Ready for a New Day: Steve Ballmer Kicks Off Most Significant Product Launch in Microsoft’s History

At a press conference at NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square, Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer announced the business availability of the Windows Vista™ operating system, the 2007 release of Microsoft® Office, and a host of other new product offerings designed to enable businesses to thrive in a world of instant communication, expanding information and constant change.

Today’s announcement that Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office release are available to volume licensing customers marks the beginning of the most significant product launch in company history and the first simultaneous release of Microsoft’s flagship products since the joint launch of the Windows® 95 operating system and Office 95 more than a decade ago. Windows Vista and the 2007 Office system will be available to consumers and organizations without volume license agreements on Jan. 30. In addition to Windows Vista and the 2007 release of Office, Ballmer discussed more than 30 new offerings for business customers.

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Microsoft CEO to Kick Off Launch of New Windows, Office, Exchange Products

Microsoft Corp. will host a news conference and live webcast to announce the availability of the Windows Vista™ operating system, the 2007 Microsoft® Office system and Exchange Server 2007 for business customers with volume license agreements.

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer will celebrate this historic product launch, which coincides with Microsoft’s 20th year as a publicly traded company, by ringing the bell to open the NASDAQ market.

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New Vista / Office 2007 Website (Free Full License Option!)

The ultimate Mobile Dynamics CRM Solution: CWR Mobile CRM

As a Dynamics CRM Consultant I get more and more questions by customers / prospects about the availability of Mobile [Dynamics] CRM software.

I tell these customers / prospects that there are in fact 3 solutions available:

1. CRM Mobile by Microsoft


2. CRM Mobile Express by Microsoft
   
3. CWR Mobile CRM by CWR Mobility

I started using CRM Mobile 1.2 and migrated to CRM Mobile 3.0 but for me both versions did have very limited functionality. The introduction of CRM Mobile Express gave me enough reasons to migrate to this new version but still I was not satisfied.

Now I'm using the CWR Mobile CRM solution and I can tell you this: This is how Microsoft should have developed it! This application has a fantastic interface and all the functionality you need and it works great. So if you're looking for the ultimate (and supported) mobile CRM solution; try this.

There's also a nice review of this CWR application by Ronald Lemmen on his blog; click here to read this review.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Suggested Hardware for Deployments up to 250 Concurrent Users

The purpose of this document is to provide Customers and Partners with general hardware sizing information which will support Microsoft Dynamics CRM version 3.0 up to 250 concurrent users in a single deployment model.

Download

Instructions for Installing Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 on Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 (28-11-2006)

There is a known issue that involves Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 (Windows SBS) Release 2 (R2) and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 that prevents you from doing a 'Standard' installation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

This document contains instructions about how to install Microsoft CRM 3.0 on Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2.

Download

E-mail to Case (automatically)

This documentation shows step by step how to create a „Email To Case“ Project with Visual Studio 2005. With this extension a new case can be created automatically based on an existing mail from a customer.

Download

New version of XML Notepad: 2007

XML Notepad 2007 provides a simple intuitive user interface for browsing and editing XML documents.

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Real Estate Leader Sperry Van Ness Selects Full Microsoft Dynamics Suite Solution

Microsoft Corp. today announced that Sperry Van Ness, one of the nation’s fastest-growing commercial real estate investment brokerage firms, has chosen to complement its recently implemented Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM solution with the addition of Microsoft Dynamics GP for an overall Microsoft Dynamics enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite.

The company, founded in 1987 and based in Irvine, Calif., sells commercial property by proactively marketing all listings to the brokerage and investment community nationwide. Microsoft Dynamics GP will empower accounting and financial management functions, while the overall Microsoft Dynamics suite will create a consistent ERP platform with deep business analysis capabilities. The company expects the solution to help continue a growth trend that has increased its organization’s staff from 220 to nearly 1,400 and expanded its service area from seven markets to 150 in just five years.

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Release of CRM Documentation Project

Release of the CRM Documentation Project; a project to be able to generate documentation for a Microsoft Dynamics CRM installation.

