Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 - CRM LIVE - and Titan Blog

Photo post confusion

2008-02-18T21:19:00.001-06:00

Sorry folks, there was a mix up and some family pics were posted to the wrong blog. My apologies. Regards, Jon Petrucelli

CRM Showing Stronger Growth Than ERP, says Microsoft Senior Executive

2008-02-01T07:49:00.000-06:00

BY News Editor PUBLISHED: December 1, 2007 Microsoft credits strong growth in CRM for putting MS Business Solutions over the $1 billion mark in fiscal 2007. As for ERP, well, the silence following all the kudos for CRM may well have spoken volumes. According to Jeff Raikes, president of the Microsoft Business Division,

Dynamics CRM 4.0 Mobile Interface pending update to the v3.0 Mobile Express/Thin-Client.

2008-01-30T11:01:00.001-06:00

Many of our clients have been asking about the pending release and roadmap for the Mobility client and the GP connector. We are being told that the mobility client is being worked on and will be released soon. No word on the connectors. I was in a briefing on CRM 4.0 last summer at the Partner Conference and they stated that the mobility access is a "cornerstone" of 4.0 so I expect

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Training guides and links and information

2008-01-30T09:27:00.001-06:00

Here is a great post about MS CRM and all the various training available to the community. There is a TON. I have been through this and it is very good now and they will continue to enhance and build on it for years! There are at least 500 hours of training available to full clients. That is a lot of information. Trust me, I have been through a lot of it getting triple certified

We received an Award from Microsoft - The "Compete to WIN" Award

2008-01-30T09:03:00.001-06:00

I am proud to announce that last week (Jan 23rd approx) we were awarded the South Central Area (TX and 4 other states) 2008-H1 COMPETE TO WIN Award. This is especially encouraging as the pool of nominations included all MS products not just CRM or Dynamics. The award revolves around competing effectively against many of the alternative CRM products in the market. We went head-to-head

MS Dynamics CRM 4.0 Email Routing, Connector and Management Advancements and Enhancements

2008-01-30T08:11:00.001-06:00

One of the big problems in CRM 3.0 was the email integration/management. There were huge improvements over version 1 and 1.2 but there were still many opportunities to streamline the process and configuration. Well MSFT really worked on this and I am happy to say the Email management functions and features and architecture has been greatly enhanced. I am sure we will discover

From CRM Buzz: How Companies Waste Leads

2008-01-24T05:32:00.001-06:00

How Companies Waste Leads – My Take: The net-net of the story is that companies should better manage and track their leads. The recommendations are to Have a CRM system (Me thinks that is a good idea ;-)) and then to have a formal tracking and nurture program that retains the warm leads. Sales people get caught up on HOT leads and may not facilitate a long term nurture strategy so the

Bill Gates Last day video - This is too funny. You gotta see this.

2008-01-17T12:06:00.001-06:00

http://alexbarnett.net/blog/archive/2008/01/17/billg-last-full-day-at-microsoft-has-come-and-gone.aspx Click the link and then hit the play button. I watched a few last week and the sound was all messed up. This is the best one with the sound I have heard. Very funny and loads of cameos. At the Conventions they always have funny self deprecating humor like this. Its worth ten mins.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM LIVE is coming and will offer clients more choice than ever before!

2008-01-14T08:56:00.001-06:00

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live delivers a fast, flexible and familiar customer management solution for businesses looking to combine the power of online services with the richness of their everyday productivity applications. This solution is optimized for business work groups or departments who want to have their customer relationships managed by Microsoft. We have been in the beta/Early Adopter

Dynamics CRM 4.0 System Requirements Details

2008-01-14T07:46:00.001-06:00

The bottom line on hardware and software requirements: Get solid hardware for the CRM server. Especially if you are trying to do it right. 2GB RAM, Large HD and fast processor are so cheap nowadays that it is worth it. At a minimum make sure you have the room to add RAM. You also want to make sure you have fast seek times and fast speeds on your Hard Drive. This is a DB drive application and

Good marketing video explaining the Marketing modules and features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM

2008-01-13T00:17:00.000-06:00

I got this from the CRM Facebook group. http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/everyonegetsit/default.mspx?WT.mc_id=egivanity Microsoft is getting much better at explaining the business value of the technology to the people. This is not an easy thing to do and I think they are getting better at competeing in the domain.

