Buy vs Build

Jonas Deibe - Dynamics CRM, C#, JS wrote this

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Buy versus build judge yourself! I would think xRM as a way of accelerate application development.

	Costs	Benefits
Buy (xRM)	Locked to vendor Locked to vender schedules Customizations to fill GAPs (if any) Licenses	Configuration more than development Faster go to market Use vender enhancements “Standard” Shop GAP’s as modules or vertical solutions
Build (.Net or any other langauges)	Expensive Longer delivery cycles Harder to rapidly change Innovation	Tailor application bit by bit Re-use existing infrastructure Better control over developer process

Checkout the introduction to xRM for some inspiration http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yru5CkANOKA

Published Monday, August 31, 2009 8:19 AM by Jonas Deibe

It’s baaa-aaack! For a Limited Time – The Big Easy 3.0!!

Great news for Microsoft CRM partners and customers; from November 1st, 2009 through January 2nd, 2010 you can take advantage of one of our most popular promotions ever.  Applicable to Open, Open Value and Open Value Subscription license types, both Corporate and Government customers are provided with partner subsidy funds to help with the implementation of their Microsoft solution.  The following product groups are included:

The Big Easy Offer 3.0 Product Groups:

• Developer and Designer Tools
• Dynamics CRM
• Exchange Server
• Forefront
• Office Communications Server
• Office System
• Project and Visio
• SharePoint Server
• SQL Server
• System Center
• Windows Server System
• Windows Server Solutions

Get more details here: https://partner.microsoft.com/US/bigeasyoffer   A Windows Live ID linked to your partner organization is required.

New Update to the Dynamics CRM Statement of Direction now available!!

Hot off the presses we now have access to the freshest information on Dynamics CRM, Mobile Express, CRM Accelerators, the CRM Adapter for GP, xRM and the highly anticipated release of CRM “V.next.”

What an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride!  Sure to be a best-seller – OK, it’s free – but I couldn’t put it down!  Make sure to get your copy today at these fine outlets:

PartnerSource:

https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/marketing/statementofdirection/MD_CRM_SOD.htm

CustomerSource:

https://mbs.microsoft.com/customersource/documentation/whitepapers/MSD_CRM4StatementOfDirection

Example of Dynamic Entity Retrieval

by Danny Varghese 01.31.09

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There have been numerous requests on other blogs about sample code to on how to retrieve entities in CRM. One way is to use the CRM web service to retrieve business entities, however by doing so, you're only limited to out-of-the-box entities with system attributes. To retrieve anything more "dynamic," you'll have to employ other methods.  Please remember that in order to retrieve any record, you must have the proper permissions on that entity.

Below is a code example of how to retrieve a record with an id using dynamic entity retrieve:

public DynamicEntity RetrieveEntity()

{

//variable initialization

TargetRetrieveDynamic target = new TargetRetrieveDynamic();

RetrieveRequest retrieveRequest = new RetrieveRequest();

RetrieveResponse retrieveResponse = null;

DynamicEntity entity = null;

target.EntityName = <name of entity here>

target.EntityId = <id of entity here>

//initialize request parameters

retrieveRequest.ColumnSet = new AllColumns();

retrieveRequest.ReturnDynamicEntities = true;

retrieveRequest.Target = target;

//build the response object

retrieveResponse = 

(RetrieveResponse)GetCrmService().Execute(retrieveRequest);

//retrieve the service order item from the response

entity = (DynamicEntity)retrieveResponse.BusinessEntity;

return entity;

}

The above example is a simple one, but the example below retrieves all contacts that have an account id = some id, and also retrieve the records with only a certain attributes. This is probably a more robust example encompassing many retrieval options:

private ArrayList RetrieveMultipleContacts(ICrmService crmService, Guid parentAccountId)

{

//variable initialization

ConditionExpression condition = new ConditionBLOCKED EXPRESSION;

FilterExpression filter = new FilterBLOCKED EXPRESSION;

QueryExpression query = new QueryBLOCKED EXPRESSION;

RetrieveMultipleRequest request = new RetrieveMultipleRequest();

ColumnSet cols = new ColumnSet();

RetrieveMultipleResponse response = null;

ArrayList contacts = new ArrayList();

//Set the condition for retrieval

condition.AttributeName = "parentcustomerid";

condition.Operator = ConditionOperator.Equal;

condition.Values = new string[] { parentAccountId.ToString() };

//Set the properties of the filter.

filter.FilterOperator = LogicalOperator.And;

filter.AddCondition(condition);

