Moving Marketing data through environments
It is no secret that migration of data between environments for D365 Customer insight - journey records could be easier. And thankfully Microsoft are working on streamlining the process with ALM
In the past I have been required to move data through environments and using XRM tool box and the Configuration Migration Tool I have been able to successfully move the following records:
Segments
Emails
Journeys
I have in the past struggled with moving real time journeys due to the custom triggers. So this is something that I cannot yet comment on, as I ended up just rebuilding the custom trigger.
I thought I would share a few useful tips to note when migrating data between environments:
Tip 1 : Marketing versions
Before you begin to move data between your environments you will need to ensure that all environments are running the same version of CI Journeys
Tip 2 : Dataverse Nicknames
When connecting to dataverse environments be sure to give your solutions an easy nickname in the Configuration Migration Tool Such as “Client Name Dev” “Client Name QA”. It may seem obvious, but it naming them will allow you to easily ensure that you are connected to the right solution before importing / exporting the data.
Tip 3 : Record State
Before you export data using the Configuration Migration Tool via XRM Toolbox , you will need to ensure that all the record you intend to export and import are in draft status. Live state can throw some wonderful errors. Although it is worth noting that the exclude functionality removes the Status field, and will export all entities regardless of status.
Tip 4 : Interaction Data Limitations
Just in case you weren’t aware Interaction data can't be exported between environments so will not be included in the export file.
Tip 5 : Content blocks and Asset Library links
When moving email records between environments, be sure to check the asset library links for any images that you reference within the emails. I have found that the links have still pointed to the previous environments asset library!
Tip 6 : Wave Release General Availability June 2024
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post Microsoft have listened to the community and our frustrations of moving records between environments. After all every other platform can use ALM no problem. So from June our tech prayers have been answered. Consultants will be able to Power Platform solutions and a robust application lifecycle management (ALM) framework to moving Marketing assets with precision, efficiency, and minimal manual intervention.
From June 2024 we can expect to move assets such as triggers, segments, and journeys to a production environment post-testing with the assurance needed to avoid unintended triggers and activities.
Well that is all my tips for this evening. For any more information visit the following links:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/customer-insights/journeys/transfer-data
