A Freaky Microsoft Dynamics CRM Blog : Licensing

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.

Available: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Pricing and Licensing Overview

mennotk — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:23:50 GMT

I know you have been waiting for this information! Log in to ParterSource and download the pricing information of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.

In the Zip file you will find a PowerPoint that provides an overview of the licensing structure and options for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. Topics covered include user and external connector licenses, program availability, sales channels, pricing, registration, Dynamics CRM 3.0 upgrade paths, Software Assurance, and other important information that will help address Customer queries related to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 licensing.

I have been using some of this deck during the Titan launch roadshows and got great feedback about it.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 - Versions

mennotk — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:08:00 GMT

A clear post about the versions we will have with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0...(read more)

Sales Best Practices for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

mennotk — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:59:00 GMT

A 90 minute session where we will discuss sales best practices for CRM partners to help accelerate prospect decision making....(read more)

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.

Repeat: External Connector License

mennotk — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 10:00:00 GMT

The Microsoft CRM External Connector is nothing more than a license and is NOT a product or a tool that needs to be installed. I have blogged about the External in the past http://blogs.msdn.com/mscrmfreak/archive/2006/10/27/microsoft-dynamics-crm-3-0-external-connector.aspx and I just wanted to do a follow-up post, since there is still a lot of confusion going on. Please read my previous posting including the comments. When you are done continue reading here....

Below a short synopsis I received from a colleague and wanted to share with you guys. Please keep this in mind when engaging with your customers.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM User CALs are required for users who directly input into, query, or view data from a Microsoft Dynamics CRM database. Similarly, Microsoft Dynamics CRM User CALs are required for users who input data into, query, or view data from a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server database through a pooling device. This includes users who view data through Web-based applications or enter information into a database through an intermediary product.

This is true no matter how many tiers of hardware or software exist between the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server and the client devices that ultimately use its data, services or functionality. An exception to this includes the manual transfer of data from employee to employee. For example, if an employee sends an Excel version of a report to another employee, the receiving employee does not require a CAL (as long as the report does not access a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server in some way).

Microsoft Dynamics CRM on a Small Business Server 2003...

mennotk — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:55:00 GMT

Just a quick blog (copy and paste) about what is allowed regarding the installation of Microsoft Dynamics 3.0 Small Business Edition on a Small Business Server 2003.

Microsoft CRM 3.0 SBE can be installed on a SBS 2003 Premium server (all in one box)
Microsoft CRM 3.0 SBE can be installed on a SBS 2003 Standard server + SQL Server (all in one box)
Microsoft CRM 3.0 SBE can be installed on a SBS 2003 server, with a standalone SQL server that is not part of the SBS server (however, this requires separate regular SQL license to be purchased)
Microsoft CRM 3.0 SBE CANNOT be installed on a server that is NOT a SBS 2003 server

Hope this clarifies a lot of your questions on this specific topic.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM on Vista and Office 2007

mennotk — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 20:00:00 GMT

ICU MSCRM and Sonoma Partners made a nice post about our compatibility release with Office 2007 and Vista. Those blogpostings triggered me to blog as well about our soon to be released optimized "update" for Vista and Office 2007.

The new version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, compatible with the 2007 Office release and Windows Vista, enables a range of powerful features:

An enriched user experience based on the 2007 Microsoft Office system. The new release of Microsoft CRM picks up on the new Ribbon user experience of the 2007 Office release, and continues to enable users to access rich, roles-based CRM capabilities through Microsoft Office Outlook®, Microsoft Internet Explorer® and a broad range of mobile devices.
Richer data visualization with Microsoft Office Excel 2007. Rich data visualization and business intelligence enhancements to Microsoft Office Excel® 2007 enable better analysis and decision-making for CRM managers and users.
Desktop action and insight using Windows Vista gadgets. New Windows Vista gadgets allow Microsoft Dynamics CRM activities, analytics and alerts to be placed directly onto the desktop or home page.
Unified communications with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. The new release of Microsoft CRM enables users to store voice-mail messages in Outlook and track them automatically in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
Enhanced security with BitLocker Drive Encryption in Windows Vista. The new BitLocker™ capability in Windows Vista helps protect confidential CRM data on laptops from being accessed by unauthorized individuals.

The questions I keep hearing from a lot of people: do we have to pay for this release and does it include updates/hotfixes. The new version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is categorized as a “re-release” which basically means that we will simply update our inventory with the updated version and start shipping that. In addition the various download sites will be updated so they will have the new bit available (e.g. on MS Downloads).

The new version will also serve as a roll up release of hotfixes and services packs this will simply be the “new” bits to use.

Microsoft CRM 3.0 90-Day Trial Versions updated

mennotk — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 12:24:00 GMT

The CRM Server CD image on the 90-Day Trial download from http://www.microsoft.com/download has been updated with a new Server CD image that is now compatible with the R2 release of Windows Small Business Server for the following languages: German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Swedish. Remaining languages will follow soon.

The link to the 90-Day Trial is here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=7d418781-69ad-422d-92fa-87fdb2538e2c&DisplayLang=en

Microsoft CRM on Dynamics Price Lists!

mennotk — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 06:56:00 GMT

I thought this announcement would come later, but I happen to get this via email from a co-worker.

Beginning December 4, 2006, Microsoft Dynamics CRM will be available from the Microsoft Dynamics Price Lists. This includes both Business Ready Licensing (BRL) and Modular Based Licensing and will affect partners that sell licenses of Microsoft Dynamics AX, GP, NAV and SL.

This change will simplify the process of ordering Microsoft CRM along with other Microsoft Dynamics products from a single Microsoft Dynamics business partner, and give customers more options for how they deploy roles-based Microsoft Dynamics within their organizations.

If you are a partner and have access to PartnerSource, take a look here: https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/newsevents/news/newsgeneral/MicrosoftIntroducesMicrosoftDynamicsCRMPriceLists.htm

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 – External Connector

mennotk — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 03:17:00 GMT

Just a small story on the External Connector that is available for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0. It seems that a lot of people including myself are getting confused on this item over and over. I hope that this blogpost keeps you and myself on the right track now!

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 – External Connector
This is a license only, and does not include any physical software components.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 – External Connector can be used to provide access to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 data to customers, partners and suppliers through any application/graphical user interface (GUI). External users should not be using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 applications & GUIs directly. External Connector license is a per-server license, and hence must be purchased for each server that hosts an application that provides external access to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 data.

The license type cannot be used for providing access to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 data to internal employees, external users acting in an internal capacity, external users using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Outlook or Web Client. ALL such employees must have a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 CAL in order to access/interact with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 data.

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 – External Connector does not include licensing for any other Microsoft products. If external scenarios integrate with Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Office SharePoint or any other product license rights for these must be established separately.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 – External Connector enables deployments and solutions to be build and implemented in ways that was not possible with Microsoft CRM 1.2.