It is built as an add-in to Microsoft Office 2007, using the new Visual Studio Tools for Office SE. Just make an export of your customizations, and process it using this add-in!

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Microsoft Vista is available on MSDN

Microsoft Vista is available on MSDN

This download includes the following Vista editions:

Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Business N
Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Basic N
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Starter
Windows Vista Ultimate

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Trial Version

The complete new platform for Dynamics CRM will be available very soon.

Windows Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange 2007 will be available to businesses beginning Nov. 30 (Office 2007 has already been released on MSDN and Vista will be released on MSDN Nov. 17). The CRM 3.0 Compatibility update will follow after the official release of Office 2007.

The Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Trial Version is now available for download here.

This is the x86 release version of SharePoint Server 2007 Trial for Standard and Enterprise editions.

The Standard edition functionality includes:
Collaboration
Enterprise Content Management
Workflow
MySites
Profiles and Personalization

Enterprise Search Enterprise edition functionality includes:
Business Data Catalog
Excel Services
Report Center
Infopath Forms Services
KPI and Filter Web Parts

The download of Microsoft CRM List Web Part can be found here.

SQL Server 2005 has been made available since Nov. 2005. Trial Version here.

From Salesforce.com to CRMLive.com

Nice post on Sonoma Partners Blog:

The really nice thing about a hosted service is that you can just pull out your credit card and start using the software almost immediately.

But now that they have used Salesforce.com for several years they want to really expand their usage and address some of the users complaints about Salesforce.com.

Complaint #1? Due to the lack of a GOOD integration with Outlook, their sales people have to double enter contacts, accounts, etc.
Complaint #2? They want to get better integration between their CRM data and the tons of documents and data they're currently storing in SharePoint. This includes using dashboards, document libraries, KPI's, etc.

Now we all know that Microsoft CRM can easily solve these two complaints and help these companies develop a really efficient CRM system and hopefully we'll get the chance to help these companies implement Microsoft CRM.
But the point of this story is just that we're getting more excited about CRM Live!

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Microsoft Office 2007 is available on MSDN

Microsoft Office 2007 is available on MSDN.

At this moment I'm downloading Office Professional 2007, Visio Professional 2007 and Project Professional 2007.

Vista will be available as a download on MSDN at the end of this week.

IE7 for Business (Dynamics CRM): 'Just Do It' Say the Experts

To upgrade or not to upgrade. That is the question. According to analysts, upgrading to the new version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 web browser should be a no-brainer, particularly because of its new security features which are espeically important for small businesses as well as large enterprises.

While home users will make the decision to upgrade on their own, the switch-over to a new Web browser is a bigger decision with more repercussions for businesses and I.T. managers. So, the question remains whether now is the right time or the best time to get everyone to make the step up from IE6 to IE7.

"When in doubt, upgrade." That's what Forrester analysts Natalie Lambert and Colin Teubner are saying about installing Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 7 Web browser.

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More iFrame customization

The previous post describes how to use iFrames to integrate Virtual Earth within Dynamics CRM. iFrames can also be used for creating nice Dashboards, a feature that I like a lot (see previous post on this blog).

Dashboards give users the possibility to view all the important (in this example) Account information while using only one form and one mouse click.

This example makes it possible (with help from Jeffry) to create an Account Dashboard, showing contacts, activities, history and realationships all on one form.

Step 1: You have to create a form (Account Entity, Tab=Dashboard, Section=Dashboard) with 4 iFrames in it with the following names:

IFRAME_Contacts, IFRAME_Activities, IFRAME_ActivityHistory and IFRAME_Relationships

The URL for all the 4 iFrames has to be: 'about:blank' and the option 'pass the object id' needs to be activated.

Step 2: Copy the script in this download to the 'onload event' of the form and activate this event.

Step 3: Publish your customizations and the new dashboard is available.

