To the CRM community,

After a much lengthy hiatus from blogging, it feels good to be back!    To celebrate my homecoming, I decided to go with a very Microsoft-y look to this blog; let me know if it’s a keeper!  I hope to consistently bring great new content soon, so please check back regularly.

The siren call that brought me out of my semi-retirement from blogging was, of course, the recent announcements regarding Dynamics CRM 2013.  The information outlined in the CRM 2013 Release Preview Guide hint at a compelling new look and significant new features.

Some key highlights:

• A fresh and modern UI experience that focuses on usability and mobile device interaction.   This cleaner and flatter design aligns with the current look of Office 2013, Windows 8 and Windows Phone.  Virtually no popups compared to previous versions of Dynamics CRM, which is great for user adoption.
• Simplified data entry with a new “Quick Create” form and inline editable grids.
• A new Customer Summary feature that outlines the profile of customer records with images, mapping capabilities, and a new “Quick View” form for easy access to key data.
• Enhanced Process functionality that, in my opinion, is the star of the new version.  New features include a point-and-click process designer interface, guided business processes, role-specific process assignments, and the ability for processes to span across multiple entities.  Truly empowering for the CRM Designer!
• Embedded Skype integration to stay connected with customers.
• Touch optimized UI interface as well as mobile phone and tablet applications for users on the go.

I’m currently evaluating the Dynamics CRM 2013 Beta version to get up to speed with these new features and share them in detail with you when the time is right.   Stay tuned!

-Christian