Tag Archives: SharePoint
The Retirement of SharePoint 2010 Could Destroy Your CRM Business Processes
Find out how one organization thought they were good to go but after running the Modernization Scanner we found 1000’s of broken workflows.
If you’ve been using SharePoint 2010 to manage your CRM system, you might be in trouble. As you may have heard, Microsoft announced that SharePoint 2010 Workflows are being retired. This announcement stems from the company’s focus on adopting newer tools and technology and their push to have users quickly adopt Power Automate
Given the company’s push towards Power Automate, this announcement was only a matter of time, but it could leave businesses who are still relying on these workflows in a tough spot. But what exactly is being turned off?
Here’s what we know so far: all SharePoint 2010 Workflows were switched off on August 1, 2020. If you were planning on migrating any workflows to a new tenant, it is no longer possible. To help make the transition away from SharePoint 2010 easier, here’s what you can expect.
Any workflows that are running on SharePoint 2010 in an existing tenant must be moved by and be recreated in either Power Automate or another system. If you don’t move them, they may stop running.
Beginning on the first of November, Microsoft will start removing users’ ability to create or execute 2010 workflows. While you won’t be able to run existing 2010 workflows, you can still access them. Please note that as Microsoft continues to move towards newer technology, you may lose access to these workflows in the future.
It’s expected that the following workflows will be affected by the retirement of SharePoint 2010:
- Signature collection: This workflow routes a Microsoft document to gather electronic signatures.
- Gather feedback: The workflow that gathers feedback from specific people or parties.
- Classic pages publishing approval: When you need to send content or sample web pages to clients or customers for approval, this is the workflow you would use.
- Three-state: This workflow is used to manage business processes that require users to track a number of items or issues such as sales leads, project tasks, or support issues.
- Approvals: When you need approval from designated parties, this workflow routes the item or document to the right person.
Moving SharePoint 2010 Workflows to Power Automate isn’t a simple task. While migrating simple workflows is relatively straightforward, migrating long, complicated processes can take much longer than the few months given by Microsoft. You don’t want to run the risk of losing access to the business processes you rely on after November 1 as this can create numerous problems for your organization. So what are you to do?
It’s recommended to get in touch with a Microsoft representative or Microsoft Partner that has experience in using Power Platform. JourneyTEAM is one of those partners. We’ve already assisted numerous clients in understanding what their options are as well as provided assistance in moving to Power Automate.
It won’t. Microsoft has specified that on-premise workflows for SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2013 will continue to be supported until 2026.
As of today, Microsoft has made no announcement that SharePoint 2013 workflows will be retired. However, while they’ll still be supported, they will be deprecated.
By default, all SharePoint 2013 workflows will be turned off for new tenants after November 1, 2020. However, should you need to activate the 2013 on a new tenant, you can do so using the PowerShell script provided by Microsoft.
Don’t think that 2010 workflows are safe in SharePoint 2013. While Microsoft has not yet announced the retirement of SharePoint 2013, it’s only a matter of time before this announcement comes. Especially considering that Microsoft has repeatedly emphasized that their preferred workflow solution is Power Automate and Office 365. To be safe, any workflows you recreate in SharePoint 2013 should be recreated in Power Automate to ensure you don’t lose access to these workflows.
Moving your workflows directly to Power Automate can help you save hours of work. But migrating to the platform isn’t as straightforward as it seems. SharePoint 2010 and 2013 have different features than those in Power Automate that allow some workflows to be recreated and others not. You’ll need to determine how complex your workflows are and if Power Automate features all the actions contained in the existing workflow. To help you figure this out, Microsoft has created the Modernization Scanner.
While you only have a few months to migrate your workflows, there’s no need to start panicking. Your first step is analyzing your system and figuring out exactly which workflows will be turned off on November 1, 2020.