CHOICE Explained - The value and growing momentum around the general launch of the MS CRM LIVE SAAS Solution

2008-01-11T07:12:00.001-06:00

CHOICE is an interesting word to build a marketing campaign and go to market strategy around. I think it is especially ironic given that MSFT has spent more money in anti-trust defense than probably any other company. I like to joke around that “You have Choice as long as you pick Microsoft CRM.” LOL. ;-) Luckily you have some pretty dang good

More on the Brad Wilson Q&A Regarding Dynamics CRM 4.0 Strategy - Good info regarding the vision and direction in here...

2008-01-11T06:44:00.001-06:00

CRM Buyer magazine posted this interesting Q&A. Brad Wilson came on board right before the projected launch of CRM v 2.0 and immediately squashed it from as far as I can tell. I remember those days and my impression was that this guy better do something big or else we are going to shelve this MS CRM product. We had been doing a lot of investing and

CLIENT Feedback on CRM 4.0 Installation "This seems to Rock"

2008-01-10T14:52:00.001-06:00

One of our clients is very savvy and has already run test upgrades on their existing CRM 3.0 test system. Here is their feedback on the upgrade and the resulting CRM 4.0 performance. “I have the new CRM running on a test server, the Outlook integrator is a 100 times better. I am still going through several of the options but I have not had a problem

Dynamics CRM 3.0 to 4.0 UPGRADE Tips, Findings and Recommendations - Part 1

2008-01-09T11:34:00.001-06:00

Line of Business core application upgrades can be a very tenuous time for a system admin. Luckily we have been doing a lot of CRM 4.0 related work: Installations, upgrades, code version moves and just general poking around (technical term). We are going to start posting our findings and recommendations to share with our loyal readers, if any are out there. Hopefully they will bring someone some

Do you want to get into the Microsoft CRM LIVE beta program.

2008-01-09T11:08:00.000-06:00

Let me know. Call 512-498-1005. They are expanding the program and taking more early adopters in. Price is free.!!! Cant beat that. For more info, read the CRM Team Blog article. Choice Begins Today - Say good-bye to the one-size-fits-all and one-way CRM systems of yesterday, and say hello to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live. Beginning today,

CRM 4.0 - Language Pack UI Installation Pack Details

2008-01-09T08:20:00.001-06:00

From Menno - By installing a Language Pack on the server that is running Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and then enabling the language in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Web application, users can view Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 in a language other than the base language of the installation. Follow these instructions to get the packs: -Access the download

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Multi Language - First language packs now available for download

2008-01-09T08:03:00.001-06:00

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Team today announced that the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 English, German and Spanish language packs are now available for download.

Dynamics CRM 4.0 Installation Video

2008-01-04T19:57:00.001-06:00

Another Great Video from Channel 9 and the CRM team. John O’Donnell walks you through the simple installation of MS CRM 4.0. These guys are really putting out some amazing content. Great Stuff and Kudos to them for sharing so much and helping evangelize! There is just no way any individual partner could put this much high quality content out. Enjoy -

What's New in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 - Great overview information here on the new upgrades and enhancements.

2008-01-04T19:45:00.001-06:00

Published: January 2, 2008 - Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 business software is a complete customer relationship management (CRM) solution that provides the capabilities that organizations need to gain and retain competitive advantage in today's business world. Microsoft relies on customers to guide product evolution. To this end, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Dynamics CRM 4.0 SDK now available online

2008-01-04T16:49:00.001-06:00

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 SDK is now ready for download. The documentation is critical in for both programmers and for others. There are loads of examples of code and real world scenarios. Everyone that is an admin or super user should know where this doc is and how to use it to get answers. There is also a lot of info about the new features etc.

