To the Dynamics CRM community,

My apologies for not being as faithful to this blog as of late; there have been big changes!  After five awesome years at Emerging Solutions, I’ve decided to move on and sign up with Avanade.  I’m leaving not just [...]]]>

I jumped like this guy, but I strained something bad.

To the Dynamics CRM community,

My apologies for not being as faithful to this blog as of late; there have been big changes!  After five awesome years at Emerging Solutions, I’ve decided to move on and sign up with Avanade.  I’m leaving not just talented colleagues at Emerging Solutions, but great friends as well.  Due to our combined efforts, the Microsoft practice and especially the Dynamics CRM team has grown tremendously in recent years, and I wish them continued success!

Onwards to the future.  After several weeks at Avanade, they continue to impress.  I really could not ask for more regarding the resources they provide in my role as a Consultant.  They’ve invested in the CRM team by having me attend a CRM Boot Camp with @coloradojules and @davidyack, showing their solid commitment to their employees.  Additionally, their international presence demands a new level of consulting, and I hope to quickly get up to speed and make waves.  Undoubtedly, my goal is to be the best while learning from the best.  Many thanks to the Avanade team for making me feel welcome!

Finally, as many of you already know, the Dynamics CRM Team has been feverishly busy making CRM 2011 even more awesome.  Check out my news roundup below for the latest.

• The Dynamics CRM 2011 Roadmap announced that Service Update R8 is coming soon with big changes this end of Q2.   Download the Release Preview Guide here!  A quick summary below.
• Mobility:  a new cloud subscription service called Dynamics CRM Mobile will provide rich native apps to several mobile devices.  CRM, anywhere.
• Browser Flexibility:  this is a big one.  Dynamics CRM will soon run on any modern browser (IE, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari) on various platforms.  Non-Windows users should be pleased (you know who they are).
• Social:  updates to the popular Activity Feeds will be added, with features such as a Like button and filtered views.
• Industry Templates:  new verticals like Life Annuity Insurance, Non-Profit, Health Plan Sales, and Wealth Management continue to address customer needs.
• SQL Server 2012:  the latest version of SQL also is supported for CRM 2011, with significant performance boosts.
• Certifications:  Microsoft data centers and extension Dynamics CRM Online achieved compliance on important certifications regarding cloud computing standards.

• Dynamics CRM 2011 Update Rollup 6 significantly improves performance and should be a must-install.  Note: once installed, you can’t roll it back.
• KB Article #2600640 and Release Notes
• Download link
• Improved Upgrade Performance blog post
• The R9 update to Dynamics CRM is coming soon, and brings social analytics and data-enrichment components.
• Social Analytics UI screenshot
• Article by the All About Microsoft Blog

Check out the various [...]]]> As a pleasant surprise, Microsoft publicly released the official On-Premise bits a couple weeks earlier than previously announced (Feb 16).  This is great news for those who want to get started on upgrading from Dynamics CRM 4.0 On-Premise.  Yes, I’m a bit late posting this announcement, but it’s well worth mentioning.

Check out the various download links below.

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Server (64 bit)
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for Microsoft Outlook (32 and 64 bit)
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 SDK
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 E-mail Router
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 List Component for SharePoint

Trial License Key Information:

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Workgroup Server 2011 (5 CAL limit):
H84KC-JH8DF-7PDYK-TXBXR-2RMMT
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 2011 (no CAL limit):
MQM2H-JYYRB-RRD6J-8WBBC-CVBD3

On a personal note, I’ve been neglecting this blog for weeks due to one major reason: the release of CRM 2011!  This new version has caught quite a lot of interest, and I’ve been criss-crossing the Midwest to help address the demand.

Be sure to drop a note at my Twitter account if you’d like to chat about the new version!

It’s a wonderful day in the #MSDYNCRM world. 

Microsoft promised and delivered today the Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta version, available Online and On-Premise!  Check out http://www.crm2011beta.com for videos and highlights, as well as the official announcement to see for yourself.  If you didn’t attend the “First Look at CRM 2011″ webcast on [...]]]>

It’s a wonderful day in the #MSDYNCRM world. 

Microsoft promised and delivered today the Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta version, available Online and On-Premise!  Check out http://www.crm2011beta.com for videos and highlights, as well as the official announcement to see for yourself.  If you didn’t attend the “First Look at CRM 2011″ webcast on September 7th, I’d highly recommend you view it.

• If you want to sign up for the CRM 2011 Beta Online, make sure to fill out this form.
• If you want to download the On-Premise bits yourself and install them in house, download the installation files here.
• Be sure to download the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta Implementation Guide.
• Make sure you post your questions on the official CRM 2011 Beta Forum.
• At this link you can download the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Software Development Kit (SDK).
• The following product keys are available for this release (found in the readme file).
  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM Workgroup (5 CAL limit): FF2JM-QX9PG-HXT8M-MMHXG-4MF32
  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server (no CAL limit): 4FDTK-3HYV2-D9CCJ-4MF9Q-QJ32X
  • Although the application may display a 90-day trial period, these trial product keys will expire after 270 days.
  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM Professional edition is no longer available with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.

This Beta release is also getting some media attention!  Check out a few interesting articles below.

• “Microsoft aims to sharpen its CRM pitch”, CNET News
• “Microsoft to deliver public betas of CRM 2011 and app store in mid-September”, ZDNet
• “Microsoft begins testing new CRM program”, CNET News

In the next coming months, my pledge to you will be to start highlighting all the new Beta features and tips here at this CRM blog.  Feel free to contact me if you have a special request or question regarding the new Beta, and I’ll be sure to cover it for you. 

