The Opportunities and Limitations of Document Management and Collaboration Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 offers important opportunities to "harness SharePoint for contextual document management," according to Microsoft manager Reuben Krippner.
He told an audience at Convergence 2011 that while Dynamics CRM's document management capabilities have been improved over what they were, they are still limited by the absence of broad searching capability and the ability to do deep collaboration.
By adding SharePoint to the mix, users can significantly extend Dynamics CRM's document management capabilities so that several members of a team can review sales proposals, for example. "You can have a queuing mechanism whereby people can review a document, revise it, and place it back in the que," he said. Roles can be assigned, as well.
He noted that "SharePoint shines in content management." For example, users can establish "multiple approvals" and "version control."
Since SharePoint can be fully automated with Microsoft Outlook, emails can be pulled into Dynamics CRM as well as part of the document management process, Krippner said.
SharePoint also helps with "document-centric workflows for collaboration."