Here is our latest Demo solution for Event Invitation tracking within Microsoft CRM

This solution is designed to work with eCampaign to enable organisations to track Events and Event responses directly in #CRM2011 after send the related Accept and Decline Links via an email marketing campaign. 

For more information on eEvent and Invitation tracking please contact sales@mycrmgroup.com or register with http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/

Thanks Alisatir

We are pleased to announce our first Workflow Function Library for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, in this release we have added 36 new function calls for CRM Workflow that extend the business logic for Business Automation and processing of Data

eWorkflow – Marketing 

                   Function – GetLastCampaignForMember 
                   Function - GetLastCampaignResponseForMember 
                   Function – MarketingSubscribeUnSubscriberMember 
                   Function – UnsubscribeMemberFromAllMarketingLists 
                   Function – IsAMarketingListMember 

eWorkflow – Calculations

                    Function – BasicMath 
                    Function – ConvertTextToNum
                    Function – EquationSolver/SumUp 
                    Function – CalculateMaximum 
                    Function – CalculateMinimum 

eWorkflow – Dates 

                    Function – AddBusinessDaysToDate 
                    Function – AddToDate 
                    Function – DateDifference 
                    Function – DateDifferenceBusinessDay
                    Function – GetDayNameAndNumber 
                    Function – PareseDateFromString 
                    Function – SubtractBusinessDaysFromDate 
                    Function – SubtractDaysFromDate 

eWorkflow – RegEx 

                     Function – RegexMatch 
                     Function – RegexRelpace 
                     Function – RegexReturnMatch 
                     Function – RegexStringFormat 

eWorkflow – Strings 

                     Function – CapitiliseString 
                     Function – PadString 
                     Function – RemoveWhitespace
                     Function – ReplaceString
                     Function – StringLength
                     Function – SubString

eWorkflow – Web 

                     Function –WebURLDecode
                     Function –WebURLEncode

eWorkflow – Sales 

                     Function – CountRelatedRecords (Entities)
                     Function – TotalValueOfInvoices 
                     Function – TotalValueOfOpportunities 
                     Function – TotalValueOfOrders 
                     Function – TotalValueOfQuotes 

eWorkflow – Other 

                     Function – CustomerType

We will be working on a release 2 and release 3 of the eWorkflow Library and will continue to extend the Library functionality, with community and customer feedback.

For further information please contact sales@mycrmgroup.com

Release 11th May 2012, Pre-Register Here http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/

Since the release on Microsoft CRM 2011 and the release of the Microsoft Online platform we have had many prospects and customers come and ask the same question and that is

Oh can I do that in Workflow?

To date the answer has been you can if your deployment is on-premise but not if you’re online, which usually starts of a conversation with the words “Are You Sure” and the “Sales Person told us it was exactly the same software”
So to clear that initial question or statement “Yes it is the same code build or same software” but and there is always a but, till now or until R8 is released you have not been able to run what are “Sandboxed” custom workflow plugins within CRM online.
Enter R8, R8 has many changes and support for different things but one little snippet we really liked was:-

"CUSTOM WORKFLOW ACTIVITIES IN CRM ONLINE
With the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Q2 service update, developers can build custom .NET Workflow activity assemblies for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. These custom assemblies can be developed and deployed as part of a Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution package. Once a custom workflow activity has been deployed, it can then be utilized within the workflow engine for business process management. These new capabilities ensure parity in the developer experience between Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and on-premises. It also empowers organizations to bring external data, custom actions and integrations into their standard CRM business processes."

This means you will be able to run custom workflow plugins as part of a solution.  This really does bring in line the capability and functionality of CRM 2011 regardless of deployment type.
So why the blog post, well as expected we are now seeing customers come to us with requests for custom workflow plugins and to be honest we could build this on a one by one basis or a bespoke basis, but we have opted to release our full library of workflow extensions for CRM 2011.

eWorkflow
eWorkflow like all our other products and services starts with a download licenced install of a CRM2011 solution, once deployed you can start building extended workflows with the following additional functionality

Marketing
Marketing List Subscribe (/unsubscribe)
Marketing List Remove (all)
Get Last Campaign For Member
Get Last Campaign Response For Member

