Understand the Impact of Replacing Microsoft Dynamics CRM Activity Feeds with Yammer

Yammer's deeper integration to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, available with the December 2012 Service Update for CRM Online customers will give an organization's Yammer users - even those who are not CRM users - the ability to participate conversations based on Dynamics CRM entities.

But what how will the introduction Yammer integration impact an existing Dynamics CRM solution, especially one that has already adopted activity feeds?

When a company has both Yammer and Dynamics CRM, Yammer information will be integrated into the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Activity Feeds, replacing the "User Conversations" part of the Activity Feeds. Other aspects of Activity Feeds, the autoposts, will stay as is.

In other words, as a Microsoft representative explained to us, "Activity Feeds will not be replaced completely if a company integrates Yammer with Dynamics CRM. The Activity Feeds will be modified. User posts will go to Yammer and auto posts will remain in the CRM system. The look and feel will be different; for example, Yammer conversations will now also be available within Yammer and following a record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM also follows it in Yammer."

Yammer integrated into the Flow UI of the Polaris/December 2012 release

But what does the investment in Yammer integration mean for Dynamics CRM users already invested in using Activity Feeds? For companies contemplating a move to Yammer, the biggest issue is what to do with the existing Activity Feed data that has accumulated.  This user data disappears a company integrates Yammer conversations. 

"The only risk ...