This is exactly what the Modernization Scanner tool does. It scans your entire system and pinpoints exactly which workflows will be affected by the retirement. Plus, it can help for further modernization by providing a report that details:
- Which lists and libraries can be modernized
- Where rebuilding of classic portals need to be done
- Which classic workflows, InfoPaths, and blog pages are being used
The Modernization Scanner will show you exactly which workflows will be affected at the beginning of November. Additionally, the insight gained from the scanner will specify which SharePoint 2010 features can’t be recreated in Power Automate or another modern system. This enables you to work with your IT team to figure out how to recreate those actions and tasks within a modern server, so that your business processes won’t be disrupted.
Even with a thorough knowledge of your system, you can never be 100% sure that there aren’t a few SharePoint 2010 workflows hiding in the shadows. Consider this: JourneyTEAM recently worked with a client that used the Modernization Scanner on one part of their system. When the scan was complete, they discovered 1,000 SharePoint 2010 workflows that several of their business processes relied heavily on. With the Modernization Scanner, they were able to avoid overloading their IT team with work at the beginning of November.
Now that you can see how the retirement of SharePoint will affect your business processes, it’s time to get to work. Here’s what you need to do: First, you’ll need to get in touch with someone from JourneyTEAM. After you’ve spoken with one of our team members, you’ll need to set up and run the Modernization Scanner in a specific tenant which will gather the data needed to determine which workflows will be affected by SharePoint’s retirement. Once you have that data, send it to your JourneyTEAM contact. Using that data, we’ll help you determine what, if any, steps need to be taken.
Working directly with our , you’ll get the exact support you need to modernize your SharePoint 2010 workflows. Whether you have questions about how to run the scanner or run into a few minor issues, our team can help. JourneyTEAM has numerous online resources available as well as tutorials and work sessions that can get you started.
Don’t wait and see if your business processes will be affected after November 1. Contact JourneyTEAM today to get started.
JourneyTEAM can help you integrate your solution with ease. Our team of professionals can help you navigate services and put them to work for you. Contact us today to discuss strategy or run a Modernization Scanner to see if you have any potential workflow threats.
About JourneyTEAM
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Head of Marketing | 801-436-6636
JourneyTEAM has more than 25 years of experience in delivering IT solutions to businesses. As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, we’ve worked closely with Microsoft to carefully provide organizations with Microsoft products, including SharePoint, Azure, Office 365, Dynamics 364, SL, AX, GP, NAV, and CRM, and make them work for you. Whether you’re in need of a collaboration, marketing, sales, or productivity solution, JourneyTEAM can help you find the right technology for your business. To learn more about our team, visit our website at .
Top 5 reasons why Attach2Dynamics is preferred document management app within Dynamics 365 CRM for SharePoint, Dropbox and Azure Blob!
One of the important roles of Dynamics 365 CRM is to provide structured document management functionalities. As documents in Dynamics 365 CRM are stored as attachments or Note records, managing large number of documents becomes quite complex. And the higher the size of the database, the costlier it gets for buying more storage. Hence, a solution that provides seamless integration of Dynamics 365 CRM with cloud storage of your choice for document management becomes a necessity.
, as the name implies, is a that provides efficient management of Dynamics 365 CRM attachments and documents by integrating CRM to multiple cloud storages viz. SharePoint, Dropbox, and Azure Blog Storage. It has a user-friendly interface that lets you perform common file management actions like upload, download, browse, and delete documents within Dynamics 365 CRM without having to navigate to the configured cloud storage. Further, you can also send documents as emails and also generate sharable links of the files and folders for emailing. And all this from within Dynamics 365 CRM!
To better understand how this ‘out-of-the-box’ solution Attach2Dynamics will help you increase your efficiency in Dynamics 365 CRM, let us go through some of the prominent features of this productivity app.
1. Native Integration with multiple Cloud Storages
Attach2Dynamics offers native integration between Dynamics 365 CRM and cloud storage like SharePoint, Dropbox, and Azure Blog Storage. This helps more space for document management in Dynamics 365 CRM. You can also create multiple instances of the same cloud storage with different names to store and bifurcate your data on the cloud as per your convenience.
