A Freaky Microsoft Dynamics CRM Blog : Hosted Microsoft CRM

My last post!

mennotk — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:59:00 GMT

Don't let the title confuse you, it's only my last post here at MSDN! As most of you know, I've been blogging on MSDN since 19 December 2005! It is time to move on...

I made the decision to move my blogging addiction to my very own domain. On the new location you can continue reading about freaky CRM stuff, but I'll mix it up with some additional topics that interest me and hopefully you guys as well.

Please update your bookmarks, RSS Readers and OPML files.

Blog: http://www.tekoppele.com/blog

RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/crmfreak

It took me a lot of time and effort to design my new blog from the ground up. I want to thank Alex Vermeule, Scott Barnes Jaap Steinvoorte and Jron for their help and advice. Over time, I will slowly migrate all of my posts and comments.

SPLA and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

mennotk — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 22:51:22 GMT

You're a SPLA partner and you want to know how to install and configure v4.0 right? I know a few of you are really waiting for this type of information. The wait is over because, The CRM Product Team created a document that describes how to plan and deploy Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 in your data center.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0: Planning and Deployment Guidance for Service Providers contains the following documentation/configuration tool:

Deployment Walkthrough Guide for Service Providers
Planning Guide for Service Providers
Development Guide for Service Providers
End User License Agreement
Deployment Configuration Tool

The documentation details the planning process, sizing and architectural guidance, and provides step-by-step instructions on how to deploy the solution in a data center so that it can be accessed via the Internet, or by any CRM client. It covers topics such as how to leverage the Deployment SDK to automate the creation and provisioning of organizations and users in a multi-tenant CRM 4.0 deployment.

Note: Make sure you select the correct bit flavor: 32-bit or 64-bit

AVAILABLE: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 RTM BITS

mennotk — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 23:18:00 GMT

Read this post if you want to know where to download the CRM 4.0 RTM BITS!...(read more)

DST changing this Sunday!

mennotk — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 06:17:28 GMT

Beginning in 2007, daylight saving time (DST) got extended in the United States. DST started on March 11, 2007, which was three weeks earlier than usual, and it will end on November 4, 2007 (This Sunday!), which is one week later than usual.

If you still haven't updated Microsoft Dynamics CRM I highly encourage you to visit this web site and read the steps you need to perform: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933453

If you want to kill two birds with one stone I would suggest installing the Update Rollup 2 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0

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RELEASED: Update Rollup 1 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Service Provider Edition

mennotk — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 03:17:00 GMT

Copy and Pasta from my inbox. The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Sustained Engineering team has released Update Rollup 1 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Service Provider Edition via the Microsoft Download Center.

Download Center page: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=31F0D5AC-D2A2-42E4-8A23-55A838CD74E5
Microsoft Knowledge Base article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935731 (includes the fixlist) Languages released:

Dutch
Italian
English
Danish
French
German
Spanish (Traditional Sort)

NOTES:

Update Rollup 1 cannot be uninstalled
Please note that Update Rollup 1 cannot be uninstalled, and that you should back up your databases prior to installation of Update Rollup 1.
Update Rollup 1 (Service Provider Edition) is a prerequisite for future Microsoft Dynamics CRM Service Provider Edition hotfixes
Update Rollup 1 establishes a new baseline, so your clients and servers must have Update Rollup 1 installed prior to installation of post-Update Rollup 1 updates or hotfixes.
Update Rollup 1 contains the Daylight Saving Time remediation tools described in Microsoft Knowledge Base articles 925874 and 932984
If you are unfamiliar with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Daylight Saving Time tools, we encourage you to familiarize yourself with the Microsoft Knowledge Base articles 925874 An update for the 2007 daylight saving time changes is available for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 and for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 client for Outlook and 932984 How to make the 2007 daylight saving time changes by using the Update Time Zones Wizard for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0. If you haven't already run the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Update Time Zones Wizard described in KB 932984, we encourage you to do so to make sure that Microsoft Dynamics CRM entities with date/time stamps that fall in the period when daylight saving time is ending have their times adjusted appropriately.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Update Rollup 1 (Service Provider Edition) applicability to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 client for Outlook (Service Provider Edition) compatibility with Windows Vista and Office 2007

