More Convergence!

The Convergence EMEA is just one week away. I do now have more information available about my planning for that week. You'll find me at the following times at the following locations:

Tuesday 18: 17:30-19:00 MS Pavillion CRM Booth Kiosks 33-36
Wednesday 19: 17:00-18:30 MS Pavillion CRM Booth Kiosks 33-36
Thursday 20: 9:30-11:30 MS Pavillion CRM Booth Kiosks 33-36
Thursday 20: 12:00-13:00 Hall B5.2 - Ask the Community Experts session

For the session on thursday we're still looking for more questions. See my previous post about the convergence for more details: Convergence - Ask the expert.

See you in Copenhagen!

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.

Get rid of "Do you want to close this window?"

You might get a question when opening CRM in Internet Explorer. The question is:

The webpage you are viewing is trying to close the window.
Do you want to close this window?
yes no

This message does appear in CRM 4.0 only when you are using Internet Explorer 7.0 and you have enabled the application mode setting. Nevertheless, it is an anoying message which you can get away!

To get rid of this message open the default.aspx file which resides in the root of the CRM website. In this file there are these three lines of code:

var oMe = window.self;
oMe.opener = window.self;
oMe.close();

Modify the second line of this snippet and end up with these three lines:

var oMe = window.self;
oMe.open('','_self','');
oMe.close();

You now will not have the message anymore. Keep in mind that any update or migration might remove this change, but you should be able to reapply the change easily again.

Overview of CRM 4.0 Training & development collateral

Microsoft employee Jon Butler is sending me updates on CRM regularly. This time he has sent an overview of the available training material. Since this is such a usefull list, I thought it would be worth sharing this with you guys!

Official Courseware available now
These training courses are the Microsoft Dynamics Official Curriculum currently available for CRM 4.0 now, either as soft-copy downloads, ordered hard copy – or you can schedule classroom training.

Download them directly via https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/communities/training/trainingmaterials/student or https://mbs.microsoft.com/customersource/training/trainingmaterials/student/ for customer source access.

Extending Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 - Course Number 8969
This three-day training material provides individuals with the knowledge and skills to develop extensions for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The training material focuses on extension methods documented in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK.It also includes content on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web Service programming, creating and configuring Custom Workflow Activities and Plug-ins, advanced client-side scripting, application integration capabilities and how to create a customer portal solution that connects Microsoft Dynamics CRM to the Internet.

Administration in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 - Course Number 80002
This training material, Administration in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, provides individuals with the necessary techniques to plan, develop, apply, and examine administrative tasks within Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

Workflow in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 - Course Number 80003
This training material describes how to create, run, and monitor workflows to automate business processes. The training material emphasizes out-of-box workflow functionality. The training material includes the following topics:Basic concepts Creating a basic workflow Design process Update triggers Conditional branching Advanced workflows Multi-stage workflows Monitoring workflows Workflow securityThe training material also focuses on using workflows in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 to automate the following business processes:Sales process Lead promotion Probable revenueThe following topics are not covered in detail in this training material, but are introduced to provide individuals with insight into potential advanced workflow topics:Extending workflows with custom assemblies Upgrading workflows Data migration and workflows

Customization and Configuration in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 - Course Number 8912
This three-day training material provides individuals with the tools to configure and customize Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. Configuration topics include setting up business management functions such as:Business units Users Teams Security privileges and roles System Settings Multilingual User Interface Language Packs Currency Exchange Rates Multiple OrganizationsThe training material also focuses on using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Customization tools to customize the following system components:Forms Views Entities Attributes Relationships Entity MappingsThe following customization topics are outside the scope of this training material, but are introduced here to provide individuals with insight into potential advanced customization features:Application Event Programming Client Extensions Workflow SiteMap URL Addressable Forms IFrames SDK

Applications in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 - Course Number 8913
This three-day training material explores the Microsoft Dynamics CRM application from a user's perspective. Application functionality covered in the training material includes: Sales Management Marketing Automation Service Management Service Scheduling

What’s New in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 - Course Number 8910
This one-day training material provides individuals with the knowledge and skills to begin planning for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

Installation and Deployment in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 - Course Number 8911
This three-day training material provides individuals with the tools to install and configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. The training material focuses on the components used within a Microsoft Dynamics CRM deployment, the hardware and software requirements needed to successfully deploy Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and the installation instructions for the primary Microsoft Dynamics CRM components: the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server, the E-Mail Router, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Office Outlook.