2. File management with a user-friendly interface
With the help of eye-pleasing easy to use interface of Attach2Dynamics, you can drag and drop multiple files and folders from Dynamics 365 CRM to configured cloud storages. You can also view all the copied/moved files and folders in a single glance with the help of Attach2Dynamics. File management actions like uploading, downloading, browsing, deleting documents, configuring notes, renaming files and folders and creating new folders are as simple as if you working on Windows Explorer.
3. Email Link or Attachment
With the help of Attach2Dynamics, you can also send files, folders and sales literature attachments in an email. It will also allow you to create anonymous file links for sharing. You can also set default from, to, cc and bcc for an email using the ‘Email configuration’ feature of Attach2Dynamics.
4. Bulk Migration Job
Attach2Dynamics will help you in copying/moving History Notes, Email and Sales Literature Attachments from Dynamics 365 CRM to SharePoint, Dropbox and Azure Blog Storage using this feature. Also, you can see the status of migrating attachments. For example, if you want to move emails of the last ‘X’ days from Dynamics 365 CRM to one of the configured cloud storages in bulk, you can do so easily with the help of this feature of Attach2Dynamics.
5. Security Templates
Along with cloud integration and easy file management, Attach2Dynamics also enables managers to set permissions for all the user actions in configured cloud storage on the selected files and folders. User actions like Upload, Download, Email, Copy Link, Delete, etc. can be controlled using security templates.
With all these features, Attach2Dynamics is a must-have solution for your Dynamics 365 CRM environment. Also, check out our smart app that synchronizes Dynamics 365 CRM and SharePoint security model with a newly added feature to add .
Don’t let your Dynamics 365 CRM / Power Apps clutter! Download Attach2Dynamics today and increase the efficiency of your CRM environment as well as that of your team.
You can get your free trial of 15 days from our or .
Drop us a mail at crm@inogic.com for a 1:1 demo or any of your unique document management requirements.
Stay safe and work smart!
How to Protect Dynamics 365 Documents in SharePoint From Misuse
Do you work with Dynamics 365 and use SharePoint to store your documents? You can use the standard out-of-the-box integration between Dynamics 365 and SharePoint offered by Microsoft, but the security models of D365 and SharePoint differ significantly.
Unfortunately, this can result in documents in SharePoint being accessible to users who don’t have the required Dynamics 365 privileges.
Dynamics 365 Documents in SharePoint
Fortunately, a Microsoft Partner has an out-of-the-box tool that solves this problem: . Its goal is to protect the documents that are in SharePoint. It ensures that the proper privileges from Dynamics 365 are applied to SharePoint items, automatically and instantaneously securing your files and documents at all times.
“We are very proud to say that we have the perfect solution to secure your documents in SharePoint, the documents you use in Dynamics 365.” Thomas Berndorfer, Connecting Software explains.
The problem is actually bigger than what one might think, as users can have multiple security roles belong to multiple groups and all this changes over time. “Currently, we can say that we are completely covering the entire security model of Dynamics 365, including security roles, cascading behavior, manager/ position-based hierarchy, business units’ hierarchy, access team templates, and record of ownership.” he describes. It is “an award-winning out-of-the-box solution (…) that has grown over the last six years, proven technology with over 300 installations.” Thomas Berndorfer concludes.
A Solution That Fits The Problem & The Current Crisis
In these times of crisis, customers look for more than a simple fit for their problem. They also appreciate that they can go through the whole demonstration, evaluation, and purchase process based on the web. “Forrester says 73% of business buyers find the web more convenient for purchasing and even more in the current climate that we have”, says Julio Colon, Microsoft.
Thomas Berndorfer, Connecting Software describes the process: “Where can you get it? On Appsource, Azure Marketplace, we have an ecosystem of partners, and, of course, you can get it from Connecting Software. (…) We have a quick deployment. If you go to your Azure Marketplace, it is even pre-installed.”
To get a full understanding of this problem and its solution, watch the full webinar where Microsoft and Connecting Software presented how to Protect Dynamics 365 Documents in SharePoint From Misuse, which includes a demo. Presenting are Julio Colon (Microsoft), Thomas Berndorfer (Connecting Software) and Sherif Kenawy (Connecting Software).
