Take a picture: Exploring mobile device photo options with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013

Before they were called smartphones, the multi-purpose devices in our pockets and purses were once called "camera phones." Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 users exploring one of Microsoft's own smartphone apps for the first time, they might be disappointed to learn that most camera capabilities are not included in the free apps - yet.

For business users, capturing photos isn't just a matter of finding another app that will store your kids' pics or your latest selfie. Rik Dubbink, partner at the Netherlands-based company CRM Partners, says his agricultural clients who use CRM are often on site and might have use for images in their CRM records.

"For example, someone has a complaint," he says. "You get there, you see the situation. You take the picture, and you want to store it on a phone."

Of course, the other portable device many people carry with them these days is a tablet. And though tablets also have cameras, Dubbink says he finds taking pictures with a tablet awkward. So really, for him, mobile photos in CRM are really only relevant for the smartphone interface.

"It looks so strange if you hold up the whole tablet and take a picture," he says. "From the form factor, I'd choose the phone in taking pictures."

As PowerObjects' Technical Advancement Director Tad Thompson points out, CRM 2013 does have limited image and photo support for associating an entity like a contact or account with an image (like a photo or logo), but it is only designed for the web client at this time.

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