Angus Logan : CRM

Another cool Microsoft CRM blog

anguslogan — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 12:08:00 GMT

Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework for Microsoft CRM

anguslogan — Thu, 04 Nov 2004 02:28:00 GMT

Overview
The Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework for Microsoft CRM connects Microsoft Office with Microsoft Business Solutions CRM using compatible Web services. By using the Information Bridge Framework, Microsoft Office System users can interact with Microsoft CRM directly from Microsoft Office Word 2003, Microsoft Office Excel 2003, and Microsoft Office Outlook 2003.
A complete Information Bridge solution comprises the Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework, the Microsoft CRM data sources that are exposed through Web services, and other custom controls and assemblies created for Microsoft Office Professional 2003.

Availability
This new functionality is available now available in final form for download for customers and partners.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=332BEFFB-4492-40D7-8CE0-995489909B6A&displaylang=en

Sonoma Partners' CRM Newsletter

anguslogan — Fri, 29 Oct 2004 14:55:00 GMT

Finally some more Microsoft CRM How-To's for Developers - Lead Generation from Website to CRM

anguslogan — Fri, 08 Oct 2004 05:40:00 GMT

Peter Hecke, Microsoft, has written an article on MSDN for Moving External Data into Microsoft CRM: Lead Generation using the CRM SDK.

He gives an end-to-end on how to create this process.

Its good to see there are more things coming out for Microsoft CRM; having done some Microsoft CRM devleopment & integration I just wish this gear was out when I was trawling through SOAP Exceptions with 'limited' documentation.

See the article here.

SQL Reporting Services Packs for CRM/Exchange & Financials Sample

anguslogan — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 02:33:00 GMT

Finally some product centric reports. Looks great for the products & for SQL Reporting Services.

SQL Server 2000 Report Pack for Microsoft CRM
Download this set of six predefined CRM-based reports and a sample database that let you easily visualize and author managed reports to support key sales activities. - I am excited about this because using Crystal Reports in Microsoft CRM is not a pleasant experience; but I would like to see how their support agreements stay intact with users directly querying the database (this isn't allowed in some other Microsoft products eg. Content Management Server)

Reports Included

Account Chart - Shows a doughnut chart of revenue grouped by Account, Industry, Salesperson, State/Province, Status, or Territory. You can also filter the report to show the groupings for only the top n accounts.
Account Details - Shows detailed account information. This report lets you group the Account Details by City, Industry, Salesperson, State/Province, Status, Territory, or ZIP/Postal Code. You can also filter by the first letter of the Account Name, and view results in the document map.
Customer Account Details - Shows detailed account information for a single customer. This report has the same layout as the Account Details report, and it is a subreport linked to the Pipeline report.
Knowledge Base List - Shows a list of knowledge base articles by subject. This report is organized in a table to show what articles exist for each subject and the count of articles by status area for each subject area.
Lead Summary - Displays a summarized list and chart of lead information. This report includes a chart to show the percentage of leads by Salesperson, Lead Source, or State/Province, followed by a table that displays a detailed list of leads grouped by the selected parameter.
Pipeline - Shows details about potential customers that are in the pipeline. This report includes a chart embedded into a table, as well as attributes of the opportunities. The report can be sorted ascending or descending by a number of fields: Customer, Close %, Est Close, Est Value, Salesperson, and Status. This report is also linked to the Customer Account Details report.

SQL Server 2000 Report Pack for Microsoft Exchange
Download this set of 13 predefined Exchange-based reports and a sample database that let you easily visualize and author managed reports for e-mail administration.

Reports Included

Current - All Mailboxes (By Folder) - Shows folder statistics over all folders. Tip: Be on the lookout for especially large mailboxes.
Current - Folder Tree Sizes (By User) - Shows the folder tree and size of items contained within each folder of a specific user's folder. Drill down for breakdown. Tip: Find the largest folders and the largest items so you can free up space.
Folder Tree Sizes (All) - Shows the folder tree and size of items contained within each folder for all user's folders since the last extraction. Drill down for breakdown. Tip: Find the largest folders and the largest items so you can free up space.
Outgoing - Sent E-mails for User (Plain Table) - Compares the number of items found in users' Sent Items box. Tip: The highest send the most e-mail, which often correlates to the hardest workers.
Outgoing Sent E-mails for User (With Graph) - Compares the number of items found in users' Sent Items box. Tip: The highest send the most email, which often correlates to the hardest workers.
Outgoing Sent E-mails for User (With Bar Chart) - Compares the number of items found in users' Sent Items box. Drill down for breakdown. Tip: The highest send the most email, which often correlates to the hardest workers.
Outgoing - Busy Receivers of Our E-mail - The top 50 people who were sent email from members of our organization.
Incoming - Received E-mails for User (By Date) - Compares the number of items found in users' Sent Items box. Drill down for breakdown. Tip: The highest receive the most e-mail, they probably stress out the most.
Incoming - Busy Receivers of Incoming E-mail - Shows how many emails were received into peoples' inbox.
Outgoing - By Keyword - Examines the content of mail items to indicate which key phrases are being used by employees based on items in their Sent Items folders. Tip: Configure with your product names to see the e-mail activity by product.
Outgoing - Largest E-mail Senders - Shows the people who sent e-mail with the largest sizes.
Extraction Log (All Records) - Shows all of the Extraction Log records, including time to extract data from Exchange and store to the database for each user.
Extraction Log (Last Extraction) - Shows the Extraction Log records for the most recent extraction, including time to extract data from Exchange and store to the database for each user.

