Managing data between CRM and Informix

[teddysnips]

My clients have asked me to write a service desk application using CRM
4.0. The initial spec. looks promising, and I can't see any technical
reason why this can't go ahead.

Except.

The core customer data (company data, contact data, contract data
etc.) will not be stored in CRM. Instead, it will be stored in an
Informix database. This is because the service desk will be attached
to an existing real-time system which cannot be altered (it's a
subscription service used by many other clients).

If my clients continue to insist that the service desk be done in CRM,
this will involve doing some sort of replication with the Informix
db. Has anyone any experience of such a thing? Any thoughts about
whether I'm heading towards a period of great and unrelieved pain?

Thanks

Edward

[aj]

te********@hotmail.com wrote:

My clients have asked me to write a service desk application using CRM
4.0. The initial spec. looks promising, and I can't see any technical
reason why this can't go ahead.

Except.

The core customer data (company data, contact data, contract data
etc.) will not be stored in CRM. Instead, it will be stored in an
Informix database. This is because the service desk will be attached
to an existing real-time system which cannot be altered (it's a
subscription service used by many other clients).

If my clients continue to insist that the service desk be done in CRM,
this will involve doing some sort of replication with the Informix
db. Has anyone any experience of such a thing? Any thoughts about
whether I'm heading towards a period of great and unrelieved pain?

Thanks

Edward

Take a look at SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services). I do this very
thing w/ another database (hint: its 3 letters, starts w/ a "D", ends w/
a "2").

Not sure about the driver, tho. I use an OLE DB driver, and it works
great.. Look for an Informix runtime client...

hth

aj