Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Azure AppFabric: Weighing the Data Integration Options

Customer relationship management (CRM) does not exist in a world unto itself.  Companies want to make use of their CRM data in other business applications.  But where to start with Dynamics CRM 2011 or Dynamics CRM Online? 

"Today, the way we work with CRM is that whenever data changes there are 3 ways to access that data for an integration," says Girish Raja, technical evangelist for Dynamics CRM at Microsoft.  "One  is workflow built through Workflow Foundation; there's also the plug-in model, which developers can build to pretty much do everything; and the third would be [access to] the AppFabric Service Bus, which is technically a plug-in that's already pre-packaged into CRM."

In terms of tools, Dynamics CRM customers can take a few different approaches to bringing an integration to life.  There is BizTalk, with improved integration to CRM 2011, there are commercial middleware solutions featuring pre-built integration capabilities and simplified management tools, and there is still the custom route using things like Azure AppFabric or custom plug-ins.  The choice will depend on lots of factors including your network architecture, budget, IT resources, and business and technical requirements. 

Of the integration options available today, the newest and probably the most rapidly evolving is Azure AppFabric, a part of Windows Azure that offers a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) for workflow and middleware services.  In the context of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, it pays to understand whether AppFabric is a strong candidate for your company's integration needs.

In the rest of this article we'll look at the case for choosing (or rejecting) an AppFabric solution over other options.  Then we'll follow up with part two, where we'll hear some reasons why a commercial middleware option can often win out ...