Channel 9 - John O'Donnell Demos the Dynamics CRM 4.0 Data Migration Wizard

2008-01-04T15:16:00.001-06:00

John O'Donnell, who is a Microsoft Dynamics ISV Architect Evangelist, demonstrates the new Data Migration Manager tool in Microsoft Dynamics 4.0 showing how the new Data Migration Manager is used to import and link multiple entities from CSV files. John O-Donnell blogs at http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 online event

2008-01-02T15:24:00.001-06:00

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is THE RIGHT CHOICE for marketing, sales & customer service success Discover how Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 can help you deepen customer relationships and stay competitive. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 you can: · ... [StartDate: 2/7/2008 9:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada); EndDate: 2/7/2008 11:30 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada);

Happy New Year 2008

2008-01-02T15:17:00.001-06:00

Happy New year to everyone! Thanks to all our clients and partners out there. We have had a great year in 2007 and we owe that all to our great clients and partners. Without them we would not be in business for sure. We have again grown the business 100+ percent in 2007 and we expect that same growth in 2008. CRM 4.0 has just launched and we have

4.0 SDK details

2007-12-26T16:11:00.000-06:00

Fromm the TEAM: The product is shipped and now you may be asking, where is the SDK? Check the Downloads page in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Developer Center the first week in January. We are working hard to ensure that the SDK contains all the sample code you’ll need to get started with the new features. Thanks for your patience, Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK Team Jon Petrucelli - President and

Phillip Richardson demos and shows off the Data migration process in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

2007-12-22T11:57:00.000-06:00

http://www.philiprichardson.org/screencasts/titan/DataMigration/DataMigration.html There is no sound. But watching it is pretty interesting. This guy put out some great stuff. Thanks Phillip. Jon Petrucelli - President and Founder - ProductiveGap Corp - www.productivegap.com

Brad Wilson - head of MS CRM - Interview on CRM buyer about Titan and integrated messaging

2007-12-22T11:36:00.000-06:00

http://www.crmbuyer.com/rsstory/60864.html Worth the read. Happy Holidays. Jon Petrucelli - President and Founder - ProductiveGap Corp - www.productivegap.com

Some cool customizations and configs we are doing for clients. Some nice Productivity enhancements to the CRM UI and then a nice information consolidation.

2007-12-20T20:20:00.000-06:00

These customizations below are helping clients to better use and leverage the power of the APIs of MS CRM with all the controls and then the intuitive Interface. First of all (red arrow), we added Previous/Next buttons to the form. This is just a matter of modifying the isv.config file, restarting iis, adding the image files, and changing the web.config file to allow isv customizations to “All”

Try Out Microsoft Dynamics CRM for 90 days - Download info here

2007-12-20T17:21:00.001-06:00

Wow this is going to really hit the competition (SFDC) hard! We have been asking for this for a long time. Client can now download the full product of MS CRM and test drive it for 90 days. It will be very good and potentially bad (more on this later). This availability gives people the ability to really understand the product which has been more difficult to pilot and try out in the past. The

Downloads for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 available now

2007-12-20T16:17:00.001-06:00

Downloads for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 are now available for customers and partners. This is the English language version, and other language versions will be available starting next month (specific announcements will be made at that time). The downloads can be found at the following links: Server generic page: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Implementation Guide Download available

2007-12-20T15:05:00.000-06:00

Try this link. CLICK HERE> - Overview - The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Implementation Guide consists of the following three documents: · Planning Guide: This guide gives you the information and tools that help you get your organization ready for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. It includes two main aspects of planning for a customer relationship

Microsoft Dynamics Convergence - Orlando - March

2007-12-20T13:04:00.000-06:00

Just a reminder that the registration for Convergence is now open. I have been going to these for years and they are invaluable. The opportunity to gain knowledge and gain mindshare from experts in the Dynamics field is a once a year event. This is a great place to re-energize and socialize for partners and clients. Below is the reminder from MSFT about registration:Registration for Convergence

Top 5 CRM 4.0 Installation Tips n Tricks

2007-12-20T12:53:00.001-06:00

We have been in the Beta test programs for CRM 4.0 for the last 6 months. It has been great to get in there and bang around and build out our test environments. This has also afforded us the opportunity of doing installations and test conversions from 3.0 etc. Some random thoughts as we get closer to GA of the 4.0 product will follow. We will start

