Software Advice sat down with Dynamics CRM General Manager Brad Wilson and discussed a variety of topics in the videos below. It’s interesting to see the man behind the product, as well as discovering his thoughts on the current state and future of Dynamics CRM.

What’s new in Dynamics CRM 2011

More videos, continued.
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You down with VPC? (Yeah you know me)

Microsoft just released an updated version of the April 2009 VPC release, mostly because it’s due to expire very soon.  You’ll probably need PartnerSource or CustomerSource access to download it at the link below.

VPC Re-Release for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

Why should you download this version?  First of all, it’s not set to expire until August 2011 which will give you plently of time to play around until CRM 2011 is released.   It’s also a leaner download at about 7 GB.  Last but not least, it includes some new technologies such as Office 2010 and portal accelerators.

Per the download page, this new release (or re-release) has some new updated software:

  • Update Rollup 11
  • Microsoft Office 2010
  • New Portal Accelerators
  • New Partner and Customer portal installed using AD so no external network is required
  • New Profile Manager Tool which has two profiles for services and URL caching

It also looks like this VPC has the same credentials as in the past releases.  Log in with the following:

ID=contoso\administrator
PW=pass@word1

Enjoy!

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Check out my latest demonstration video on the CRM 4.0 Outlook Client! It’s an outline of the general navigation and features of the client, so it’s really nothing new for the seasoned CRM Consultants out there. Rather, this video is targeted for new and prospective clients who don’t live and breathe the CRM world everyday.

Hope you enjoy it… I’d appreciate your feedback!



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Drogba, Ivory Coast's number 11, gets a kick out of regular updates to his CRM. (UPDATE: he's injured and will miss the World Cup. Bummer)

Microsoft released the latest Update Rollup 11 for Dynamics CRM today, just in time before the World Cup 2010 tournament.  It’s so obvious now; they did this to make some room in their schedule for watching the live matches.  Indeed, they had already announced that there would be regular updates every 8 weeks… but I see through your game!   ಠ_ಠ

This release shows better Ribbon integration with Outlook 2010.  The CRM buttons don’t appear in the Add-Ins tab anymore.

Make sure you download and review the KB article from the links below.

The usual considerations apply regarding backing up and restoring customization XML files.  Make sure to carefully read the release notes before upgrading.

Some notable updates:

  • Windows Internet Explorer crashes or stops responding when you use the Advanced Find view on a computer that is running Windows 7.
  • After you apply Update Rollup 7 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, you experience slow performance when you open Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Web client.
  • When you create a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services (SSRS 2008) report by using the new SSRS 2008 features, you cannot display the report in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.
  • You experience slow performance when you add many members, such as 10,000 members, into a marketing list. Additionally, you may receive a time-out error message.
  • Assume that you create a report in the Report Wizard. When you run the report, you receive the following error message: An error has occurred during report processing. Query execution failed for data set ‘DSMain’.

A special cheers to all my fellow Dynamics CRM colleagues who will be following the tournament as closely as I will.  :-)

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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!



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