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Update Rollup 1 (Service Provider Edition) does not provide Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 client for Outlook (Service Provider Edition) compatibility with Windows Vista and Office 2007. For Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 client for Outlook compatibility with Office 2007 and Windows Vista, refer to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 clients for Microsoft Office Outlook Compatibility Update (Service Provider Edition). Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Update Rollup 1 (Service Provider Edition) client packages do include fixes for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 client for Microsoft Office Outlook Compatibility Update (Service Provider Edition) if the client is already installed.

Vertical Templates for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

mennotk — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 23:09:00 GMT

As you know we announced some very nice things at the WPC in Denver last month. One the things beside pricing was that we were going to release vertical templates to be used for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Well today is the day that we have released two Microsoft Dynamics CRM vertical templates; manufacturing and municipal government.

These templates include data models, user interfaces, user roles and workflows that showcase how Microsoft Dynamics CRM is relevant to customers in these industries.

Microsoft field marketing and partner communities should utilize these templates for demonstration purposes and as well as to expand and enhance vertical focuses.

Each vertical template includes the following materials:

README File
CRM Configuration XML Files
Workflows
User Roles
Demo Data
Demo Script

These templates are designed to work with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 today and will be updated for the upcoming release at the end of the calendar year.

The downloads are offered at no charge to partners and customers via Microsoft’s shared source initiative at www.codeplex.com/crmverticaltemplates.

Drop me a comment to tell me which vertical should be next. I will make sure to bring that message across.

Microsoft CRM Live announcement at WWPC 2007

mennotk — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:21:00 GMT

I bet you already have read several web sites and blogs with the great news, but I still wanted to share it with you guys via my own blog. In March I had a similar posting coming from Convergence: http://blogs.msdn.com/mscrmfreak/archive/2007/03/15/microsoft-dynamics-live-crm.aspx

Microsoft’s CRM strategy is to deliver the “Power of Choice” to customers and partners. Microsoft gives customers a choice of how to deploy the system (software-as-a-service or on-premise software), a choice of how to access the system (Office/Outlook, browsers, mobile devices) and a choice of how to pay for the system (perpetual licenses or subscription). All Dynamics CRM solutions rely on a single multi-tenant code base, enabling easy migrations across on-premise or on-demand deployments.

Yesterday at WWPC 2007 we announced a whole new level of business productivity and value to the software-as-a-service market. Microsoft is making the Live CRM service available to customers at a very affordable price point. The first two service offerings for Microsoft Dynamics Live CRM are:

Microsoft Dynamics Live CRM Professional will offer full-suite CRM through Microsoft Outlook and browser clients, extensive workflow capabilities powered by Windows Workflow Foundation, and other rich configuration and extensibility capabilities The price for Microsoft Dynamics Live CRM Professional will be $44 per user per month; however, during 2008 it will be offered to customers at a promotional price of $39 per user per month.
Microsoft Dynamics Live CRM Enterprise, which will offer all of the capabilities of the Professional product as well as offline data synchronization. It will be priced at $59 per user per month.

Customer Early Access Program
The customer early access program for Microsoft Dynamics Live CRM will begin this quarter and will extend through the remainder of 2007. It will offer the Professional version of the service (see below) at no charge to customers during the early access period; at the end of the early access period, normal service fees will apply. The program is initially targeted at companies with five or more CRM users within the organization, and customer signup will be offered through Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s network of certified partners. Companies that are interested in the early access program can visit http://www.crmlive.com to apply.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Rollup 2 scoop!

mennotk — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 02:52:00 GMT

I know some of you are anxiously waiting for rollup 2 to be released. Well today I got a scoop from Greg that this is going to be soon! How soon you might think? Well if everything is going according to plan....the Microsoft CRM Sustained Engineering team plans to release the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Update Rollup 2 on Monday, June 25th.