Updated News on CRM 4.0 and TITAN

2007-12-19T10:25:00.000-06:00

Got this from a blog first thing this morning. From InternetNews.com: "Microsoft announced Monday that it has released to manufacturing the long-awaited update to its Dynamics-branded customer relationship management software (CRM). Previously codenamed "Titan," the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM actually has two names in its final form. For on-premise, customer-hosted, as well as

Official - CRM 4.0 RTM press release on microsoft.com

2007-12-18T00:44:00.000-06:00

Microsoft has now released the official press about CRM 4.0 REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 17, 2007 —The new version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, formerly code-named “Titan,” has been completed and released to manufacturing, Microsoft Corp. announced today. The new version is offered under two product names: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 for on-premise and partner-hosted deployments and Microsoft Dynamics

CRM v 4.0 available soon! CRM Live coming too!

2007-12-17T11:06:00.000-06:00

CRM version 4.0 Shipped yesterday and is going to be avail for purchase in about 2-3 weeks. This is a big release for the platform we built our company around. It is a very big deal. Could mean a huge amount of business and validation or just continued 100% growth. We will see. Either way I wanted to let you all know. It is a big release from Microsoft and gives us a lot more power and

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 TITAN RTM and availability dates.

2007-12-16T21:46:00.000-06:00

http://www.mikelu.org/archives/170 Sounds like the wait is over. CRM 4.0 has released to manufacturing (RTM). Should be available in a couple weeks just after the new year! Regards, Jon Petrucelli

The New Campaign: Microsoft Dynamics - Everyone Gets It.

2007-12-14T14:49:00.000-06:00

Microsoft has released a new Dynamics marketing campaign - "Everyone Gets It." I think this one will attract a lot of attention over time. It definitely shows some complex concepts in a very concise manner which is great news. I like it and hopefully it will help explain the value of Dynamics to more folks. The videos take about 20 mins to go through. I focused on the

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Data Migration Wizard

2007-12-08T12:30:00.000-06:00

Below is a great video demo of the new data migration tool that Microsoft is bundling with MS CRM 4.0. It is very promising. We are still evaluating the differences and what it will be good for. Either way it is a huge improvements from the Data Migration Framework bundle that came with versions 1.0 thru 3.0. We never used the DMF because it was just so difficult and limited. We always used

Convergence Registration is now open!

2007-12-07T18:45:00.000-06:00

Don't miss this great event! Loads of information. We highly recommend this event for anyone using MS Dynamics or thinking about using Dynamics. It is a week packed with Dynamics information, offers, knowledge etc. You can even meet and question all the folks that are active in building and developing the actual Dynamics Products. http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/convergence/

CRM 4.0 TITAN Release Date January 2nd 2008

2007-12-06T17:26:00.000-06:00

I have heard some announcements that CRM v 4.0 (TITAN) will be available for public purchase (General Availability) on Jan 2nd. That is great news.There is also a Launch event tour coming to local markets. The first wave dates and locations have been released.Click here for more info:http://blogs.msdn.com/usisvde/archive/2007/12/05/microsoft-dynamics-crm-4-0-

MS Dynamics CRM 4.0 Reporting Controls and Wizard - Channel 9 video

2007-12-01T12:27:00.000-06:00

This is a post from Channel 9 that is a great presentation of powerful CRM reporting in 4.0 and the concepts surrounding it. I highly recommend viewing this. They present complex items very well. Back in April we gave you a taste of some of the interesting work going on in Dynamics CRM group. That was a pretty good high-level view. We wanted to fill in some of the details for developers so we

CRM 4.0 Videos

2007-11-22T22:35:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all.Here are some great preview videos of dicsussions and demos of the power of the upcoming version of CRM.In this first segment, Phil Richardson (Senior Program Manager Lead) gives us a fast tour of the Web and Outlook UI.In this second segment, Phil Richardson talks out with Rory Blyth. He dives a lot deeper into the metadata and customization of forms.This third video

Q&A: Jeff Raikes, President of Microsoft’s Business Division

2007-11-19T08:11:00.000-06:00

Q&A: Jeff Raikes, president of Microsoft’s Business Division, outlines how the company’s new services offerings and investments help overcome the challenges of information overload, as well as connecting and collaborating across today’s traditional online boundaries.Press Pass: Microsoft announced plans 14 months ago to offer an on-demand version of Dynamics CRM. How are things going today?Raikes

ISVs release CRM versions for TITAN 4.0 - Early!

