"How to Avoid Human Induced Catastrophe in CRM" - January 26, 2012

Often the weakest link in protecting the security of the CRM system is the user and not the technology infrastructure. There are some basic steps you can take immediately after installing CRM 2011 or signing up for the CRM Online service to protect your users from themselves. It is all about adjusting the security roles in CRM and taking some other basic precautions to minimize the risk of user induced catastrophe to the CRM system. Read more at the Microsoft CRM TechNet Wiki

Microsoft Dynamics CRM "Building Consistency into Free Form Text Fields" - September 9, 2011

In Microsoft Dynamics CRM there are in a few core entities where the Primary Attribute field is a nvarchar Text field that the user must complete. These fields are system required and you are unable to edit them to change their type. Additionally, since they are required fields the record cannot be saved until it contains some data. The fields do not lend themselves to a consistent data entry format due to the nature of them being free form text fields. Read more on the Microsoft CRM Team Blog

The CRM TechNet Wiki "One person's perspective" - May 11, 2011

In March a fellow MVP George Doubinski reached out to the CRM MVP Community to inquire about our interests in supporting a Microsoft Dynamics CRM TechNet Wiki. Julie Yack introduced the Wiki last month on this blog post.

Here is why I decided to become a contributor and why you should consider supporting it also: Read more on the Microsoft CRM Team Blog

CRM 2011 Client Configuration Tune-Up - April 24, 2011

CThe Microsoft Dynamics CRM Technical Support Team has released Version 1.0 of the "Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Go-Live Checklist". This document brings together several client computer configuration and setting recommendations to improve the speed of the CRM application at the user level and therefore enhance the user experience. It also outlines several resources for the IT administrator or CRM consultant. Read more at the Microsoft TechNet Wiki

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Top 10 in 10 - December 15, 2010

10 Microsoft Dynamic MVPs identify their personal favorite feature in the upcoming release of Dynamics CRM 2011. Watch the Video

Using CRM Error Codes to Enhance Customer Support - July 21, 2010

If you are a CRM Consultant, ISV or even an IT department supporting your own CRM implementation this article is relevant for you.

As a developer of CRM ISV solutions our users are sometimes presented with rather cryptic error codes that don’t shed a lot of light on the corrective action they should take.

They in-turn send this information to us to decode and troubleshoot. We have customized our internal CRM 4.0 system to track information about these errors in the Case entity so that we can more quickly resolve the issue and get the client running again. Read more on the Microsoft CRM Team Blog

The Power of Choice and the Firewall - January 28, 2010

In 2010 owners of Microsoft Dynamics CRM On Premise installations will be inclined to re-visit how they are managing their Firewall configuration and access to their CRM system. Why haven’t I included the other implementation scenarios? Because they already ‘Got it, so they Get it’. Read more on the Microsoft CRM Team Blog

Marketing Lists "Newly Discovered Attributes" - December 28, 2009

There are many attributes that come with the CRM system. Most of them have been published on the forms from the get go when you open up the application. The remaining ones have been created in the schema and await our use in customizing an entity form. While doing some work for a new project I happened across 3 attributes in the Marketing List entity I didn't realize existed. I immediately put one of them to use as Members Count. Read more on the Microsoft CRM Team Blog

A Plethora of Phone Attributes - September 9, 2009

Right out of the box Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 provides a wealth of phone attributes to use in tuning the application to the user's environment. There hasn't been a single CRM implementation I have been involved with where one of the first things users latched onto was modifying or removing phone fields displayed on an entity form. On each of these occasions I have often said to myself - After this project I am going to put together a reference document that I can use for the next project. Well the time has come and it has been done. Read more on the Microsoft CRM Team Blog

Congratulations to the XRM Virtual User Group on their 500th member! - May 11, 2009

CRMUG is a proud partner of the XRM Virtual User Group, and in honor of their 500th member we are pleased to provide a complimentary Premium Membership for one year to their 500th member – Jerry Weinstock at CRM Innovation. This Premium Membership is valued at up to $1,200 and provides CRM Innovation with access to all of the resources of CRMUG, including over 60 events a year, Special Interest Groups, Regional Chapters, online resources, member networking, and discounts for special events like Summit 2009. Read more on the Microsoft CRM Team Blog

Marketing 24/7 - July 1, 2007

If you're in business, you're already marketing. So you may as well give some thought as to how you're doing it. Marketing is often a low priority for small businesses. When budgets are tight, marketing and travel expenses are usually the first to go. Read more at Channelpro Magazine Online

Should You Jump Into CRM? - June 1, 2007

Customer relationship management (CRM) generates some pretty impressive numbers. Overall, Forrester Research Inc. estimates that worldwide revenue for CRM solution providers, which hit $8.4 billion in 2006, will reach nearly $11 billion by 2010. Meanwhile, Microsoft Dynamics CRM now has more than 10,000 customers and 400,000 users, and adoption is growing at nearly a triple-digit annual rate. Read more at Redmond Channel Partner Magazine Online.