Microsoft CRM Accelerators

UPDATE 12/17/08 - I am disappointed that these have trickled out instead of being released on the original schedule. MS has finally released 5 of them, with one listed as “R1″ which provides a subset of the intended functionality. You can download them here. My apologies for assuming MS was releasing them as planned. I will be testing these in the new year and will provide some reviews in my blog.

October 21st post….

Microsoft is rolling out their new FREE add-ons to Dynamics CRM 4.0 this week that will extend functionality in a couple specific areas. Read the full release statement here…

CRM Accelerators are a range of free-of-charge add-on solutions which are being developed for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 customers and partners. Each accelerator will showcase how the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 platform can be configured and extended to broaden marketing, sales and service capabilities. CRM accelerators provide additional functionality for deployments of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. Microsoft Dynamics CRM customers are encouraged to further configure these accelerators to meet their specific business needs.

Through accelerators, customers and partners benefit from new functionality on a more frequent basis, and they can be deployed to their environment quickly and easily. Delivery of these accelerators will begin now.

The list of accelerators is as follows:

• Analytics
• eService
• Event Management
• Enterprise Search
• Sales Methodologies
• Extended Sales Forecasting
• CRM Notifications
• Business Productivity

From these, I think the one I’ll be installing on every implementation is the Analytics Accelerator. You can see from the slide shown below some of the included components and views. While the other accelerators look great - especially within certain verticals - everyone is looking for pre-built dashboard style information.

If you currently use Dynamics CRM 4 and are working with a Microsoft Partner now, you need to talk to them about these FREE add-ins to CRM. If you are not working with a partner and would like help deploying these, please contact us at info@KenFarmerConsulting.com and we will be happy to assist.

Local Tourist

My parents just left after a visiting for a week. Living in San Diego, we have the opportunity to have family and friends stay with us 5-10 times a year. We enjoy these visits tremendously and make sure everyone realizes before they come that we can’t always drop everything and entertain them. We still have to work and carry on with our lives but everyone has a comfortable room, their own fully stocked bathroom, and can borrow a car if needed.

For some reason, this visit made us realize more than ever that we need to be better tourists in our own area. We always say, “We need to walk on the beach more” or “why don’t we come here more often” when we visit local spots with our visitors. This time it seemed to be more of a real desire, not just something to say.

Balboa Park and its world-class museums, Coronado and the incomparable Hotel Del, the world famous San Diego Zoo (we’re members for crying out loud), the glider port at Torrey Pines, that little Mexican restaurant we love on the coast highway in Leucadia, our beautiful Carlsbad beaches - all ignored and underappreciated until someone visits.

We love living here in Carlsbad - we made a conscious decision to stay when many of our friends moved elsewhere years ago. In this economy we all need to refocus our thinking and make an effort to spend more locally. What better way than to be a local tourist?

Everyone is evaluating what they spend and why. We can decide to spend locally - when we decide to spend. So, we may not get back to Italy this year. We may not get to Spain next year. We’ll just be local tourists and enjoy reminding ourselves why we chose to live here in the first place.