If you want a personalized demo or if you have any question, get in touch with . They will get back to you quickly. You can also click on Ask the Author below, and I will help you out.
By Ana Neto, Connecting Software creates integration and synchronization software. Connecting Software is a 15-year-old company, with 40 employees spread in 4 different countries.
Store and Manage Dynamics 365 CRM documents in SharePoint in native folder hierarchy structure with the latest Attach2Dynamics feature
Now-a-days, everybody stores data in cloud. With its ease of accessibility and n number of features, cloud storage has become the rage. And specifically, for Dynamics 365 CRM users, SharePoint has become the best place to store and manage documents/attachments. But storing data doesn’t mean to dump all the data in SharePoint. To get information quickly and easily, data should be stored in a systematic way. This is possible with the latest feature of one of our –
So, what is this feature that would make document/attachment management in SharePoint handy and worthwhile.
Store documents/attachments on the basis of Hierarchy in SharePoint
With this latest feature of Attach2Dynamics you will be able to store your Dynamics 365 CRM documents/attachments on the basis of hierarchy in SharePoint. For example, suppose you want to store documents of Opportunity entity in your SharePoint site on the basis of hierarchy. To achieve this, first you have to enable document management for Opportunity entity. Then you will have to select a folder structure based on either ‘Account’ or ‘Contact’ entity. Once it is done, the next step is Entity Configuration. Here, along with other fields you will have to populate the additional ‘Folder Structure Field’ and save it. Now, all you have to do is to go to any record in Opportunity entity, move/copy attachments or click on the Attach2Dynamics button to directly upload files to SharePoint.
Once the document is uploaded, it is stored as per the following hierarchy structure in your SharePoint site (if the folder structure enabled is based on Account) i.e. Account > Account Name_guid > Opportunity > Opportunity Name_guid.
Quite a handy feature for all those who want a seamless document management system to easily store and manage data in Dynamics 365 CRM & PowerApps.
So, don’t wait! Find out for yourself more about this feature by downloading the latest Attach2Dynamics solution from our or .
You can also explore our very own which has all the goodness of Attach2Dynamics and more!
And, don’t forget to send your valuable feedback at crm@inogic.com
Until then, Stay Safe, Stay Healthy!
Dynamics 365 and SharePoint: 3 Ways to Replicate Permissions Structure
Recently, I’ve come across a post on Dynamics 365 and SharePoint integration. The story is from one CRM forum, and the writer was looking for a solution for permission structure in SharePoint.
From the number of similar threads, many organizations are concerned with the same issue – missing synchronization of permissions and privileges between the CRM and SP.
The forum member wrote the following:
Hi guys,
Currently, I’m investigating possibilities to replicate the needed permissions structure for a centralized SharePoint database with multiple countries (sub-entities located in different countries are using their own SharePoint sites and have their specific needs related to security roles and document structure). A Centralized SharePoint database would represent an interim solution for document storage. Microsoft solution does not allow to integrate multiple SharePoint sites and synchronize security roles, so looks like finding a third-party solution is the only option now.
Have you ever had similar issues? What are the options on the market? Is the third-party software an only valid way to solve it?
So let’s see what can be done about it.
Firstly, why Dynamics 365 and SharePoint integration in the first place?
Many organizations prefer working with D365 documents using SharePoint as this provides extra functionality for team and document collaboration:
- Possibility to create, upload, view, and delete documents stored in SharePoint from within Dynamics 365;
- Using the SharePoint document management abilities within Dynamics 365, such as checking the document in and out and changing document properties;
- Enabling customers who want to review a bid, to directly access D365 documents in SharePoint, once they have the appropriate permissions.
The features are great, and Microsoft provides free integration of the two systems. But companies that would like to enable this integration need to be aware of one important thing.
The out-of-the-box Microsoft integration doesn’t take into account document permission rights.
Imagine, you lock some information in Dynamics 365 as confidential and allow a limited number of users to have access to it. The data can be about salaries, contract values, prospect information, personal data, etc.
