When discussing SugarCRM data integrations with clients I always receive one common question. Should the data reside in SugarCRM or should we just link to the data so that it can be visualized in Sugar?

By answering three questions you can usually determine where the data needs to reside.
1. Do you want to trigger a workflow based off of a value in the data?
2. Do you want to report on the data in Sugar?
3. Is it too much data to duplicate?


Workflows:

The SugarCRM workflow engine is only made to work on fields and data sets that are stored in the SugarCRM database. Custom workflows can be created but it would take significant development work to make them work against a different database. This significant amount of work would likely be a detriment to an ROI calculation of the benefits that this feature would provide.

If you need to trigger workflows on the data then it needs to be stored or, at a minimum, duplicated in SugarCRM.

Reports:

The reporting engine is similar to workflows in that they are built off of a known structure. If the data does not reside in SugarCRM then the reporting engine will not be aware of it and therefore you cannot report on it.

Duplication:

To make all data in a legacy system reportable in Sugar and allow workflows to execute you will end up duplicating data. This is where you will need to decide which system is the system of record. You will also need to determine if there is too much data to duplicate.

In the end, storing data in Sugar will allow you to inherit the native SugarCRM functions. Pulling data into a view for visualization will not. Creating a cost/benefit analysis will help you determine which direction you should choose.