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Microsoft Launches First Wave of Social Features for Dynamics CRM in November 2011 Service Update

by Jason Gumpert
Editor, MSDynamicsWorld.com

Microsoft today announced the release of their "November 2011 Service Update" for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and CRM 2011 on-premise/partner-hosted deployments. Described previously as the Q4 2011 Service Update, Microsoft is stressing the release of "Wave 1" of its new work on social features of the new release, including activity feeds, a new mobile activity feeds client, microblogging, and conversations.

Previously known as "R7" internally at Microsoft, the service update also includes a new unified platform between Dynamics CRM Online and Office 365, which includes steps toward unified provisioning, billing, and administration.  Office 365 includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Lync Online, as well as access to Office web applications and, optionally, user licenses for Microsoft Office on the desktop. 

While the billing for Office 365 with Dynamics CRM Online may be unified, the sales process for such deals is still evolving, as we have discussed previously.  Sale of the two products together spans a much wider array of business needs than many Dynamics CRM partners are equipped to address currently, and the customers are likewise not always aligned across departments in planning purchases to cover both needs.

Other features and improvements of the new release include:

  • Identity federation will allow larger enterprise customers of Dynamics CRM Online to maintain single sign-on for CRM Online connecting with an on-premise ActiveDirectory server. This change will allow for other authentication mechanisms in the future;
  • Self-service BI capabilities with ...

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BI and Reporting CRM 2011 Customer Engagement Customer Relationship Mgmt Customer Service Customer Service Dynamics 365 Dynamics CRM Dynamics CRM Online Marketing Mobile Applications Regulatory Compliance Sales Sales & Marketing Sales & Ops Planning Social CRM Workflow Management
About Jason Gumpert

As the editor of MSDynamicsWorld.com, Jason oversees all editorial content on the site and at our events, as well as providing site management and strategy. He can be reached at jgumpert@msdynamicsworld.com.

Prior to co-founding MSDynamicsWorld.com, Jason was a Principal Software Consultant at Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC), where he implemented solutions, trained customers, managed software development, and spent some time in the pre-sales engineering organization. He has also held consulting positions at CSC Consulting and Monitor Group.

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