Then you integrate the CRM with SharePoint. But because the permission rights can’t synchronize, the confidential information turns available to anyone in SharePoint. This endangers the company in many ways, from financial to reputational losses.
What can be done about it?
The longest way. Coding the synchronization of privileges and permissions between Dynamics 365 and SharePoint manually from scratch. To be honest, not the best idea for several reasons. Firstly, it will take quite a lot of time and developing resources. And, secondly, it will not end on launching the synchronization. All the burden of maintenance like debugging, keeping an eye on system updates etc. will be still on your developer’s shoulders. Plus, if the synchronization goes wrong
A shorter but still long way. Coding the synchronization, using ready-made connectors for Dynamics 365 and SharePoint. An example can be Azure Logic Apps which allows us to build our own custom logic to move documents out of CRM and into the SharePoint sites and folders of our choosing. Another example – integration platforms with pre-built connectors like .
The advantage compared with the first approach is saving time on learning Dynamics 365 and SharePoint APIs – which is a lot. You only need to build the logic of the synchronization and make sure no sensitive information skips the gate. It may take time and resources, especially during iterations. Therefore, obvious disadvantages: the maintenance is still going to be on you.
The shortest way. At the moment, one ready-to-use product is available for solving the missing synchronization of document access rights between Dynamics 365 and SharePoint. It is called quite straightforward – . It syncs the access rights between the two systems and makes sure that only accounts appointed in Dynamics 365 have access to specific sensitive information in SharePoint.
Advantages: no expenditures on developing or maintenance. It is a ready-to-use product that can be launched on-premises or as SaaS within minutes. No need to worry about system updates as there is a team of experienced developers behind the product who take care of it and provide support.
Disadvantages: can’t name any. The product is being used at thousands of installations around the world, in multinational companies and the public sector: the Government of Canada, ), , and many more.
Contact us!
If you use Dynamics 365 in combination with SharePoint, you really need CB Dynamics 365 to SharePoint Permissions Replicator to protect your data integrity. or . and we will answer all your questions regarding the permissions synchronization.
About the author:
As a part of Connecting Software’s team, Anastasia Mazur has been investigating ins and outs of business software integration and synchronization. Can participate in a short conversation about it without appearing superficial.
Contact the author: anastasia@connecting-software.com
Synchronize Dynamics 365 CRM and SharePoint security model using SharePoint Security Sync
Dynamics 365 CRM and SharePoint together make a great combination that provides flexibility and ease in document management. Many organizations across the world prefer to use both as a combo pack. And this combo pack can be made more formidable with our NEW upcoming productivity app –
So, what is SharePoint Security Sync?
SharePoint Security Sync is a productivity app that helps in synchronizing the security privileges of Dynamics 365 CRM in SharePoint. The need to control the accessibility of Dynamics 365 CRM documents and data stored in SharePoint led to the development of this productivity app. In a way it assures same level of security for documents and records stored in SharePoint that is provided in Dynamics 365 CRM. This means whatever security is assigned for user in Dynamics 365 CRM will be replicated in SharePoint. Similarly, any changes or modification in security privileges in Dynamics 365 CRM will be synced to SharePoint simultaneously.
Why use SharePoint Security Sync?
Each application has its own unique security model. Such is the case with Dynamics 365 CRM and SharePoint. There is a significant difference between the security models of Dynamics 365 CRM and SharePoint. The same user can have different level of access in both Dynamics 365 CRM and SharePoint. It may seem that the documents or attachments that were inaccessible in Dynamics 365 CRM can be accessed by the very same user in SharePoint without any restrictions.
For example, let’s say that you have a significant number of attachments or data related to Quotes, Contracts, Opportunities, etc. in your Dynamics 365 CRM system. The access to this data is only given to the selected few top members of your team. Due to space crunch and for better storage you moved those history data to SharePoint. Once moved to SharePoint, it becomes accessible to your entire team.
This is one kind of security crisis that you can easily avoid with our new productivity app – SharePoint Security Sync.