Virtual Earth 3D Maps (Integration in Dynamics CRM)

View 3D perspectives of land and cities.With the navigation control you can view cities and streets from different heights and angles. Latitude, longitude, and altitude appear in the lower-left status bar of the browser window. A scale bar in the lower-right corner of the map indicates the distance from your viewing point to the objects below you.

Install Virtual Earth 3D

If you want to integrate Virtual Earth within Dynamics CRM follow these steps:

Step 1: create a web page with the code in this web page here

Step 2: Save the created web page as vemap.htm

Step 3: Create a folder in the root of the CRM website (CRMWeb) named 'VEMaps' and copy the created (or downloaded) web page in this folder.

Step 4: Create a new tab and section on the Account Form in Dynamics CRM.

Step 5: Add an iFrame to this form and refer to this url: \VEMaps\vemap.htm (the name of the iFrame can be VirtualEarth).

Step 6: Publish the modifications in Dynamics CRM.

Your Virtual Earth integration is online.

crmwatcher.com upgraded to new version of Blogger

There is a long list of new and updated features, but the integration of Blogger with Google Accounts may make the biggest difference.

Blogger was built by San Francisco based Pyra Labs in 1999; that company was then acquired by Google in 2003.

Blogger will now publish individual posts to the Blogspot servers, instead of republishing the entire blog after each post. Besides making the system easier to use, perhaps this will also solve the problem of Blogger blogs republishing their entire feeds and appearing as unread in feed readers.

- Privacy settings will be enabled. Blogs can be public, private or read only by invitation.
- Posts can now be tagged.
- Drag and drop layout.
- The default template options are also more varied.
- The drag and drop page gives you the option of adding an element, including javascript.

www.blogger.com

Microsoft CRM 3.0 Online Help Update version 3.3a.

Update of the online help for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 based on feedback from customers and partners between December 2005 and April 2006. You’ll find expanded information and clarifications in many existing topics, and more than 50 new troubleshooting topics. There are five download options:

Microsoft Dynamics CRM server update
Microsoft Dynamics CRM laptop client for Microsoft Office Outlook update
Stand-alone version that can be installed on any computer
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Professional Edition for Service Providers update
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Professional Edition for Service Providers laptop client for Microsoft Office Outlook update

Download

Auto reset your CRM Website

Dynamics CRM makes use of Internet Information Services and it can happen that you have to reset this IIS. The IIS reset can be scheduled (weekly) with the Windows Task Scheduler so we have a fresh IIS (and CRM) every week.

How to Schedule IIS Reset:

1.Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2.Double-click Scheduled Tasks.
3.Double-click Add Scheduled Task, and then click Next.
4.Click Browse, navigate to the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder, click Iisreset.exe, and then click Open.
5.Either accept the default name that is displayed in the Type a name for this task box or type the name that you want to use.
6.Under Perform this task, click the interval that you want to use for this task, and then click Next.
7.If you chose to schedule a daily task, a weekly task, a monthly task, or a task that runs only one time in step 6, specify the time and the day when you want the task to run, and then click Next.
8.Type the user name and the password of a user account in which you want to run the task, and then click Next. This account must be a member of the Administrators group. You must type the user name by using the following format, where domain is the domain name and username is the user account in which you want to schedule the task:
domain\username
9.Click to select the Open advanced properties for this task when I click Finish check box, and then click Finish.
10.Click the Task tab.
11.At the end of the command line that is displayed in the Run box, insert a space, type /restart, and then click OK. For example, to stop and restart IIS services on the local computer, the command line that is displayed in the Run box should look similar to the following command line, where drive is the drive on which Windows is installed:
drive:\winnt\system32\iisreset.exe

More Dynamics CRM Administrative Tools?

How to make a Dynamics CRM Backup?
How to use the Workflow Manager on a Desktop?
How to view the CRM database in the Internet Explorer? Answer: http:// [servername] : [portnumber] / sdk / list.aspx

Dynamics CRM / Exchange / E-mail Router

Nice post by the Microsoft CRM Team: Microsoft Dynamics CRM for the Exchange Administrator.

