Differences between Data Migration and Data Import

As mentioned in CRM Sdk, below is the major differences between Data Migration and Data Import.﻿

Data migration and data import use common entity model and messages. However, there are some important differences in the feature sets of the two operations as shown in the following table.

Feature Data Migration Data Import
Import data into Microsoft Dynamics CRM Yes (Only the system administrator can migrate data in the offline mode.) Yes (All users who have appropriate permissions can import data.)
Import data into custom entity types and attributes Yes Yes
Use multiple source files that contain related data Yes No (You can only import one file at a time.)
Assign entity instances to multiple users Yes No (All entity instances are assigned to one user.)
Update existing entity instances No Yes
Detect duplicates No (You can run duplicate detection after you migrate the data.) Yes
Delete all entity instances associated with one job Yes (Use bulk delete feature.) Yes (Use bulk delete feature.)
Automatically map data based on column headings in the source file No Yes
Set the value of the createdon attribute for the entity from source data Yes No
Customize Microsoft Dynamics CRM to match source data No (Custom entities and attributes can be created by Data Migration Manager.) No (Customization must be done before import.)
Apply complex data transformation mapping Yes No
Import state and status information Yes No