Delving Into Dynamics (and other cool stuff!)

Microsoft Dynamics® CRM Partner Technical Training

jodonnell — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:02:00 GMT

Microsoft Dynamics® CRM Partner Technical Training

Attend Microsoft Dynamics CRM training TODAY! We offer a broad variety of technical training opportunities, which allows you to enhance the skills you need to be successful.

Technology Partners Can Expect:

Education to help achieve the certification requirements for the MBS competency.
Assistance in building skills, relaying tips and tricks, and good implementation practices.
Insight into exam preparedness.
Materials that reinforce key technical areas presented throughout the class.
Instructor-led lectures and hands-on labs to help you ramp-up quickly.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM - Online Partner Academy
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner Academy sessions will help you gain deep technical understanding and familiarity with the features and functionality of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

Tracks Available:

· Installation & Deployment: November 9 – 10

· Customization & Configuration: November 11 – 13

· Applications: November 16 - 18

Other Offerings:

Demo2Win!® Workshop

Come to Demo2Win to learn the tactics and receive the tools you need to give you the edge and improve your close rate. Learn how the 80/20 rule applies to your presentations and move from Good to Great in the eyes of your prospects.

Discovery2Win!® Workshop

How do you uncover everything you need during the discovery phase of an opportunity? Come to Discover2Win and get the tools you need to improve your sales process. Start getting buying signals in Discovery. Walk into the presentation knowing you will present the value the prospect is looking for you to deliver.

Microsoft Dynamics® xRM

Customers and partners alike are harnessing the power of Microsoft Dynamics xRM to rapidly build relational line-of-business applications. Understanding the capabilities and value of Microsoft Dynamics xRM is critical to your success. Coming Soon!

Exam Preparation Series

Leverage these web seminars to prepare for Microsoft Dynamics CRM exams.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Pre-sales Web Seminars
Combining effective sales techniques with deep technical knowledge is the key to closing deals. Microsoft delivers training and certifications that equip you with the functional knowledge for your solution that customers expect, along with robust Solution Selling methodologies.

Microsoft Dynamics Advanced Technical Workshops
Both remote based and classroom workshops are available for partners. These offerings are trained by our technical support team and are based upon key areas of the product that come through our support queues in addition to niche areas of the product.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Technical Web Seminars

We offer a guided, flexible approach to training and certifications, backed by a proven curriculum that goes the full range: Ensuring comprehensive knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics solutions and related products and technologies; developing specifications; customizing solutions to meet specific needs; and installing, testing, and optimizing solutions.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM TAS and TAS Extended Web Seminars

These 100-300 level web seminars offer a variety of advanced technical training options to meet your needs. View upcoming products to get you ramped up on the newest Microsoft innovations. Web seminars are refreshed often in order to be relevant to today's business and IT environment, so be sure to check out the latest offerings.

CLICK on the title to register or learn more.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM - Online Partner Academy

Installation & Deployment:

Nov 9-10

Customization & Configuration:

Nov 11-13

Applications:

Nov 16 - 18

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel

Intertouch Media Technologies innovates on WPF and Multitouch at BizSpark Incubation Week

jodonnell — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 05:08:00 GMT

Larry Gregory talked with David Marra and James Cadd from Intertouch Media Technologies at a recent BizSpark incubation event hosted by Sanjay Jain

Intertouch Media delivers platforms to enable companies to build very compelling interactive systems such as airport kiosks that take advantage of Windows 7 and Multitouch. In addition their solution leverages inertia in their controls so the user really feels compelled to interact with the display.

Do not miss the demo which starts at time index 6:00 minutes as they inertia in their controls and also a Bing integration.

Enjoy the show!

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel

Microsoft Dynamics® GP Technical Conference, November 9 - 12, 2009

jodonnell — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:15:00 GMT

Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Conference 2009

Make plans to attend the Microsoft Dynamics® GP Technical Conference, November 9 - 11, 2009. This conference will provide learning opportunities for the developer and highly technical community.

This event is focused on the product, development tools, best practices and other technical subject matter for Microsoft Dynamics GP. Partners are advised to send developers, implementers, and other technical resources. Specific conference objectives include:

Gain technical readiness for Microsoft Dynamics GP 11; focusing on new features coming out in the next release
Interact with the Microsoft Dynamics GP development, support, and leadership teams
Network with other Microsoft Dynamics GP partners

Post Training Options Now Available: Please choose the "Post Training" tab from the left-hand navigation to learn about some great training opportunities. Don't forget to register!

Microsoft Pressure Sensitive Keyboard

jodonnell — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:39:00 GMT

In an earlier blog post I wrote that Microsoft was working with pressure sensitive keyboards. Recently the keyboards were sent out to forty international teams to see what solutions they could come up wth. The winners were announced at the ACM UIST Conference. I tried hard to pick a favorite but they all offer something so compelling. In particular there is a demo of a biometric solution where the keyboard is used to detect how hard you press keys, timing between keys and so on. Keyboards just became cool again.

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel

Take Comics builds new comic publishing solution with Windows 7 and Touch

jodonnell — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:58:00 GMT

Larry Gregory talked to the team of Kevin Mann and Tony Williams of http://www.takepublishing.com at a recent Bizspark incubation event hosted by Sanjay Jain.
Their solution called TakeComics finally solves the problem of trying to find that missing issue of your favourite comic as well as new comics and render them digitally on many devices.

In a few days of development the TakeComics team were able to build a solution that could render comics and let you interact them using Windows 7 touch capabilities.

This video showcases how quickly solutions can be built on the Microsoft platform and how technologies such sa Windows7 and WPF can deliver compelling user experiences.

