Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

Works the Way IT Wants It to Work

In examining past CRM implementations, Microsoft identified an opportunity to help customers achieve greater return on investment by simplifying the setup and deployment of CRM, particularly as the size of the business scaled down. Of the businesses interviewed, more than 75 percent of small businesses and 66 percent of medium-to-large enterprises stated they preferred to keep IT management in-house. Few, however, reported much success, either because they did not have the resources to design and deliver such a solution, or because the return on investment was unsatisfactory. Why? Few systems could be installed and deployed without incurring the high costs associated with technical experts or a dedicated IT team. Users of CRM solutions told Microsoft they wanted all the functionality and benefits of a CRM system, but without the complexity and costs associated with most CRM projects.

Microsoft promotes maximum flexibility, scalability, and maintainability of CRM for organizations of all sizes, from the small business to mid-size and enterprise organizations. To ensure that each IT dollar invested in CRM is best aligned and prioritized to each company's requirements, Microsoft focused on key elements of deployment, manageability, scalability, and reliability for Microsoft CRM 4.0.

Built on Proven, Industry-Standard Technology

Microsoft CRM is optimized for the Microsoft Windows Server (TM) platform and is one of the first applications with new features built on the .NET Framework architecture. Because they share the same development architecture, Microsoft CRM integrates cleanly with the Microsoft technology that customers already know and use, such as Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Exchange. It also integrates seamlessly with the third-party solutions and services that customers currently require, enabling them to provide a true end-to-end business solution.

Microsoft Exchange Email Integration Architecture

Microsoft CRM and Microsoft Exchange work together to seamlessly integrate customer activities. Users can simply click the "Track in CRM" button on any Outlook email, task, contact, or appointment. By doing this, users enable an automatic synchronization of those items between Microsoft CRM and Microsoft Exchange.

If a user sends an email to one of their customers and elects to track it in CRM, any replies from the customer will not only show up in the user inbox, but they will also be automatically logged for that customer within Microsoft CRM.

Microsoft CRM uses Exchange routing rules to route inbound emails into the CRM system. In the event that the Microsoft CRM server is unavailable during this routing process, routed messages will be placed into a specific folder location, by which administrators can be notified.

Not only does Microsoft CRM and Exchange track inbound customer email, it can also log emails between Microsoft CRM users. For example, a simple Microsoft CRM Workflow rule may be used to automatically send internal email notification regarding case escalations. Just like customer email, these emails are not only delivered to the recipient inbox, they are also logged within Microsoft CRM.

This architecture supports multiple CRM implementations within a single Exchange Organization environment. Microsoft CRM appends a tracking token to CRM-related emails. Administrators can customize the structure of this tracking token to accommodate multiple instances of Microsoft CRM. On the Microsoft Exchange Server, an administrator must create a sink mailbox for each Microsoft CRM instance. The structure of the tracking token helps the Microsoft CRM routing system determine for which sink mailbox and Microsoft CRM instance it is destined.

Faster, Easier, and More Reliable Deployment

A goal for the development of Microsoft CRM 4.0 was to simplify setup and installation while at the same time taking into consideration the necessary integration points with applications and services outside the immediate CRM environment. Administrators have access to easy-to-use and intuitive tools that provide greater visibility into and control over their CRM environment. Finally, Microsoft CRM end-users are empowered to design their own dashboard with improved client-based customization tools. This ultimately reduces IT help requests, freeing the staff to focus on more complex IT issues.

Easier Setup

Enhanced intelligence of the CRM server setup provides a smoother and more reliable setup experience for all types of Microsoft CRM installations. Customers told Microsoft that setting up a CRM solution correctly the first time was a daunting task and, if outsourced, system setup contributed to a significant portion of the cost. With utilities that provide improved visibility on issues and quicker methods for their resolution, Microsoft CRM 4.0 eases the installation process, reducing the time required to get up and running.

New Environment Diagnostic Tool

Direct help within the setup process helps administrators identify and resolve issues prior to installation. The diagnostic tool provides a list of all the CRM requirements that are not fulfilled by their current environment configuration as well as detailed instructions on how to address each requirement. Before beginning the application setup process, the user is presented with a checklist of those conditions, an icon clearly indicating which conditions are met by the current environment, and which are not. For each condition that is not met, a help item outlines the steps the user needs to take to meet the condition. This tool can also produce a detailed log file, which customers can forward to their partner or to Microsoft Support troubleshooting assistance. The Environment Diagnostic Tool is automatically implemented during 4.0 setup or upgrade.

