Smart Data Migration Strategies for Dynamics 365 CRM: Avoiding Common Pitfalls

 

When planning data migration in Dynamics 365 CRM, one critical step is scoping—deciding which data entities should be migrated and to what extent.

Not every data entity needs to be physically migrated into Dataverse. For example, consider historical records. Do you really need all records from a selected data entity? Often, only recent records—such as those created in the last year or last three years—are actively used. Older records can be archived and excluded from migration, reducing complexity and storage needs.

Bad Migration Design: Moving Everything

A classic example of poor migration design is attempting to physically migrate retail transactional data into Dataverse. In industries like retail, travel, or banking, each customer can generate hundreds or even thousands of transaction records. Importing this massive data volume directly into Dataverse is inefficient and may negatively impact performance.

A Better Approach: Aggregate or Visualize Data

Instead of importing all transactional details, consider two smarter alternatives:

✅ Visualize external data using tools like Power BI or virtual tables (formerly virtual entities). This allows you to access data in real-time without storing it directly in Dataverse.

✅ Migrate only aggregates—such as totals, averages, or summaries—using appropriate grouping and clustering logic. This ensures that business-critical insights are available while avoiding data bloat.

By applying these best practices, organizations can simplify migration, improve system performance, and focus on the data that truly matters in their Dynamics 365 CRM deployment.