SQL Server 2000 Report Pack for Financial Reporting
Download this set of six predefined financial reports and a sample database that let you easily visualize and author managed reports to support key finance activities.

Reports Included (to work with the FabriKam FinDBSample)

Balance Sheet - FabriKam, Inc. Balance Sheet by Fiscal Year and Current Period. This report illustrates the use of a table to group Account Balances to emulate a standard Balance Sheet.
IncomeStmtCurYTD-Company - FabriKam, Inc. Income Statement for the current month and year to date by Company, Fiscal Year, and Current Period. This report includes a table to display income statement line items and also displays drilldown features.
IncomeStmtCurYTD-Region - FabriKam, Inc. Income Statement for the current month and year to date by Company, Fiscal Year, Current Period, and Region. This report includes a table to display income statement line items and also displays drilldown features. Parameters let you filter by different dimensions.
IncomeStmtTrended - FabriKam, Inc. Income Statement by Company, Fiscal Year, and trended over periods. This report includes a matrix to display trends of different line items in an income statement. It also includes a chart that graphs Revenues trended over periods, which can be set with parameters. Drilldown and drillthrough features are also inlcuded.
Trial Balance - The trial balance is an arithmetic check of the double-entry system. It checks that both aspects of every transaction have been recorded accurately and that for every debit entry there is an equal value for its corresponding credit. The trial balance provides figures for the balance sheet including assets and liabilities.
Variance Report - The Variance Report contains actual, budget, and variance information for FabriKam, Inc. Variances are calculated by taking Budget – Actual for Expense items and Actual – Budget for Income items on the report. This report is sorted in descending order, with negative variances highlighted to aid the business community to identify which income statement line items have the largest absolute dollar value variance in the current period.

Some content & images have been copied from www.microsoft.com

Microsoft Australia appoints Dimension Data Learning Solutions as trainer to Microsoft Business Solutions partners

anguslogan — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 02:09:00 GMT

Sydney, Australia – 14 September, 2004 – Microsoft Australia has announced Dimension Data Learning Solutions (DDLS) as provider of training to Microsoft Business Solutions partners within Australia. DDLS delivers technical training and consulting services to more than 60 Microsoft partners that specialise in Microsoft Business Solutions Great lains®, Microsoft Business Solutions Axapta® and Microsoft Business Solutions Navision®.

“Training is fundamental to the success of our partners in delivering seamless value to our customers,” said Kerstin Baxter, Microsoft Australia’s Partner Group Director. “After a competitive evaluation, we chose DDLS for its established training management capabilities, nationwide infrastructure and its commitment to build expertise in Microsoft Business Solutions products,” Ms Baxter said.

To see more view the article by Computerworld.

Artisoft Introduces Advanced Support for Microsoft CRM

anguslogan — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 01:54:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 7, 2004--Artisoft(R), Inc. (OTC: ASFT), a leading provider of open systems IP-PBX and call center products, today announced support for the Microsoft(R) Business Solutions Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application within TeleVantage, Artisoft's open-systems IP-PBX. This built-in integration provides businesses with an advanced, affordable contact management and telephony solution that enables them to deliver premium customer service, streamline operations and increase productivity.

"Microsoft values Artisoft as a partner in delivering flexible, cost-effective IP telephony and call center solutions," said Holly Holt, group product manager, CRM, Microsoft. "The integration with Microsoft CRM is a natural progression for the thousands of TeleVantage customers who are looking for an affordable, easy to deploy CRM solution that can dramatically improve their business."

To see the article click here.

Microsoft Business Solutions CRM Sales for Outlook 1.2 Feature Pack - Released

anguslogan — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 00:44:00 GMT

Strange Name "Feature Pack 1" - its more like a service pack - only called a 'feature pack' because of the other downloads for Mobility released around the same time.

The Feature Pack's contents are listed below or see KB 833621.
835293 Error "The file name is too long" when you try to save an account in Microsoft Business Solutions CRM 1.2
833356 Microsoft Business Solutions CRM contact and account records take a long time to save
835319 You receive an error message when you try to assign Microsoft CRM records to a valid user account after the original user account has been deleted from Active Directory
839165 In Microsoft Business Solutions CRM 1.2, closing an opportunity before all sales stages are completed cancels the open activities
839168 A phone call activity may duplicate entries in the Recipient field in Microsoft Business Solutions CRM 1.2
842539 Modified On and Est. Revenue values on the Opportunity form are not updated in Microsoft Business Solutions CRM 1.2
842540 An Internet Explorer script error occurs when you try to refresh the Filter Criteria page in Microsoft Business Solutions CRM 1.2
873261 Microsoft Business Solutions CRM Sales for Outlook 1.2 Performance Enhancement Update

You can download it from here.

