CRM UK - the official blog of the CRM specialists at TSG

Silverlight 5 versus HTML 5 (in the world of Microsoft Dynamics CRM) - which one’s best?

For all those that work in, or are interested in the technical side of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and related technologies, here’s a guest post from David Cabaniuk. David is an expert on in-depth configuration and customisation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and specialises in development of add-on applications and ‘IP’ for the product. He is also well-known and respected amongst the UK Microsoft Dynamics CRM development community, and is the driving force behind the popular independent Microsoft Dynamics CRM website, www.CRMcodex.com.

Silverlight 5 vs HTML 5 in the CRM Namespace – By David Cabaniuk

It has been so painful to write the title above, but I have been asked the question above several times. The reason people are asking the question is simple. They have seen Silverlight introduced to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, they are aware of the upcoming of Silverlight 5 and HTML 5, which on the face of things look similar and so are asking the question “what’s best: Silverlight 5 or HTML 5?”

Why is the question painful? Well it’s the wrong question!

The question we should be asking exists in the context of a development project. The question is “for my given project, can I achieve my requirements, while keeping the solution simple and maintainable through Silverlight 5 or HTML 5?”

This is obviously a question a developer is more likely to ask rather than a consultant, salesmen, marketing or manager will ask. They are more likely to brisk over the details and simply say, “Silverlight 5 does animations, HTML does animations, which one do we use?” AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I’m not going to get in to the technical details – there are plenty of blogged technical comparisons out there that demonstrate the differences. I’m going to keep it simple and give you my opinion.

So how do I answer the question? They are two completely different technologies! Put aside the funky groovy animations that you have seen demonstrations of! Silverlight is an entire platform that sits on the Microsoft stack and offers increased efficiency and functionality by utilising the resources of your machine. HTML 5 is a mark-up language which is dependant on browsers implementation of the new standard. The standard has been updated to reduce the amount of plug-ins you need to install to handle things such as video.

So with CRM in mind, if your application requires a lot of functionality that interfaces to your PC devices or interfaces to external systems (web services, dlls) then Silverlight is your port of call. If you are looking for client rich UI that is based on simple input, video and audio then HTML 5 is the better option.

Here's another question. What do I think we will see in the future deployed into Microsoft Dynamics CRM? The answer is both, hopefully deployed in the right scenarios. Personally I can’t see Microsoft dropping Silverlight as it’s currently integrated in to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, one of their flagship products. It is also heavily used on the windows phone platform which is being marketed by Microsoft and Nokia. In phone development you have the choice of XNA for game development or Silverlight for application development. Microsoft's problem is maintaining Silverlight for other devices and browsers outside of the Microsoft stack.

HTML 5 isn’t going anywhere either. The standard just needs to be fully agreed and implemented by the browsers. Once implemented and developed across multiple browsers and devices, it may become easy through HTML 5 In the future I can see Silverlight moving on much quicker than HTML 5, offering new rounds of features more rapidly than HTML 5.

A new feature in HTML 5 will have to be approved and browsers will have to implement the new changes. For Silverlight all Microsoft need to do is update their Silverlight runtime and deploy the update through a Windows Update.

I may have glossed over a lot of in-depth details between the two but my view point is simple. They are both here to stay and as developers we should embrace them both. We should be looking at our requirements independently and deciding which the simplest solution to deploy is.

For now, until the standard has been agreed for HTML 5 and implemented I personally will be using Silverlight. However, I’m looking forward to implementing my first HTML 5 solution within Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

This post was first published on the CRMCodex blog in January 2012. Please note these are the opinions of the author and not necessarily of TSG Ltd.

Still on Microsoft Dynamics CRM version 4? Why You Need to Start Thinking about Upgrading to 2011

Here’s a guest post by Senior CRM Consultant, Microsoft Dynamics CRM specialist and something of an evangelist for the product, John Odell. Over the years, John has been involved with many major and highly successful projects based around Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and his opinions are valued by technical and non-technical users alike.

