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URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/dynamicscrm-cloud-salesforce-connect.rst

⇱ Edit and Search External Dynamics CRM Objects in Salesforce Connect

Edit and Search External Dynamics CRM Objects in Salesforce Connect

👁 Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Use CData Connect AI to securely provide OData feeds of Dynamics CRM data to smart devices and cloud-based applications. Use the CData Connect and Salesforce Connect to create Dynamics CRM Data objects that you can access from apps and the dashboard.

CData Connect AI, enables you to access Dynamics CRM data from cloud-based applications like the Salesforce console and mobile applications like the Salesforce Mobile App. In this article, you will use CData Connect AI and Salesforce Connect to access external Dynamics CRM objects alongside standard Salesforce objects.

About Dynamics CRM Data Integration

CData simplifies access and integration of live Microsoft Dynamics CRM data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:

  • Read and write data in the Dynamics CRM 2011+ Services and Dynamics CRM Online.
  • Extend the native features of Dynamics CRM with customizable caching and intelligent query aggregation and separation.
  • Authenticate securely with Dynamics CRM in a variety of ways, including Azure Active Directory, Azure Managed Service Identity credentials, and Azure Service Principal using either a client secret or a certificate.

CData customers use our Dynamics CRM connectivity solutions for a variety of reasons, whether they're looking to replicate their data into a data warehouse (alongside other data sources) or analyze live Dynamics CRMa data from their preferred data tools inside the Microsoft ecosystem (Power BI, Excel, etc.) or with external tools (Tableau, Looker, etc.).


Getting Started


Connect to Dynamics CRM from Salesforce

To work with live Dynamics CRM data in Salesforce Connect, we need to connect to Dynamics CRM from Connect AI, provide user access to the connection, and create a Workspace for the Dynamics CRM data.

Connect to Dynamics CRM from Connect AI

CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

  1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection
    2. 👁 Adding a Connection
  2. Select "Dynamics CRM" from the Add Connection panel
    3. 👁 Selecting a data source
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Dynamics CRM.

    The connection string options meet the authentication and connection requirements of different Dynamics CRM instances. To connect to your instance, set the User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, to valid Dynamics CRM user credentials and set the Url to a valid Dynamics CRM server organization root. Additionally, set the CRMVersion property to 'CRM2011+' or 'CRMOnline'. IFD configurations are supported as well; set InternetFacingDeployment to true.

    Additionally, you can provide the security token service (STS) or AD FS endpoint in the STSURL property. This value can be retrieved with the GetSTSUrl stored procedure. Office 365 users can connect to the default STS URL by simply setting CRMVersion.

    👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
  4. Click Save & Test
  5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Dynamics CRM Connection page and update the User-based permissions. 👁 Updating permissions

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

  1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
  2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
  3. Give the PAT a name and click Create. 👁 Creating a new PAT
  4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

Configure Dynamics CRM Endpoints for Salesforce Connect

After connecting to Dynamics CRM, create a workspace for your desired table(s).

  1. Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace). 👁 The Workspaces page.
    👁 Adding a new Workspace.
  2. Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
  3. Select the Dynamics CRM connection (e.g. DynamicsCRM1) and click Next. 👁 Selecting an Asset (Salesforce is shown).
  4. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm. 👁 Selecting Tables (Salesforce is shown).
  5. Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}

With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to Dynamics CRM data from Salesforce Connect.

Connect to Dynamics CRM Data as an External Data Sources

Follow the steps below to connect to the feed produced by Connect AI.

  1. Log into Salesforce and click Setup -> Integrations -> External Data Sources.
  2. Click Now External Data Sources.
  3. Enter values for the following properties:
    • External Data Sources: Enter a label to be used in list views and reports.
    • Name: Enter a unique identifier.
    • Type: Select the option "Salesforce Connect: OData 4.0".
    • URL: Enter the URL to the OData endpoint of Connect AI: https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
  4. Select the Writable External Objects option.
  5. Select JSON in the Format menu.
  6. In the Authentication section, set the following properties:
    • Identity Type: If all members of your organization will use the same credentials to access Connect AI, select "Named Principal". If the members of your organization will connect with their own credentials, select "Per User".
    • Authentication Protocol: Select Password Authentication to use basic authentication.
    • Certificate: Enter or browse to the certificate to be used to encrypt and authenticate communications from Salesforce to your server.
    • Username: Enter a CData Connect AI username (e.g. [email protected]).
    • Password: Enter the user's PAT.
👁 Configuration settings for the data source (NetSuite is shown)

Synchronize Dynamics CRM Objects

After you have created the external data source, follow the steps below to create Dynamics CRM external objects that reflect any changes in the data source. You will synchronize the definitions for the Dynamics CRM external objects with the definitions for Dynamics CRM tables.

  1. Click the link for the external data source you created.
  2. Click Validate and Scan.
  3. Select the Dynamics CRM tables you want to work with as external objects.
👁 Select external objects (NetSuite is shown)

Access Dynamics CRM Data as Salesforce Objects

After adding Dynamics CRM data as an external data source and syncing Dynamics CRM tables as external objects, you can use the external Dynamics CRM objects just as you would standard Salesforce objects.

Simplified Access to Dynamics CRM Data from Cloud Applications

At this point, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live Dynamics CRM data from Salesforce. For more information on gaining simplified access to data from more than 100 SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources in cloud applications like Salesforce, refer to our Connect AI page.