The Admin’s Guide for Server-Side Synchronization Between Dynamics 365 and Exchange Server

The Admin’s Guide for Server-Side Synchronization Between Dynamics 365 and Exchange Server

Ana NetoTechnical Leave a Comment

Email tracking is crucial for maintaining a complete record of customer interactions within an organization. In the Microsoft ecosystem, this involves automatically generating email activities in Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement whenever emails are received in Outlook. As a Dynamics 365 admin, you need to set up server-side synchronization between Dynamics 365 and Exchange Server before users can track emails.

How to Configure Dynamics 365 for Email Tracking Step-by-step

Below is the step-by-step procedure to configure Dynamics for tracking by using server-side synchronization.

We could consider using a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Email Router but we are going to use server-side synchronization as it is easier to set up and doesn’t require the installation of any additional application.

Note: Some sources mention this as a “Dynamics 365 Outlook Integration”. This is because it is intended for users of Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Outlook. However, as this is server-side, the integration is actually a “Dynamics 365 Exchange Integration”!

Step 1: Log in to Dynamics 365

  • Open your web browser and go to the Dynamics 365 portal. If you are unsure of the URL, check our How To Access the Microsoft D365 Login article first.
  • Enter your admin credentials to log in.

Step 2: Navigate to Advanced Settings

  • From the Dynamics 365 homepage, click the gear icon (⚙️) in the top-right corner.
  • Select “Advanced Settings” from the dropdown menu. This will open a new settings window.
D365 Advanced settings

Step 3: Access Email Configuration

  • In the Power Platform Settings window, scroll down to the “System” section on the left.
  • Select “Email Configuration.”
  • Click on “Email configuration settings.”
D365 Emailsconfiguration

Step 4: Set Up Server-Side Synchronization

  • Navigate to the “Email” tab.
  • Choose “Server-side Synchronization” in the “Process Email Using” field.
  • Make sure you have the correct server in the “Server Profile” field
System Settings Dynamics 365

Step 5: Configure Server Profile

  • Go back to the Power Platform Settings window and select “Email configuration” again
  • This time, choose the “Email server profile” option
Email configuration D365 - Email Server Profile
  • This will open the available “Environments” in the Power Platform admin center
Environments - Power Platforme admin center
  • Select one of the existing server profiles or create a new one using the button at the top of the page.
  • If creating a new one, you can choose the “Email Server Type” for this profile.
Set up server profile

Step 6: Configure Default Synchronization Method

  • Immediately below the Server Profile, you will find the options for the default synchronization method.
  • For both “Incoming Email” and “Outgoing Email” you should set it to “Server-side Synchronization”.
  • Other options are available further down, which you can analyze for your specific use case.
Set up server profile

Step 7: Configure Existing Mailboxes

Note: In addition to administrator permissions, you must have Read and Write privileges on the Mailbox table to go through this step.

  • Go back again to the Power Platform Settings window and select “Email configuration” again
  • This time, choose the “Mailboxes” option
Email Configuration D365 - Mailboxes
  • Choose the adequate system view
System views
  • You need to “Approve Email” and then on “Test & Enable Mailbox” for the tracking to work. You can do this for multiple mailboxes at the same time by selecting them from the list.
  • Alternatively, you can open each one, check the settings are as you want them for that mailbox, and then “Approve Email” and “Test & Enable Mailbox”.
Test and Enable Mailbox

Step 8: Add the user to the Dynamics 365 App for Outlook User security role

After this, you are all set!

Note: By default, the sync process evaluates only messages in the Inbox folder of a mailbox for automatic tracking. Email that's in a subfolder of the inbox is processed only if the subfolder is configured for folder-level tracking (you configure up to 25 subfolders).

In short

We’ve seen in detail how to configure server-side synchronization between Dynamics 365 and Exchange Server to enable email tracking in your organization. By following this guide, customer interactions via email can be recorded in the CRM directly from Outllok.

Once this process is complete, users can fully utilize Dynamics 365’s email tracking features, improving data management and interaction records. If they are using the new Outlook, we recommend the article How to Track Emails to Dynamics 365 with the New Outlook.

And if you want to further enhance your Dynamics 365 capabilities in a stress-free way, check out our guide Upgrade your Dynamics 365 Experience with Connecting Software.

Further Reading


About the Author

Ana Neto

By Ana Neto, technical advisor at Connecting Software.

“I have been a software engineer since 1997, with a more recent love for writing and public speaking. Do you have any questions or comments about this article? I would love to have your feedback, leave a comment below!"

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