SharePoint Security Sync enables you to safely store and manage documents in SharePoint. You can easily replicate security privileges of Dynamics 365 CRM in SharePoint. So, no more document security crisis.
SharePoint Security Sync – Your Safety Net for Dynamics 365 CRM Document Management
To know more, mail us at crm@inogic.com
Refresh a Power BI dataset that feeds from SharePoint list automatically
The Power BI team recently shipped some cool new flow options and one of them is really cool. Many times I hear of reports and dataset that fully rely on SharePoint lists. These lists are used by business groups that don’t have the rights to spin up and Azure SQL database or just want to keep a simple list to store their dimensions. SharePoint lists are great for that.
The new flow option allows you to automatically update the dataset whenever a new item is added to the list, that is pretty cool.
Here is how it works. Start at your list in SharePoint and click automate and select create new flow:
A new pane opens to the side, the flow we want is not part of the default list so we select “see your flows”
This opens flow where you can start a new automated flow which we need.
This opens a new flow, give it a name and choose “When an item is created” as trigger for the flow:
Nest pick the list you want to trigger on:
Then finally configure what happens when the trigger is fired. In this case we want to select “Refresh a dataset”.
Next you can select the dataset you want to refresh:
Now every time an item gets added to the SharePoint list the dataset gets updated with the new information. Very cool!
What About Security between Dynamics 365 and SharePoint?
One of the leading CRM systems nowadays is Microsoft Dynamics 365. Together with SharePoint, it provides great document collaboration features, and many organizations around the world already use them as a duet. In this post, we will discuss how to ensure security settings synchronization between Dynamics 365 and SharePoint. It is going to be very practical!
The issue of privileges and permissions between Dynamics and SharePoint
Microsoft offers a standard out-of-the-box integration between Dynamics 365 and SharePoint. It enables organizations to link SharePoint documents with CRM records. Moreover, it enables users to manage SharePoint documents and use many of the document management features of SharePoint directly in the user interface of Dynamics 365.
But the security models of Dynamics 365 and SharePoint differ significantly. This out-of-the-box integration does not provide the same level of record security in CRM and SharePoint. This results in documents in SharePoint being accessible to users without the required Dynamics CRM privileges.
Imagine, a company has its contract values and prospects in their CRM system available only to senior managers. CRM is synced with SharePoint for the sake of document collaboration, productivity and so on. And surprise, the documents which are restricted pretty much from everyone except for certain senior managers, are available to anyone in SharePoint.
So, how to combine the benefits of both solutions and enforce the correct access rights at the same time?
Yes, there is.
The solution for data protection
is a small yet powerful application that monitors privilege changes for Dynamic 365 data items in the background and automatically synchronizes these changes to respective items in SharePoint. The proper privileges from Dynamics 365 are applied to SharePoint items – automatically and instantaneously, securing your data items and documents all the time.
After installation, the app does the synchronization of permissions and privileges automatically without user interference. Thus, it ensures the protection of commercial information and personal data. Both are also very important for the GDPR compliance and protects the respectful image of the organization. At the moment, this is a unique solution on the market.
How CB Permissions Replicator works for organizations
Since the launch in 2014, the product has gained trust from many private and public institutions. For example, the for years.
Another story is from a private sector, namely Compass Group PLC, UK, the largest contract foodservice company in the world. “It was ”, – says Anthony Crook, Head of Client Business Solutions Compass Group PLC. “The main pain point that led us to Connecting Software’s solution was the need for synchronization. We mostly hold sales and contract information in CRM. Managing data access is key to ensuring that users only have access to the data they are allowed. As people come and go, it’s important that no one has access to more information than they require to do their job”, he explains.
The geography and industries of the CB Dynamics 365 to SharePoint Permissions Replicator are wide indeed: ACC Governmental Department in New Zealand; , USA, the world’s largest tier-one manufacturer of aerostructures; in Finland, a leading paper producer and the oldest limited liability company in the world; Securitas in Sweden, National Rugby League Ltd in Australia, – the list is too long to name all.