Here’s John’s post:

Upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, by John Odell

It’s been well over a year since the release, in the UK, of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, the cloud version of the product.

Upgrading CRM systems can seem daunting. Many organisations wait until they really have to upgrade before doing so, and not always without reason. There are lots of things to consider in terms of your upgrade strategy. These include testing, training, minimising downtime, resources, cost versus benefit analysis, deciding whether or not you should move to ‘the cloud’, not to mention how to make the most of the new things that the latest version of the software offers you.

In the past, upgrading hasn’t always been as easy as it should be. For example, Microsoft Dynamics CRM version 4 was released in 2007. It made a big impact on the uptake and use of CRM software in the UK, from small business deployments to enterprise solutions. However, upgrading from Microsoft Dynamics CRM version 3 to versions 4 was, in a nutshell, a horrible job.

I don’t make a habit of giving Microsoft undue credit, but they really deserve a big pat on the back for the tools they have provided us to upgrade from Microsoft Dynamics CRM version 4 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 (which they really should have called version 5, which goes to show Microsoft don’t always get it right!).

Why should you upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011?

There are a whole variety of reasons to upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. Many of these depend on the individual needs of your organisation. However, there are also some strong reasons which apply to nearly all businesses. Here are a few quick highlights:

Dashboards Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011

Dashboards are a great way of putting essential information in front of users, helping them to do their job and make better decisions. Dashboards are easy to create, and can contain “live” CRM content, which can be in list view and a wide array of visual charts and graphs. Dashboards can be role tailored, containing and displaying data relevant to each user or each user’s job, and they can also include external content and specific information, as shown in the example screenshots.

Example Screenshot of a Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Dashboard

Example Screenshot of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Dashboard with external content – Twitter feeds and BBC content

Personalisation and Ease of Use

In terms of appearance, one of the biggest differences between Microsoft Dynamics CRM version 4 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is that the later version has an Office 2010-style ribbon with contextual menus. Everything is just one or two clicks away for the user! I’ve noticed people quickly go to love this feature.

One of my favourite things in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is that you can personalise views and set your own default views. Microsoft has also improved the “set regarding” feature when tracking emails from Outlook, with “show only my records” and use saved Views (another personal favourite). This is a relatively small change but makes it so much easier to properly track emails and appointments.

Personalisation of list views through Outlook is also great. Conditional formatting allows you to highlight records that meet specific criteria. You could make all opportunities closing this month appear in bright pink Comic Sans, for example (I’m not suggesting you should!). You can also “pin” multiple views to the screen and choose what fields (columns) to see. Role tailored forms, dashboards, navigation and field level security also greatly enhance personalisation and are all popular features which benefit many users of the product.

Example Screenshot of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 “Set Regarding” improvements – a personal favourite

Management and Productivity Information

There’s some excellent functionality here which can deliver some major benefits. But it’s also a whole separate blog post for another day…

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Marketplace

The CRM Marketplace is a bit like an app store, but with a totally different name! You can find, try and buy all sorts of exciting plug-in products to enhance your CRM solution. The Marketplace is certainly worth a browse whether you’ve upgraded or not.

Development and Integration Capabilities (techie stuff)

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 has enhanced capabilities for configuration, and here are some of the top things our technical people like:

• .Net 4.0 and Windows Workflow Foundation

• Enhanced Integration: WCF SOAP & REST; OData; LINQ

• FetchXML – Dashboards and Reports

• Claims Based Authentication option

• “Solution” Management = Easier Deployment

• Out of the box SharePoint document management integration

More, Newer, Cooler Stuff is Coming…

…all the time! In the past year Microsoft has released quite a few mini-upgrades and will continue to do this on a frequent basis (rather than waiting four years between releases). For example, by summer 2012 Microsoft is due to release:

• Browser support for “front end” pages (not admin) on Firefox, Safari, and Google Chrome (as well as Internet Explorer, of course) across PC, MAC and iOS… (I am a bit sceptical about this one, to be honest)

• “Rapid View” option to open CRM forms “rapidly” in a read-only view

• Social media enhancements and integrations (this looks like it’s going to be amazing stuff)

• Exciting new BI capabilities thanks to integration with SQL Server 2012 Power View

Support for Microsoft Dynamics CRM version 4 Ends in a Year’s Time!