Update Rollup 2 is a well tested, cumulative set of updates for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server 3.0 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM client for Outlook 3.0, including performance enhancements, which are packaged together for easy deployment. Sincere thanks to the many customers, partners, and ISVs who have helped us test this Rollup during our pre-release testing program.

Comprehensive information about this release will be available via the Microsoft Knowledge Base article 927751, which will be simultaneously published with the Rollup packages on the Microsoft Download Center. When published, the Update Rollup 2 packages will be available via http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=81674da5-ffef-492a-a7b1-7e1f1951b05f

This update rollup includes packages for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server and Microsoft Dynamics CRM client for Outlook 3.0 to maintain parity between the client and server components of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0.

I guess the most asked question is going to be this one:

Question: Does Update Rollup 2 contain all fixes that were included in Update Rollup 1 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0?
Answer: Yes, absolutely. Microsoft Knowledge Base article 927751 will list all fixes “new to Update Rollup 2”, and will provide a reference to Microsoft Knowledge Base article 922815, which lists all fixes shipped via Update Rollup 1.

For more Q&A I am directing you to the Team blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/crm/archive/2007/06/22/update-rollup-2-for-microsoft-dynamics-v3-0.aspx

UI customizations on your coffee break

mennotk — Wed, 30 May 2007 10:32:26 GMT

A Guest Blog From Sam Lu

After working in the CRM industry for over eight years I’ve observed a healthy tension between UI philosophies regarding CRM as a whole.

Users generally fall into two camps:

Organized screen camps:
These users want to view a given record, and see its related information, either on tabs or on a single click. Our MS CRM 3.0 follows this model quite easily and beautifully out of the box.
All relevant screens on one page UI:
Some Users want to see a full form of all information on a single page (where you either tab or scroll down a long UI screen.)

Either of these approaches has its drawbacks. For those Organized screens, we get the common complaint that the application is too clicky, that there are too many open windows (or tabs for that matter) and that it becomes confusing for a new user. For the Single Page UI, users will complain about scrolling, or about how confusing it is to have so much information on one screen. They’ll often complain if the resolution is too small that the fonts become very tiny or if the resolution is too big and now they have to scroll both horizontally and vertically.

In all honesty, the perfect solutions are the ones that find the magical balance in between. A UI that immediately presents relevant information, but doesn’t overload the User experience to the point of overwhelming them.

I’ve always loved going to Convergence or watching a sales demo and have seen MS CRM transformed into incredibly robust applications that bare almost no resemblance to the Out of the Box. Aside from taking the path of some implementations and building a highly customized UI, its often come as a demand on many projects to just achieve some UI change without diving into the depths of custom .aspx pages or treading into the shadows of “unsupported” land.

It amazed me that there was a bevy of options that are not very difficult or costly to implement but are very robust options. I found that, esthetics aside, there were actual options available to very easily and with very little time invested build a much more robust UI.

Here are the hallmarks of this approach and the keys to its implementation:

We still use the basis of our OOB navigation where we are viewing a single “focal object”
Using the iFrames within our UI wizards we can call up any page
Using URL referenceable pages we can embed entire screens and screen sections into iFrames.
These changes are all client side related, making them easy to deploy (well versed, either of these changes can be implemented in minutes)

What I’ve included below is a very simple way to put in an iFrame onto any form, and then drop (or embed) into this form a related object (either a list or a related single entity.)
Embedding a list has actually appeared on many pages including our own tips and hints page: http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/crm/using/usertips/tips.mspx

The related form was a bit trickier, and I was able to accomplish this with some help on traversing the html spans of our Lookup objects from Streamline Solutions, an implementation partner here in Los Angeles.