Sales
Get Total Value Of Opportunities
Get Total Value Of Quotes
Get Total Value Of Invoices
Get Total Value Of Orders

General Functions
Equation Solver
Basic Math
Convert Value
Maximum
Minimum
Add Business Days To Date
Add To Date
Parse Date From String
Subtract Business Days From Date
Subtract From Date
Regex String Format
Regex Match
Regex Replace
Regex Return Match
Capitalize String
Pad String
Replace
String
Substring
Remove Whitespace
URL Decode
URL Encode

See all the new Workflow Helpers 

 
So as you can see from the list above we have introduced a number of additional functions that can be used in CRM2011 but more importantly these are tested and supported to use straight from install.

We anticipate that on release there may be other functions that get added, but this includes the first release.

The eWorkflow Helper Library will ship with a number of tested workflow functions for #CRM2011 for both on-premise or hosted either online or partner hosted and can add a new level of automation to the implementation of CRM.

You can register for a free download account with MyCRM at http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/

Or email sales@mycrmgroup.com

Regards

Alistair

We are working towards the release of a number of New products for early Q2 (April) for Microsoft CRM 2011.  The first of which is the eagerly awaited subscription product that enables the collaboration of Microsoft CRM 2011 with Bing Search and Bing Maps.
eMap

The integrated GIS solution for Microsoft CRM 2011 will be named eMap  and be MyCRM’s first monthly per user subscription product.  The eMap solution will bring together  key Microsoft technologies and deliver a range of new functionality directly within Microsoft CRM, included in the first release will be

Workplace View:

- Generate Geocode information from Accounts, Leads, Contacts addresses
- Display Accounts, Leads Contacts on map
- Quick filter displayed Accounts, Leads Contacts by name
- Advanced find (single entity type) and display on map
- Draw a box around entities on map and add to marketing list (for a single entity type)
- Calculate a route and display entities along that route, with a set diversion distance
- Business search at current map location (Bing search)

Display map on Account, Lead, Contact forms:

- Set location manually by placing pin in the map (updates latitude and longitude on the entity)
- Get driving locations to entity address (from a searched start point ie. postcode)
- Find nearby businesses (Bing search)
- Display other entities near this entity

In the future/for release!

- Any entity support
- Configure which address fields eMap uses per entity
- New interface for both map displays, and for the configuration page
- Export box-selected entities to Excel
- Create a detailed multi-customer driving route complete with appointment scheduling based on travel times and meeting lengths
- Real-time map updating
- Metric/imperial settings

If at this time you require more information about  the pending release of eMap for Microsoft CRM 2011 please email sales@mycrmgroup.com or register with the download centre for future updates http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/

A number of our larger hosted and on-premise customers all seem to report the same problem in that they are not able to manage CRM user information effectively.   In many cases the CRM administrator from the organisation has had to remote into end users laptops or desktop to change personal settings and this increases the work load of many System administrators.

We took the suggestions made and created a wish list with the intention of creating a better user administration experience in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011

Our goal was to enable System administrator to have extended user settings for CRM and expose additional features that have been excluded from the standard Microsoft CRM admin area.

Introducing eUser – Extended User Settings

eUser from MyCRM Extended is an extended solution for User Management and administration of end system users which becomes a valuable add-on post a hand full of CRM users.

There are two main features sets with the new functionality and these are extended end-user settings and bulk end user settings
 
First we take a look at some of the end user extended record settings.  
As you can see from the screen shot below we have exposed a number of the options that end users can select for themselves so that an administrator can set these when adding a user account

The General tab shows how to set among other things dates and currency for the end user
 

If we now take a look at the extended activities tab you can see that extra setting have been created to allow an administrator to day and times

 
On the final extended user tab you can see a number of exposed features under formats, Email and Privacy

  
These final settings will enable administrators to set language, tracking and error responses.

We now go on to look at the new bulk setting features of the new user setting solution.

Introducing eUser – Extended Bulk Settings

In this part of the solution we show the new features for bulk setting user permission in CRM 2011
 
Here an administrator can bulk set how many records a user sees by default, the advanced find mode, the default tab and default pane for selected users. 