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel

Coordination and Concurrency Runtime (CCR) at Myspace

jodonnell — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:47:00 GMT

CCR, part of the Microsoft Robotics Studio is being used for a none robotics application at MySpace. Check out the video here

Details

MySpace has done some pretty amazing things with the Robotic Developer Studio. When they found out it contained a very powerful component, the Coordination and Concurrency Runtime (CCR), the architects built it into the architecture of MySpace, the largest .NET site in the world. At MySpace, I met Principal Architect Erik Nelson and Senior Architect Akash Patel who walked me through how they were using the CCR.
If you have an MSDN subscription, you are a student, or you are at a qualifying startup, you can now download and use the Robotic Toolkit as part of the program.

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Performance and Scalability with Intel Processor and Solid-State Drive Technology

jodonnell — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:36:00 GMT

Brief Description

Microsoft, working with Intel Corporation, completed benchmark testing of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 running on Intel server and solid state drive (SSD) hardware. This white paper focuses on benchmark results associated with user scalability.

Overview

Microsoft, working with Intel Corporation, completed benchmark testing of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 running on Intel server and solid state drive (SSD) hardware. The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 implementation was not customized (simulating an “out-of-the-box deployment), though standard optimizations were applied per guidelines published in the white papers Optimizing and Maintaining Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and Improving Microsoft Dynamics CRM Performance and Securing Data with Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

This white paper provides the details and results associated with this benchmark effort.

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel

Developing Widgets for Windows Mobile 6.5

jodonnell — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:32:00 GMT

Summary

Windows Mobile® widgets typically are single-purpose applications to display data obtained from the Internet. They are written using JavaScript and bring the wealth of experience of Web developers to the Windows Mobile platform. Since widgets are installed and run locally on the mobile device, they provide ease of use and a better Internet user experience than conventional Web applications.

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel

Widget Anatomy – Performance and Battery Life

jodonnell — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:17:00 GMT

In part 3 of his series on Widgets for Windows Mobile 6.5, Jorge Peraza talks about how to write great widgets without draining the batteries of your new 6.5 device. if your new to the world of developing solutions one of the challenges is to remember that the device you are writing for has limited resources in terms of battery and processor and therefore it is critical to write tight code that knows about how the device is being used so it can degrade gracefully when the device gets low on pwer for example.

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel

Widget Anatomy – The Keys for a Great User Experience

jodonnell — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:13:00 GMT

Jorge Peraza continues his great discussion around widgets on Windows Mobile 6.5 with a look at the user experience and how to code for multiple screen resolutions.

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel

Widget Anatomy – The Manifest

jodonnell — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:07:00 GMT

Developing Widgets for Windows Mobile 6.5 is fun and in this series Jorge Peraza describes the widget manifest. Now that Mobile 6.5 devices are out it is time to start looking at their capabilities beginning with widgets.

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Performance and Scalability with Intel Processor and Solid-State Drive Technologies

jodonnell — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:59:00 GMT

Brief Description

Overview

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel

Optimizing and Maintaining Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

jodonnell — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:57:00 GMT

Brief Description

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

Overview

This white paper provides techniques, considerations, and best practices for optimizing and maintaining the performance of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 implementations. Structured to support a tier-based optimization methodology, the paper includes a section dedicated to optimizing and maintaining each of the Client, Application, and Data tiers. For each tier, the paper addresses the relevant components of the broader implementation. This white paper also includes links to additional information and resources, such as performance enhancements, security updates, Knowledge Base articles, and related Microsoft Dynamics CRM documentation.

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel

White Paper: Implementing an ADFS Solution for Microsoft Dynamics CRM by Using IAG

jodonnell — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:45:00 GMT

Brief Description

This paper includes high-level guidance on using IAG to implement an ADFS solution for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

Overview

By default, an on-premise implementation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 leverages Active Directory (Integrated Windows) Authentication to accommodate access by internal users. However, many businesses also require the ability to provide external users with access to the highly sensitive information that is stored in the CRM system and to accommodate this access without having to create Active Directory trusts. By using a combination of IAG and Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) to establish an authentication gateway, companies can provide access to CRM resources by any identity from any organization, from any computer, complete with strong authentication and full Single Sign On from the end user to the internal CRM system with a full audit trail (including username and source IP). This white paper is designed to : - Explain the business need and common business scenarios for using ADFS and IAG - Summarize the functionality and benefits associated with using ADFS - Summarize the functionality and benefits associated with using IAG - Explain the architecture associated with an ADFS solution for Microsoft Dynamics CRM that leverages IAG - Illustrate the solution architecture by providing and describing a sample deployment - Summarize the process for and provide high-level guidance on implementing an ADFS solution for Microsoft Dynamics CRM by using IAG

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel

Windows Phone launches and delivers up to 30+ devices over the coming months - one device does not fit all

jodonnell — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:22:00 GMT

Years ago when you wanted to buy a car you had one choice of car and one choice of color and it was black. Consumers deserve choice so why do some companies still only deliver a few devices which means you, the consumer has to compromise your decision process and choose the device that is available rather than the device that you actually want. Over the years we have seen Microsoft deliver mobile devices in many different form factors such as devices with keyboards, some without, different screen resolutions and so on. You as the consumer may think that this is confusing but the reality is that in today's world you deserve the right to make your mind up. After all, only you can choose which device is right for you.

Today we launch Windows Phone on a number of devices. You can read about this here.

Once you have looked at the press release take a look at our Windows phone web site

Which Windows Phone will you buy, and yes if you really want one you can have a Windows phone in black :-)

John O'Donnell
Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/jodonnell

(b) http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde

(w) http://channel9.msdn.com/Wiki/DynamicsCRM/HomePage/

(t) http://www.twitter.com/jodonnel