Dynamics CRM updates

Hi folks. I know it’s been awhile since my last post but it’s been nice to be too busy to blog! Let’s get caught up on some recent Dynamics CRM related updates.

First update – the team at Microsoft has really gotten it together in regards to the Dynamics CRM Accelerators.  They had some initial problems getting these out of the gate last year but have really caught up. Not only are the original accelerators released and stable, they have updated the Analytics to R2 and are releasing two new ones next week.

The download site for these is http://www.codeplex.com/crmaccelerators and they are free. Companies currently using Microsoft Dynamics CRM would benefit from reviewing these and contacting their partner about them. Microsoft says these have been downloaded over 50,000 times to date. Not sure how many of those are in production though – did I mention you should call your Microsoft Partner for help?

Here is the press release on the two new accelerators http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2009/jul09/07-08MSDynamicsCRMAcceleratorsPR.mspx

Second update – just today, Microsoft released the Dynamics CRM Mobile Express tool for version 4. I haven’t had a chance to work with it yet but had several clients express interest. It is installed at the server to allow mobile devices to log in and view their CRM data on their mobile browser. Nothing gets installed on the mobile device to allow for greater device flexibility.

Third update – Microsoft is now up to CRM Rollup 5 for version 4. Think of rollups as service packs and you get the idea. I am amazed at the number of folks still without any of the rollups. Just do it.

Finally, some well deserved props to some Twitter friends. I follow a bunch of folks that are Microsoft, CRM, or Sales\Marketing related and am amazed at the amount of usable information they impart. I am still on the fence about Twitter as a whole (that’s a blog post by itself) but these people truly make it workable for me. If you twitter and work with Dynamics CRM, or Sales follow these folks.

@tekoppele   @MSDynamicsCRM   @TheCRMGuy   @partnerchannel   @adriannemachina

Thanks tweeple!  

 Think Big, Start Small, Act Now.

Microsoft CRM Accelerators – part deux

The Microsoft team have done themselves proud with the current crop of CRM Accelerators. They struggled a bit last year but have made up for it since with quality, stable product. They are even releasing two new accelerators, as well as having just updated the Analytics accelerator.

CRM Accelerators are a range of free-of-charge add-on solutions which have been developed for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 customers and partners. Each accelerator showcases 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.

The full press release on the two new accelerators is here: http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2009/jul09/07-08MSDynamicsCRMAcceleratorsPR.mspx

You can download all the CRM accelerators here: http://www.codeplex.com/crmaccelerators

These accelerators are currently available for download with the two new ones available next week:

• Notifications
• Event Management
• Extended Sales Forecasting
• eService
• Analytics R2 – Updated 22-Jun-2009
• Enterprise Search R1
• Business Productivity Newsfeed
• Business Productivity Workflow Tools
• Business Data Auditing

Each download package is a self-extracting exe or ZIP file containing a setup routine and all the necessary installation bits, documentation and source code.

If you have Microsoft Dynamics CRM – or are wisely thinking of making the switch to it – you should check these out and then contact a Microsoft Partner to help you implement them.