Not all CRM-to-PRM integrations are created equal

Nowadays, integrating enterprise software applications with CRM systems is the norm. But have you ever stopped to think about the different ways an application can integrate into a CRM?

When our marketing team asked why Magentrix’s integration is different from other PRM vendors, I had to walk through the various integration models to give them a complete picture.

Here are three common approaches to building a CRM integration in an application:

1. Least Popular Method: Real-time Querying

In this method, your application the PRM queries data directly from the CRM in real-time. 

This is the least popular approach today. Why?

• Most CRM platforms impose API usage limits.
• The performance of the app becomes dependent on the speed and availability of the CRM.
• If the CRM is down or slow, the application's performance suffers.

2. Most Common Method: Field-mapping (Static Schema)

This is where your PRM has a fixed schema, and you pull data from the CRM into predefined fields.

• Pros: It's better than direct querying.
• Cons: If the application has used this method to build their integration, it takes long to set up and you often deal with data sync issues, data silos, other errors and the CRM is no longer your system of record (SoR). You might need to log into two systems just to get the full context, and the depth of CRM integration is limited. And you have to spend a lot of time maintaining it as a result.

3. Rare Method: CRM Data & Schema Mirroring

This is where your application adapts to the CRM’s schema and mirrors its data structure.

• Cons: There are no cons to this method for the end-user. But for the software application vendor, building a data-mirroring  integration is a challenging task. Every CRM has its own unique structure, and the PRM has to be flexible enough to handle it all.
• Pros : You get a deep, reliable integration with dramatically fewer sync issues than you would if you built the integration using the field-mapping method. The CRM remains the system of record, and the PRM becomes much more powerful because it can access any data point from the CRM.  Maintaining data relationships are easily managed.  Handling complex field types such as dependent picklist (i.e. State / Province field changes depending on your Country) becomes easy as everything is mirrored over.

Magentrix has made it easy for channel operations people to administer a partner portal that actually fits their workflows and doesn't break

At Magentrix, we don’t take shortcuts, we choose what’s best for our customers and what will allow them to truly customize the portal to their business processes – which includes how they bring over their CRM data into the partner portal (or customer portal – our other offering).

That’s why we’ve built our CRM integrations using the data mirroring approach (CRMs we do this with include Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics).

It was more complex for me to build our CRM integration this way, but it allows our users to bring over their data and schema in 5-8 mins, mimics exactly what's in their CRM, and as a result, is much easier to maintain over time than what you get with alternatives.

In other words, our CRM mirroring integration is what makes our platform more capable and flexible compared to others in the PRM space. This is why Magentrix is The Data Foundation for Channel Sales™

Get the guide: The CRM-to-PRM Integration Guide for the Unsuspecting Partner Portal (PRM) Buyer

For further reading – and especially if you're in the market to purchase a new partner portal (PRM software), be sure to check out our CRM-to-PRM Integration Guide for the Unsuspecting Partner Portal (PRM) Buyer.

You will learn about:

• Why CRM-to-PRM integration is the backbone of any partner portal, and why poor integrations are the #1 cause of failed PRM rollouts.
• Learn more about the 3 common integration methods (direct querying, field-mapping, and schema mirroring) and the pros/cons of each.
  
  • Pay particular attention to the pitfalls of field-mapping (data drift, sync errors, admin overhead, frustrated partners) versus the benefits of schema mirroring.)
• How to evaluate a PRM’s CRM integration quality by asking the right vendor questions about setup time, data and schema transfer, as well as day-to-day and long-term maintenance.
• Examples of data and schema that should be mirrored if you don't want things to break in your portal (objects, fields, relationships, rules, security permissions, etc.).
• The business consequences of choosing a field-mapping PRM: broken automations, poor data quality, lost partner pipeline, and limited scalability.
• Why Magentrix stands out by offering true data & schema mirroring — zero-config, faster time to value, and 98% fewer sync issues.