In the UK, mainline support for Microsoft Dynamics CRM version 4 comes to an end 9th April 2013. This means Microsoft will stop issuing updates for v4, except for major security updates (which will be supported to April 2018).

Our recommendation is not to operate a CRM system outside of mainline support unless if can’t be helped. So, even if you’re not looking to upgrade any time soon you should certainly start thinking about it…

You can see more screenshots of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 of the Concentrix TSG website. If you want to find out more about why and how to upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, or to talk about how to approach an upgrade, please don’t hesitate to contact me or any of the team at Concentrix TSG!

John Odell, CRM Specialist

You can find me on Twitter: @odellodell

And of course Concentrix TSG: @Concentrix_UK

Microsoft’s Cash Back Offer to New Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Subscribers in the UK

As an independent CRM specialist, Concentrix TSG provides a selection of CRM solutions and will only recommend the products that we feel are right for our client’s businesses. This means that the products must be able to deliver what the client is looking to achieve within a reasonable timescale and at a cost-effective price.

There are of course a wide variety of good quality CRM software products available, but Microsoft Dynamics CRM has always been one of the most popular solutions we recommend. The cloud version of the product, called Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, has been growing in popularity since its launch in the UK in early 2011. It offers almost identical functionality and flexibility as the on-premise version (which has been around a lot longer) but is a subscription-based cloud solution.

One of the key advantages of deploying Microsoft Dynamics CRM in the cloud is that it becomes an operational cost rather than an up-front or capital expenditure. It’s charged on a per-user, per-month basis at much less than its competitors. In the UK it’s currently only £29.50 per user per month.

Between now and the end of June 2012, UK businesses can claim a serious amount of cash back if they sign up to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online with 30 users or more. If you’re new to the product (i.e. you haven’t deployed it in your organisation before) Microsoft will give you £101 for every Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online licence you subscribe. So for example if you sign up for 30 users, Microsoft will give you £3030, or 100 users £10100. This continues right up to 500 users, in which case you’ll get £50500!

This is a pretty outstanding offer. You’ll receive real money (as opposed to credits or discounts on other products or services) which you can spend however you want. This could be, for example, on implementation, configuration or training services, to offset the costs of switching from legacy software, or even an extremely good night out!

If you’re thinking of deploying a new CRM solution in your business and have 30 users or more, taking advantage of this offer will deliver a major reduction in the financial risks involved. If you’re using competitive CRM software and you’re finding it difficult to use, that the costs are mounting up or it’s just not doing what you want it to, the cash-back offer provides a strong reason to change solutions to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

What’s also great about this offer is that the terms and conditions are straightforward. Your organisation needs to be new Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, and must sign up to a two-year Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online subscription. You have to claim the cash within a fixed time limit, and to have been subscribed to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for at least 30 days before you claim. You can’t use this offer in conjunction with one or two others from Microsoft, or if you’re a government agency (including educational and military).

For full terms and conditions, to discuss your CRM project, or for more information about the cloud CRM for less offer in the UK please contact Concentrix TSG. Both Microsoft Dynamics CRM on-premise and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online are great CRM solutions, but this doesn’t mean they’re right for everyone’s business needs. Other popular solutions include products such as Sage CRM and FrontRange’s GoldMine. As we always take a product agnostic approach, please contact us to speak with one of our CRM consultants as they’ll listen to your needs and be able to advise you on the most appropriate product or products for your organisation.