Microsoft CRM 4.0 Ships!

As reported by Micheal Lu and Ben Vollmer from Microsoft, it looks like Microsoft CRM 4.0 (Titan) has shipped!

Stay tuned for more details!

In the mean time, if you would like a preview of Microsoft CRM 4.0, please feel free to contact us.

We'll be happy to demo the new version for you!

Microsoft CRM 4.0 (Titan) Features Overview

Microsoft CRM 4.0 is almost here!

Yes, version 3.0 is great but Microsoft CRM 4.0 (code named Titan) rocks. Microsoft finally lifted the NDA restrictions on October 1st so we can finally share with you what we can all look forward to in version 4.0.

If you were lucky enough to attend any of Navint's client summits in New England or New York, then you already saw and heard a bunch of what follows. If not then here's the top ten Titan features list that Mike Cross, Kris Kratky and I put together for Navint's recent client summits.

Note: There's one more Navint client summit scheduled on October 25th in LA for our West Coast clients.

Anyway, here's the the Microsoft CRM 4.0 top ten list. Let us know if you have any questions or if you want to see a demo of the new version.

(Disclaimer: What you are about to see is subject to change prior to Microsoft CRM 4.0's release at the end of this year.)

Navint's /Microsoft CRM 4.0 Top Ten

1) User Interface and Office Integration

- Office 2007 UI
- All CRM Activity Types Integrated with Outlook (get pop-up reminders for phone calls, etc.)
- Background Synch (no more manual synching)
- Word Mail Merge (for the web client too)
- Export to Excel (now includes access to EVERY object schema in Microsoft CRM)
- OneNote Integration
- Presence Management (with integration to Live Communication Server)
- Dynamics (GP, SL, NAV, AX) Integration

2) Architecture

- Multi-Tenant Architecture (CRM Live, Cheaper intra-enterprise deployments)
- Support For Internet Facing Deployment (no VPN needed!)

3) Internationalization

- Multi-Language (user-defined language specific UI)
- Multi-Region
- Multi-Currency (exchange rates are stored within the database)

4) Data Analysis

- Improved Advanced Find (now includes access to EVERY object schema in Microsoft CRM)
- Export to Excel (ODBC live/dynamic link)

5) Workflow and Reporting

- Workflow Manager (web client, added triggers, all entities support stages, Win WF based)
- Report Scheduling Utility
- SRS Report Wizard (create an SRS report in 7 clicks!)

6) Data Integrity and Enhancements

- Data Enrichment (Export CRM data to excel > Update it > Import it to update CRM records)
- Configurable Duplicate Detection (includes cross-enterprise notifications)

7) Data Import and Migration

- Data Import Wizard (supports import of data into ANY entity)
- Asychronous Processing (improve the speed of importing data)

8) Entity Relationships

- Many to Many
- System to System
- Self Referential

(Do you have any idea what this means?! Woo-hoo is all I can say!)

9) Developer Treats

- Server Side SDK
- Offline SDK (improve online/offline consistency)
- Offline APIs (improve online/offline consistency)
- Plug-ins (replace call outs)

10) Resource Center

- New Menu Item
- Find and Share Best Practices
- Access Online Help
- Submit Support Requests (from within the application)

With over 100 new features in Microsoft CRM 4.0, this top ten list barely scratches the surface. Future posts will get into much greater detail. We promise.

Please email us or give us a call if you want to see a Microsoft CRM 4.0 demo.

Also, Microsoft has promised Navint that upgrades to 4.0 are going to be smooth and seamless. More on that subject in future posts. Stay tuned.

Assistive Technology and Microsoft CRM

In the last month Navint has begun to work more closely with an organization whose employee mix includes both visually impaired and blind people. Naturally, this organization's most critical requirement for a CRM solution is that it supports a variety of accessibility features. For example, can the application be fully navigated and/or accessed without a mouse? Does it work out of the box with third party screen reader applications like JAWS?

Despite Microsoft's massive investment in R&D which includes a substantial commitment to pre-built accessibility features and other assistive technologies that work with their products, the results in this area for the current version of Microsoft CRM are mixed.

On the one hand, through a combination of hotkeys and tabbing, Microsoft CRM 3.0 can be fully navigated and/or accessed without a mouse. On the other hand, Freedom Scientific - maker of the popular JAWS screen reader application - has confirmed that Microsoft CRM 3.0 does not contain the necessary scripts required for their screen reader to recognize on-screen Microsoft CRM content.

The good news is Microsoft's CRM product team is working diligently to further address these issues in Titan (Microsoft CRM 4.0) which is expected to be released sometime during Q4 2007. In fact, when we asked, this is what Microsoft said:

"We are making a significant investment in Accessibility
in Titan and have already addressed many of the issues [you have identified]. We
have been fortunate to have the invaluable help of a blind user who has been
testing out portions of the application using JAWS and a brail output device as
we work to improve it."

For more information about Microsoft's commitment to Accessibility and Assistive Technology visit here. And for specific information about how Microsoft CRM stacks against a general list of Accessibility and Assistive Technology requirements see this Voluntary Accessibility Template for Microsoft CRM.

Why Attend Convergence 2007 - Reason Number 37

Need another reason to sell your boss so that you can attend Convergence 2007?

Thanks to Arash Ghanaie-Sichanie you've got one more. And this one is especially good if you're interested in Microsoft CRM.

In his recent post, Arash promises to allow test drives of the all new CRM Titan developer experience and tools. He says he's planning to run a number of one-on-one API, workflow and programmability usability studies as well.

Go Arash!

Titan CTP Program - Navint Has Been Nominated!

Our good friend at Microsoft, Umang Vasa, has nominated Navint for participation in the Titan Community Technology Preview (CTP) Program - a pre-release program related to the next release of Microsoft CRM for Microsoft Dynamics partners.

Through the Titan CTP Program, Navint will receive:

- Access to key information about the Titan Platform
- A chance to work with early Titan code and begin to develop products and messaging around Titan
- Participation in weekly deep-dive technical calls that provide essential information about Titan
- Access to previously held conference calls during the initial phases of the TAP program
- Access to Newsgroups to give feedback, ask questions of the developers and interact with CTP participants

Stay tuned!