Convergence - Ask the expert

In just a couple of weeks there is the Convergence EMEA in Denmark. I'll attend this convergence again and I am looking forward to meeting many of the readers of my blog. On this convergence you can find me at the CRM Booth many times, but there is one place for sure where you can find me. That will be the session IDCRM05: "Microsoft Dynamics CRM: Ask the Community Experts".

That session is going to be one of the most interactive sessions of the Convergence. On stage will be my fellow MVP's as well as myself answering questions from the audience. Feel free to drop by and ask any question. Also, you can let us know your questions upfront on this forum discussion:

http://forums.microsoft.com/Dynamics/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=4064067&SiteID=27&mode=1

Let me know if you'll be in Copenhagen as well. I look forward drinking a beer with my fellow CRM people!

CRM 5.0 Features

Now that CRM 4.0 is available for almost a year, it is good to start thinking about what investmenst you will make in the coming period and which functionality can wait until the v.next has been released. In this topic I'll list some of the most interesting features that Microsoft has said to be working on:

- Adding auditing capabilities out of the box

- Deeply integrate SharePoint with CRM for instance for document management

- Improve crm platform for use in a call center. Less mouse-clicks, less keystrokes

- Reduce the amount of popup screens to improve the usability

- Extend the activities with Voice and IM channels as well as allowing recurring activities

- Improve e-mail marketing, including attachments to emails

- Improve application maintenance including cascading/hierarchical pick-lists, streamlined management for hosted environments and integration with Visual Studio

There are some nice look and feel changes of course like the inclusion of the Microsoft Office Ribbon bar, but I don't expect that many organizations are looking to do this themselves.

For more information regarding the direction of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, look at the paper Statement of Direction on Customersource or Partnersource.

Update:

More information on CRM 5.0 you can find at the presentations which were given at the PDC:

- BB08 Microsoft Dynamics CRM: The Appealing Business Application

- BB32 Microsoft Dynamics CRM: Building Line-of-Business Applications

A summary of these presentations including screenshots can be found at Simon Hutson's blog.

Social Media and CRM

Although we're in the middle of web 2.0, most companies do not integrate social media in their organizations, including CRM. Avanade has concluded this based on a research which has been conducted under more than 500 global executives.

There are a lot of interesting facts published in the press release which can be downloaded from the CRM Social Media website of Avanade.