So many awards... So little time

anguslogan — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 00:29:00 GMT

Partner Conference... these pictures don't suggest 3 days of hard work... :)
Day One - Golf Invitational Schmooze Fest and Awards
Day One - Poolside Welcome Reception (Part 1)
Day One - Poolside Welcome Reception (Part 2)
Day Two - Keynote Sessions - some actual work (supprised there was time beween all the golf and poolside parties!)

Looks like Data#3 have been awards the Microsoft Partner of the Year 2004 - Sales Excellence Australia. (Thats like 200,000 XP licenses.. or maybe 5 CMS ones. :-) )

Going from a SMS I received (4.20am) from my business unit manager, Warren Wood, Data#3 are the Micrsosoft CRM Partner of the Year Award. I highly doubt the 'awards dinner' went until 4.20am...

And I have been nominated for a Microsoft MVP award for Microsoft Content Management Server - still wouldn't be the youngest in the program, there was a 14 year old in the US - but I'm close!

Cummunications Connector, bringing Microsoft CRM and Cisco VoIP Together

anguslogan — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 00:27:00 GMT

8.24.2004 | 6:30 pm

Since Data#3 (my employer!) installed their Cisco VoIP infrastructure I have been looking for a way to connect Microsoft CRM and this awesome phone system.

Cisco has announced a new software product that will link its VoIP products with Microsoft's customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Cisco said that with its new product, smaller companies will be able to improve customer service and reduce operational costs, just as larger companies have done for years. For example, the Cisco-Microsoft offering enables incoming calls to automatically trigger screen pops with customer account information and contact history. This enables all employees - not just helpdesk personnel - to more quickly and effectively respond to customer needs, resulting in more productive employees and more satisfied customers, Cisco said.

Cisco and Microsoft have been partnering for years. The first joint offering from the SME relationship included a Cisco Ethernet broadband router, meant for companies of fewer than 20 employees, and Microsoft's Small Business Server 2003 Standard Edition, a combination of the Windows Server operating system and Microsoft's Exchange email server software.

Cisco has also been targeting small and midsize companies aggressively on its own. In the past six months, it has launched a new sales channel program, introduced new products and enhanced old ones to address this market.

The new software application is available at no cost to Cisco channel partners - Data#3 are a Cisco Gold Certified partner so drop me a line.

Cisco's official page for this solution is here.

(lots/most of this content was copied from Marguerite Reardon who writes for CNET News.com)

The solution with it all!

anguslogan — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 00:10:00 GMT

I am working on a monster solution that is really testing all the integration capabilities of the Microsoft's product range:

Client

Citrix or Terminal Services
- Internet Explorer
- InfoPath

Datastore

SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition (clustered)

Custom Interfaces

ASP.NET

Microsoft Products

Server Platform

Windows Server 2003

Development Environment

Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 (4gb ram maxed out)
Virtual Network
All servers Virtualized
All developers Virtualised using Windows XP boxes accessed via Remote Desktop Client
Approx 50gb of Virtual machines

Integration

.NET WebServices

Security

SecureID
Active Directory (2003 native mode)

Other Possible products and/or considerations

Project Server for task tracking and resource planning
BizTalk 2004 for Integration

If this dosen't become a Microsoft Case study I don't know what I'll do !!!

Microsoft CRM 1.2 Mobile Version

anguslogan — Sun, 03 Oct 2004 23:59:00 GMT

8.4.2004 | 7:16 pm

Now you can have all the goodness of Microsoft CRM on your mobile device !!!

Download it from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=94d65396-39c4-40be-8afd-34c939ca607b&DisplayLang=en. "Microsoft Business Solutions CRM Mobile is a mobile client for Microsoft CRM v1.2. Microsoft CRM Mobile provides salespeople with up-to-date information about their accounts and contacts, and helps them manage sales opportunities and track sales-related activities"

You may also need to run this Mobile Certificate Diagnostics tool from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bd4af7be-2e9b-4419-922f-6e4eb3fd30d5&DisplayLang=en
"Use the Certificate Diagnostics Tool to determine whether the server certificate is installed correctly on the server and the mobile device, and identify problems that will prevent mobile devices from connecting to the Microsoft CRM server."

I will be running this up in my test lab ASAP so if you would like a demo drop me an email on angus_logan@data3.com.au.

New newsgroup for Microsoft CRM Developers & Deployers

anguslogan — Sun, 03 Oct 2004 23:54:00 GMT

7.17.2004 | 5:35 pm

Microsoft Business Solutions have created some new newsgroups:

Development of Microsoft CRM solutions (microsoft.public.crm.developer).
Deployment of Microsoft CRM solutions (microsoft.public.crm.depoyment)