Improved Small Business Server 2003 Deployment

In light of the resource and budget constraints on small businesses, Microsoft designed CRM 4.0 to deploy with minimal difficulty by optimizing it for Microsoft Windows - Small Business Server 2003 (SBS) and delivering a straightforward CRM deployment: automatic installation of server software and creation of the CRM Web site optimizes server settings and infrastructure components (Active Directory, SQl Server, etc.) for running CRM. This:

• Automatically installs the CRM Exchange integration components.
• Automatically creates an administrative installation point for the Outlook client.
• Modifies the SBS Setup Computer Wizard to include the Outlook client.

Improved Deployment for Medium-Sized and Enterprise Customers

A growing number of Microsoft CRM customers are departments or business units of larger enterprises. Deploying CRM in these environments poses some unique challenges. The IT team for the business unit deploying CRM, for example, often does not control the enterprise Active Directory and Exchange environments (owned by the central IT team), to which changes must be made in order to deploy Microsoft CRM. This dependency makes it difficult for the business unit to get the solution it needs and significantly compromises the stability of the IT infrastructure. To mitigate any integration issues presented by a departmental installation, Microsoft CRM 4.0 addresses the requirements of both sides:

• The Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) Pack Administrators can install the MOM Pack to monitor the status of the CRM services, errors, and security events from within MOM.
• Support for Group Policy in Windows Server 2000/Windows Server 2003 Group Policy support allows customers to deploy to Outlook client to users in an automated fashion.
• Support for Clustered Environments Microsoft CRM leverages existing Microsoft clustering services for SQl Server, Exchange Server as well as the Microsoft CRM application server utilizing Network load Balancing. This allows for Microsoft CRM to be utilized with high availability.

More IT Control Over the Microsoft CRM Client Environments

To align with common IT policy, Microsoft CRM provides the IT administrator with the ability to limit the amount of control users have over their workstations through:

• Enabling pre-installation by the administrator. In the past, it was required that the installation of Microsoft Sales for Outlook client be conducted by the user. Now, enabling the IT department to administer the installation helps ensure a more successful process while granting the IT department more control over machine configuration. It also enables companies that do not grant their users admin rights to install the Microsoft CRM Outlook client on behalf of the user. An IT user with admin rights, for example, can install Microsoft CRM Outlook client for the user (who does not have admin rights and therefore cannot conduct the installation themselves). Only after IT has completed the installation is the user is able to run the application.
• Web-based customization tools for administrators. Based on an in-depth study on the different customer roles involved in administering and customizing CRM, Microsoft decided to further simplify and enhance Web-based customization tools for administrators in version 4.0. Most customizations and administration tools are available directly through the Web interface, making it easy to manage the application.
• Smarter Exchange integration with the Exchange Router Wizard. With CRM Exchange Router, the system administrator can use the Active Directory Computer and Users Console to deploy server-side rules for Microsoft CRM users either in bulk or by user and to manage the rules once they are in place. Through this step-by-step process, the administrator can be sure that Microsoft CRM integrates properly with Microsoft Exchange the first time it is deployed, reducing time and effort and enabling users to be productive from the outset.

More Reliable Technology to Keep the System Safe and Business Data Secure

As commercial interests continue their shift to the Internet, and as companies become more reliant upon electronic means for business transactions, the need for reliable technology that keeps business data safe from malicious intrusion increases. Microsoft CRM takes advantage of proven system security technology and easy-to-use, comprehensive tools in the Microsoft Windows Server architecture, helping to ensure that customers, business operations, and data remain safe and secure.

Limiting Data Access Rights

Microsoft CRM allows businesses to preserve confidentiality and data access rights. Through Microsoft CRM, you can secure individual customer records to meet various industry requirements or government regulations.

Active Directory Support

Without requiring additional usernames and password to access the system, Microsoft CRM leverages Active Directory to provide enhanced security with a single sign-on. Some benefits of using Active Directory with Microsoft CRM include:

• Provides Single Sign On for Users. This reduces the amount of passwords that the user has to remember to get access to the system.
• Provides the ability to ensure passwords meet corporate standards. In Active Directory you can enforce strong passwords, which will make your system and Microsoft CRM more secure.
• Uses existing Active Directory Groups to ensure conformance to the enterprise naming standards.

• Gives administrators the ability to turn off Active Directory management from within CRM. Enables non-domain administrators to install Microsoft CRM.
• Simplifies reporting from CRM.