Importing Data from a Database into SharePoint

Many organizations store important data in external databases such as SQL Server, Oracle, or MySQL. This data often needs to be available in SharePoint for reporting, tracking, or further processing.Manually copying or synchronizing this information can be inefficient and error-prone.

With Import, you can connect directly to a database, retrieve data automatically, and create or update SharePoint items.

In this tutorial, you will import data from a database into a SharePoint list using an Import Profile.

Instructions

Before You Start

You will need:

• Access to a database (in this example, MS SQL)
• A table with data to import

Example database table:

1. Table name: Products
2. Columns:
   • ProductName
   • Category
   • Price
   • LastUpdated

Create a SharePoint List

1. Create a list to store imported data.
2. List name: Products
3. Columns:
   • Title (Product Name)
   • Category (Single line of text)
   • Price (Number or Currency)
   • Last Updated (Date and Time)

Step 1: Open Import Settings

1. Open your SharePoint list
2. Click Design
3. Select Import
4. Click Add new profile

Step 2: Configure General Settings

Set basic profile settings:

• Title: Database Import
• Start date: Set to current date or earlier if you want to import existing records
• Polling frequency: Define how often the system checks for new or updated records

Step 3: Configure Database Provider

1. Open the Data Provider tab
2. Set:
   • Type: Application
   • Application type: MS SQL

Configure connection

• Connection string: Provide the database connection string
• Authentication: Use credentials with access to the database

Select data source

1. Click Connect
2. Select the table: Products
3. Update date column: LastUpdated

Step 4: Configure Action

1. Open the Actions tab
2. Click Add new action
3. Select Create list item / document
4. Ttle: Create Product Item

Step 5: Map Database Columns

Map database columns to SharePoint columns:

• ProductName → Title
• Category → Category
• Price → Price
• LastUpdated → Last Updated  

Mapping defines how database data is stored in SharePoint.

Step 6: Save and Run the Profile

1. Click Save
2. Click Run now or wait for scheduled execution

Step 7: Verify Results

After the profile runs:

1. Open your SharePoint list
2. Verify that items were created from the database

Example

The following database record:

Is imported as:

Each database row becomes a SharePoint item with mapped values.

Result

Data from the database is automatically imported into SharePoint and converted into list items.

This allows you to keep SharePoint synchronized with external systems without manual data entry.

Summary

You learned how to import data from a database into SharePoint using an Import Profile.

This approach enables automated data integration and helps ensure that SharePoint always contains up-to-date information from external systems.