//Set the attributes needed to be returned. NOTE: The CRM Sdk has an erroneous example

//of how to set the attributes for retrieval.

cols.Attributes.Add("address1_line1");

cols.Attributes.Add("address1_line2");

cols.Attributes.Add("address1_line3");

cols.Attributes.Add("address1_city");

cols.Attributes.Add("address1_stateorprovince");

cols.Attributes.Add("address1_postalcode");

cols.Attributes.Add("address1_country");

cols.Attributes.Add("telephone1");

cols.Attributes.Add("fax");

//Set the properties of the QueryExpression object.

query.EntityName = EntityName.contact.ToString();

query.ColumnSet = cols;

query.Criteria = filter;

//Set the query for the request and set the flag to return

//dynamic entities

request.Query = query;

//retrieve the contacts

response = (RetrieveMultipleResponse)crmService.Execute(request);

foreach (BusinessEntity cont in response.BusinessEntityCollection.BusinessEntities)

{

contacts.Add(cont);

}

return contacts;

}

I hope these examples help someone, happy coding!

Report on Opportunities Lost to Competitors

There is an out-of-the box relationship between competitors and opportunities in CRM that allows you to track many competitors to any one opportunity.  However, when you close an opportunity as lost to a competitor, you may select one specific competitor within the Close Opportunity window.  This is a different relationship in CRM than competitor to opportunities.

What if you want an all-up view of all your lost opportunities showing the competitors that you lost to?

When trying to get this report, many people naturally turn to advanced find views (AFVs) to try to create a query for this data.  This approach won’t return all the data you need in an all-up Lost Opportunity report with Competitors because you cannot create an AFV on the Opportunity Close Activity.  The closest you can get with AFV is to look for Activities, filter the Activity Type = Opportunity Close, and filter Competitor = [fill in the blank]. 

This only works when filtering one competitor because you cannot display a column for Competitor in this view – there is a 1:N relationship between Activity and Opportunity Close.

Thus, the way to get this view of your data is to create a Report (Workplace –> Reports)using the report wizard.  The report wizard differs from AFV in that it allows you to JOIN data from different data tables (entities) rather than be restricted to lookup fields in 1:N relationships between data tables (entities).  Here’s how to do it:

Go to Workplace –> Reports –> Report Wizard:

Name the report and specify primary and related record types:

Set a filter to return all activities = opportunity close (like I mentioned with the AFV), and Opportunity Close Competitor “contains data”:

Lay out fields in your report.  In this example I’ve included Est. Revenue on the related Opportunity so you can quantify exactly how much revenue was lost to the competitor.  You can summarize by this amount in your report in order to create a chart in the next step:

Add a chart if you want to:

Final Report:

With pie chart or bar chart:

Enjoy.

Posted: Monday, February 16, 2009 10:37 PM by Laura Robinson

Windows Live ID, a primer

Windows Live ID is the authentication tool that is part of the Windows Live Service. With it you get free email, blog page, photo galleries, document storage, and more. Social networking tools such as Groups are also available. Groups allow you to invite people to participate in discussions, document sharing, events and calendars, and more.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online uses the Windows Live ID ( WLID ) to authentication who the user is.  You can also integrate the Windows Services with your Microsoft Dynamics CRM application.

Integration with the Windows Live Service can enhance your CRM experience. Using the document storage service, Sky Drive, can allow you to share documents with other users and people not in your CRM system such as customers, business partners, and colleagues.

I’ve created a video that will introduce you to Windows Live ID and it’s services. The video also shows how you can use Windows Live Groups and Document Storage with Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Windows Live ID Overview

How to integrate your Windows Service Storage - SkyDrive with CRM Online

Also, you'll want to watch the video by fellow technology specialist Kevin Williamson on how to add users to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

Cheers,

Jon White

Bridge2CRM = (Microsoft Dynamics CRM + iPhone)

by menno 24. February 2009 21:42

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As you all might know is that I own an iPhone and absolutely love it. For me it is the ultimate device of being able to combine business with my personal life. I can view my Exchange email or meetings and at the same time I can listen to my favorite music, update my Twitter or Facebook status all through an easy to use interface!

Wouldn’t it be nice to have the ability to update or access Microsoft Dynamics CRM information via your iPhone? Bridge2CRM leverages the iPhone interface by integrating it with the power of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Make phone calls on your iPhone directly from CRM, get map directions, send emails, and manage your CRM data; all from the easy and intuitive iPhone platform.

It works with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online or with your on-premise deployment. For more details or to schedule a demo, please visit SoftBridge’s web site.