Both Dynamics CRM and Dynamics AX provide the back office, sales and customer service departments with important capabilities needed to run your business. While the two applications are different, they share some important information that needs to be synced such as Products, Invoices, Customers etc.
Luckily, you can easily sync information between the two systems through a connector that automatically does the integration. Setting up and configuring the Dynamics Connector is easy.
Installing Dynamics AX Connector
To synchronize data between AX and CRM, you first need to install Dynamics Connector. Follow the steps below:
- Open Bing and search for “AX Dynamics Connector”. You will find it on CustomerSource.
- Scroll down on the page and download the installation kit. Then, double click the .msi file to start installation.
- Accept the license agreement
- Enter the name where MSSQL has been installed in the Server section on the Connection Information page.
- Enter the password and username you will be using.
- Click Install and wait for application to install.
- Click Finish after installation is complete.
After installation, check the Connector on your program list or desktop.
Preparing the Configuration Services
The connector integrates Dynamics AX and CRM online. However, integration services have to be configured after installation. The configuration is done through Dynamics AX.
Here is how to configure:
Navigate to the Project Management and Accounting area and select Setup. From the ensuing drop-down options, click Microsoft Dynamics CRM Integration and select Project to Dynamics CRM Integration Setup. Let the program run and when compilation is finished, it will be time to configure the AX Connector.
How to Configure the Connector
Follow these steps:
- Open the Connector For Dynamics AX, navigate to the menu bar and click Adapter Settings.
- The Adapter Setting dialog box will be open and all the adapters available will be displayed. Click Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
- On the next page, type the AOS Server Name as well as password and username that will be used for the integration.
- Click Configure Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. A dialog will pop up.
- Click Refresh Services. All services that can be used after integration will be displayed.
- Click Configure and click out of the dialog.
- Test the configuration by clicking Test Settings On the Adapter Settings form.
- If your configuration is correct, click OK and save the settings by clicking Apply.
Configuring CRM Connector
Follow these steps to configure the CRM Connector:
- On the left of the form, click Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 to display its settings.
- On the settings, enter the username and password you will be using.
- Enter the discovery URL of the CRM you are connecting to.
- To start the configuration, click Configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
- Open Adapter Configuration form, indicate your administrator details and click Get Organizations.
- The Organizations within the CRM will be displayed. Select the ones to be synced and click Next.
- The next page is the Configuration page. Click Configure button to start updating the CRM. Dynamics CRM will be updated.
- On the CRM Adapter Settings, click Test to test your configuration.
- Finally, click Apply to save the changes you’ve made.
Integrating AX to CRM
Having configured the adapters, it’s now time to integrate Dynamics AX and CRM.
- Click New Integration from the Connector for Dynamics AX.
- On the New Integration dialog box, select a template from the dropdown box or configure the integration by hand.
- The first adapter will be set to AX and the second to CRM. From the first application dropdown list, select the company that you want to synchronize with
- On the second application, select your CRM organization from the Company
- Click the Create button.
The system will do the integration. On the Connector page, all default Maps will have been created.
Sync CRM Picklist
The connector is now ready for use. However, before you can sync the main table, the AX and CRM have to be in sync by syncing the Picklists that contain all the codes. Here is how to do this:
- Select Enumerate Values to Picklist and click Activate.
- Click Save on the menu bar
From here, the integration will start and the connector will discover changes within AX that need to be updated on CRM.