To embed a related list into the same form

Example: To show the related Opportunities on the Contact form.

1. Create a section for that list form.

2. In that section add an iFrame

3. Name this iFrame something relevant such as OpportunitiesFrame

4. Check the “Pass record object-type code and unique identifier as parameters.”

5. Make sure the “Restrict cross-frame scripting” is NOT enabled

6. Go into the Form Properties and enter this code to an enabled On Load function:

var navOpportunity;
navOpportunity = document.all.navOpps;
if (navOpportunity != null) {
navOpportunity.style.display = "none"; document.all.IFRAME_OpportunitiesFrame.src=
"/sfa/conts/areas.aspx?oId=" + crmForm.ObjectId + "&oType=2&security=852023&tabSet=areaOpps"; } else { alert("navOpportunity Not Found"); }

The key to the above code is:

· navOpps is the name of related Opportunities, you can retrieve the specific name of the list you want to retrieve using the IE Developer’s toolbar

· areaOpps is also an explicit reference to Opportunity and you should check to ensure the object you want is set correctly

· The first line hides the link from the navigation area, but which you can choose not to do.

· Ensure the URL is correct, the Conts above refers to the Contact Area. You should be pointing to the URL for the Parent object, not the list view object.

7. Save and Publish. You can set the properties of the section and iFrame to automatically fit as necessary.

To embed a related form into a given form

Example: To show the related regarding Opportunity from an Activity form.

1. Create a section for the related form to appear in.

2. In that section add an iFrame

3. Name this iFrame something relevant such as OpportunityFrame

4. Check the “Pass record object-type code and unique identifier as parameters.”

5. Make sure the “Restrict cross-frame scripting” is NOT enabled

6. Go into the Form Properties and enter this code to an enabled On Load function:

var OppId = document.all.regardingobjectid_d.getElementsByTagName('span' [0].getAttribute('oid');

if OppId != null)
{
document.all.IFRAME_OpportunityFrame.src=
"/sfa/opps/edit.aspx?id=" +OppId;
}
else
{
alert("OppId Not Found");
}

The key to this code is:

· Retrieving the Object ID embedded in the span of the Regarding lookup field

Any object that is related should have a lookup field referencing that single relationship. This allows us to retrieve a related ObjectID from the client side reference.

· Set the link correctly. Unlike the list view above, this URL should point to the page you’re displaying. Opps ties to the Opportunity page.

· This code assumes a static regarding type, meaning the frame will be Empty if the Activity is tied to a Regarding object other than Opportunity (you may want to write some client code to hide this section in this scenario.)

7. Save and Publish. You can set the properties of the section and iFrame to automatically fit as necessary.

Ah, I love it when coding is easier than thirty minute meals. Through implementing the above, you can easily embed screens to the related object that is most used at the current implementation.

For an embedded list, a Sales implementation can embed related Opportunities. A Service centered implementation can embed related Cases. A custom Bank vertical can embed a custom Financial Accounts object.

Conversely the relation back to a single object can enable us to display any object referenced in a lookup. This could be the Regarding object of an Activity (you can easily make this robust enough to handle all object types, I didn’t go to the trouble). This could be used to show the Parent Account in a lower pane of the Contact screen. It could be a way to display the Contact information from a given Case.

That’s a lot of flexibility for development time that should be less than a coffee break.

Now before I get bombarded with questions about enhancements, I’ll emphasize that I’ve taken esthetics aside. We’re accepting the UI of fully embedding screens within screens. There will be color conflicts, there will be complaints since a form embedded in a form will have a separate menu navigation area in the embedded screen. The benefit is that whatever functionality has been built to the views and forms (such as changing columns in Views or adding Menu items) will automatically appear without any further maintenance.

This is only a demonstration of what’s possible with the very robust and flexible UI architecture we have. It’s definitely an option worth keeping in mind as an easy way to add some complex UI to CRM.

