into the target Microsoft Dynamics CRM server.

Each source file contains data for one entity type, such as an account, a lead, or a competitor. During import you can process one source file at the time. A single data migration operation lets you import data of different entity types from multiple source files.

Parsing, transforming, and uploading of data are done by the asynchronous jobs that run in the background. The asynchronous jobs have to run in this particular order:

• Parse
• Transform
• Upload

A new job cannot start before the previous job has finished running successfully.

Data import runs directly on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server. When you run data migration, you can parse and transform data on the local system to reduce the processing time on the server. When data is ready for migration, you can upload it to the server.

Comparison between Data Import and Data Migration

The following table contains comparison information for Data Import and Data Migration.

Feature	Data Import (on-premises)	Data Import (online)	Data Migration (on-premises and online)
Import data into Microsoft Dynamics CRM	Yes (All users who have appropriate permissions can import data.)	Yes (All users who have appropriate permissions can import data.)	Yes (Only the system administrator can migrate data in the offline mode.)
Import data into custom entity types and attributes	Yes	Yes	Yes
During data import or migration, create entity instances in Microsoft Dynamics CRM that have N:N (many-to-many) relationship with other entity instances.	No	No	No
Use multiple source files that contain related data	No (You can only import one file at a time.)	Yes	Yes
Assign entity instances to multiple users	No (All entity instances are assigned to one user.)	Yes	Yes
Update existing entity instances	Yes	No	No
Detect duplicates	Yes	Yes	No (You can run duplicate detection after you migrate the data.)
Delete all entity instances associated with one job	Yes (Use the bulk delete feature.)	Yes (Use the bulk delete feature.)	Yes (Use the bulk delete feature.)
Automatically map data based on column headings in the source file	Yes	Yes	No
Set the value of the createdon attribute for the entity from source data	No	Yes	Yes
Customize Microsoft Dynamics CRM to match source data	No (Customization must be done before import.)	Yes	No (Custom entities and attributes can be created by Data Migration Manager.)
Apply complex data transformation mapping	No	Yes	Yes
Import state and status information	No	Yes	Yes
Import data from an Excel worksheet in XML format (XMLSS)	No	Yes	No

References

[1]    Data Migration and Import, Microsoft TechNet, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc150977.aspx

[2]    Importing data overview, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Resource Center, http://rc.crm.dynamics.com/rc/2011/en-us/on-prem/5.0/importdiagram.aspx

Data Migration Overview, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Resource Center, http://rc.crm.dynamics.com/rc/regcont/en_us/op/articles/migrationoverview.aspx