Microsoft Dynamics & Outreach Connection Overview

Purpose:

The purpose of this article is to provide information to Outreach users about connection functionality as it exists between Microsoft Dynamics and Outreach. 

Outreach uses bidirectional syncing methodology to transfer data between Microsoft Dynamics and Outreach, allowing Outreach users to sync updated information on fields within Dynamics or Outreach, and create new records from either platform. 

Outreach is not an application built on the Dynamics platform, and instead uses an OAuth connection to sync data between both platforms. When setting up Outreach for the first time, all configuration will be done within Outreach's Plugin settings by an Outreach Admin. Outreach is not a Power Apps application.

Outreach is compatible with Dynamics Customer Engagement Platform's Sales Application. Outreach connects through the Web API and is built against v9.1.

Outreach & Dynamics Bi-Directional Sync

Outreach's bidirectional sync allows users to bring data from records or fields, and then update that data back to their CRM. For more information on bi-directional sync capabilities, refer to the Microsoft Dynamics Data Transfer Capabilities article.

By default, Outreach queries new records and updates every 10 minutes, but can be configured to query this information faster. When pushing new data to Dynamics, Outreach waits 60 seconds before sending an update to capture multiple different updates into one package, preventing unnecessary API calls.

Connection Requirements

The Dynamics plugin is disabled by default.  Contact Outreach Support to enable the plugin for Dynamics before starting the configuration process. 

For more information regarding the connection requirements for Outreach and Microsoft Dynamics, refer to the Microsoft Dynamics Minimum Connection Requirements article. 

Pre-connection Decisions

There are two important questions that need to be answered before having your initial call with an Outreach Account Manager.

1. What records need to be brought into Outreach? Should the records feed in automatically if the specified criteria were met or do users want to manually pull specific lists in or should both be available?
2. Are lead and contact statuses finalized? Ensure leads and contact fields are set up correctly and completed in order for Outreach to match the leads and contacts accurately. For more information regarding successful mapping practices, refer to the applicable Microsoft Dynamics Lead/Contact Mapping article.