Running Microsoft CRM Outlook Client On An Office 2000 Machine

As most of you are well aware, the hardware and software requirements for Microsoft CRM 3.0 specify that if you want to run either of the Microsoft CRM Outlook clients that you need to have Microsoft Office 2003 with SP1 (or Office 2007) installed on the client machine.

While this is true, Microsoft Dynamics Support has also confirmed that you can actually run Office 2000 with an Outlook 2003 upgrade on the client machine and successfully install either of the Microsoft CRM Outlook Clients on it.

What's more - especially if you are planning on implementing Microsoft CRM 3.0 Small Business Edition - is that the Windows Small Business Server 2003 Premium Edition CAL includes a license for the Outlook 2003 upgrade!

However, Microsoft Dynamics Support noted at least one limitation with the Office 2000 with Outlook 2003 configuration when running either of the Microsoft CRM Outlook clients. That is, users will not be able to leverage Microsoft CRM 3.0's Export to Excel functionality because the Office 2003 version of Excel is needed to export data from Microsoft CRM 3.0.

Bottom Line: Organizations who are running Office 2000 can potentially avoid the cost of an all out upgrade to Office 2003 or Office 2007 and still allow their users to leverage the value of the Microsoft CRM Outlook client.