September 26 Blog Review

I feel there are so many versions of CRM being discussed currently, we need to break up all news by version.

Applies to All Versions

CRM Tip of the Day discusses how to keep your users from becoming Overwhelmed with Reminders when first setting up CRM for Outlook.

CRM Tip of the Day also talked about how to use Privileges to Hide Site Map areas. This can be used to hide a particular entity from the Site Map, or a whole area (such as Settings).

CRM 2011 News

Rollup 18 was announced for CRM 2011. Please review the Knowledgebase, Download Page, and Blog.

CRM in the Field discusses Troubleshooting Workflows. This gives an overview of processes in CRM 2011 and then lists the steps to work through when you are having issues.

CRM 2013 News

Rollup 1 for CRM 2013 Service Pack 1 was announced. Check out the Knowledgebase, Download Page,

and Blog.

CRM 2015 News

PowerObjects discusses SLA Enhancements for CRM 2015 focusing on the ability to pause the SLA when the case is put on hold

PowerObjects also posted CRM 2015 to Feature Improved Search Capabilities. This goes over the new Multi-entity search which will be available in the web client (not just mobile as before).

CRM Team blogs talks about Creating Custom Help for your Users. In CRM 2015, instead of linking to the Microsoft help we can link directly to internal help sites allowing users to see what to do within our business processes.

Sonoma Partners shows of the CRM 2015 Calculated and Rollup Fields. Quick Note before you get too excited is that the field type of simple (regular), Calculated or Rollup must be set when the field is created. So if you want to migrate some existing code to use this instead you may need to migrate some data as well. There is a great list of limitations at the bottom of the blog to help give you a well-rounded view of the feature.

Sonoma Partners also discussed the CRM 2015 Enhanced Business Processes. This goes over the changes and also the limitations to keep in mind.

There was lots of news this week as the CRM 2015 announcement began to sink in. Hopefully I captured the highlights today. Have a great weekend everyone!

September 19 Blog Review

Welcome to another CRM Blog Review. Remember today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day so read up and then go get your Free Donuts!

The biggest news this week was the announcement that CRM 2015 will be available early next year! To get all the information you can read the Announcement, Blog and read the Release Preview Guide.

While the presses were still hot with the news, several blogs were published showing off the new features. Check Out:

• PowerObject’s Top 10 New Features of Dynamics CRM 2015
• PowerObject’s CRM 2015 to Feature Enriched Business Process Flows (Hint: it involved If/else statements!)
• Sonoma Partners blogged CRM 2015 First Look: Enhanced Business Rules
• Also from Sonoma Partners we have CRM 2015 First Look: Multi Entity Search
• CRM Team Blog Posted Get ready to catch the CRM 2015 wave! This goes over how the resources to help you get ready for the change.

Amid all of this excitement the Premier Field Engineers of the CRM in the Field blog still managed to post Administering Dynamics CRM. This goes through many resources to help you maintain your CRM system.

Leon Tribe talked about Seeing your CRM 2011 System in CRM 2013. This describes how to set up a CRM 2013 environment and get an idea for how your customizations will look there.

That’s all I want to highlight tonight. Have a great weekend!

September 12 Blog Review

We are now almost less than a month away from CRMUG Summit. My CRM Nerd self has been already reviewing the Agenda and planning the sessions I will attend. You do not need to register for each session but you can mark the ones you plan on attending for future reference. It looks like a good variety of sessions and technical levels. I hope to see all of you there!

Now to the topic at hand – CRM news of the week!

We will start off with PowerObject’s, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Dynamics CRM Implementations. This goes over the things you need to get in order as you plan your CRM implementation. This can apply to new implementations or upgrades. It focuses on planning, security and movie references.

Hitachi Solutions discusses Microsoft Dynamics CRM Rapid Release Cycle and Why you Should Try to Keep Up. This talks about Microsoft’s update plan, why you should keep your system up to date, and some items to keep in mind when you do. One interesting comment is in regards to how upgrades have changed over the years and how CRM 2013 may be the last “traditional” upgrade. We may continue with incremental updates as the system continues to adapt to support new technologies instead of large new versions every few years.

Also there are a few Tips of the Day to check out:

• Mixed Messages – When updating an Entity name don’t forget to update the Messages to match
• Sales Literature vs. SharePoint – this discussed the benefits of both approaches and some things to consider
• In a Parallel Dimension – If you are having some performance issues, have you checked your Max Degrees of Parallelism

That’s all the news I have to pass on today. Have a great weekend!

September 5 Blog Review

Apparently it is September. So now it is back busy fall work, even though I believe the summer was just as busy but more sunny. Let’s see what was happening in the CRM world this week.

PowerObjects posted Create a List of Values for Workflow Check Conditions in CRM 2013. This talks through the different options you can use in workflows to set up an OR condition. This is especially helpful when working with long lists of values that need to be “OR-ed”.

Hitatchi Solutions wrote CRM 2013 Performance: Form/View Load Analyzer. This discusses the new analyzer included in Service Pack 1 that allows you to track form loads.

CRM Tip of the day blogged about Upgrading Behind the Scenes forms. This specifically discusses the importance of updating your Team form when you upgrade to CRM 2013.

CRM Tip of the Day also posted about When CRM for Tablets last Synced Metadata. If your mobile users are not seeing recent customizations, you can follow these directions to determine when they last downloaded customizations and resolve the issue.

McGladrey blogged about the CRM 2013 Data Import Limitations. This article goes over some of the common questions that come up about the built in data import capabilities and limitations. Although it is written for 2013, the same information applies to 2011.

That’s all for today. Have a great weekend!