2007-10-31T08:05:00.000-05:00

Back in the 1.2-3.0 days it seemed like some of the major ISVs got caught a bit flat footed and did not have their upgrades and newer versions ready for the 3.0 launch back 2 years ago. It sounds crazy but it was true. MSFT had delayed the release of 2.0 then canceled it and then delayed other releases etc. It was about a year of changes and delays. Then all of a sudden they popped up and

Top 5 Ways the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4 Implementation Guide Improved

2007-10-28T22:29:00.000-05:00

From the CRM team Blog:For about the past 18 months I have been planning, researching, communicating, and writing in an effort to improve the implementation documentation for our next major release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. During this exercise, it has led me to many changes in the documentation, which I think are the right decisions. I hope you do to.To give an idea of the channels I have used

CRM 4.0 TOP 20 features from Partner Readiness Event

2007-10-26T09:01:00.000-05:00

This past week our team attended the CRM 4.0 partner readiness event in Dallas. It was a great deal of information in a short period of time. Also one of the Microsoft Executives gave a great presentation to kick off the day. All in all it was a great primer for CRM 4.0 for some of the folks on our team that have been heads down and not gotten too much time on CRM 4.0 yet. We have been very busy

CRM Performance Scalability White Paper Information and Link

2007-10-23T12:07:00.000-05:00

This is a great validation of the architecture of MS CRM. From the MSFT website:Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM application software is designed to meet the performance and scalability requirements of large, global enterprises.Benchmark results demonstrate that a single Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 instance can achieve sub-second response times with 6,000 concurrent users executing a heavy workload

Dynamics CRM 4.0 Versions, Deployment Options and Payment Models

2007-10-22T10:05:00.000-05:00

The following Versions, Deployment/Delivery Model Options and Payment Plan Options will be available to get at Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 (aka TITAN) (aka "The Next Big Thing"):VERSIONS: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Workgroup Edition - This version is limited to 5 or fewer users. It can be installed on Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition, any of the supported Windows

CRM for Dummies Book

2007-10-16T11:41:00.000-05:00

Some people get offended when we recommend them reading a dummies book to learn more about CRM. To a new user MS CRM is a very big and complex application with lots of wrinkles and nuances. It takes time. The dummies book and the series in general is very good for communicating basic info and baseline training on complex topics. That is why it is a institution in book stores. I would recommend

We are Hiring and Growing

2007-10-15T10:13:00.000-05:00

Check out our openings for detailed job descriptions - http://www.productivegap.com/careers/default.aspxCurrent openings we have: Junior/Entry Level Consultant position open right now! CRM Consultants level I and II Microsoft ASP.NET Developer and ConsultantProject Manager **NEW** - Job will be on the website soon.No direct CRM Experience necessary. We will train. We have a boot camp starting

Key to CRM Implementation Success - Internal CRM SME

2007-10-10T23:42:00.001-05:00

One of the first CRM 3.0 Implementations we did years ago for a large Bank here in Texas, the CIO was very adamant that we would not do all the work. He wanted me to understand that they had very strong IT staff and could do much of the work. He came right out and said "if you say you will do it all then we will find someone else."He was correct also, their IT team and PM team were tops and

CRM and VoIP: A Perfect Fit - Jim Berkowitz Blog

2007-10-10T20:38:00.001-05:00

Here are several excerpts from an article by Cindy Waxer, CRM and VoIP: A Perfect Fit:Reducing operating costs and boosting customer service are activities that top the to-do lists of today’s best-known businesses. Fortunately, these twin goals can be achieved by pairing VoIP with CRM. In fact, with its promises of slashed costs, increased productivity and enhanced efficiency, VoIP is proving to

Philip Richardson - Titan: Import/Export Customizations

2007-10-08T16:38:00.000-05:00

CRM 3.0 had the ability to move customizations between different systems. Titan has some nice enhancements to this feature. You can now import/export much more stuff (eg. configuration settings, security roles, workflows etc) and we have used zip compression to make the files smaller. In addition - we did some work to make the import more reliable and we now offer 'less cryptic' error

CRM Report Levels in CRM 3.0 and 4.0 (Comparison)

2007-10-08T13:27:00.000-05:00

Dynamics CRM Reporting levels overview in 3.0 and 4.0We see 3 core levels of reporting in MS CRM as we explain it to clients and prospects. It mostly revolves around need and data model and also complexity.1. The Grid views are your first level of reporting out of CRM. In version 3.0 these were primarily for single entity reporting but you can also create a relationship to another entity and draw

Multi Language - Easy and Flexible and Valuable to the client.

