Integrating Dynamics CRM with Multiple Dynamics NAV Databases using Connect Bridge

The out-of-the-box (OOTB) integration between Dynamics CRM (now Dynamics 365 for Sales) and Dynamics NAV presented several advantages, aimed at streamlining business processes and enhancing productivity by connecting the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) capabilities with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) functionalities.

Such benefits included, but are not limited to, a Unified Customer View, a Streamlined Sales and Order Processing, Product Information Management, Inventory Management Insights, Improved Financial Management, Efficiency and Productivity Gains, Enhanced Collaboration, and Scalability.

The OOTB integration between Dynamics CRM and Dynamics NAV provides businesses with a powerful set of tools to improve efficiency, enhance customer relationships, and facilitate better decision-making through unified access to critical business data. Unfortunately, there are limitations to the integration that proved challenging when attempting to implement it.

Limited Entity Synchronization

The default integration package only included a set of predefined entities (like Accounts, Contacts, Products, Sales Orders) that could be synchronized between Dynamics CRM and Dynamics NAV. This limitation often meant that businesses could not fully automate all their processes without investing in further customization or third-party solutions.

Inability to Synchronize to multiple NAV databases

Organizations might operate with multiple business units and have separate NAV databases for entities. The OOTB solution only provides the capability to synchronize between one CRM and one NAV database. This limitation was often the major reason for companies not moving forward with the OOTB integration.

Customization Constraints

While both Dynamics CRM and Dynamics NAV are highly customizable, any significant customizations could potentially disrupt the default integration mechanisms. Custom fields, entities, or business logic required careful planning to ensure they could be integrated properly, often necessitating additional development work. This challenge was particularly acute for businesses with highly tailored systems, as the integration needed to be custom developed to accommodate these customizations, leading to increased costs and complexity.

Real-time Integration Capabilities

The default integration often relied on batch processes to synchronize data between Dynamics CRM and Dynamics NAV, meaning that the data was not always updated in real-time. This could lead to situations where users might be working with outdated information, potentially affecting sales, customer service, and inventory management.

Complexity of Setup and Maintenance

Setting up the default integration required a good understanding of both Dynamics CRM and Dynamics NAV, including their data models and business logic. Additionally, maintaining the integration, especially in the context of system updates or modifications in business processes, could become complex and time-consuming. Businesses often needed to rely on external consultants or have in-house experts to manage the integration effectively.

Performance Issues

For larger sets of data or more complex synchronization processes, performance could become an issue with the default integration. This was particularly true when large volumes of data needed to be synchronized, as the batch process could take considerable time, potentially impacting business operations.

Newer versions and updates may address some of these limitations, offering more robust and flexible integration options, although companies may opt for not upgrading to the newest versions for various reasons, such as the need to connect to Azure for localization updates.

2. Utilize the Connect Bridge Power Automate connector. This nifty tool allows you build your integration using Power Automate Flows. Build flows where cloud triggers then execute an action in your on-premises or cloud-based Dynamics NAV. Or setup a Recurrence trigger in Power Automate to check for updates in Dynamics NAV every few minutes then update Dynamics CRM accordingly. This approach is recommended for companies that have lower volumes of data and/or would like to leverage Power Automate to work with various actions from internal email notifications to customer text messages.

For example, should you have multiple NAV databases but only one CRM, you can create a Condition logic within Power Automate to specify if the owning company of the contract is a specific company, then connect to NAV DB 1, else execute a different desired logic.

Once your connection to the on-premises installation of Connect Bridge through Microsoft’s on-premises data gateway is established, you can write the SQL statements to run Stored Procedures, execute SQL statements albeit through API calls, and create the logic you need to bring your Dynamics CRM to Dynamics NAV integration(s) to the next level. Below you can find an example of how one could create a new customer inside Dynamics NAV using the Power Automate Connect Bridge connector.

Summary

Management must weigh the pros and cons to find the right integration method for their environment. When it comes to integrating Dynamics CRM with Dynamics NAV, some might find the out of the box integration solves all their requirements without the need for customization. However, when a business has multiple NAV databases and work with a single CRM, Connect Bridge is a practical solution that offers various methods to build an integration, be it with a developer that is able to code in the language of their preference or with a Power Automate user.