An end user interacts with Microsoft Dynamics CRM using one of the following 3 interface –

A.         Microsoft Dynamics CRM client using Internet Explorer browser (currently)

B.         Through Microsoft Outlook using Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook interface.

C.        Microsoft Dynamics CRM – Mobile Express or Mobile Client interface

This blog is about enhancing the end user Microsoft Dynamics CRM web client experience by tweaking Internet Explorer browser settings. The settings tweaks required for configuring Microsoft Outlook or Mobile Express will be in another blog which I will publish soon.

First let me say the obvious things – Make use of the latest Internet Explorer browser (currently Internet Explorer 9.0) when using MS Dynamics CRM. Also the end-user computer should meet the recommended systems hardware and software requirements.

So now here is the Internet Explorer “tweaks” that one can do to make an impressive CRM experience.

1.            Add Microsoft CRM site to the trusted sites in Internet Explorer.

In Internet Explorer go to – Tools > Internet Options > Security tab > Trusted Sites > Sites > Add the CRM website as a trusted site.

2.            Uncheck – Delete browsing history on exit

In Internet Explorer go to – Tools > Internet Options > General tab, under Browsing history, verify that the Delete browsing history on exit check box is cleared to prevent deletion of temporary Internet files each time that the browser is closed. This will help in storing CRM passwords and improve the browsing speed. This may not be advisable on a public computer or where the security protocols require the browsing history to be deleted.

3.            Select – Check for newer versions of stored pages – Automatically

In Internet Explorer go to – Tools > Internet Options > General tab > Settings > Temporary Internet Files – Set – Check for newer versions of stored pages – Automatically. This will help improve the browsing speed when you use the computer to visit the same CRM web pages frequently.

4.            Increase disk space for temporary internet files near to 250 MB

In Internet Explorer go to – Tools > Internet Options > General tab > Settings > Temporary Internet Files – Set Disk space for temporary internet files to 250 MB preferred.

This technique ensures that the cache has adequate space to take advantage of improved load times when making subsequent visits to the same page for the same files.

5.            Uncheck – Do not save encrypted pages to disk 

In Internet Explorer go to – Tools > Internet Options > Advanced tab > Settings > Security settings > clear or uncheck – Do not save encrypted pages to disk.

This is the standard setting unless it was modified.

 6.            Set the Zoom setting to 100%

In Internet Explorer go to – Tools > Zoom > Select 100% or Press “Ctrl+0”

A zoom setting other than 100% will result in an increase in the page rendering time and hence slower CRM performance.

There could be many other factors that can affect the CRM performance and reliability. At PDG Consultants we create a comprehensive pilot testing and training process which helps in setting the right end user expectation and thus a better CRM experience. Needless to say, any security changes needs to be discussed & approved by the client security administrator and tested prior to implementation.

If you have any comments on above or recommendations to improve end user experience please let me know. PDG Consultants is a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Silver partner and provides consulting services for Microsoft Dynamics CRM in New Jersey.

Ref:  

 1.0      Microsoft Dynamics CRM White Paper – Optimizing and Maintaining Client Performance for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online – updated July 2012.

Mihir Shah

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Consultant

PDG Consultants – Microsoft CRM Silver partner. Tel: 888-358-1325

1.       After initial synchronization I was able to work on the offline mode (no Internet / 3g / 4G / wifi connection)  or switch to online mode by pressing a toggle button as needed.

a.       Offline mode is faster and allows you to store data locally on the Mobile device

b.      Online mode allows accessing and updating CRM info directly

I would recommend doing all the edits on the Mobile device in offline mode and once done you can synchronize to Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

2.       Access and edit my existing leads / accounts / contacts and opportunities. Always a good thing when you are not in the office.

 3.       Create a new lead on my phone. This was simple and you can record the vital notes about the lead or schedule a follow-up activity before you forget. You can even qualify the lead and Convert lead to contact / account and opportunity. 

4.       Access existing or create a new Activity – Appointment / Phone call / Email or Task. This is really important for someone who is a Mobile warrior and wants all info on the go to do things like -

a.       Create appointment and add other attendees to an appointment

b.      Enter a phone call record and convert  to opportunity

c.       Write and send email through CRM. Convert email to lead / opportunity*

d.      Create a task with due date and review all open and closed tasks

Imagine doing all this activity on your iPhone while having coffee at Starbucks.  

