Data management

Data exports are often very necessary, however, allowing users to export data can lead to a number of risks for your organisation, from data breaches to compliance violations. Therefore, monitoring Dynamics 365 data exports closely is crucial and putting data governance practices in place to address this risk.  In terms of tracking or controlling Excel exports in Dynamics 365, there are several features that monitor user activities. However, it’s important to note that none of these tools specifically track data exports by default. Here’s what you can use to gain some visibility into user behaviour: 

• Audit Logs: Dynamics 365 auditing allows you to track activities such as record creation, modification, and deletion, but it does not track export activities. This feature is more focused on monitoring changes within the system itself rather than tracking data that leaves the system. 
• User Activity Reports: These reports provide a general overview of user activity, such as login times and interaction with records, but they do not track data exports. They may show you patterns of user behaviour, but they won’t show you who exported data and when.

So, while Microsoft Dynamics 365 does have some useful tools for tracking user activities, it doesn’t provide the level of detail needed to monitor data exports effectively.  For more control over data exports, you can use a specialised ‘Export to Excel’ tool like the Rocket CRM Export to Excel Tracker. This tool was created to address the glaring issue of Export to Excel function and the problems with existing native monitoring tools, by providing detailed tracking and real-time insights into export activities.    Find out more about Rocket CRM Export to Excel Tracker, which is currently available completely free for a limited time period. 

Data security and protecting your customer data is critical for any business. To safeguard your customer data, you can implement actions and processes to monitor data exports from your Dynamics 365 CRM. However, Dynamics 365 users can find controlling Excel export permissions tricky using the “Export to Excel” function, as it’s too blunt for everyday operations and impractical for some business roles. However, gaining visibility and control over Excel exports with a simple Excel Tracker tool App is possible. Rocket CRM’s Excel Tracker provides valuable insights on data exports, showing details such as who, when, and how many records were exported. This tool enables you to protect your customer data. Discover more about the Excel Tracker tool.

CRM software helps businesses manage and leverage data for better sales, marketing and customer service activity. Leading CRM software such as Dynamics 365 helps businesses manage, access and utilise data quickly and accurately. Its unified data interface means that individuals across the organisation can gain better insight into the customer or leads needs and where they are in their buyer journey. This insight and customer knowledge can give a business a distinct advantage over those that aren’t as close to their customers. Real-time data and 360-degree views of the customer mean that sales, marketing, and customer service activities can be aligned, and marketing communications can be tailored and timely. When combined with powerful marketing automation software, CRM systems can leverage data to another level and deliver highly personalised and efficient digital marketing communications by streamlining, automating and tailoring email communications. In summary, CRM software helps businesses operate more effectively, flexibly, and agile.

We always advise that businesses adopt robust data management processes if they don’t already have them, as data is one of the company’s most valuable assets in this increasingly data-driven world. As we deal with many smaller businesses, it is often their first venture in data management and CRM. Therefore, purchasing a new CRM is a high investment and a considerable risk to the business. A CRM is only good as the data inputted to it, whether manual or automated, so businesses must ensure the data they import into their new CRM is top quality. There are several ways a business can maintain a healthy database to ensure GDPR compliance and quality sales and marketing activity.   Read  these tips on good data management.