Takeaway
Dynamics 365 is rapidly evolving and conquering the market. So it is only natural if your organization uses it for customer relationship management. And the capacity of the system is boosted in combination with SharePoint – a flexible and multifunctional document management system. The integration of the two allows making good use of the duet if you ensure the synchronization of permissions and privileges between Dynamics 365 and SharePoint.
To see how the CB Dynamics 365 to SharePoint Permissions Replicator can protect sensitive data in your organization, .
to ask about the product now, and we will give our best knowledge!
By Anastasia Mazur, , a producer of synchronization and integration solutions.
What You Need To Know If You Store Your CRM Documents In SharePoint
Many sysadmins choose to store CRM documents in SharePoint because managing documents is more intuitive in SharePoint. SharePoint also has very convenient extra functionalities for the end-users such as checking documents out and version history.
Another reason to go for this combination is that data storage is cheaper on the SharePoint side. If the standard SharePoint storage of 10 GB is not enough, you can buy extra storage at the very reasonable price of $ 0.20/month per GB extra.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers standard out-of-the-box integration with SharePoint that enables organizations to link SharePoint documents with CRM records. This is why having a combination of Dynamics 365 with SharePoint is popular.
What you need to know – no automatic synchronization of Dynamics / SharePoint permissions
The security models of Dynamics 365 and SharePoint differ significantly. Because of this, there is no automatic synchronization of permissions. This results in documents in SharePoint being accessible to users without the required Dynamics CRM privileges.
This basically means that all SharePoint users can access all documents, including private and sensitive data… even if they don’t have CRM privileges to do so.
If you have a small organization and not that much of sensitive data, you can consider doing this permissions sync manually. In other cases, the best option is to use an add-on such as CB Permission Replicator by Connecting Software. Check our blog about Dynamics 365 and SharePoint security settings.
What you need to know – SharePoint security scope limit
You can store up to 30 million items or files in a SharePoint list or library. But there is a limit on the number of unique permissions you can set of 50,000 items per list or library. This limitation exists in SharePoint 2010 and all following versions. The limit can be lowered but not increased, however, there are things you can do about it… keep on reading!
But first… why is this limit a problem? There are two aspects to consider although this is not that clear if you first look at the SharePoint documentation. Firstly, if you try to go over the 50,000 limit, SharePoint will present the error “You cannot break inheritance for this item because there are too many items with unique permissions in this list”.
The second aspect of this problem is the loss of performance. As the number of unique permissions in a list or library increases, you will notice SharePoint performance decreases… even if you are not close to the limit yet. This might happen from around 5,000 unique permissions, although that will depend on your specific SharePoint implementation.
This limit of 50,000 items per list or library is what Microsoft refers as a “Security scope” limit for lists and libraries. You can find this in Microsoft’s documentation for , and .
This SharePoint documentation explicitly says: “As the number of unique permissions in a list grows, query performance will degrade. Even though the default limit is 50,000 unique permissions, you might want to consider lowering this limit to 5,000 unique permissions”. Microsoft also indicates that “If you try to declare unique permissions after this limit has been reached, you will be blocked from doing so.”.
What you can do about it
Now let’s talk about possible solutions and workarounds.
The first and most obvious option would be to reduce the number of documents. Unfortunately, this not really an option for most organizations. Documents cannot simply disappear overnight.
The second option would be storing documents elsewhere. The problem with this option is that it either results in a loss of functionality (plus a loss of productivity as you will have to have your users change the way they do things) or in significant extra costs – or both.
