RE: Document management with CRM 2013
Hi Stirling,
You will probably get different opinions on whether this is a best practice or not. I am of the opinion that it depends more on your needs and not a yes/no question. I have seen many people use Notes and Attachments successfully and with no issues.
The main challenges are
- Documents/attachments end up in different places, i.e. on the notes, appointment, task, etc. entities. So this is multiple places people need to look for attachments.
- One also does not get any interaction capabilities as they would with SharePoint e.g. file preview, sharing, editing, etc.
- Notes also does not have any version control, whereas SharePoint will provide this.
So, if you just need basic document storage/attachment, this will work fine. I generally recommend people go with SharePoint for the above reasons and many more. There are lots more collaboration capabilities, workflow, lists, sites and other features that enhance the user experience.
One can get SharePoint Online for as low as $3/user/mo, which is a bargain for getting it up and running quickly and no need to mess with servers and infrastructure. You can step up to full Office 365 for $15/user/mo or less. The office web apps/online editing, version control, search and document management capabilities all make this a worthwhile investment. Both will integrate with Dynamics CRM either on-premise or online and can be configured in about 15 minutes or less.
Mike