Outlook Sync vs. Outbound Email vs. Inbound Email
One misconception I run into a lot is that the Microsoft CRM-Exchange E-Mail Router handles all CRM email (both inbound and outbound) and also performs the synchronization of Contacts, Appointments, and Tasks between CRM and Exchange. Actually, the router only does a very small part of this: it processes inbound emails.
Outbound emails sent from the CRM Outlook Client (both flavors) are sent via Outlook if they are sent using the Outlook email form with the Track in CRM button selected. In earlier versions of CRM, these emails were diverted to the CRM server where they were sent out via SMTP. With CRM 3.0, though, these emails are sent like any other email, so like any other email, you'll find the ones you've sent in your Sent Items folder.
Outbound emails sent by the CRM server are sent via SMTP. This includes all emails sent using the CRM web forms, workflow, and the CRM web services. CRM can use any SMTP server to send emails. This is configurable during the CRM install. In my deployments, I often use a local SMTP server (installed on the CRM box) or point CRM to an Exchange server which doubles as an SMTP server. It should also be noted here that since these emails exit via SMTP and never hit Exchange, you will not find these emails in your Sent Items folder.
Contacts, Appointments, and Tasks are synchronized via the Outlook Sync which is a component of the CRM Outlook Client (both flavors). This is a client-side synchronization process that takes place between CRM and Outlook, so while the data ends up in Exchange, the actual interaction is with Outlook.

CRM 3.0 Exchange E-Mail Router Architecture
Now that we know what the router does (processes inbound emails) and what it doesn't do, let's take a quick look at how it accomplishes its task:
The router, which is the only CRM component installed on Exchange, is associated with a mailbox created to process inbound CRM emails. Each CRM user has a rule on his/her inbox that forwards all received email to the CRM mailbox. The router, then processes each message that has been forwarded to the CRM mailbox. If it determines that the message belongs in CRM, it'll insert the email into CRM; otherwise, it'll toss it.
The router has to be installed on the back-end server that houses the CRM mailbox. It communicates with the local Exchange server only, so if the mailbox isn't there, it's not going to work.
Prior versions of CRM used an entirely different architecture, relying on SMTP Event Sinks that processed email when the it first comes in from the Internet. So, if you've heard anything about having to install the router on bridgeheads or front-end servers or gateways, forget about it. That's the old architecture. It proved to be clunky and had an assortment of issues that I won't go into. Just take my word that the 3.0 architecture is the right way to do it.

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Microsoft Windows Vista Released to Manufacturing

As Windows Vista hits the Release to Manufacturing milestone, Microsoft looks back at what it took to build the most heavily tested, highest quality and most secure operating system in the company’s history.

PressPass: What is Microsoft doing in Windows Vista to ensure application compatibility for enterprise customers?
Hallauer: Application compatibility is a concern of organizations as they prepare to roll out Windows Vista. Microsoft took steps to address the concern earlier this year when it launched the Application Compatibility Toolkit to help customers identify applications that were not ready. More recently, we have taken our commitment a step further with the Windows Vista Application Compatibility Factory. The Application Compatibility Factory is an initiative that teams Microsoft with systems partners to help customers assess their applications’ compatibility with the operating system, remediate the applications as needed and then manage the deployment of Windows Vista across their company. We’ve also done a lot of outreach to get the ISV community up to speed, such as compatibility workshops.

PressPass: Looking ahead, has a date yet been set for the availability of Windows Vista for business customers? And what about general availability in 2007? Is everything on track?
Hallauer: Microsoft is hosting a series of events around the world on November 30 to officially recognize business availability of the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Exchange Server 2007 and Windows Vista, and we announced today that the worldwide general availability launch is January 30, 2007. So yes, everything is on track and we’re very excited about it.

Read the full Q&A

Microsoft Windows Vista Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0 RC1

Vista-optimized Dynamics CRM "at the same time as the 2007 Office release"

On November 6, Microsoft broke the cone of silence by announcing that it will roll out a new version of its Dynamics CRM product "at the same time as the 2007 Office release" (and ultimately in 18 different languages). This is a previously unannounced release that will precede Dynamics CRM 4.0, which is due to ship in the first half of 2007.

