Since the platforms for both ACT to MS
CRM are diverse, one needs to take necessary steps for a smooth
migration, and needs to be performed by experts only.
In order to manage a company’s
interactions with its current and future customers, systems such as
the customer relationship management play a vital role. CRM helps to
organize, automate and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service
and technical support. Modern CRM systems possess a variety of
characteristics including relationship management, sales force
automation, data warehousing and opportunity management.
Sage ACT! CRM is a CRM system that is used
to keep track of present and prospective clients and has the ability
to integrate with applications that help to generate and track
communications with contacts maintained in the database. However,
ACT! CRM lacks certain functions like modern integration
capabilities, lack of automation, detailed reporting and poor
management of marketing campaigns. Due to this, a lot of enterprises
today are looking to migrate their systems from ACT! to Microsoft
Dynamics CRM.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM uses proprietary
.Net based framework that can be customized to suit the varying needs
of customers. Dynamics CRM is an IIS-based web application that
focuses mainly on sales, marketing and service.
Often a CRM system like Microsoft Dynamics
CRM has to be customized before data can be migrated. Customization
not only ensures smooth migration of data but also ensures business
processes are matched. Migrating from ACT! to Microsoft Dynamics CRM
needs Microsoft SQL skills to ensure smooth transition of data to the
latter. While opting for a migration from ACT! to Dynamics CRM, it is
very important to consider a few aspects to guarantee seamless
movement:
- Whether all the data from the old system needs to be moved to the new system or if the new system needs to be implemented on a clean slate.
- A good study of the current reports that are being generated and a plan to improve the quality and efficiency of those reports
- Whether the new system kick off instantly or if both systems need to run in parallel for a specified period of time
- A plan to overcome any challenges that were being faced by users using the older system in order to enhance the overall experience
Once the above aspects are looked into, the
CRM is ready to be migrated. It is imperative for developers to make
sure all ACT! users have been created as Microsoft Dynamic CRM users.
A local SQL database creation will provide more control and
integration and avoid any data issues. Specific tools can be used to
automate the migration of ACT! to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Software
companies today have the necessary experience and expertise to
support end users of CRM for a quick and successful migration. While
organizations can focus all their attention on running their
business, CRM migration companies can take care of the complexities
around data conversion. All data from ACT! CRM is transformed and
mapped to the right entities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
The migration process starts by
installation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM on the same system as ACT!
Before starting to import data from ACT!, users and custom fields
need to be created. Once that is done, a proper analysis of what data
needs to be migrated needs to be carried out. The next step is to
create connectors to the ACT database and Microsoft Dynamics CRM that
helps in mapping users between both the systems. Along with users,
companies and contacts are also imported in order to ensure all
relevant data is migrated and the new system is ready to be used.
