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.