Device-Specific Mobile Apps Live On in Latest Microsoft Dynamics CRM Statement of Direction

In addition to announcing the December 2012 Service Update for Dynamics CRM Online, Microsoft has also released an updated Statement of Direction covering their vision for the next three years.

The direction described in this new SoD shows some changes, but also some consistency since we last looked examined a CRM SoD in May 2011. For example, "business intelligence" is nowhere to be found in the latest document (though Big Data gets a nod), while social collaboration and multi-device and multi-platform capabilities remain high profile topics.  And marketing automation has joined sales force automation and customer service as a "major area of investment" in future releases. 

The promise of specific mobile device apps for Dynamics CRM lives on in this SoD.  It reads: "Essential Device Experiences provide real-time and offline access to Dynamics CRM. These solutions will provide consistent experiences optimized for the platform and device of choice." 

And ZDNet reports today that Microsoft has confirmed that device-specific clients for Windows 8, Windows Phone, and iPad offered by Microsoft will be released in 2013, and that they will now be free, based on a desire to "offer users a more fluid, continuous experience."  Device-specific Andrioid and Blackberry apps are still under consideration.  

Microsoft explained in August that the complete mix of browsers and devices will not all be supported at once with this upcoming release, though iPad support created some confusion.  While the December 2012 service update appears to be ...