Microsoft is describing this as a refresh of the existing 3.0 release. The update, which Microsoft is calling "Microsoft CRM 3.0 for Office 2007/Vista," will be available "approximately two weeks after the release of those products.

New features and functionality in the new Microsoft CRM product will include:
* Use of the Office 2007-style ribbon user interface
* Use of richer data visualization and business intelligence that are baked into Excel 2007
* Support for Vista gadgets, so that Dynamics CRM activities and alerts can be placed directly onto a Vista desktop or home page
* Integration with Exchange Server 2007, a member of the Office 2007 extended family, so that the new Microsoft CRM will allow users to store voice mail messages and track them automatically
* Support for BitLocker drive encryption.

Microsoft also is broadening the licensing options under which it will sell the new CRM release, officials said. Users get a choice of concurrent or modular licensing, officials said.

Source

Bill Gates Keynote at Microsoft Dynamics Convergence EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa)

Watch Bill Gates Keynote at Microsoft Dynamics Convergence EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) .

Microsoft Dynamics in the "Live Era"

Bill’s keynote at Convergence EMEA is going to focus on two topics – Role Based User Experience advances & Dynamics in the “Live Era”.

Role Based user experience advances. We continue to raise the bar when it comes to user experience advances. The coming together of Office and Dynamics user experience to drive role based productivity is core to our vision.

Dynamics in the “Live Era”. Our efforts in LIVE is an extension of our focus on business productivity, by providing online business process services, collaboration and community. Microsoft Dynamics LIVE CRM is the first example of how customers will first experience Dynamics LIVE.

The first processes we are taking online are – sales, marketing and service. We are now close to our early access release of the Dynamics LIVE CRM service. We will also show two additional services - Ad Center integration that enables closed loop online campaign mgt as well as integration with Sharepoint services (such as Office LIVE) to enable collaboration.

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Office 2007 Released to Manufacturing

Microsoft Corp. today announced the completion of the 2007 Microsoft® Office system code and confirmed its release to manufacturing (RTM). This gold code milestone concludes the largest Microsoft Office beta program to date, with more than 3.5 million people downloading Beta 2.

Microsoft Office RTM also marks a critical step toward worldwide business availability of the 2007 Office system, Windows Vista™ operating system and Exchange Server 2007 on Nov. 30, 2006. To underscore the significance of this new day for business, Microsoft executives will participate in events around the globe, including an event with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in New York. General availability of the products will follow in early 2007.

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See also the new websites of Office Online and Vista

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Solution Accelerator for Siebel

The Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM Solution Accelerator for Siebel integrates Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 with Siebel Server. With integration, organizations can benefit from the usability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM while continuing to access existing data and process definitions in Siebel.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Solution Accelerator for Siebel provides out-of-the-box integration between Siebel Server 7.5.2 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 for the following entities:
Accounts
Contacts
Account Addresses

By using the available schema and code samples, other entities can also be integrated.

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Microsoft to release Office Live on November 15

Microsoft said on Tuesday it plans to launch a set of Web services next month aimed at helping small companies manage business contacts, calendars and online communications.

After months of testing, the world's largest software maker plans to launch Microsoft Office Live in the U.S. on November 15, the same day it will roll out a test, or beta, version in France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom.

In a change from the test product it released in February, Office Live will also include a feature to allow small business owners to buy advertisements, tied to certain keywords, to appear alongside Microsoft's Live Search results.

The company will offer a free, ad-supported version of Office Live that includes Web hosting, 25 company-branded e-mail accounts a shared calendar and access to Microsoft's advertising platform. There will two subscription-based versions at $19.95 a month and $39.95 a month. Both versions come with more storage and more e-mail.

The release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live is planned for introduction in North America in the second quarter of 2007, and will be offered as a range of service offerings on a monthly subscription basis.

[Google has merged its Writely and Spreadsheets services together in order to create also a new online office application]