2007-10-08T10:34:00.000-05:00

Quick info on Multi Language:MUI = Multi-Language User Interface. this is the language interface packs. MS calls them localization. Something like that.I used this a bunch in Redomnd last month and it is VERY cool. Basically, you load a MUI language pack into the system from an admin interface. Then this language becomes avail for a User to PICK at will from their user settings. If they want to

Simon Hutson - Post on Multi Language

2007-10-08T09:59:00.000-05:00

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Tidbits - Multi-Lingual UIForsaken...It is widely known that Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 supports MUI (Multi-Lingual User Interface), but what does this mean in practice? Well for starters each CRM deployment will have a base language, which means if you are upgrading from the Spanish language version of CRM 3.0 then you will need to install the Spanish language version

Simon Hutson - Posts on the improved CRM 4.0 Event Framework

2007-10-08T09:56:00.000-05:00

One of the biggest area of investments in CRM 4.0 is the complete re-design of the of event framework in order to improve the consistency and reliability of handling events through custom code. As part of this re-design, we have changed the CRM 3.0 name of business logic extensions from "Callouts" to the far more groovy name "Plug-ins". The high-level changes are as follows:Unified Event Model -

Philip Richardson - CRM LIVE API Post

2007-10-08T09:39:00.001-05:00

Way back in July my friend and former Microsoft employee Alex Barnett posted a question on his widely read blog about the support for our APIs in Live. Since we were under NDA then I wasn't able to comment. I'm unsure of it's omission from the marketing messaging - that one is something for our marketing folks to comment on.From Alex's Blog:It's one thing to have on-premises software that can be

Philip Richardson - TITAN Web Import

2007-10-08T09:38:00.001-05:00

Today's screencast is Web Import in Titan. In this example we see the 'happy path' where Titan is able automatically map the columns from the CSV. If it's unable to perform this map we have a cool little UI which maps the file and saves/shares the map for later use.The Import is handled asynchronously - which is why I'm hitting refresh a lot near the end of the screencast. We place the data in a

Philip Richardson - Titan: Duplicate Detection

2007-10-08T09:37:00.001-05:00

Today's Titan feature is Duplicate Detection. In Titan we have the ability to alert a user of a possible duplicate on a form (which you will see in this screencast). You can also interact with Duplicate Detection when conducting bulk import, data migration and when programming with the SDK. Duplicates can be 'detected' across different entities. In this example I have duplicate detection rules

Philip Richardson - CRM TITAN Import/Export Customizations Post

2007-10-08T09:35:00.000-05:00

Philip Richardson - Preview and features of CRM 4.0

2007-10-08T09:07:00.000-05:00

This guy is in the know so here is his post:The time has finally come in the Titan project where we can talk more openly about the project. I joined the team shortly after the RTM of CRM 3.0 and I've incredibly proud of the work I've been privileged to participate in.Titan is not just a solid CRM package it is also an extensible platform for customers and partners to build their own customer

Menno - TITAN Workflows - "Freaky Microsoft Dynamics CRM Blog"

2007-10-08T09:05:00.000-05:00

More CRM 4 news by A Freaky Microsoft Dynamics CRM Blog: Workflows are now available to end users, who no longer need access to the server in order to create, modify, and monitor them. Child workflows and workflow templates provide two ways for users to build upon existing workflow logic while they are creating new workflows.Workflows now support many more record types. Also, they can now be

Philip Richardson - TITAN v4.0 Videos posted

2007-10-08T09:03:00.000-05:00

These are awesome videos that you can easily view online and get a good feel for what the applicaiton looks like and feels like. Also you get to see some of the new features etc.Philip Richardson has posted some nice Titan videos:- Web Import in Titan- Duplicate Detection- Duplicate Detection- Add Multiple Users