5.       Create a new product and enter pricing. Now this is where one needs a little bit of training. As creating a product involves adding unit groups, price list etc. I was able to create a product and after synchronization it does get created in the Microsoft CRM 2011. It may just be better to create products online in Microsoft CRM and restrict new product creation from a mobile device as it may result in errors and duplicates.  

6.       OK. Now to the serious stuff like doing a quote on a mobile device. I was able to create a quote, enter existing item in the quote, add quantity or write-in a new product and enter $ amount. In addition I can also –

a.       Link quote to an opportunity

b.      Attach notes to quote

One thing I could not do was to convert quote to order.

 7.       Order entry – As with the quote I was able to create a new order on my iPhone, enter existing item in the order, add qty or write-in a product and enter $ amount.  And I can link order to opportunity and a quote. 

8.       Synchronize – So all the info that I added above in my mobile device including leads, contact, opportunity, account, product, task, appointment etc, I could synchronize the data between iPhone and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.  (except for quote and order for which I got an error)

The sync works well with a wifi connection (for those who prefer to avoid additional data plan cost). There is an automatic sync setting where you can have the Mobile device -

a.       Sync every 5 Min’s to 360 Min’s (6 hours) in the background.

b.      Also configure what data should be sync’d 

9.       The sync and stored data in the mobile device is encrypted so it cannot get easily hacked. Also there is a function for remote wipe from the Microsoft CRM wherein  

a.       The next time the Mobile device syncs all data is erased

b.      Also I can disable users from Microsoft CRM to prevent them from accessing any online CRM data 

10.   Lastly you can set in Microsoft CRM 2011 Mobile Configurator – the mobile user profile and assign to individuals. Thus –  

a.       Control what area (sales, service) each user access on the mobile device

b.      Also create custom mobile forms and views and include custom entity and fields

* Notes:

The current App version of CWR Mobility is 5.1 but the above was tested with ver. 4.2. I had used my iPhone and iPad to do the above tests and I have also installed and ran CWR Mobility on Windows Mobile phone – Nokia Lumia 900. (Refer my earlier blog on Microsoft Dynamics CRM with CWR Mobility). There could be new enhancements on version 5.1 which I will update as soon as I can get my hands on it.

I hope the above post was useful for Mobility CRM consideration and if you have any question or comments do let us know. If you would like to include Mobility in your Microsoft CRM deployment please contact us. PDG Consultants is a certified partner of CWR Mobility and provides consulting services for Microsoft Dynamics CRM in New Jersey.

Mihir Shah

CWR Mobile CRM Configuration Specialist / MS CRM Consultant

PDG Consultants – Microsoft CRM Silver partner. Tel: 888-358-1325

 PDG Consultants is a CWR Mobility Certified partner, providing the CWR Mobile –  mobility solution for Dynamics CRM 2011 clients.

The new version is a major upgrade and requires a new license and new software deployment. Here is the major enhancements / update on the new version 5.1 of CWR Mobility -  

1. New Mobile platforms supported / Old platforms discontinued.  

CWR Mobility now supports the following 2 new platforms

• Android Smart Phone OS. Support for mobile online / offline and hybrid modes
• Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) – supports online only mode

The new version 5.1 has discontinued the support for Windows Mobile 6.5 and Blackberry 5.0.  

2. Improved performance, robust security and enhanced synchronization

• Secured data storage with highest level of encryption on mobile devices – including iphone / ipad and Android smart phones
• Secure data transmission using SSL encryption
• Improved Server security
• Remote wipe capability
• New and more reliable synchronization protocol
• Enhancement to native apps data handling

3. CWR Mobile CRM 2011 version 5.1 provides broad support for on-premise installations of Dynamics CRM 2011, supporting all deployment modes–including Active Directory®, Active Directory Federation Services and Internet Facing Deployment. 

The upgrade is available to CWR Mobility customers who are current on the Maintenance plan. 

Reasons not to install or upgrade to the new ver. 5.1 –

• · Dynamics CRM 4.0 deployments
• · Running CWR Mobility online
• · Need windows phone 6.5 support
• · Need Blackberry OS 5.0 support
• · Not current on Maintenance plan.

For more information please contact PDG Consultants or CWR Mobility support team.

Ref: CWR Mobility press release dated. May-24, 2011. 

Mihir Shah

CWR Mobile CRM Configuration Specialist / MS CRM Consultant

PDG Consultants, Inc. – Microsoft CRM Silver partner.  Tel: 888-358-1325

At PDG Consultants, working with different types of clients our experience in Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation projects can be broadly divided into 2 types.