 
On the email tab as before the administrator can see options around email setting for the selected users.

The advanced find has also been configured to easily add selected users across the enterprise, so that an administrator can change setting on bulk
 

The new eUser module will be released via the download centre in March 2012 and will have a full 14 day trial.

To find out more about MyCRM Products and services please visit http://www.mycrmgroup.com

To register for a free download account please visit http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com

With kind regards

Alistair

Here at MyCRM we have now launched the latest version of our managed services for Microsoft CRM 2011, as before we have opted to add value over price per month and are pleased to offer 3 great solution packages from entry level to enterprise.

Enterprise CRM

Included in the Per User price:
• Full CRM License for access to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011
• Unlimited telephone and email support
• 5GB storage per CRM user
• Data Backups – Nightly
• Data Backup retention for 7 Days
• Monthly Backup Download on request
• 95.95% Network Uptime Guarantee

Extra above standard CRM

• 32 hours service time free for setup and configuration

• Fully Integrated Email Marketing with unlimited emails

http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/eCampaign.aspx

• Integrated Document Creation with ePDF

http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/ePDF.aspx

• Integrated Number and form auto population with eNumber

http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/eNumber.aspx

• Integrated Tax calculation for key entities including product line override

http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/eTax.aspx

• Integrated 360 degree of the customer with eView

http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/eView.aspx

• Integrated Document Management with SharePoint 2010

Optional Extras:

• All CRM Extensions from the MyCRM Download Centre Supported
• Additional Data Storage £9 per GB per month
• Additional Consulting service packages from £2850

Our hosted environment is fully managed by MyCRM and is hosted from UK Data Centers.

Our enterprise offering including support retails at £95 per user per month and includes service time built in for deployment and configuration, along with full telephone and email support.

To request a Demo of a trial of MyCRM 2011 click here http://hosted.mycrmgroup.com/pricing.aspx

Or you can visit our main site here http://www.mycrmgroup.com

Here at MyCRM we have now launched the latest version of our managed services for Microsoft CRM 2011,
As before we have opted to add value over price per month and are pleased to offer 3 great solution packages from entry level to enterprise.

Professional CRM

Included in the Per User price:

• Full CRM License for access to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011
• Unlimited telephone and email support
• 5GB storage per CRM user
• Data Backups – Nightly
• Data Backup retention for 7 Days
• Monthly Backup Download on request
• 95.95% Network Uptime Guarantee

Extra Included above Standard

• 16 hours service time free for setup and configuration

• Fully Integrated Email Marketing with unlimited emails

(http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/eCampaign.aspx)

• Integrated Document Creation with ePDF

(http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/ePDF.aspx)

• Integrated Number and form auto population with eNumber

(http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/eNumber.aspx)

• Integrated Tax calculation for key entities including product line override

(http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/eTax.aspx)

Optional Extras:

• All CRM Extensions from the MyCRM Download Centre Supported
• SharePoint Hosting and Integration from £8 per user per month
• Additional Data Storage £9 per GB per month
• Additional Consulting service packages from £2850

Our hosted environment is fully managed by MyCRM and is hosted from UK Data Centers.

Our professional offering including support retails at £65 per user per month and includes service time built in for deployment and configuration, along with full telephone and email support.

To request a Demo of a trial of MyCRM 2011 click here http://hosted.mycrmgroup.com/pricing.aspx

Or you can visit our main site here http://www.mycrmgroup.com

One of the things we have toyed with for a little while is creating map integrations for CRM 2011 and after some recent conversation with the Microsoft Bing Team we have an approach to move forward on and to give an integrated experience with content and Maps.

A couple of the features we wanted to include in CRM 2011 were

In CRM 2011

Phase 1

On the left navigation you will have an eMap Icon this will present a Map, that will show all active Account, Contacts and Leads.

1. From the map you can navigate to open any of the displayed CRM records 

2. You can use the search capability to find areas and related CRM Records i.e. Search ABC company

3. You can select to use Advanced find for supported record types and display the returned search criteria on the Map  

4. You can draw an area on the map and create marketing list or export to Excel 

On each contact, lead or account record

1. A map is added to each of the above record types

2. Additional GEO data is added to the individual record

3. Driving instructions are available from a post code you enter to the contact record along either estimated travel time

4. Additional views for birds eye view and street level will be incorporated

Additional features have also been implemented and are currently in design to see if they make the first version or if these are to be included in the second product development phase.

Remember that integrating Microsoft Bing into a line of business application requires user licences and this is not a free integration, eMAP will be fully licenced with built in Microsoft End user licences for Bing Maps.

If you would like more information please email sales@mycrmgroup.com or register with the MyCRM Download centre http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/default.aspx

For the past 3 months we have been busily working on the first release of eView for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.

So you may ask why change the way it works, why bother.  The answer is really straight forward, we love CRM, and CRM 2011 has re invigorated my use and need for this system in small, medium and enterprise business, but there are too many screens.  This is my opinion, I seem to be always opening and clicking and with 2011 there has be a move with the add tab on the ribbon, but we wanted more.

So eView was born on a white board here in the office and as a team we um’d and argued about the functionality.  In a nut shell we wanted a single screen at record and workspace level that could search, display pinned records, display activities for a highlighted record and display notes for the same record.  We wanted a hierarchical view of related records so you could get a 360 degree view of the customer’s record you were working with 

Above is the first draft release of the eView screen under workspace in CRM 2011, and the team and I think we have got most basses covered.

Obviously you can open and edit records from this screen, but on the final release you will have the option to right click and add related records at each level, you can also Add / Edit notes and activities in the related activity or notes window.

By selecting a record in the hierarchy view you will have the option to right click and select from a menu that allows you to add a related record, so on an Opportunity you could add Quote, Orders invoice, on an Account you could add contacts, sub accounts, opportunities, quotes.

With eView our aim is to deliver a CRM working experience from a single page, and if you drill down to the Account, Contact or Lead you can see a summary view for that record from here

eView is also fully configurable from the point of which entities are displayed down to which end user can see which view,  the configuration page enables views to be created for

1. Everyone
2. User
3. Role
4. Team

And in the same way the security roles work in CRM you can have multiple configurations that build up your individual view.

As an example I may have the everyone view that gives me Account, Contacts, but I may have an additional configuration as I am the purchasing manager and this is based on a CRM role

We are now moving rapidly towards our release candidate at the end of November  and although there is still plenty to do to finesse for the final release, I’d be interested in hearing comments from anyone who works with or implements CRM2011 to hear if this is a valuable solution or not

For many years now in the CRM market space there has been talk of the 360 Degree view of the customer, discussion about bringing all customer data together in a single view, so this is the MyCRM offering, hope you like it

Also don’t forget to register from a free download account so you can test the products on release

Join Us  http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com

Or join the App group on Linked in http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Microsoft-CRM-AppStore-Marketplace-1500-1803842?mostPopular=&gid=1803842

Regards

Alistair 

Hi All

Welcome to the October newsletter from the MyCRM Download Centre, AppStore and Marketplace. We would like to share some exiting new developments and new product releases with you this month as we have released 4 great add on products for Microsoft CRM 2011

eCampaign - For on premise installations that require a cost effective, fully integrated email marketing solution for CRM 2011.

http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/eCampaign.aspx

eSpell - It would seem it’s been missed out of CRM again so now you can add spell checking to CRM 2011.

http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/eSpell.aspx

eNumber - A fully out of the box integrated Auto Number and Auto Naming tool that creates sequential numbers and configures name fields for auto population.

http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/eNumber.aspx

ePDF - One of our first products to be released a great solution for creating PDF attachments from CRM reports, directly as attachments

http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/ePDF.aspx

eTax - With this great solution you can now easily create and calculate tax rates or VAT for Opportunity, Quote, Order or even Invoice records in CRM 2011.

http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/eTax.aspx

ePurchasing - A unique and easy way to manage Supplier PO's directly from CRM 2011 along with supplier products and accounts.

http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/ePurchasing.aspx

If you have not already done so why not register for a free account here –

http://downloads.mycrmgroup.com/Account/Register.aspx


Thank you once again
With kind regards
Alistair
sales@mycrmgroup.com