Companies See Increased Productivity Through the Convergence of Enterprise Applications and Desktop Tools

2007-10-04T07:38:00.000-05:00

MS CRM brings all the power of your server side business application, analytics, reporting and workflow right into the friendly, familiar user interface of Office and Outlook! I like to say that CRM is EMBEDDED in Outlook. Better than integrated.Check out this validation on that strategy.October 04, 2007: 01:24 PM ESTThe integration of desktop tools with enterprise applications is a two-way

The CRM 4.0 NDA has expired

2007-10-01T17:30:00.000-05:00

We have been in the Early preview and beta test group for MS CRM 4.0/TITAN for quite some time now. Since about February or March. We were also in the Beta test partner group for 3.0. It provides a wealth of information and advanced planning.It helps us to architect our client systems to not waste time and money on features they might already have in the next version.We are not allowed to release

Guy Riddle - TITAN NDA lifted

2007-10-01T07:34:00.000-05:00

THis guy knows a ton about CRM and posts very frequently. Great info. Here is a good feature overview of some of the functional and feature enhancements to MS CRM v4.0 vs CRM 3.0.For those of us who have been lucky enough to be working with TITAN for some time now we can finally share some of the great features now that the NDA has been lifted.Core features include:Multi-TenancyMuli-Lingual User

Observations from the field

2007-09-15T10:06:00.000-05:00

I thought I would post a couple observations from my visits with customers and partners.MS CRM recently surpassed 11,000+ business customers and 475,000+ users representing every size and type of organization. The consistent driving factor among our newest clients is recognition that:Outlook is already the most reliable and current source for tracking customer information and dialogue.o

WWPC TITAN Update notes

2007-07-09T07:28:00.000-05:00

I saw TITAN in action at WWPC on Monday 7/9. It was awesome!.Sounds like they will stick with the current Dynamics naming conventions and call it Dynamics CRM 4.0.It was Friday’s build so it was the latest and greatest. They had us in an invite only meeting for the key partners in CRM from around the world. Just a handful of people and the MSFT folks.Here are some of the tidbits and notables from

Multi-Tenancy with value for the client

2007-07-07T10:19:00.000-05:00

What does Multi Tenancy mean to the client??Not much if you are working with a SAAS provider. Some SAAS providers like SalesForce.com tout Multi Tenancy as a valuable feature to a client. The only real value is to the provider or to Salesforce. That is if you are working with a SAAS solution. Multi Tenancy to salesforce type companies means they can cram more clients on one server and greatly

CRM 3.0 Demo Video

2007-05-15T10:12:00.000-05:00

This is an overview video presentation that you can review and distribute to your team for a good primer on Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Might help address some of the basics and interfaces of 3.0 for people that have not seen the newest version and its benefits.Just click the link and it goes!http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/crm/demos/professional/crm.htmlJon Petrucelli - http://

Potential TITAN Release dates and other items of note

2007-04-15T17:28:00.000-05:00

Some great announcements recently. I will post more later on these:1. The recently released Analytics Foundation is a package is a great new bundle of configs that load on top of SharePoint and Business Scorecard Manager. It is a download from Microsoft that basically shows you what you can do with the Business Intelligence Analytics Engine. This is a free software bundle from the

Quick Quotes from Forrester Report CRM study 2007

2007-03-18T17:27:00.000-05:00

Sunday, March 18, 2007, 11:51:11 PM I was just reading the new Forrester report on mid-market CRM solutions. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is just being considered and is already being included in the leader group. It rated very high on strategy and vision. Brad Wilson at Convergence remarked that Gartner had just done a report and ranked Microsoft Dynamics CRM very high (#2) the first time it even

CRM one of the top inititiatives of CIOs in 2007

2007-03-08T17:16:00.000-06:00

3 topics of conversation we got from this article:“Payback usually comes in 2-3 years.” - This is not always the case. It all depends on the client situation. What are the people, products and processes that are in place now and how are they functioning. We have seen clients that are so inneficient that they are saving 3 hours a day in real time per person when they go live with the system.

