Microsoft Dynamics ISVs Prepping for Launch of Windows Phone ‘Mango’

With Microsoft's impending roll out Windows Phone 7.5 - a.k.a. Mango - in September (maybe even September 1), Microsoft Dynamics ISVs with mobile solutions for Microsoft Dynamics CRM are working feverishly to get ready for the release.  

Starting with generic versions of the Mango release for testing, mobility ISVs face various challenges like compatibility issues with the growing list of smartphones and the changing technical capabilities and challenges that come with a new release.

The Mango version of the Windows Phone platform includes features like improved multitasking, integration with systems including Office 365, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and improvements to Live Tiles for displaying third-party apps and other data on the home screen.

New features, new challenges

There are some limitations in Mango that Dynamics ISVs will have to work around, according to Erik van Hoof, founder and VP EMEA of CWR Mobility BV.

"For instance accessing SOAP web services is different, so you need to build something around that," he said. "And [Microsoft] missed some security, for instance Active Directory authentication is not available in Mango. But we have always found a way around it to do what we need to do to build the software."

CWR Mobility already has its initial beta version of CWR Mobile CRM ready in the Windows Mobile Marketplace, according to van Hoof.

"It's not a full release yet for Mango," he said. "We are adding a couple features in the product that are specifically for Mango-the most important one is offline access to data. Also you can move part of our application into your home screen. So, for example, if you're interested mainly in Opportunities you can move the Opportunities section ...