1. Simple or Rapid CRM implementation project

2. Enterprise / Full CRM implementation project

In this blog I am going to discuss the differences in the above 2 types of MS CRM project and the need and benefits of using  Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step methodology approach for a successful implementation.

The following table gives an overview of the differences between the 2 types.

Rapid Implementation – A Rapid implementation is useful in the following scenario –

1.  A start-up or small firm wants to implement CRM and does not currently have any CRM installed. Typically they have limited prior data to import and do not need any integration to either the back-end ERP or to a Website. They want to implement the standard business processes that come built into MS CRM and are willing to adapt to the same.  They want to use the CRM online version and avoid any upfront infrastructure cost.

2. A Medium to Large firm wants to do a Pilot CRM test with a small group of users before they invest heavily into MS CRM. The users use CRM as it is out of the box with little customization. The idea is to get to know MS CRM, its usability and functionality as applicable to the business requirements. This is a good approach to test the waters before taking a deep dive.

Benefits of a Rapid CRM implementation –

The Rapid CRM implementation gives immediate results, provides initial wins which is essential for driving the morale of the project team. The lessons learnt from a Rapid implementation can be applied to ensure a successful CRM implementation. 

A Full / Enterprise CRM implementation project –

Most of the medium to large firms implementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM projects fall under the category of a Full / Enterprise CRM project.

Complexity –

A Full / Enterprise CRM implementation is complex with many users who are distributed in different regions. The business processes are already set and hence the CRM software needs to be customized to match the current processes. There is an ever changing stream of requirements and it is difficult to prioritize the business needs. There is the legacy data that needs to be cleaned and imported into CRM. Also the data is to be integrated on an ongoing basis with other websites or input sources. Accounting needs the CRM integration with ERP and vice versa. And then there is the CRM Add-on that needs to be there to meet the business specific needs.

The time required for implementing a Full / Enterprise CRM depends on the size and complexity of the business requirements, expertise and capability of the project team and the willingness of the business users to adapt to process change.

Risk of failure –

In the above scenario there is the risk of time and budget over runs. Users and stakeholders begin to doubt the viability of such a major complex undertaking. In events where there are project delays and cost overruns the project is abandoned leading to a failed CRM implementation.

Using a methodology for success –

The above example shows the necessity of managing a Full / Enterprise CRM implementation project with a proven, scalable and repeatable approach.  Microsoft provides to its customers and partners the Microsoft Sure Step methodology for Microsoft Dynamics implementations.

Microsoft Sure Step provides a well defined and documented implementation methodology for a CRM project. It provides the tools and templates, documentation and deliverables, steps and guidance for managing Dynamics CRM projects.  If you are a Microsoft Dynamics customer or partner you can get access to the Sure Step methodology using Customer Source or Partner Source. At PDG Consultants, a Microsoft CRM Silver partner in NJ, we follow the Microsoft Sure Step methodology for the success of our CRM project implementations.

In my next blog I will explore further in detail some of the methods in Microsoft Sure Step and how it can help in managing and implementing successful Microsoft Dynamics CRM projects.

Ref: –

1. Microsoft Dynamics – Sure Step 2012
2. Microsoft Dynamics CRM – Implementation Guide on MSDN

Mihir Shah

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Consultant

CWR Mobile CRM Configuration Specialist

PDG Consultants, Inc. – Microsoft CRM Silver partner.  Tel: 888-358-1325

Last week I got a better understanding of CWR Mobility for MS CRM, an add-on solution that enables MS-CRM on an iPad / iPhone, Windows phone (Nokia Lumia 900), Black Berry and Android smart phones. CWR Mobility online version (was purchased by Microsoft) and will be powering Microsoft Dynamics CRM Mobile in the next release.

MS CRM 2011 online customers will be able to get the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Mobile® from Microsoft for $30 (U.S.) per user, per month and the use of upto three mobile devices per user.

Customers using CRM 2011 on premise have two CWR Mobility options – CWR Mobility Standard and Professional version. The standard version being limited to 25 users and 1 device type.

There is also an Express version which allows access to CRM using a html-4 enabled mobile browser for Palm and other Tablet devices.

CWR mobility has made the solution easy to set-up, configure and deploy. The set-up creates a managed solution in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 which allows configuring users and mobile devices. It took me all of 30 mins to get a demo working on an iPad and Windows Phone and connected to our CRM 2011 Online site at PDG Consultants.

 The mobile application needs to be downloaded from the Apps store of iPhone/iPad, Windows Marketplace for Windows Phone, Blackberry Apps world and Android Apps in Google Play. The look and feel is smooth & it was the easiest to work on using iPAd though I must confess the Windows Phone was new for me to play with.

