Sage originally introduced the Contact and Email Import feature in Sage CRM 2022 R2. The feature replaces the need for customers to install an additional plugin within the email client. It added the ability to connect directly to the target Exchange server to enable the user to select contacts and emails from their account that they wish to import into Sage CRM.

A secure connection is made using OAuth 2.0 (Modern Authentication) from within the Sage CRM screens. The user can then browse and navigate their email folders, select multiple emails and then import those messages as communications.

In Sage CRM 2022 R2, a user could import in the context of a Company, Person, Case or Opportunity. In Sage CRM 2023 R1, this feature has been expanded to allow users to import emails into Custom Entities and Cases.

Note: Sage CRM 2023 R1 also includes the improvements made to the import of emails and contacts that were included in Sage CRM 2022 R2.1

Sage CRM 2023 R1's email import screen has been improved. It now shows which record an email has been imported into. You can also filter the emails to exclude those already imported into Sage CRM.

If you are working with a system with Custom Entities that has been upgraded from a previous version then please see the documentation that explains the change you need to make to the wizard-created ASP pages to enable email import for a pre-2023 R1 custom entity. You should also make sure that the custom entity has a publicly available SData feed.

This new architecture removes the need for additional installs, removes the dependency on a particular email Client or version and will allow support for different email servers in future as needs change.

Note: A user can still drag and drop emails to CRM from their email client.

We have coordinated our plans with our Sage Development partners to make sure that Sage customers can implement and deploy Sage CRM and continue to work in the way that best suits their business.