The third option is organizing your documents differently. The limit refers to each list or library, so if you have more libraries you are less likely to hit the limit. The problem with this (why is there always a problem?) is that it is hard to do this library organization manually. Moreover, you need your users to cooperate with you if you are doing it manually. Otherwise, you might end up with a library structure no one understands, and no one can keep up…
This can also be done automatically by using + the add-on . These are out-of-the-box solutions from Connecting Software (paid, but a free trial available). SharePoint Structure Creator puts documents into different document libraries which are automatically created according to the rules you configure. The available options are:
- A document library per period (year, quarter, month, week, day or custom)
- A document library per letter or letter set (based on starting character(s) of the record name or the starting character(s) of the record ID)
- A document library per record
Takeaway
When you have an automatic solution such as the one we just described, you effectively handle both problems that exist with storing CRM documents in SharePoint. SharePoint permissions are correct (based on the permissions defined in Dynamics) and the SharePoint permissions limit is not reached. As an added bonus, the library organization created automatically on the SharePoint side is neat and configured to match a logic that makes sense for your organization. So, if your users try to find the documents in SharePoint, this will be more efficient.
As the problems can be handled gracefully and the advantages of storing the documents in SharePoint are strong, we do recommend using SharePoint to store your CRM documents.
***
By Ana Neto from , a provider of integration and synchronization solutions for business software and IIoT.
What About Security between Dynamics 365 and SharePoint?
One of the leading CRM systems nowadays is Microsoft Dynamics 365. Together with SharePoint, it provides great document collaboration features, and many organizations around the world already use them as a duet. In this post, we will discuss how to ensure security settings synchronization between Dynamics 365 and SharePoint. It is going to be very practical!
The issue of privileges and permissions between Dynamics and SharePoint
Microsoft offers a standard out-of-the-box integration between Dynamics 365 and SharePoint. It enables organizations to link SharePoint documents with CRM records. Moreover, it enables users to manage SharePoint documents and use many of the document management features of SharePoint directly in the user interface of Dynamics 365.
But the security models of Dynamics 365 and SharePoint differ significantly. This out-of-the-box integration does not provide the same level of record security in CRM and SharePoint. This results in documents in SharePoint being accessible to users without the required Dynamics CRM privileges.
Imagine, a company has its contract values and prospects in their CRM system available only to senior managers. CRM is synced with SharePoint for the sake of document collaboration, productivity and so on. And surprise, the documents which are restricted pretty much from everyone except for certain senior managers, are available to anyone in SharePoint.
So, how to combine the benefits of both solutions and enforce the correct access rights at the same time?
Yes, there is.
The solution for data protection
is a small yet powerful application that monitors privilege changes for Dynamic 365 data items in the background and automatically synchronizes these changes to respective items in SharePoint. The proper privileges from Dynamics 365 are applied to SharePoint items – automatically and instantaneously, securing your data items and documents all the time.
After installation, the app does the synchronization of permissions and privileges automatically without user interference. Thus, it ensures the protection of commercial information and personal data. Both are also very important for the GDPR compliance and protects the respectful image of the organization. At the moment, this is a unique solution on the market.
How CB Permissions Replicator works for organizations
Since the launch in 2014, the product has gained trust from many private and public institutions. For example, the for years.
Another story is from a private sector, namely Compass Group PLC, UK, the largest contract foodservice company in the world. “It was ”, – says Anthony Crook, Head of Client Business Solutions Compass Group PLC. “The main pain point that led us to Connecting Software’s solution was the need for synchronization. We mostly hold sales and contract information in CRM. Managing data access is key to ensuring that users only have access to the data they are allowed. As people come and go, it’s important that no one has access to more information than they require to do their job”, he explains.
The geography and industries of the CB Dynamics 365 to SharePoint Permissions Replicator are wide indeed: ACC Governmental Department in New Zealand; , USA, the world’s largest tier-one manufacturer of aerostructures; in Finland, a leading paper producer and the oldest limited liability company in the world; Securitas in Sweden, National Rugby League Ltd in Australia, – the list is too long to name all.
Takeaway
Dynamics 365 is rapidly evolving and conquering the market. So it is only natural if your organization uses it for customer relationship management. And the capacity of the system is boosted in combination with SharePoint – a flexible and multifunctional document management system. Integration of the two allows making good use of the duet if you ensure the synchronization of permissions and privileges between Dynamics 365 and SharePoint.
To see how the CB Dynamics 365 to SharePoint Permissions Replicator can protect sensitive data in your organization, .
By Anastasia Mazur, , a producer of synchronization and integration solutions.