How to do integration between SharePoint and Dynamic 365 CRM

Enabling integration requires configuration in both SharePoint and Dynamic CRM. Its starts with SharePoint.

Before I outline configuration steps, I would like to mentioned few points that needs to be consider for this integration.

• Never configure Dynamic CRM on SharePoint Root directory – Yes, you can configure but you should not as it difficult to manage later.
• Must have separate sites for various CRM instance (Dev, UAT, Prod etc.) in your organization.
• It should be a Team site and not a communication site as security principle could be applied easily with respect to the user accessing it.
• If you delete the Dynamics record (delete opportunity or lead), then the documents would remain in SharePoint. If you delete a document itself, then it is removed from both Dynamic 365 and SharePoint.

Important Note:
Out-of-the box integration does not provide the same level of record security of CRM in SharePoint. This results in documents in SharePoint being accessible to users without required access. To know more in details, please refer below two articles.

• Bridging the Security Gap Between Dynamics 365 Privileges and SharePoint Permissions
• How to Sync Security Between CRM and SharePoint

For some, it can turn out to be an advantage. For example, a sales proposal or MOU held in Dynamics 365 against an opportunity can be reviewed and amended by anyone with SharePoint access, even if they don’t have a Dynamics 365 license.

Configuration on SharePoint

We would create team site in order to obtain SharePoint site Url that needs to be configured into Dynamic CRM.

Step 1: Create a Team Site in SharePoint by following below steps

Step 2: Choosing Team site will open a wizard to provide details to create a Team site.

• Privacy settings need to be:  Private - only members can access this site.

Step 3: You can add member or owner to this site, and it can be done later as well. Finish creating this site.

Click Finish to complete the wizard. 

Now navigate to Site Contents to check what is provided by default before we start with Dynamic 365 CRM integration.

Note your Team site URL from the first step or browse and copy it from the address-bar.

Configuration on Dynamic 365 CRM

Go to Settings > Document Management.

In the Document Management area, click Enable server-based SharePoint integration.

Review the information and follow the wizards as depicted in below screenshots.

Now we need to enable document management setting for various entities in Dynamic CRM.

Go to Settings > Document Management.

In the Document Management area, click Document Management Settings.

• Select the entities based on your requirement where you would like to enable document management feature.
• Provide SharePoint Site Url

Select the Folder Structure.

Refer here for detailed understanding related to folder structure type option. I am not selecting Based on entity which means documents will uploaded to respective entity.

Finish the wizard and now we can check site contents again to see what’s been added after running this integration wizard.

Document library got created for respective entities selected in integration wizards.

Now let’s navigate to Lead entity in Dynamic CRM to check what’s been added.

Refer more articles related to SharePoint and Dynamic CRM

ü    How to create a SharePoint Folder in C#

ü    How to Find SharePoint Version installed