E-Learning available now
Note that for an individual to view the E-Learning online, they’ll have to be set up as a user in PartnerSource/CustomerSource. Some partners or customers prefer to download the E-Learning courses for their trainees instead, and have the trainees view them offline

This query will bring up all E-Learning courses (57 is the current count) – but note that they map pretty consistently to individual chapters of the Official Courseware, so the content of the Official Courseware and E-Learning are similar:
http://dynamics.microsoftelearning.com/catalog/default.aspx?view=catalog&filterView=basic&productFilter=Microsoft%20Dynamics%20CRM%204.0&productFilterDisabledValue=&seriesFilter=def-0&seriesFilterDisabledValue=&collectionFilter=def-0&collectionFilterDisabledValue=&searchAction=filter&sortColumnId=&sortOrderAscDsc=&pageNumber=

You can filter this further to essentially get E-Learning versions of the Official Courseware training courses listed above. The right column lists appropriate audiences, such as Desktop and End-User Support Professionals, Developers, IT Professional

Dynamics CRM 4.0 collateral from the Microsoft Download Center
All available via http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/results.aspx?freetext=&productID=835909D0-A755-41FF-93CD-F5207C609EF5&DisplayLang=en
A minor subset of the 155 items available via the Download Center URL provided above

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Implementation Guide
This guide contains comprehensive information about how to plan, install, and maintain Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 SDK
This package contains the complete software development kit for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Logical Database Diagrams
A series of diagrams showing the logical database structure for Microsoft CRM 4.0.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Internet Facing Deployment Scenarios
This document covers how to set up the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Web site to make it available from the Internet.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 ISV White Paper
How to create business applications for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Data Migration Manager
Using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Data Migration Manager, you can convert and upload data from another CRM system to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

Optimizing and Maintaining Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0
This white paper details techniques, considerations, and best practices for optimizing and maintaining the performance of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 implementations.

Offline and Online Synchronization in Microsoft Dynamics CRM
This "nuts and bolts" white paper details the Offline and Online synchronization processes in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

How to configure the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 On-premise and Online E-mail Router in different deployment scenarios
This document lists steps to configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 e-mail in different deployment scenarios.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Performance and Scalability
Microsoft, together with Unisys Corporation, completed benchmark testing of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 running on Microsoft® Windows Server® 2008 operating system and Microsoft SQL Server® 2008 database software. Benchmark results demonstrate that Microsoft Dynamics CRM can scale to meet the needs of an enterprise.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Deployment SDK
SDK for customizing deployments for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Suggested Hardware for Deployments of up to 500 Concurrent Users
Describes general hardware sizing information that will support Microsoft Dynamics CRM version 4.0 with up to 500 concurrent users in a single deployment on-premise model.

SEE ALSO:
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Developer Center
Access to SDK-related information, including access to CRM developers, etc.

Microsoft CRM Blog
Very useful, target, in-depth knowledge shared by program managers, developers, and testers from the CRM Product Group as well as other sources


Hope this is useful.

Get the latest hotfixes for the CRM 4.0 outlook client

The product team has posted a blog article about the known issues with their hotfixes on the team blog. I'd strongly recommend everybody to look at this list and to install all applicable hotfixes for your system.

The following issues are discussed:
1. Outlook hangs during initialization (progress toolbar displays “Loading…” and never finishes)
2. With E-mail Auto Promotion Enabled, Outlook may not close cleanly/properly.
3. Contacts with birthdays earlier than 1/1/1970 causes Outlook to crash
4. Items in Shared Calendars will report Sync Issues
5. Cannot Promote an E-mail where the name of the attached file contains a ‘&’ symbol.
6. Selecting Dismiss on Outlook Calendar reminder for Service Activity causes record to change Status Reason back to default value for that record.
7. OWA Sent Emails Get Stuck in Outlook Draft Folder When Outlook Is Open And CRMADDIN is Enabled
8. Microsoft Outlook stops responding when you open, close, reply to, or forward e-mail messages in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 client for Outlook
9. CRM Outlook client and/or Desktop Client hangs in presence of other Outlook add-ins
10. Phone call activity due time is changed after the activity is snoozed or dismissed.

There is a cumulative hotfix which does fix each of these as well: Download