Hopefully there will be more to come soon. Let me know if you have a specific Dynamics CRM topic you’d like me to address, and I just might make a video walkthrough based on it. Meanwhile, [...]]]> Here’s my brief video walkthrough of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Sales Lifecycle, from initial e-mail to closing the sale.

Hopefully there will be more to come soon. Let me know if you have a specific Dynamics CRM topic you’d like me to address, and I just might make a video walkthrough based on it. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to practice on my demo voice.

Looking forward to your feedback!

I <3 CRM

There’s some buzz lately about Update Rollup 9 being available soon this Thursday, February the 11th.  No details yet on what it may bring, though, so I’ll be patient!  My bet is more bug fixes, nothing too monumental.  Time to [...]]]>

EDIT: Update Rollup 9 is now available at this download link.

I <3 CRM

There’s some buzz lately about Update Rollup 9 being available soon this Thursday, February the 11th.  No details yet on what it may bring, though, so I’ll be patient!  My bet is more bug fixes, nothing too monumental.  Time to plan for it nonetheless. 

As you may already know, Update Rollup 7 was the last major update for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It brought significant changes to Dynamics CRM 4.0 and the CRM Outlook Client. In addition, it can be considered the “gold standard” for a new CRM deployment going forward.

Make sure all your CRM deployments are at the very least up to speed with Update Rollup 7 for two very good reasons: better performance, and compatibility with future updates.

For a full list of current Update Rollups for Microsoft Dynamics CRM click here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949256

First off, I apologize for not keeping this blog regularly updated.  Balancing projects and the holiday season tends to make one procrastinate. 

After a quick scan of the list of fixes, it appears this release only adds stability improvements on top of what was Update Rollup 7′s big [...]]]>

Should you update? "Signs point to yes"

First off, I apologize for not keeping this blog regularly updated.  Balancing projects and the holiday season tends to make one procrastinate. 

After a quick scan of the list of fixes, it appears this release only adds stability improvements on top of what was Update Rollup 7′s big changes.  Update Rollup 7 is not a pre-requisite.  You can install UR8 on any server deployment of CRM 4.0 because it’s a cumulative update.  Easy!  However, you should make sure to to review the import and export customization file notes.

EDIT: The Outlook Client and Data Migration Manager both require Update Rollup 7 to be installed beforehand.

Happy holidays!

According to this Gartner press release, the worldwide market for CRM solutions has grown 12.5% since last year in 2007.  Looks like there’s now solid evidence businesses are catching on to the benefits of a CRM solution… or even better, xRM.

But one of the highlights [...]]]>

The Wayans bros. were the first CRM Consultants

According to this Gartner press release, the worldwide market for CRM solutions has grown 12.5% since last year in 2007.  Looks like there’s now solid evidence businesses are catching on to the benefits of a CRM solution… or even better, xRM.

But one of the highlights of this story is that Microsoft Dynamics CRM revenue grew 75% last year.  Much of the success was attributed to the trend in SaaS, with the likes of Microsoft CRM Online and Salesforce.com.

Software as a Service (SaaS) continued to drive the market forward, representing nearly 20 percent of total CRM software market revenue in 2008, up from just over 15 percent in 2007. Interest in social networking and social software also escalated in 2008 as businesses were confronted with the sales, marketing, and serviceability impact of increasing consumer participation in online forums.

SAP continued to be the market leader accounting for 22.5 percent of worldwide CRM software revenue in 2008 (see Table 1), but this is down from a 25.5 percent share in 2007. Microsoft experienced the strongest growth rate among the top 5 vendors, as its revenue increased 75 percent in 2008.

I’ve been busy on a couple projects lately, so I’m predicting there will only be more in the near future!  Let me know if you’ve personally seen more CRM business too.

¡Socorro!

The other new international discussion groups will be excellent [...]]]> There are new discussion group resources available in your quest for answers regarding Microsoft Dynamics CRM, most notably a CRM Online forum.  Engage with the MVP Experts and discover a solution to that one support or development issue that’s been gnawing at your patience all week.

¡Socorro!

The other new international discussion groups will be excellent support resources for our Spanish, Italian, German, Russian and Chinese brethren.

See all Dynamics CRM discussion group links below, and be sure to bookmark the ones you’ll need!

Link to all Dynamics discussion groups, including Dynamics GP:
http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/dynamics/

CRM
Forum for discussions with Microsoft CRM experts, MVPs, and Partners.

CRM Deployment
Forum for discussing Microsoft CRM deployment questions.

CRM Development
Forum for discussing customization, add-ins, and integration with Microsoft CRM.
 
CRM Online
Forum for discussing Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online specific questions.

CRM Chinese
CRM community space for an international audience, these new forums will be monitored by the CRM MVP team.

CRM Italian
CRM community space for an international audience, these new forums will be monitored by the CRM MVP team.

CRM Spanish
CRM community space for an international audience, these new forums will be monitored by the CRM MVP team.

Microsoft Dynamics AX/NAV/CRM
Microsoft Dynamics AX, NAV and CRM Russian Discussion Group.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM (German)
Mit Microsoft Dynamics CRM optimieren Sie all Ihre kundenorientierten Geschäftsprozesse. Diskutieren Sie mit anderen Anwendern oder stellen Sie ihre Frage rund um die Installation, Anpassung und Entwicklung von Microsoft Dynamics CRM.