Great info on Dynamics and CRM

2007-02-10T17:12:00.000-06:00

Microsoft Announces New Version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM for 2007 Microsoft Office System and Windows VistaTuesday November 7, 2:30 am ETMicrosoft Delivers Powerful New User Experience for Better Sales, Marketing and Service and Introduces New Licensing Options for Microsoft CRMMUNICH, Germany, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today at Convergence 2006 EMEA, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT - News

Wiki Definition of CRM - Client Relationship Management Software

2007-01-01T14:08:00.000-06:00

I Love using Wikipedia to look stuff up. It provides a ton of context around simple questions and topics. So I combined that with my love for CRM and looked it up to fine:Here is a great definition of CRM:"The generally accepted purpose of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is to enable organizations to better manage their customers through the introduction of reliable systems, processes

Avaya Integration to Microsoft CRM

2006-12-15T16:46:00.000-06:00

Check out this overview video of the Avaya integration to MS CRM. Good quick overview and demo.http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=31538We use the Avaya IP Office internally and it is a very nice integration. It is seamless and works rather well as long as you are at your desk. The other limitation is that it only works in the browser. Weird but true. Jon Petrucelli - www.productivegap.com

CRM 3.0 - SImple Duplicates Detection and cleansing

2006-11-15T16:44:00.000-06:00

I recently de-duped all out CRM dbs and tried to use various products to do it. Dupes can really destroy your marketing and CRM cred if you dont be careful. Just imagine you spend a bunch of time developing a nice personalized and individualized email for sending out to propsects and cleints and leads etc. Then you run your blast email campaign and your valuable prospects get THREE

Dynamics CRM Value Proposition - Why Invest?

2006-10-15T13:47:00.000-05:00

I wanted to take a second to post some opinion on our Team BLOG. None of this is really earth shattering but I beleive it is worth writing down every once in a while for posterity sake....CRM really is an amazing product. It is ground-up built on the latest technology unlike any other application on the market. Every competitor we see out there is trying to move to a similar platform. We believe

CRM Magazine's 2006 CRM Market Leader Awards

2006-10-08T13:39:00.000-05:00

First Posted : Thursday, September 21, 2006, 2:15:35 PM Microsoft CRM wins CRM Magazine's 2006 CRM Market Leader Awards and independent research firm's report analyzes the product."Microsoft Corp. today announced that Microsoft Dynamics(TM) CRM 3.0 has won CRM Magazine's 2006 CRM Market Leader Awards in both the Midmarket Suite CRM and Small Business Suite categories. Brad Wilson, general manager

Forreser Report on Dynamics Wave 1

2006-09-21T13:45:00.000-05:00

HERE IS THE INFO FROM 3rd Party Technology Analyst Firm:Microsoft Corporation today announced results from the independent Forrester Research, Inc., report “Microsoft Dynamics Emerges From Wave 1,” in which Microsoft Dynamics is seen to be successfully delivering. Dynamics, the line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions, says Microsoft PR, “is successfully delivering on the

Analysis: CRM Is Microsoft's Next Billion-Dollar Baby

2006-08-15T16:47:00.000-05:00

FROM CRM Magazine -Microsoft already claims 7,000 CRM customer accounts and 180,000 CRM users worldwide. The big challenge will be enticing large customers to help the software move beyond its SMB roots.By Barbara Darrow, CRN July 5, 2006 URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=190300116 Microsoft is banking that its CRM, after a slow start, will become the

More Third Party Analysis of CRM 3.0 - Gartner

2006-08-08T13:51:00.000-05:00

Gartner is the largest and most well respected Industry Analyst Firms. They have a large CRM analyst practice and are the thought leader in the space to advise CEOs and CIOs on IT and IW strategy for CRM evaluation etc.Independent Analyst Firm Evaluates Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0A report published by Gartner, the leading analyst firm in the technology industry, provides the latest evaluation of

CRM overview

2006-06-15T07:22:00.000-05:00

Business moves at light speed today, requiring that every company continuously reexamine direction, strategies, suppliers, partners—literally every variable and relationship that might lead to complacency. The intensified search for competitive advantage may mean that some of your best customers pick up and leave without you ever knowing that there was a problem.How well can you react to—and even