Since I only get so much time in the spotlight here, I did want to give a shout out to all the bloggers and MVPs out there. The greatest feature and strength of MS CRM is our community. It’s been just a pleasure to hopefully contribute a little back to this great pool of knowledge that I know I’ve benefited from time and again. In the immortal words of Snoop Dogg, “Until the Next Episode…”

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Service Provider Edition Client for Microsoft Office Outlook

mennotk — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 08:25:00 GMT

With this update, Microsoft Dynamics CRM client for Microsoft Office Outlook can be installed and run on computers that run Windows Vista-based operating systems and/or Office 2007-based applications. Microsoft Dynamics CRM clients for Microsoft Office Outlook enables access to the same data through Outlook as the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web client.

This release is only for users of the Service Provider Edition of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0.

Users can download V3C from this page below: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=FDF88E7D-395F-46C3-BCD8-F3D70DC2CD30&displaylang=en

This release is only for English, but all other languages are undergoing localization testing and will be released in May.

The non-English versions of the CRM 3.0 & SPE Time Zone Data Updates!

mennotk — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 06:42:00 GMT

All non-English versions of the CRM 3.0 Time Zone Data Updates and Update Time Zones Wizard for Microsoft CRM 3.0 Service Provider Edition, also known as SPE or SPLA have been released to the Microsoft Download Center. The English version for SPLA was released on 3/2. The newly-released languages are:

Danish
German
Spanish
French
Italian
Dutch

They are available via http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?amp;displaylang=en&familyid=8A7319E6-5B86-4E7A-9BE1-763F2072BE21&displaylang=en

We plan on releasing the two remaining unreleased in-band languages (Japanese and Chinese) on Saturday 3/10

Hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 information

mennotk — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 19:00:00 GMT

I wanted to talk a bit more about Hosted CRM and where you can find more information as a partner. The Hosted CRM works closely together with the HMC 3.5 framework, so in order to offer Hosted CRM you do not only need those bits but you also have to have the HMC framework in place. More information can be found below where I point to several websites with the needed information.

To get signed up to be a Microsoft Hosting partner and get information on HMC go to http://www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/solutions/hostedmessaging.mspx

To download the Hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Solution Components go to the same link http://www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/solutions/hostedmessaging.mspx

To get more information and signed up to host Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 go to
https://partner.microsoft.com/global/productssolutions/business/businesscrm/40028004

This link has information on Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 hosting and links on partners to contact that are offering CRM as a hosted solution
http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/crm/product/hosted.mspx

Microsoft Dynamics CRM - Service Provider Edition (Localized)

mennotk — Mon, 29 May 2006 23:18:00 GMT

Maybe a bit late, but here is a post about the localized versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM - Service Provider Edition.

The English version was already launched … these are the localized versions and.
the following languages were released to operations Friday the 26th of May

German, French, Dutch, Danish, Spanish and Italian.

It will be available to order on CD but will also be available for download for SPLA partners.

And yes… it is only available for SPLA partners.

Microsoft CRM 3.0 for Service Providers

mennotk — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 00:29:00 GMT

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Professional Edition for Service Providers is available to service providers that have signed the Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA). This release is designed to enable a rich hosted Microsoft CRM experience via addtional code and integration with Hosted Messaging and Collaboration solution, which will help CRM VAR partners and service providers work together to quickly close hosted Microsoft CRM business.

To get involved with Microsoft CRM hosted solutions either:

1. Contact your local partner account manager if you are already Microsoft certified partner.
2. Contact the local Microsoft sales office in your area if you are not a Microsoft certified partner.

For more information you can check out some websites that describe some issues in greater detail. I will be posting some other interesting items about hosting in the next few days, so stay tuned.

CRM:
http://www.microsoft.com/crm
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing

SPLA:
http://www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/default.mspx

HMC:
http://www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders