Significance of Update Rollup 7 for MS Dynamics CRM 4

Update Rollup 7 has been rolled out and apart from vast improvements to the platform special focus has been given to advances in Dynamics CRM Mobile Express and Dynamics CRM Outlook Client. More information @ this link.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS RELEASE - CRM Server Update Rollup 7

• Update Rollup 7 adds support for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 & SQL Server 2008 R2
• Update Rollup 7 Client can be installed before upgrading the server to Update Rollup 7
• Update Rollup 7 Client cannot be un-installed because there has been schema changes to the offline database. All other Update Rollup 7 components (Server, SRS, Language Packs....) can be un-installed.
• Update Rollup 7 Client package will be a pre-requisite for all future Client Update Rollups. i.e. All future releases of Client Update Rollups starting from Update Rollup 8 will not install if Update Rollup 7 Client is not found.

Update Rollup 7 has new requirements
#1 - Internet connection is required for successful Client installation.
#2 - Client update 7 installation will take longer than all previous UR installations. Microsoft asks to be patient.
Visit here to know more about Update Rollup 7 release.

DMM Import Error - Source data is not in the required format

While importing data recently, I recieved the above error message. With the application of my brains I understood that Dynamics CRM and Office Excel Date formatting did not match.

I changed the Date format to mm/dd/yyyy in Excel and CRM (Tools > Options > Format) to maintain consistency and I had a favorable outcome.

Many Applications, One Platform

A short introduction to xRM

CRM Client for Office Outlook over VPN

Recently I was working on a project where the CRM Client for Office Outlook needed to be connected to the CRM Server over the VPN. It seemed obvious that this would work seemlessly without much configuration(s) involved. Once you establish a connection or open the VPN tunnel, it's likely that CRM Client would automatically connect to the Server and load the CRM Toolbar in Outlook, which wasn't the case at my end.

I will conclude this post with the steps I took to get the CRM Client for Office Outlook running over the VPN.

1. On the Client machine. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc
2. Open the file "hosts" with notepad.
3. Add an entry with the CRM server name and the IP address in the following format
   servername (HIT TAB) IP address.
4. Save the file.

CRM Client must now connect successfully to the Server. The above steps confirms that NSLOOKUP command to the CRM Server works fine with correct resolution.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 5.0 or "CRM V.Next"

Due to release in 2010 now, it has been loaded with features that would get you excited. Microsoft Partners can search for Statement of Direction on Microsoft Partner Site.

Here is a little about what you can expect

• Business Data Auditing Capabilities - Much demanded feature by CRM Administrators you'll see this in the next release allowing you to turn auditing on or off.
• Re-usable Configurations like Global Pick-lists - To save you time and better categorize records, Global Pick-lists and Cascading / Hierarchical Pick-lists will be introduced.
• Better development experience with improved integration with Visual Studio - Developers will find this very intuitive as they will be able to create, update and delete entities and attributes without leaving their development platform "Visual Studio"
• Scheduling recurring activities - One of the most requested feature finally makes way into the product.

There are a plenty other features to look forward for and I hope you are as excited as I am.
Note: This post is provided "AS IS", no warranties.