One of the cool feature of CWR Mobility is the ability to work offline without internet access using the local database on the mobile device and synchronizing and updating CRM once connected. The application also allows to create custom form specific for users and use custom entities on mobile devices – a much needed function in the sales role to capture only relevant information.

CWR Mobility follows the same security rules as Microsoft CRM. So a user who does not have permission on certain records in Microsoft CRM will not be able to access them on the mobile device by default. If the mobile device is misplaced or lost there is the ability to disable or wipe the data on the mobile device using a setting on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM > CWR Configurator. So next time the mobile software synchronizes the device will be locked (disabled) or data will be deleted (wiped). In the next CRM Mobility blog I am going to write about the top 10 things one can do using Mobility with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, so keep watching this space.

Ref: -

1. Microsoft Dynamics – press release on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Mobile dtd. Feb. 06, 2012.

Mihir Shah

CWR Mobile CRM Configuration Specialist / MS CRM Consultant
PDG Consultants
Microsoft Silver CRM Partner

In only a few short years, the business world has changed dramatically with the introduction of cloud applications and social media. Although the interest in these new technologies has been high, most businesses have remained hesitant to throw all of their eggs into one basket.

For those willing to dive into the cloud, Microsoft has already introduced Dynamics CRM Online as well as a host of other cloud apps, but for the majority, Microsoft has maintained a gradual growth that accommodates on-premise software while also integrating many new social media features necessary for companies hoping to keep up with the new pace of business, while not prepared to be completely uprooted into the cloud.

“Some customers switching from competitive products to Microsoft have experienced significant cost savings and are able to leverage their core internal Microsoft skills,” said Mary Wardley, IDC program manager for CRM and enterprise applications.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Q2 Service Update will provide social media enhancements, such as activity feeds, status updates, and the ability to like business-relevant content. With competitive pricing, a set of features that rivals the competition, and seamless integration with other mission-critical business applications, Dynamics CRM 2011 is poised to become a customer favorite and the ideal choice for today’s businesses.

This will certainly change the perception of Dynamics CRM in the minds of those who believed it did not have the juice to take on a large enterprise deployment. Enterprise does not get much bigger than Microsoft, and this is proof that Dynamics CRM can handle the biggest and best.   The initial migration away from Siebel was actually somewhat unintentional at first. Many divisions within Microsoft refused to be crippled by the inadequacies of Oracle’s Siebel. The only alternative that did not involve a new CRM product was to devolve back to Excel. Instead, these Microsoft employees chose to move forward, adopting Dynamics CRM, which they already knew could handle the work load they needed from it.   For current Siebel customers who are well aware of its limitations and its dwindling shelf life, the Microsoft migration provides a glimmer of hope. Rather than being force fed with the dim prospects of adopting another bloated, inadequate Oracle product simply by default, they now have substantial evidence that Microsoft Dynamics CRM can take Siebel’s place and expand far beyond its limitations.

1. Consider Cloud Services – In general cloud services can offer you savings on hardware and support personnel. On-premise solutions certainly have their benefits, but if you do not have the hardware and network infrastructure to handle it, a SaaS (software as a service) solution may save you money.

2. Avoid the Add-on Shopping Spree – Add-ons are very tempting. Anyone who likes technology will salivate at the chance to get a new browser extension or new mobile phone app, but too much of anything can be bad for you. Add-ons are no different. Do you really need all the add-ons you want? You might save by limiting your choices to ones your company will actually use.

3. Plan for Customization and Scalability – You can be overly prepared for business growth, paying for far more than you may ever need. You can also be under-prepared and end up having to make costly upgrades. Neither is good for your business.

4. Choose a System that Fits Your Current Tech Base – If you happen to have Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint, and Microsoft Dynamics GP already running in your office, it only makes sense to go with Microsoft Dynamics CRM for your customer relationship management. Your IT department will be better prepared for new technology that plays well with your current software.

5. Shop Around – Not all CRM solutions were created equal. Do your homework and find one that fits with your business. For example, a full-featured deployment of Salesforce may cost you $195/month, while a deployment of Dynamics CRM with a similar feature set is only $59/month. You can save a lot just by knowing what you need and searching for the best-priced solution.

If you are looking for help evaluating CRM software, give us a call at 888-358-1325. We provide customized business software using Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and the best development and integration tools: ASP.NET, Microsoft SQL server, and Scribe.